Gecko Press wins Best Children’s Publisher of the Year at Bologna

Thursday, 28 March 2013 Books+Publishing

New Zealand publisher Gecko Press has won the Oceania category in the Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publisher of the Year.

The Wellington-based children’s publisher was announced as one of six prize-winners in the categories of Europe, Africa, Asia, Central and South America, North America and Oceania. As previously reported by Books+Publishing, the other publishers nominated in the Oceania category were all Australian: Allen & Unwin, Koala Books and The Five Mile Press. Twenty-nine publishers were nominated overall.

This is the first year that the award, which seeks to recognise ‘courageous and innovative publishing in the past year’, has been offered. The winners were announced at an awards ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Bologna Book Fair, held at the Teatro Communale, Bologna’s opera house. The winners were voted on by the publishers participating in the book fair.

Gecko Press publisher Julia Marshall said in a statement that Gecko Press is ‘extraordinarily proud to be recognised for publishing curiously good children’s books, as we enter our eighth year in publishing’. ‘We are very grateful to all the originating publishers of the books we choose to translate for our list, and to all our very special Gecko Press authors, illustrators and publishing team.’

For more information on the Bologna Prize, click here. To read more about Gecko Press, read a profile about Marshall here.

Category: Local news