Nosy Crow is an independent children's publisher, based in London. The company was founded in 2010 by Kate Wilson, formerly MD of Macmillan Children’s Books and Group MD of Scholastic UK Ltd, Adrian Soar, formerly Book Publishing CEO of

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

, and Camilla Reid, formerly Editorial Director of Campbell Books. In 2020, the company was named Independent Publisher of the Year at the

British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Na ...

."Pan Mac and Waterstones triumph at British Book Awards 2020"
''

The Bookseller ''The Bookseller'' is a British magazine reporting news on the publishing industry. Philip Jones is editor-in-chief of the weekly print edition of the magazine and the website. The magazine is home to the ''Bookseller''/Diagram Prize for Oddes ...

'', London, 29 June 2020. Retrieved on 30 June 2020. As of 2025, Nosy Crow is the UK's 10th largest children's publisher, according to

Nielsen BookScan BookScan is a data provider for the book publishing industry that compiles point of sale data for book sales, owned by Circana in the United States and NIQ in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, Italy, Spain ...

data."Looking back on 2020"
''Nosy Crow'', London, 15 January 2021. Retrieved on 19 January 2021.

History

Nosy Crow was founded in 2010, and published its first book in January 2011. In its first year of publishing, it released 23 books and 3 apps in total, and invoiced one million pounds. The company has a strong background in rights-selling. Wilson began her career selling rights at

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

, and in its first year, foreign rights to Nosy Crow titles were sold in 16 languages. By September 2014, Nosy Crow had grown to become the 16th largest children’s publisher in the UK, according to

Nielsen Bookscan BookScan is a data provider for the book publishing industry that compiles point of sale data for book sales, owned by Circana in the United States and NIQ in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, Italy, Spain ...

data, and by 2019, the company had grown to become the 12th largest children’s publisher in the UK.Nosy Crow has been shortlisted for three 2019 British Book Awards
''Nosy Crow'', London, 22 March 2019. Retrieved on 22 March 2019. The company has been noted on multiple occasions for its rapid growth in an industry experiencing shrinking revenue elsewhere.Cowdrey, Katherine
"Pan Macmillan and Waterstones take top prizes at the British Book Awards"
''

'', London, 8 May 2017. Retrieved on 1 August 2017. In November 2013, Nosy Crow implemented an innovative digital audio feature called 'Stories Aloud’, a free digital audio component included with Nosy Crow's paperback picture books. Stories Aloud is an innovative approach to storytelling that blends traditional print books with modern digital technology, enhancing the reading experience for children and families and helps to make the books more accessible overall. By scanning these codes with a smartphone or tablet, readers can access professionally recorded audio versions of the stories, complete with sound effects and original music. As at 2024, Nosy Crow has expanded this feature across baby board and novelty titles. In May 2023, Nosy Crow launched a United States company, Nosy Crow Inc. Nosy Crow publishes publishes a wide range of commercial fiction and non-fiction books for children aged from 0 to 12 years, and is recognised for its high-quality production values and innovative approaches to storytelling. Its most successful titles to date include Escape Room, written by Christopher Edge, the Peekaboo series, written by Camilla Reid and illustrated by Ingela P Arrhenius, the ''Bizzy Bear'' books, written by Camilla Reid and illustrated by Benji Davies, and the Pip and Posy books, written by Camilla Reid and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, each of which have sold several million copies worldwide. The Pip and Posy books were credited with producing healthier than expected sales in the industry overall for 2011. Wilson had previously collaborated with Scheffler at Macmillan, where she published ''

The Gruffalo ''The Gruffalo'' is a children's picture book by the English author Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It tells the story of a mouse strolling in a wood and encountering a series of predators culminating in the fictional 'Gruffal ...

'' and initiated the long-running collaboration between the artist and former

Children's Laureate Children's Laureate, now known as the Waterstones Children's Laureate, is a position awarded in the United Kingdom once every two years to a "writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field". The rol ...

Julia Donaldson Julia Catherine Donaldson (; born 16 September 1948) is an English writer and playwright, and the 2011–2013 Children's Laureate. She is best known for her popular rhyming stories for children, especially those illustrated by Axel Scheffler, ...

