Conville & Walsh

In what the Bookseller called a ‘keenly contested category,’ Jake Smith-Bosanquet was named as the Rights Professional of the Year at last night’s Bookseller Industry Awards. He was praised for being a ‘very strong and versatile operator,’ having sold a wide range of titles across 39 languages last year.

Jake has been with the company for six years, and took over Conville & Walsh’s foreign rights department in 2007. Since then, the foreign rights department has expanded to a staff of three, and we are proud to deal direct, forging strong relationships in many territories.

‘I’m delighted to have received this generous and humbling award,’ said Jake. ‘The limitless talent of Conville & Walsh’s clients, together with the unending support and encouragement we receive here makes it a vibrant, fun and richly rewarding place to be.’

‘The work that Jake and his team do for Conville & Walsh reflects our passionate commitment to ensuring that our authors reach as wide as possible an international readership,’ said Clare Conville today. ‘Inspirational and dynamic, Jake is a wonderful compadre and an exceptional Foreign Rights Director: his outstanding work lies at the heart of what we aim to achieve.’

Colleagues Alexandra and Henna collected the award at the black tie ceremony last night at the London Hilton, which was attended by 600 industry professionals. The Bookseller editor-in-chief and chair of the judging panel Neill Denny said: ‘Despite operating in a fast-changing market, the winners of these awards have shown themselves to be innovative and successful during a challenging time for the industry.’