The 2011 shortlist was:
- Lucy Cuthew, Commissioning Editor, Meadowside Children’s Books
- Jessica Leeke, Fiction Editor, Simon & Schuster UK
- Sarah Norman, Senior Editor, Atlantic Books
- Kay Peddle, Assistant Editor, The Bodley Head; Vintage Publishing; Random House
Kate Jury, Committee Chair commented:
We are really pleased to be announcing such a strong shortlist today. The candidates have come from different backgrounds and areas of publishing, and bring many strengths to the table – meticulous editing skills and rigorous communication with authors, creativity in both spotting and developing writers and writing talent, and strong ideas for new audiences and emerging markets. These candidates embody many of the types of skill and potential that we hope to encourage and recognize through the relaunch and new focus of the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize.
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Winner: Kay Peddle
Kay Peddle, the woman behind Bodley Head’s innovative Brain Shots audiobooks, was named the winner of the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize 2011. The accolade, which recognises the professional achievements of women in publishing, was announced by Prize Committee member Kate Jury at a ceremony at the Free Word Centre in Farringdon. Helen Fraser, former Managing Director of Penguin UK, delivered the keynote speech on women and success.
Kay Peddle said, on winning:
Kim Scott Walwyn’s life and memory is such an inspiration and it is a true honour to receive this prize. Meeting Kim’s family, friends and colleagues, as well as the award winners from previous years, was so special and moving. In keeping with the spirit of the award, I would like this prize money and the training course to go to a young woman looking to get into publishing but who would not otherwise be able to undertake a work experience placement in London. I hope Kim would approve.
Born and raised in South Africa, Kay Peddle came to Britain in 2006 and studied for an MA in International Publishing at Oxford Brookes University. She graduated with Distinction and started her publishing career as a Marketing Assistant at Random House. In 2008, she moved into editorial and, as Assistant Editor at Vintage, conceived and produced the Bodley Head Brain Shots, which launched to great acclaim in 2009. The success of this industry-first series shows her ability to explore new formats and to respond to the fast-changing market with great agility and flair.
Kay Peddle talked to Booktrust about her win, moments after the announcement
Kate Jury, Chair of the prize-awarding committee, commented:
The committee’s warmest congratulations go to Kay Peddle on winning the first of the new Kim Scott Walwyn prizes, sponsored by the Society of Young Publishers and the Publishing Training Centre. The judging committee were very impressed by both Kay’s achievements, and by her clear-sighted analysis of how she could use her skills and experience to reach out to new and different audiences. We hope her achievements will inspire women from all areas of publishing to apply for the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize next year.
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About the shortlist
- Lucy Cuthew, Commissioning Editor, Meadowside Children’s Books
- Jessica Leeke, Fiction Editor, Simon & Schuster UK
- Sarah Norman, Senior Editor, Atlantic Books
- Kay Peddle, Assistant Editor, The Bodley Head; Vintage Publishing; Random House
Shortlist biographies
After studying at The University of Birmingham, Lucy Cuthew wrote her masters thesis in Children’s Fantasy Fiction and then joined Meadowside Children’s Books in 2006. As a Commissioning Editor, Lucy is responsible for managing a list of fiction and picture books from both new and established authors. She has also written and successfully published a number of picture books. Known for her dedication to her authors, her editorial integrity and her intellectual curiosity she has become established as a highly respected voice in children’s publishing.
Jessica Leeke studied at Durham University and after an internship in New York, joined Sheil Land Associates as an assistant to Vivien Green. In 2007 she left the agency to join Bloomsbury Publishing as Paperback Editor and then moved in May 2008 to Simon and Schuster as Pocket Editor and was promoted to Fiction Editor in June 2010. She is responsible for commissioning five new titles a year and is renowned as a ceaseless champion of new talent with an insatiable zest for the written word.
After graduating with a First from The University of Cambridge in 2005, Sarah Norman joined Atlantic Books as an Editorial Assistant. Moving swiftly through the stages of Assistant Editor and Editor, she was promoted to Senior Editor in 2010 and now works across three imprints, Atlantic Books, Corvus and Callisto. Sarah is now responsible for acquiring new titles and for taking complex non-fiction titles as well as critically-acclaimed fiction from delivery to publication each year. Across all aspects of her work she is known for her intellectual rigour, her professionalism and her ability to help her authors reach their greatest potential.
Born and raised in South Africa, Kay Peddle came to Britain in 2006 and studied for an MA in International Publishing at Oxford Brookes University. She graduated with Distinction and started her publishing career as a Marketing Assistant at Random House. In 2008 she moved into editorial and as Assistant Editor at Vintage, conceived and produced the Bodley Head Brain Shots, which launched to great acclaim in 2009. The success of this industry-first series shows her ability to explore new formats and to respond to the fast-changing market with great agility and flair.
Judges
- Catherine Clarke (literary agent, Managing Director at the Felicity Bryan Agency)
- Nicola Crossley – SYP Vice-Chair 2010
- Denise Johnstone-Burt (Publisher at Walker Books)
- Kate Jury (Garden and landscape designer, Oxford Garden Partners; formerly a marketing director for Oxford University Press)
- Hermione Lee CBE (writer, English Literature professor and President of Wolfson College Oxford)
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Kim Scott Walwyn Prize 