The winners of Publicist of the Year and Rep of the Year have been announced at the Bookseller’s Association Conference this evening, alongside the launch of the new Batch Ideas Award.  

The Booksellers Association has decided to rename the Bookshop Heroes Publicist of the Year Award – voted for by booksellers and presented annually at the BA Conference – in honour of the late Transworld publicist and founder of The FLIP Sophie Christopher, who died earlier this year. 

The Sophie Christopher Publicist of the Year Award was taken home by Canongate’s Anna Frame, while the Rep of the Year Award was granted jointly to Kate Bullows from Pan Macmillan and Faber’s John McColgan. 
The BA also announced the launch of the Batch Ideas Award, which will recognise innovative individuals who have developed an idea which improves processes and ways of working in the UK book trade, bringing benefits which can be shared with the wider membership of the Booksellers Association.

Meryl Halls, Managing Director of the BA said: “We are delighted as ever to celebrate the talented publicists and reps working with booksellers this year. We are also honoured to be able to recognise Sophie Christopher, who was a wonderful example of the talent and dedication found amongst the best in the publishing world who work and collaborate with their bookselling colleagues. Many of those attending the BA Conference will have known, worked with and had enormous affection for Sophie who died earlier this year at the tragically young age of 28. Often referred to as a force of nature, Sophie worked passionately in support of her authors, women in publishing and booksellers, and the Sophie Christopher Publicist of the Year is a fitting reminder of that passion.”