The 2022 winners of the tenth edition: recognition for creativity, inclusion and quality editorial choices.
Founded by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in collaboration with AIE (the Association of Italian Publishers) and IPA (the International Publishers Association), the BOP – Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publishers of the Year rewards the best children’s publishers at international level. The prize is awarded by the publishers themselves, who are asked to vote for the publishing houses that have stood out in the last year for their innovation, creativity and the quality of their publishing choices. There is one winner for each of the six areas of the world. The award ceremony for the tenth edition of the prize takes place on the evening of Monday 21 March 2022, in the setting of Palazzo Re Enzo, in the centre of Bologna.
The six winners are:
AFRICA
For Africa, the winner is New Africa Books, from South Africa, consisting of two publishing brands. New Africa Books publishes a catalogue of titles covering all the South African languages, and is particularly focused on the cultural development of children and young people. New Africa Books is a small publishing house that operates with a philosophy at odds with the model that pervades much of the South African industry: its aim is to find gaps in the book market and fill them with beautiful and meaningful works.
https://newafricabooks.com/
ASIA
Samir Éditeur, from Lebanon, is the winner for the Asian continent. Created by the Librairie Samir, founded in 1947 in the heart of Beirut, Samir Éditeur (as it was renamed in 2004) is a publishing house specialising in school and university textbooks that offer effective learning by promoting cultural openness and placing students at the centre of their own educational pathways. In addition to these, it publishes books for children and young people, aged between 2 and 15 years old. These albums, stories or non-fiction books combine humour, culture and original illustrations.
https://samirediteur.com/
EUROPE
For Europe the prize goes to Liels un mazs from Latvia. Since its foundation in 2004, the publishing house has sought to develop and enrich the Latvian children’s book industry and create an alternative in the book world, both in terms of book content (with high-quality texts and modern illustrations) and innovative design and printing solutions, which are testament to a refined literary and visual taste.
https://liels-un-mazs.myshopify.com/
NORTH AMERICA
For North America the 2022 winner is Canada’s Monsieur Ed. An independent publishing house specialising in children’s literature, Monsieur Ed has a predilection for stories set in special worlds, where reality and fantasy coincide. These universal stories inspire introspection and reflection. Although fiction is at the heart of its catalogue, Monsieur Ed also publishes non-fiction and graphic novels.
https://monsieured.com/
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
For Central and South America the winner is El Naranjo, from Mexico. Founded in 1994, the publishing house started publishing books for children and young people in 2003. El Naranjo has edited more than a hundred titles ranging from fiction, poetry and art to history, nature and classic literature, always seeking a playful approach. Its primary goal is to build its own aesthetic to contribute to the formation of critical and creative readers, through works that stimulate their sensitivity and interest, addressing themes with which they can identify or that provoke new reflections.
https://edicioneselnaranjo.com.mx/
OCEANIA
For Oceania, the winner is Beatnik Publishing, from New Zealand. As an independent publisher, Beatnik Publishing has been enriching New Zealand’s publishing scene over the past fifteen years with its keen eye for quality and beauty. Beatnik works closely with authors, poets, artists and local businesses to give life to books with a refined design and rich content.
https://beatnikpublishing.com/
