06/11/2001

enjoy!reading with the Whitbread Book Awards 2001

- Increase in prize money
- New partnerships announced
- “enjoy!reading” strapline
- Re-launched website
- Whitbread declines BBC Knowledge

An increase in prize money, new strategic partnerships and a striking new logo are all part of the new look for the 31st Whitbread Book Awards.

With the announcement of the shortlists for the five categories – novel, first novel, biography, poetry and children’s - due on November 14, Whitbread has unveiled a number of new measures to communicate the key theme of enjoyment, and specifically the enjoyment of reading, to the widest possible audience.

Prize money has been raised substantially, giving the Whitbread Book Awards the largest book prize fund in the UK. The main Whitbread Book of the Year Award has now been raised to £25,000 (as opposed to £22,500 last year), with the category winners each receiving £5,000 this year (as opposed to £3,500 previously).

Whitbread has also formed key partnerships with other national organisations keen to develop the profile of enjoyable books and reading. The National Reading Campaign, the Library Association, online retailer Amazon.co.uk and the Booksellers Association – the long-time administrator of the awards - all become official partners of the Awards. While the partnerships are non-exclusive and non-financial, Whitbread hope that the partners will play an integral role in the awards for some years to come.

Other changes for the 2001 awards include a new strapline, “enjoy! reading”, which will be utilised across a range of marketing materials, and a new logo based on Whitbread PLC’s palette of corporate colours. Whitbread has also invested substantially in the Awards website – www.whitbread-bookawards.co.uk - which will reflect the changes in the logo and colours and contain more information about the awards and about the book world in general. It is anticipated that the website will be live during w/c November 5.

In a departure from the last three years, next year’s awards ceremony will not be televised by the BBC, despite last year’s audience figures of over 2 million viewers. The BBC, which recently televised the Booker Prize, had offered Whitbread the opportunity to feature on its arts-focused digital channel, BBC Knowledge, which Whitbread declined.

As David Reed, Director of Corporate Affairs at Whitbread says, “Given the profile, prestige and popularity of the prize, we were inevitably disappointed at the BBC’s decision. However, the Whitbread Book Awards are about, and always have been about, conveying the enjoyment of reading to the widest possible audience which I’m confident that we’ll continue to do, particularly with our new partners on board.

Our award winners tend to remain in the bestseller lists for some time, for example, Lorna Sage’s Bad Blood, which has been one of the publishing highlights of the year. By developing these new partnerships and constantly updating our ”look”, we’re reinforcing the message of enjoyment and maintaining our reputation for being the most relevant award for the book-loving public.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. The Whitbread Book Awards, now in their 31st year, encourage readers to enjoy the best contemporary British writing. The awards were established in 1971 by Whitbread, the UK’s leading leisure and hospitality company.
2. The awards ceremony will take place at the Whitbread Brewery, Chiswell Street on Tuesday 22nd January 2002. Please call press office for further details.
3. To be eligible for the awards, books must have been published between 1 November 2000 and 31 October 2001 in the UK or Eire. Authors must have been domiciled in the UK or Eire since November 1998.
4. The total prize fund for the Whitbread Book of the Year/Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year now stands at £50,000, the largest book prize fund in the UK. The award winners from the five categories - Novel, First Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s - each receive £5,000.
7. The Whitbread Book of the Year is selected from the four adult Award winners and Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year, and the winner receives an additional £25,000.

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