Publisher scores big win in Italy

Dionne Christian

A Kiwi company launched only this year has won one of the world’s biggest publishing awards.

OneTree House was named Best Children’s Publisher of the Year (Oceania) at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy this week.

Remarkably, it was nominated before it published its first books on the strength of its planned titles alone.

Founders Jenny Nagle and Christine Dale are “gob-smacked, astonished and obviously delighted” at winning the prize for Oceania (Australia, NZ and the Pacific) — especially since they run OneTree from their respective kitchen tables in their Ellerslie homes.

Nagle, who travelled to Italy, called Dale on Tuesday with news of the win and asked ‘ are you sitting down?’

“I was just amazed, absolutely blown away,” says Dale, who was last night yet to see the judges’ statement on why OneTree House beat four Australian publishers and one other from New Zealand, Oratia Press.

Now in its sixth year, the prize acknowledges publishers in six regions: Africa, Central and South America, North America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Nominees are considered to have stood out for their creativity, courage and quality of their editorial choices; Wellington’s Gecko Press won the inaugural Oceania award in 2013.

OneTree House’s first six books were published this month; one, Sticking with Pigs by Mary-Anne Scott, is already on the NZ best sellers lists. In all, it will put out 43 titles for children and young adults this year.