PRH, Affirm, Abbey’s and BooksPlus awarded by Leading Edge

Leading Edge Books (LEB) presented a number of industry awards last night. The annual awards were announced via social media this year, as the LEB Conference, where the awards are usually announced, was postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Penguin Random House was named publisher of the year, marking the third time the Big Five publisher has won the category, while Affirm Press was named small publisher of the year. Finalists in each category included Allen & Unwin and Hachette Australia for publisher of the year and NewSouth Books and Text Publishing for small publisher of the year.

Affirm Press publishing director Martin Hughes said, ‘We’re so thrilled to be named small publisher of the year in the Indie Book Awards! It’s good to be reminded of the hard work and success of the past 12 months, as well as our part in a brilliant, generous and resilient books community.’

Abbey’s Bookshop in Sydney was named metro bookstore of the year, ahead of finalists Fullers Bookshop and the Leaf Bookshop, while BooksPlus in Bathurst, New South Wales won regional bookstore of the year from a list that also included Megalong Books and Paperbark Merchants.

Each finalist receives $200 and the winners receive an additional $500.

The digital awards announcement came one day after the winners of the Indie Book Awards were also announced online.

Category: Awards Local news