Agent, editor, entrepreneur and bookseller make up outstanding Kim Scott Walwyn Prize Shortlist

A brilliant and diverse short-list drawn from across the book trade has been announced for the only national award recognising the professional achievements and promise of women publishers, the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize. The four talented women in the running for 2013 showcase the breadth of talent in the industry, with the short-list featuring an agent, an editor, an entrepreneur and a bookseller.

The 2013 short-list is:

• Laura Austin – co-founder of BookMachine and e-book marketing and account manager, YUDU Media
• Juliet Mushens – literary agent, The Agency Group
• Laura Palmer – co-founder and editorial director, Head of Zeus
• Miriam Robinson – head of marketing, Foyles

The judges commended the short-list as follows:

Laura Austin

‘Laura’s stellar seven-year career in publishing started with a fairly conventional editorial role in Pearson ELT, – but even at that early stage, she showed her future networking colours by training new recruits to the company in how the editorial department worked. She moved on to work for Cengage Learning and then Oxford University Press, where she became Digital Champion, in charge of selling digital products. Her really innovative achievement, however, was to set up BookMachine, which has become an international event organisation for publishing professionals who want to network, with events all over the UK and now in New York, Toronto and Barcelona. Laura’s vast energy and, more importantly, her ability to turn an idea into something real and useful for the publishing industry, convinced the judges she should be on this very strong short-list.’

Juliet Mushens

‘Juliet’s impressive career trajectory began in the marketing department at HarperCollins. After two years, Juliet applied her editorial passion for debut fiction and moved to Peters, Fraser & Dunlop to become an assistant to two literary agents. Within eight months Juliet ascended to the role of an agent, and two months later she sold her first book at auction. Since then, Juliet has proven to be a rigorous agent who has gone to great lengths to find the best writing. Her intuition for excellent storytelling has enabled her to establish a list of bestselling books in a very short space of time: to date, Juliet has sold thirteen fiction titles and a further ten non-fiction titles. In 2012, Juliet moved to The Agency Group as a Literary Agent, charged with the responsibility of developing the UK rostrum of authors. It is no surprise The Bookseller named her as one of the rising stars of 2012; as one referee says, “Juliet’s talent, personality and drive make me confident she is one of the industries leaders of the future”.’

Laura Palmer

‘It is difficult to believe that Laura Palmer has only six years’ publishing experience. She is now a founder director of the publisher Head of Zeus, set up in 2011, but she started as an editorial assistant at Quercus in 2007—where her early championing of an obscure Scandinavian book called The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo helped move it into worldwide success. Swift acquisitions and ruthless attention to detail in all aspects of design and production and marketing marked out the books she worked on at her next publisher, Corvus, part of Atlantic. Her late nights multitasking to get books published fast and effectively stood her in good stead for her next move, to help set up Head of Zeus. The founding team of four has already expanded to 15, publishing 200 books a year. It is clear that Laura has already achieved a great deal as an all-rounder in publishing, and has a bright and important future.’

Miriam Robinson

‘Miriam impressed the judges with her passion and dedication to bookselling. She is creative in how she approaches her work and has achieved a remarkable amount on a tight budget. Her innovative Bookshop Workshop open-source project called upon the industry to look at ways that the bookshop can survive in the era of Amazon and e-books. She was also an integral part of the Charing Cross Road Festival, which turned the negative impact of the Crossrail works on Charing Cross Road’s bookshops into a unique and successful festival that promoted both Foyles and Blackwells. Miriam’s genuine enthusiasm for the industry was evident throughout her application, but more than that, she demonstrated the desire, intelligence and creativity to take this passion and create successful projects and campaigns that elevate the entire book trade and support readers.’

About the Prize

The Prize was founded in honour of Kim Scott Walwyn, a publishing director at Oxford University Press, who died at the age of 45. This year marks the tenth anniversary of her death. She was an outstanding editor and a generous and inspirational manager whose career was widely recognised and celebrated during her life. The Prize, which is open to any woman who has worked in publishing in the UK for up to seven years, is managed by Booktrust, the independent reading and writing charity which is responsible for a number of successful book prizes.

