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Penguin Canada Named Publisher Of The Year By Canadian Booksellers

June 4, 2012 (Toronto) — The Canadian Booksellers’ Association has named Penguin Canada Publisher of the Year at the 2012 CBA Libris Awards, presented in Toronto last night.

The Publisher of the Year Award is presented annually by the CBA to a Canadian publisher in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the Canadian bookselling industry, based on consistent high quality in author relations, editorial, production and marketing skills, retail support, and commercial success.

Penguin Canada Publisher Nicole Winstanley accepted the Publisher of the Year honour at the industry awards ceremony held at the Toronto Congress Centre thanking authors, booksellers, agents and staff for their contributions to the company’s success in 2011. Winstanley said, "We regard booksellers as true book lovers and book champions, so to receive this award from them is a great honour, and we accept it with wholehearted agreement that our authors are the best in the world. I feel very fortunate to work with such an extraordinary group of authors, as well as the most talented, creative, and innovative colleagues in the industry."

Canadian authors Stuart McLean, Neil Pasricha, Michael Smith, Randy Bachman, Craig Oliver and Suzanne Desrochers played a pivotal role in Penguin Canada’s success last year, along with Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy and Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, Penguin dominated Canadian bestseller lists with 72 Top Ten national bestsellers.

Penguin Canada also successfully launched two new publishing programs focusing on hockey and cookbooks, and created instant national bestsellers with Thirty Years of the Game at Its Best and Chef Michael Smith’s Kitchen, the inaugural titles on both lists.

Looking ahead, Penguin Canada has an exciting fall line up for 2012 with new books from Stuart McLean, Chef Michael Smith, Colin Mochrie, Jian Ghomeshi, John Ralston Saul, Carolyn Hemming & Patricia Green, the authors behind the blockbuster bestseller Quinoa 365, Zadie Smith, Marjorie Celona, Jack Whyte, Donna Morrissey, and Mariko Tamaki, as well as a Hockey Night in Canada book tied to the broadcaster’s 60th anniversary.