Miriam Robinson, Head of Marketing at Foyles has won the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize for 2013.
We attended the Kim Scott Walwyn prize giving last night at the Free Word Centre in Farringdon; the place was packed with publishers as well as people young and old from the industry, all there to celebrate this unique prize promoting revolutionary women in publishing. We heard from Booktrust, The Publishing Training Centre and the Society of Young Publishers followed by a Keynote speech from Joan Smith, a bestselling author, journalist and human rights activist before Denise Johnstone-Burt, co-chair of the Kim Scott Walwyn Committee introduced the shortlist and awarded Miriam with her prize.
The prize was established in memory of Kim Scott Walwyn, a pioneering Publishing Director at Oxford University Press who died in 2002 at only 45 years of age. The prize is aimed at young women who have achieved great things within publishing and have really added value and innovation to the publishing industry.
After seeing the fantastic shortlist I can honestly say I don’t envy the role of the panel of judges who had to make the decision, up for the prize were:
Laura Austin, Co-founder of Bookmachine and eBook Marketing and Account Manager at YUDU Media
Juliet Mushens, Literary Agent at the Agency Group
Laura Palmer, Co-Founder and Editorial Director of Head of Zeus
Miriam Robinson, Head of Marketing at Foyles
As the winner was announced it struck me that this is the first time a bookseller has ever won the prize; Miriam has built up her career at Foyles over the last 6 years and has been an integral part of the development of the new Charing Cross Road store and the Charing Cross Road festival championing bookshops and booksellers. She has shown real innovative thinking and a huge love and enthusiasm for books and the publishing industry; she has shown that book shops can be successful and that with a bit of creativity – traditional bookselling can still work.
Congratulations to the whole shortlist and particularly to Miriam Robinson for winning the prize!
Inspired Selection 