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The British Book Awards

About The British Book Awards

The British Book Awards are the publishing industry's equivalent to the BAFTAs and are the glitziest event in the UK book industry's calender. The awards celebrate the nation's favourite books, authors and publishers.

Paul Gasgoigne
Who is behind The British Book Awards?
The British Book Awards were founded and are still organised by Publishing News – the leading weekly magazine for the book trade. The Event is being produced and filmed by Cactus TV.

When did The Book Awards begin?
The first British Book Awards were presented on the night of 18 January 1990, the start of an eventful decade for the book world, which would see the end of the restriction on discounting of books and the arrival of multimedia.


Hari Kunzru and David Mitchell
These first ever book trade awards came together through the guidance and advice of Martyn Gott and Graham C Greene and through the organisation of Fred Newman and his team at Publishing News. The event, held at The Park Lane Hotel and hosted by Lord Lichfield, was a sell-out, and Jeffrey Archer, Sally Beauman, A S Byatt, Jilly Cooper, Frederick Forsyth and P D James were numbered among the 550 guests.

How long have The British Book Awards been going?
The awards are now in their 18th year.

Why are the Awards known as 'The Nibbies'?
The nickname 'The Nibbies' refers to the pen-nib shaped awards that are given to winners.

Where do The British Book Awards take place?
The Awards will take place on 28th March 2007 at Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London.

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