Kolkata’s Seagull Books is this year’s winner of the Aficionado Award presented by Salone Internazionale del Libro di Torino and Frankfurter Buchmesse. The award is presented annually to “recognise and pay tribute to the people, companies, and initiatives that innovate and impress in original collaboration.”

The awards ceremony will take place on October 16 at the Frankfurt International Stage. Publisher Naveen Kishore and senior editor and graphic designer Sunandini Banerjee will accept the prize on the team’s behalf.

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In addition to Seagull Books, the three finalists included La disparition (Marseille), an epistolary medium about things that are disappearing, and zoraLIT of Berlin, an association of literature professionals.

While announcing the winner, the Aficionado programme’s rationale said, “Founded in 1982, the Kolkata-based publishing house Seagull Books started out specialising in books about art, theater, and cinema. In 2005, Seagull expanded its catalogue to include the finest that world literature has to offer, from their prestigious ‘Africa List’ to a variety of European voices, and from ‘The Arab’ and ‘The India List’ to a collection of new and classic queer literature. The company’s dedication to quality shines through in the standard of the works, as well as in its dedication to translation and design. Seagull Books has also been admirably active with at least two other programs. ‘The Seagull Foundation for the Arts’ supports the fine arts in India and promotes experimentation and collaboration between different disciplines. The company also runs the ‘Seagull School of Publishing,’ in which company members share their insights and expertise with people interested in taking up careers in publishing. The way in which they connect all of these activities – with authors, artists, translators, and designers – is truly inspirational.”