The Bookseller – Features – Freelancers and audio are in the spotlight as the FutureBook Awards 2024 celebrate the book trade at its best.

Thirty-nine projects and individuals have been shortlisted for the FutureBook Awards, with the largest group being the 12 freelancers nominated in the newest category, Freelancer of the Year, sponsored by Whitefox.

From multimedia designer Samar Habib to non-fiction editor Julia Kellaway, marketer Lynsey Passmore and development consultant Sarah Grant, the finalists reflect the breadth of freelancers’ influence on the industry with numerous best-selling books, award-winning campaigns and iconic covers featured in their collective body of work.

“To be honest, even making such a short list was painful,” he said. Bookseller editor Philip Jones. “Almost all of our 45 applications came from people who are at the top of their careers and have achieved this through years of experience, creativity, relationship building and hard work. There are so many freelancers who deserve to be celebrated, and this feels like a start.”

Two of the finalists will join a panel exploring freelance opportunities at the FutureBook conference at County Hall, Waterloo, on November 25, where winners in all five categories will also be announced. Videos showcasing the finalists will be rotated throughout the day and awards will be presented on stage before a final creative talk from author and broadcaster Gemma Cairney.

Almost all of our 45 members are people who have reached the top of their game through years of experience, creativity and hard work.

Leader of the Year always produces a high-profile shortlist, and this year was no exception. Three Big Five publishers are in the running for the award: Fleur Clarke, assistant publisher at HarperCollins, named alongside James Keith, head of audio content at Penguin Random House, and Anna Valentine, managing director at Orion. Independent publishing has also received an endorsement from Liz Cross, managing and publishing director of David Fickling Books, while Black British Book Festival founder Selina Brown rounds out the set.

Meanwhile, the Future Leader of the Year competition, sponsored by Shimmr, highlights seven rising talents. These include Sophia Akel, whose free books campaign has donated over 10,000 new books by authors of color across the UK since 2020; Abigail McDougall, who delivers ambitious training programs in artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability on behalf of Publishing Scotland; Cheney Smith, who campaigns to reduce key performance indicators for Macmillan Children’s Books while co-chairing Pan Macmillan’s Race and Ethnicity Employee (RISE) network; and Isabel Kenyon of Fly on the Wall Press, who turned a micropoetry charity initiative into a publishing house that won Small Publisher of the Year (North) at the 2024 British Book Awards.

“This year’s cohort of leaders and future leaders don’t just deliver impressive results, they tirelessly push for change,” said FutureBook co-programmer and judge Miriam Robinson. “Each of our finalists makes a tangible impact by innovating and inspiring others along the way. These are people who truly reflect publishing at its best.”