"This is no friend as loyal as a book," as Hemingway once noted. Whether a transporting work of fiction or gripping account of history, books offer a portal out of this world and into another, and who can say no to that right now?
In light of that, Hearst UK will be launching a Big Book Festival to find the best fiction and non-fiction titles in publishing. The inaugural festival will include awards, accreditation and live events.
Flagship Hearst brands such as Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Men's Health and Cosmopolitan will each be assigned a relevant category from ‘Crime’ and ‘Modern Classics’ to ‘Wellbeing’ and ‘Biography’ (that's ours).
The Big Book Awards will invite publishers to submit exciting and emerging work, published between 1 June 2017 and 31 May 2018. If selected at the first stage, Hearst will engage its Reader Panel to review the titles - and any keen readers interested in taking part (and winning prizes) can do so here.
Following reader feedback, the top scoring books will be put forward for review by the Editors of the nine participating brands, with a shortlist of titles in each category will be announced in June. The final winners will be announced at a celebratory event in Summer 2018.
