The People’s Book Prize Award Ceremony

The Awards Ceremony – 21st July 2010 - 
Click here to see short list for FICTION : NON FICTION : CHILDREN

A unique competition that gets the nation reading with the winners voted only by the public

About TPBP
On 1st June 2010, The People’s Book Prize was one year old. This unique nationwide book competition launched last summer is voted for exclusively by the public and so it is the public who have a direct say in choosing Britain's next top authors.

About The Awards Ceremony
The first Awards Ceremony took place on 21st July 2010 when out of 36 finalists, 15 shortlisted were announced and the top authors of the three genres (fiction, non-fiction and children) were awarded The People’s Book Prize.  A special award, The Beryl Bainbridge Award for First Time Author was introduced to honour the late author who was a founding patron of the prize

The black tie dinner started with a reception at 7 p.m. and was held at The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers, Ave Maria Lane, London EC4M 7DD (near St. Paul’s Cathedral). www.stationers.org

TPBP 2010/11 has now started and voting is taking place now – so hopefully at the end of July 2011 the second People’s Book Prize Award Ceremony will take place

Why The Stationers?
Because The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is a prestigious Institution with the most links to literature: 600 years of service to publishing and related industries, the Company continue to forge a link from the past to the future.
It is befitting therefore that The People’s Book Prize, like Shakespeare, chooses this illustrious institution to hold its first Awards Ceremony.

About the venue
The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of London’s older Livery Companies with its origins in the fourteenth century. In 1403, a guild was formed whose members included text-writers and illuminators, booksellers, bookbinders and suppliers of parchment, pens and paper. They set up fixed-position stalls in St Paul’s Churchyard, and were therefore referred to as ‘Stationers’, as opposed to those operating as itinerant vendors.
Change followed the introduction of printing in England (1476). Permitted publications were ‘entered’ in the Hall registers.
A Royal Charter was awarded in 1557 giving the guild the power to control printing in all its aspects. The Foundation’s involvement in training and education began when printing houses presented their apprentices at Stationers’ Hall during their first year for a fee of sixpence. In 1861, the Company opened the first Stationers’ School just off Fleet Street and then, with an expanding school roll, built a larger school in Hornsey that opened in 1894. Over the years, the school established a high reputation as an excellent grammar school, but closed in 1984 following a re-organisation within its Local Education Authority. However, from the sale of the land on which it stood, the Company created an educational endowment fund which was later subsumed into the Stationers’ Foundation. The Foundation is responsible for overseeing the Company’s charities and, from the outset, one of the most important aspects of the its activities has been to encourage training and education in the graphic arts world, which today includes the wider digital media world.

The Hall was burnt down in the Great Fire and rebuilt in 1673. It was damaged in a terrible air raid in October 1940; the Court Room ceiling was destroyed but the fine carved overmantel survived the Blitz. The stained glass windows depicting historical worthies were donated by Court Assistants (1880s).

TPBP Award (one each: fiction, non-fiction, children)

For all press enquiries, please contact:

Public Relations
email: click here
Delancey Press, Prize Administrators
The People’s Book Prize – 23 Berkeley Square – London W1J 6HE Ph. 020 76656605