2025 SELFIES BOOK AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED
2025 Selfies winner lineup with, left to right, Ben Hughes of IngramSpark, Jane Davis, collecting the award on behalf of children’s book winner Karen Inglis, Sheila Brill, winner of the general non-fiction award, Jason Mann, winner of the fiction award, and BookBrunch managing director Jo Henry
London (12th February 2025) – The London Book Fair’s Author HQ was the venue yesterday evening for the announcement of the 2025 Selfies Book Awards. Launched by BookBrunch seven years ago, these awards are sponsored by IngramSpark and supported by the London Book Fair, LitPR and Nielsen BookData.
Jason Mann triumphed in the adult fiction category with The Echoing Shore, a mystery tale set in Cornwall. This was described by the judges – Anne Williams of the Kate Hordern Literary Agency, Helen Lewis of LitPR and Chris White of Nielsen Bookdata – as “a pacy, absorbing story” with a marketing campaign that was “extensive and clearly targeted the intended audience successfully” and an “excellent cover”. “I love a mystery and this book delivers to the very end”, said one judge.
The winner in the children’s book category is the time travelling middle grade adventure, Beyond the Secret Lake by Karin Inglis. This book, said the judges – LBF director Adam Ridgway, book blogger Linda Hill and publisher Jane Harris – “ticks all the criteria”, and is “well written and readable” with “an intriguing cover that draws in the eye.” “It’s very much in the tradition of children’s mystery books but with a modern twist…the perfect read to be enjoyed at home or in educational settings” one judge concluded.
Another time travelling tale, Time Tub Travellers and the Silk Thief by Claire Linney, is highly commended by the judges in this category.
In the general non-fiction category the winner, Can I speak to Josephine please? by Sheila Brill, a memoir of their severely disabled daughter Josephine. This was, said the judges – publisher Will Atkinson, Lucy McCarraher of the Rethink Press and Ben Hughes of IngramSpark – “an important and moving memoir which covers some incredibly difficult subjects with skills and sensitivity” and “well-written and compelling” with “well thought through” publicity, with one judge noting “I hope this book is being read by the people who need to make changes in this area.”
Highly commended by the judges in this category is The Little Book of Confusables 2 by Sarah Townsend, an essential guide to avoid spelling slip-ups.
The shortlists in full:
Adult fiction
Sizar by Susan Grossey
The Secret Diary of a Bengali Mum by Halima Khatun
The Echoing Shore by Jason Mann
Pride and Perjury by Alice McVeigh
Unravelling by Preethi Nair
House of Crimson Hearts by Ruby Roe
Children’s books
The Wonder Girls Rebel by J.M. Carr
Fyn Carter and the Agents of Eromlos by Ian Hunter
Beyond the Secret Lake by Karin Inglis
Time Tub Travellers and the Silk Thief by Claire Linney
Body in the Thames by Sarah Lustig
The Witch’s Cat Goes Wild by Kirstie Watson, illustrated by Nina Khalova
General non-fiction
Can I speak to Josephine please? by Sheila Brill
Just Run: Discovering my love for running and how the impossible becomes possible by Merili Freear
They’re All Barking, A Dog’s Guide to Human Behaviour by Ruth McDonagh
Knocked Sideways by Sarah McGeough
The Weird & Wonderful Surviveries of Squid Horse by The Mollusc Dimension
The Little Book of Confusables 2 by Sarah Townsend
The winner in each category will receive a cheque for £750 and a profile in BookBrunch, while all shortlisted authors will benefit from a range of PR services and branding resources from LitPR.
BookBrunch managing director Jo Henry said: “It’s such a joy to see the amazing work being done by indie authors, and I’m delighted BookBrunch can bring some truly excellent books to a wider audience through the Selfies Book Awards.”
For further information about the awards please email [email protected].
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