Each shortlisted candidate will receive a one-day training course to aid their career development, courtesy of The Publishing Training Centre. The winner of the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize 2013, who receives £1000 sponsored by the SYP and a two-day training course courtesy of the PTC, will be announced at an award ceremony at the Free Word Centre in Farringdon on Thursday 15 May.

Previous winners of the prestigious Prize include: in 2012, Rukhsana Yasmin, commissioning editor at Saqi/The Westbourne Press/Telegram, who is a judge for this year’s Prize, and in 2004 – the inaugural year – Lynette Owen (OBE), copyright director of Pearson Education.

Andrew Turner, former chair of the SYP and member of the judging panel said:

‘I was truly honoured not only to be a judge of the 2013 Kim Scott Walwyn Prize, but also to become the first male to ever be a judge for the award. Every single applicant this year blew me away with their passion, creativity and dedication to not only their jobs but the industry as a whole. Every one of the applicants highlighted the reasons the SYP sponsor the Prize as their imagination and fearlessness drive the industry into the future, something we look to encourage all emerging publishers to do.’

Andrew Turner will briefly discuss his experience of judging the Prize and the shortlisted candidates at the beginning of the ‘How to Get Ahead in Publishing’ seminar at London Book Fair, run by the Prize’s partner, the Society of Young Publishers, at 2.45-3.45pm, 15 April 2013, in Conference Centre Room 1 and 2.

Catherine Clarke, co-chair of the Prize Advisory Committee and the judging panel commented:

‘The Kim Scott Walwyn Prize recognises the talents and outstanding achievements of women in the early stages of their publishing careers. The judges are aware that putting yourself forward for this Prize and making a strong case for your own success takes a lot of courage, and we were deeply impressed with the evidence of innovation, passion and sheer hard work in this year’s applications. The range reflected the dynamic, challenging, changing ways of bringing books to readers: editors, publicists, agents, booksellers, and social network founders were among the applicants. So it was very hard to choose our shortlist of four from such a rich array.’

strong>Peter McKay, chief executive, The Publishing Training Centre commented:

‘Publishing is a very diverse industry, which relies completely on the quality and dedication of its people and women play a major part in the success of the industry. The Publishing Training Centre acknowledges this contribution and is glad to support an award that specifically recognises this. We look forward to welcoming the shortlisted entrants and the winner when they take up the offer of training with us.’

The full line-up of judges for the 2013 Prize is:

• (Co-chair) Catherine Clarke – literary agent and managing director, Felicity Bryan Agency
• (Co-chair) Denise Johnstone-Burt – publisher, Walker Books
• Nicola Crossley – SYP vice-chair 2010; Trade Non Fiction, Orion Books
• Andrew Turner – SYP vice-chair and treasurer 2013; Nelson Croom
• Rukhsana Yasmin – winner of the 2012 Prize and commissioning editor at Saqi/The Westbourne Press/Telegram

The Prize Advisory Committee is:

Professor Dame Gillian Beer DBE, FBA, FRSL, (King Edward VII Professor Emeritus, University of Cambridge), Catherine Clarke (literary agent and managing director, Felicity Bryan Agency), Nicola Crossley (SYP Vice-Chair 2010 and editorial assistant,Trade Non Fiction, Orion Books), Denise Johnstone-Burt (publisher, Walker Books), Kate Jury (garden and landscape designer, Oxford Garden Partners; formerly a marketing director, Oxford University Press), Hermione Lee CBE (writer, English Literature Professor and President, Wolfson College Oxford), Fiona Maddocks (chief music critic, the Observer) and Francine Stock (novelist and broadcaster).

For more information about the Prize and press enquiries, please contact: Rosi Crawley on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 020 8875 4827. You can also visit the Booktrust website.