# International Rubery Book Award

The Rubery International Book Award (founded in 2010 by Heather Painter) is the largest cash award for books published by independent publishers and self published authors in Great Britain. The London Review of Books described it as "independent publishing's response to the Booktrust and the Orange Prize. The Alliance of Independent Authors describes the award as: 'holders of the respected Rubery Award [...] should be considered to have a quality endorsement.'
In 2012, the award attracted submissions from five continents. In 2015 entries were received from twenty different countries around the world: Australia, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and USA.

## Judges

Current and prior judges include Booker shortlisted author Clare Morrall; publisher of Tindal Street Press Alan Mahar; judge for the international Arthur C. Clarke Award Pauline Morgan; American literature and Creative Writing lecturer, Paul McDonald; Poet and Stand winner Jeff Phelps, Gaynor Arnold who was longlisted for the Booker Prize and the Orange Prize (now the Bailey's); short story writer and novelist, Judith Allnatt; children's authors, Ann Evans and Simon Cheshire; creative writing teacher and previously Birmingham's Poet Laureate, Chris Morgan; William Gallagher, author, dramatist, and lecturer who writes Doctor Who audio dramas, stage plays, and has British journalism experience; and literary agent Laura Longrigg.

## Successes

* Jacob M Appel who won First Prize in 2013 has had many short stories published in literary journals. He also won Dundee International Book Prize which published his debut novel, The Man Who Wouldn't Stand Up.
* Angela Readman who won Book of the Year 2015 has had much success; winning the Saboteur Awards 2015; the Costa Short Story Award in 2013 and shortlisted for the Edgehill Prize 2016.
* Melanie Whipman, who won the 2012 short story competition for her story "Peacock Girl", has had stories subsequently read on BBC Radio 4. She has also been listed for the Edgehill Prize for 2017.

## Winners

| Year | Author | Title | Category |
| 2011 | Sarah James | Into the Yell | Poetry |
| 2011 | Lindsay Stanberry–Flynn | Unravelling | Fiction |
| 2011 Winner | Christine Donovan | Jump Derry, | Fiction |
| 2012 | Carol Mead and Gareth Davies | Sea Things | Children's Poetry |
| 2012 | Ann Victoria Roberts | The Master's Tale | Fiction |
| 2012 Winner | Daniela Murphy | The Restorer | Fiction |
| 2013 | Sophie Neville | Funnily Enough | Non-Fiction |
| 2013 | T. D. Griggs | Redemption Blues | Fiction |
| 2013 Winner | Jacob M. Appel | The Man Who Wouldn't Stand Up | Fiction |
| 2014 | Peter Reason | Spindrift | Non-Fiction |
| 2014 | JoeAnn Hart | Float | Fiction |
| 2014 Winner | Victor Tapner | Flatlands | Poetry |
| 2015 | Diana Kimpton | The Green Sheep | Children's |
| 2015 | Jo Riccion | The Italians at Cleat's Corner Store | Fiction |
| 2015 | Sasha Harding | A Brush with the Coast | Non Fiction |
| 2015 | Diana Whitney | Wanting It | Poetry |
| Book of the Year 2015 | Angela Readman | Don't Try this at Home | Short Stories |
| 2016 | Lisa Woollett | Sea Journal | Non Fiction |
| 2016 | Annie Dawid | York Ferry | Fiction |
| 2016 | Emma Purshouse and Catherine Pascall Moore | I Once Knew a Poem Who Wore a Hat | Children's Poetry |
| Book of the Year 2016 | Laura Tisdall | Echoes | YA |
| 2017 | Lena Adishian and Nareg Seferian | Impact of an Ancient Nation | Non Fiction |
| 2017 | Melanie Whipman | Llama Sutra | Short stories |
| 2017 | Debbie Wise | Rosie and Rufus | Children's |
| 2017 | John Toomey | Slipping | Fiction |
| Book of the Year 2017 | Jaq Hazell | My Life as a Bench | YA |
| 2018 | Keith Chandler | The Goldsmith's Apprentice | Poetry |
| 2018 | Jenny Morris; illustrated by Sara Hayat | The Thing on Mount Spring | Illustrated Children's |
| 2018 | R. K. Salters | Butterfly Ranch | Fiction |
| 2018 | Wendy Storer | Bring Me Sunshine | YA |
| Book of the Year 2018 | David P Miraldi | The Edge of Innocence | Non Fiction |
| 2019 | Jacob M Appel | Amazing Thins are Happening Here | Short Stories |
| 2019 | Chad Alan Gibbs | Two Like Me and You | YA |
| 2019 | Oz Hardwick | Learning to Have Lost | Poetry |
| 2019 | Lisa Anne Novelline; Nicola Hwang | Piccadilly and the Jolly Raindrops | Children's |
| Book of the Year 2019 | Claire Chao and Isabel Sun Chao | Remembering Shanghai | Non Fiction |

## Short Story Winners

* Sarah Evans "The Tipping Point" (2011)
* Melanie Whipman "Peacock Girl" (2012)
* Gill Blow "On the Bench" (2013)
* Gregory J Wolos "Still Life" (2014)