Specialist Midlands publisher, How2crafts, has been shortlisted
for a FutureBook Award alongside multinational publishing houses
Harper Collins, Random House and Oxford University Press.
The start-up publisher, which only opened its doors in 2010, has
been selected as a nominee for the 'Best Content Innovation' award
for its small collection of six high-quality photographic
step-by-step guides to contemporary craft-making.
The company was picked out by the panel of judges because of its
fascination with the social aspect of craft-making and its
commitment to promoting this to its readers. After reading the
how-to guides, and putting their skills to use, craft-makers are
encouraged to upload images of their designs along with any tips
that they have discovered to the how2crafts website.
The print runs of the books are purposefully kept short so that
readers' images and suggestions can be included as an appendix,
complementing the books' instructions and giving inspiration to
future readers. So the books effectively 'grow' as more and more
readers respond.
John Morse-Brown, Founder of How2crafts, said:
"As a start-up company we are extremely proud to have been
shortlisted for an award alongside major multinational publishing
houses. The FutureBook Awards aim to recognise publishers who are
actively engaging in new and interesting ways to bring books to the
digital generation.
We are passionate about crafts and understand that digital
technologies create new opportunities for makers to network with
others who share their enthusiasm. Written by experts in their
field, our books wil combine high quality instruction togther with
visual inspiration contributed by our community of readers and
makers."
The awards ceremony will take place in London on Thursday 17th
March.