British Council announces International Young Publishing Entrepreneur 2009 award for UAE

The IYPE is awarded in partnership with London Book Fair, the largest European spring publishing event and the winners will compete in the international final in the UK, prior to attending London Book Fair 2009.

The British Council is now inviting applications, demonstrating entrepreneurship and business success, from young UAE professionals (25-35 year old Emirati nationals and UAE residents) who have three years' experience in publishing (including e-publishing); or working as an agent; organising literary festivals; book retailing (including e-tailing); or as a consultant providing specialist services in any of these areas. Candidates should also have English language skills equivalent to IELTS 6 - 'competent user' or above.

Successful UAE applicants will meet a panel of distinguished judges, who will select the winner. The deadline for applications is January 20th 2009.

The UAE winner will join 8-10 other international finalists for an all-expenses paid trip to the UK, in mid-April 2009. The 10-14 day visit will include a tour of the national publishing industry, comprising visits to a range of large multinational and small niche publishing houses, agents, librarians, retailers, distributors, arts funding bodies, and specialist writing development and publishing industry organisations, culminating in participation at London Book Fair.

The IYPE judging process will take place during the UK tour, prior to London Book Fair. All of the finalists will be interviewed and asked to make a presentation about their vision for their country's publishing industry to a judging panel of elite members of the UK publishing sector, who are asked to decide the IYPE winner on the basis of the presentation. The winner will be announced immediately following the fair.

The IYPE judging panel will consist of Claire Alexander (Chair); Sonny Leong (Independent Publishers' Guild); Emma House (Publishers' Association); and Nashwan Al-Maghafi (IYPE 2008 winner, Yemen). Each country winner will be judged both on his/her good ability to present in public and the content of their presentation.

Each finalist will also be asked to bring with them one title from their country/company which is as yet un-published in the UK, but which they feel deserves to be exposed to a wider international audience. They will then be asked to participate in a 'Book Pitch' session, where each candidate markets the title to an international audience at the Fair. An excerpt of the chosen book will be read live by a group of professional actors, and then the audience will vote for their favourite.

Michel Bechara, Assistant Director - Projects at the British Council UAE, commented:

"The IYPE winner will not simply have an impressive CV but also the qualities and vision to be a potential leader in the UAE publishing sector. IYPE celebrates entrepreneurial ability and creativity, and strengthens creative leadership, networking, and particularly reinforces engagement between young creative entrepreneurs in all the participating countries and the UK."

The International Young Publisher Entrepreneur of the Year (IYPE) award is a collaboration between the British Council and London Book Fair (LBF). It was launched to celebrate the entrepreneurial and leadership ability of young people working in the publishing sector in their own country. IYPE was presented for the first time in 2004, and since then 36 young publishers from 21 countries have so far taken part in the programme, building an active alumni network in the process. IYPE winners so far include Eduardo Rabasa (Mexico, 2004), Maria Deskur (Poland, 2005), Joanna El-Mir (Lebanon, 2006), S Anand (India, 2007) and Nashwan Al-Maghafi (Yemen, 2008).

IYPE is one of a range of International Young Creative Entrepreneur (IYCE) awards, designed by the British Council to celebrate the achievements of young entrepreneurs across the creative industries, and make a significant contribution to their ability to access international markets. The IYCE programme is unique in its recognition of the entrepreneurial ability vital alongside creative talent in the development of a competitive and sustainable creative economy.