BPIF celebrates 2025 British Book Design & Production Awards winners

The British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) has announced the winners of this year’s edition of the British Book Design & Production Awards, with Beowulf (The Morris Edition) going away with the coveted ‘Book of the Year’ honour.

All winners were revealed during a ceremony at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London on April 14^th, hosted for the third time by designer and illustrator Anita Mangan. This year’s competition ran with the theme of ‘BOUND’ to celebrate the array of binding methods and the history and intricacies that can be applied to books.

Some 101 books were shortlisted for the 2025 awards, with winners announced across 19 categories. Beowulf (The Morris Edition) won the top gong this year with judges saying the publication “punched well above its weight”.

“With traditional creative and artisanal activities under pressure like never before, and with letterpress printing classified as endangered in the UK by the Heritage Crafts Association, this book is a timely reminder of the importance and beauty of hand-printed works,” the BPIF says in a statement.

Elsewhere, Rhys Lewis from University of West England (UWE) Bristol clinched top spot in the student category for his creative book, A Month's Celery Gets You Four Leeks Pay. The judges praised the book for its “inventive use of materials, thoughtful design, varied production methods, and overall creativity”.

After the ceremony, each guest received a copy of the Book of the Night, designed by EN-TE and printed by Northend on paper by Sappi and Elliott Baxter & Company (EBB). In addition, binding by Diamond Print Services tied the book with the ‘BOUND’ theme for 2025’s awards.

BPIF chief executive, Charles Jarrold, also took the opportunity to pay tribute to the wider book production market. During a speech at the event, he set out how British consumers spent over £1.8bn on print books in 2025, and that total physical book revenue is approaching £4bn, reinforcing the UK’s position as a leading book-producing nation – and crucially, demonstrating an ongoing demand for printed books.

“The BPIF would like to thank this year’s judges, as well as the supporters and sponsors without whom the Awards wouldn’t be possible – BookMachine, Canon, Diamond Print Services, Sappi, Northend, Muller Martini, Oxford Brookes University, Printing Charity, The Bookseller, and Winter and Company,” the BPIF adds.

British Book Design & Production Awards 2025 winners

Book Of The Year

• Beowulf (The Morris Edition) – Books Illustrated

Best British Book

• The Alchemist (Lettered Edition) – Lyra’s Books

Excellence in Print Production

• Beowulf (The Morris Edition) – Books Illustrated

Fine Binding

• Frozen Hell (Roman Edition) – Areté Editions Ltd

Best Book Finishing

• Bon Jovi: Forever - Genesis Publications

Brand/Series Identity

• Winnie-the-Pooh (100th Anniversary Editions) – Farshore, HarperCollins

Self-Published Books

• Call of the Warrior, Hail Mary Publishing – Empress London

Exhibition Catalogues

• Yoshitomo Nara – Hayward Gallery Publishing

Photographic Books

• In the American West – Abrams & Chronicle Books

Art / Architecture Monographs

• The Watercolors of Skurman Architects – Triglyph Books

Trade Illustrated

• Feline – Abrams & Chronicle Books

Lifestyle Illustrated

• Kapusta – Quadrille

Literature

• William Shakespeare: The Complete Plays – The Folio Society

Educational Books

• A Story of the Seasons – Nosy Crow

Scholarly, Academic and Reference Book

• The Art of the Scribe – British Library Publishing

Children’s Trade 0 to 8 Years

• Magic Searchlight - Ocean Animals – Gemini Books Group

Children’s Trade 9 to 16 Years

• Alan, King of the Universe – Hachette Children’s Group

Best Jacket / Cover Design

• David Lynch – Quarto

Best Student Book

• A Month's Celery Gets You Four Leeks Pay – Rhys Lewis, UWE Bristol