The London Book Fair reveals Trailblazer Awards Winners for 2026
London, Monday 9th March 2026. The London Book Fair (LBF) has today revealed the winners for the Trailblazer Awards 2026, celebrating industry professionals in their first ten years of their career in the industry, who are demonstrating creativity, dedication and innovation in their roles.
L-R: Caitlin Curry, Rebecca Gediking, Daniel Li, Ruby Fatimilehin, Harley Lambrianou
Now in their eleventh year, the awards are run by The London Book Fair, in partnership with the Publishers Association (PA), the Society of Young Publishers (SYP) and BookBrunch.
The Trailblazer Awards 2026 Winners:
- Caitlin Curry, Founder, London Girls Book Club (ran through Empowered Consultancy LTD)
- Daniel Li, Marketing Manager, Sinoist Books
- Harley Lambrianou, Audio Director, Jade Monkey Audio
- Rebecca Gediking, Library Services Director, GLL (founded by GLL and led by Rebecca)
- Ruby Fatimilehin, Assistant Editor, Hamish Hamilton (Penguin Random House UK)
Emma Lowe, Director of The London Book Fair, said: “From marketeers to editors, to professionals working across audiobooks, libraries and book clubs, this year’s Trailblazers winners truly showcase the breadth of the book industry. The endorsements in the submissions for winners contain phrases like "rarely have I worked with someone like x", they are "remarkable", "keen to push boundaries" and are "fearless innovators", they have "rare and infectious energy". There are many causes for despair in the world but reading the Trailblazers entries have caused me to feel something that feels like hope and a real excitement for the future of the book industry. We’re looking forward to honouring the winners at LBF this week in a session on the Main Stage, and hoping they will inspire many more to accomplish great things in our industry.”
Hannah Penny, PR Director at Electric Monkey, said: “Caitlin Curry has created the most special community in London Girls Book Club, which brings together communities of readers and authors in a truly innovative way. She is a real powerhouse in publishing, and achieves amazing things, all on top of her day job. Beyond that she’s just the kindest and loveliest person to work with.“
Daniel Hahn OBE, Award Winning Writer, Editor and Translator, said: “According to Daniel Li’s job title at Sinoist Books, he is responsible for marketing their books. But this doesn’t begin to convey the range of what he does…He is creative, enthusiastic, energetic and highly committed to the difficult work that Sinoist is attempting. They are lucky to have him on the team, and we’re all lucky to work with him.”
Nigel Slater, Author of A Cook’s Book, said: “Harley Lambrianou's creativity expanded what would be atypical audiobook into an immersive experience down memory lane, where I could help listeners relive the past with me where I first experience some of my core cooking memories.”
Nadine Wild-Palmer, Author of The Tunnels Below, said: “Working with the GLL Literary Foundation (founded and led by Rebecca Gediking) has already made me feel like I am back where I belong with a lively literary community championing the work of early career authors. It has also renewed my sense of hope and reassured me that I will be able to continue and sustain my career as a children’s author.”
Simon Prosser, Publishing Director at Hamish Hamilton & Penguin Books, said: “While showing true entrepreneurial commissioning flair, as in her creation of the upcoming Penguin Queer Writers series, Ruby [Fatimilehin] has brought tireless spirit and energy to our essential D & I work…and shown commitment to making real and lasting change in the workplace, and to championing fresh perspectives and overlooked voices at Penguin as a whole.”
Each winner will receive a Trailblazer certificate along with a complimentary ticket to this year’s and next year’s fair, membership to the Society of Young Publishers, and a free subscription to BookBrunch.
Some of the winners will be taking part in a seminar discussion titled
How to Get Into Publishing with the 2026 Trailblazers on Thursday 12th March at 13:45 on the Main Stage, on the last day of The London Book Fair.
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