Last week, I got an email, informing me that Accomplish Press (and me, Tolulope Popoola) has been shortlisted for the prestigious Women in Publishing New Venture award! I was so excited, because a friend nominated me, but I didn't even take it seriously. So imagine my surprise when I was invited to the awards ceremony!
The award ceremony was held on the 12th of December 2012 at the Women’s University Club in Mayfair, a beautiful and cosy venue with a lot of history, heritage, and lovely art collection. I almost didn't make it because I couldn't arrange childcare at the last minute, but when I called the organiser, she said she didn't mind if I came with my little one. So off I went to the ceremony, baby in tow. It was great though, everyone welcomed her and she got on well with all the guests. One of the speakers, who is also a member of the Women in Publishing Committee suggested I should come and give a talk at their next meeting. The topic? How to Balance Children and Careers! Lovely stuff.
After the speeches, the award announcements were made. First for the Pandora Award, which recognises a “woman who has made a significant and sustained contribution to the publishing industry” and this year the runner up was Sam Missingham, The Bookseller’s head of marketing and events and the co-founder of Futurebook. The winner was Marjorie Scardino, the CEO of Pearson, who has been in the role for fifteen years.
Then it was time for the New Venture Award! This award aims to recognise “a woman who has done pioneering work on behalf of under-represented groups in society”. Claire Pimm, the co-ordinator of the event and a committee member for Women in Publishing, said they were really impressed by the quality of candidates for the award this year, so they included a “Special Recommendation” category to recognise a third woman.
And the awards went to:
Special Commendation: Rivkie Baum, founder and publisher of SLiNK magazine, featuring plus size models
New Venture Awards Runner Up: Tolulope Popoola, founder of Accomplish Press (yay!)
New Venture Awards Winner: Caroline Taylor, founder and editor for 91 Magazine
I'm delighted to be recognised by such a great organisation of inspiring and creative women, and I'm really grateful for the honour. When my name was called, I had to go up to give a speech and collect my award certificate. I was a bit nervous but I managed to get through it with a smile.
(Here's a photo of the New Venture Award recipients courtesy of Maia Walczak)
It’s such a lovely recognition and a great way to round up my first year since I ventured into publishing. Here's to even more achievements, and more exciting things to come in 2013!
Other Links to the Awards news:
The Bookseller: http://www.thebookseller.com/news/scardino-given-pandora-award.html
Publishing Scotland: http://www.publishingscotland.org/news/marjorie-scardino-wins-the-2012-pandora-award/
Beatties Book Blog: http://beattiesbookblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/scardino-given-pandora-award.html
