Malaysian publisher Fixi wins award at the London Book Fair

The local company was founded three years ago by author/filmmaker Amir Muhammad.

Local publisher Fixi won the coveted The Bookseller International Adult Trade Publisher Award at the International Book Industry Excellence Awards – which was held during the London Book Fair – last night.

Fixi edged out fellow Malaysian nominee Silverfish Books and Kero from France to bag the award, joining publishers from the United States, Belarus, Pakistan, India, Denmark, Australia and China who were also honoured.

While announcing the news on his Facebook page, Fixi founder Amir Muhammad thanked all his well-wishers.

“The award doesn’t mean we’ve done great. It means we’ve got great potential...” he posted.

Started three years ago, Fixi has flourished rapidly with its emphasis on contemporary, urban novels in Bahasa Malaysia. The publishing company has also launched several imprints, such as Fixi Novo for English-language Malaysian books and Fixi Verso, which does Bahasa Malaysia translations of current international bestsellers.

Fixi Novo’s KL Noir series continues to top Malaysian bestseller lists, while Fixi Verso recently managed a coup by releasing BM translations of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean At The End Of The Lane and Stephen King’s Joyland.

Fixi wins the Bookseller International Adult Trade Publisher Award at the @LondonBookFair!! pic.twitter.com/n0B9K5L0QA — BukuFixi (@BukuFixi) April 8, 2014

The awards, being held for the first time, are run in association with Britain’s The Publishers Association, and aims to give recognition to people and companies involved in the international publishing scene. Covering 15 award categories from all aspects of international publishing, such as academic publishing, children’s books and digital innovations, the winners are selected by a panel of British judges with global or discipline-specific expertise.

Other winners last night included the University of Chicago Press from the US for The International Academic and Professional Publisher Award, India’s Tara Books for The International Trade Children’s and Young Adult Publisher Award, and Robert Kirkman, founder of comics imprint Skybound (which created the Walking Dead series) who won The Crossmedia Award for Best Use of IP.

Meanwhile, Deborah Rogers, who founded British literary agency Rogers, Coleridge and White, was awarded the London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award.