Shortlisted for The British Book Awards - twice Nibbies nominees!
It started out as an ordinary Friday morning in the office. Coffee on the desk, laptop open - and then we got the email…
For the very first time ever, Books2Door has been shortlisted for not one but two awards in this year’s British Book Awards, hosted by The Bookseller. The British Book Awards, a.k.a. the Nibbies, are a testament to the ingenuity, creativity and savvy of today’s book industry. As someone in the office described, they’re “the BAFTAs of the book industry”.
Our first entry is for Children’s Bookseller of the Year, sponsored by Macmillan Children’s Books. The award recognises the brilliant response and effort from booksellers, especially in the two years of lockdown. Being shortlisted for Children’s Bookseller of the Year is a celebration of our online community and the events we have offered our customers.
The second award entry, sponsored by Simon & Schuster, is for Book Retailer of the Year. Again, this category recognises the challenge during Covid-19 and the ongoing changes in the industry. As a value-led online book retailer, we know our customers may have faced many challenges. We responded by meeting the heavy demand for home learning resources. Our strategic investment in marketing — focused on social media and search ads — paid off in customer engagement. This was coupled with innovations in the past year included, such as a new Instagram Lives-based book club.
Abdul Thadha, founder of Books2Door said, "In the last couple of years our business has seen much change largely due to the Pandemic which has changed the landscape of online book retail.
This change is something that has been a benefit to our customers as making books accessible by being affordable became important to everyone due to the economic instability of the time. There has been a rediscovery of many traditions including parents renewed love for reading and passing this on to their children as reading returned to its home among families.
To be shortlisted for two awards in such illustrious company is unimaginable. When I cast my mind back to how I started this business 18 years ago single handedly with a second hand law text book I never imagined a simple lad from Leicester would be recognised one day by the book selling industry, regardless of the outcome I feel we have won as a team. This is the fruit of 18 years hard Labour for us all."
The Nibbies awards ceremony takes place on 23rd May. Watch this space for the results!
#BritishBookAwards