. Other successful titles and series include '' Open Very Carefully'', winner of the 2014 Waterstones Children's Book Prize,"Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2014 winners announced"
''

Waterstones Waterstones Booksellers Limited, trading as Waterstones (formerly Waterstone's), is a British bookselling, book retailer based in London, England, owned by the American investment group Elliott Investment Management. It operates 311 shops, ma ...

'', London, 3 April 2014. Retrieved on 6 September 2014. the ''My Brother is a Superhero'' series, written by David Solomons, which has sold in over 20 languages worldwide and been awarded the 2016 Waterstones Children's Book PrizePauli, Michell
"David Solomons wins Waterstones prize with superhero story"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', London, 17 March 2016. Retrieved on 1 August 2017. and the 2016 British Book Industry Award Children's Book of the Year Prize,Shand-Baptiste, Kub
"My Brother is a Superhero wins best children's book award"
''

'', London, 10 May 2016. Retrieved on 1 August 2017. Pamela Butchart's ''Baby Aliens'' series, which has won a

Blue Peter Book Award The Blue Peter Book Awards were a set of literary awards for children's books conferred by the BBC television programme ''Blue Peter''. They were inaugurated in 2000 for books published in 1999 and 2000. The awards were managed by reading charity ...

Pauli, Michell
"Funny and silly books win the Blue Peter awards"
''

'', London, 5 March 2015. Retrieved on 1 August 2017. and a

Children's Book Award Children's Book Award is a generic term that has been applied to: * Caldecott Medal, Caldecott Medal, annual "most distinguished American picture book for children" * Children's Book Award (UK), from the Federation of Children's Book Groups * Dorot ...

,Erizanu, Paul
"My Headteacher is a Vampire Rat wins Children’s Book Award 2016"
''

'', London, 28 May 2016. Retrieved on 1 August 2017. the ''Felt Flaps'' series by Ingela P. Arrhenius, winner of the Sainsbury's Children's Book of the Year Award,Wilson, Kat
"Where’s Mr Lion has won the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Award!"
Nosy Crow, 24 August 2017. Retrieved on 7 February 2019. ''There's a Bear on My Chair'' by Ross Collins, winner of the inaugural

Amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

CILIP The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP, pronounced ) is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge management, knowledge managers in the United Kingdom. It was established in 20 ...

Greenaway Honour in 2016Parker, Nick
"The Amnesty CILIP Honour winners 2016"

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, 20 June 2016. Retrieved on 1 August 2017. and a UKLA Book Award in 2017,"UKLA Book Awards 2017 Winners Announced"
UKLA, 30 June 2017. Retrieved on 1 August 2017. and ''I Am The Seed That Grew The Tree: A Nature Poem For Every Day Of The Year'', winner of the inaugural

Children’s Gift of the Year Award in 2018. Additional successful series include Zoe’s Rescue Zoo by Amelia Cobb and Sophy Williams, Sing Along with Me! by Yu-hsuan Huang, and Unicorn Academy: Where Magic Happens by Julie Sykes & Lucy Truman

Apps

Nosy Crow was particularly notable for its original apps for the iOS platform.,Thomson, Li
"Shelf life in hard times: The book folk who wrote glorious chapters in 2011"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', London, 23 December 2011. Retrieved on 14 March 2012. which it developed in-house. Between 2011 and 2018, Nosy Crow released over 25 apps, which won numerous awards and received critical acclaim, earning the company recognition as a leader in the field. In April 2018, the company announced that it would cease its in-house app development programme and close its app department, citing the challenging commercial environment for children's reading apps.

Partnerships

Nosy Crow has become well known for its partnerships,Flood, Alison
"John Lewis snowman remodelled as children's book"
''

'', London, 28 November 2012. Retrieved on 1 August 2017. with international publishers,Neill, Graeme
"Nosy Crow signs with US' Candlewick Press"
''

'', London, 11 March 2011. Retrieved on 14 March 2012. charities,Eyre, Charlotte
"Unicef to distribute free board books in Scotland"
''

'', London, 17 July 2014. Retrieved on 1 August 2017. and other organisations. In North America, many of the company's illustrated book titles were published under an imprint of the same name by

Candlewick Press Candlewick Press, established in 1992 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is part of the Walker Books group. The logo depicting a bear carrying a candle is based on Walker Books's original logo. History Sebastian Walker launched Walker Boo ...

, and in Australia, Nosy Crow books are distributed by

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It became one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and established an Australian ...

. In November 2012, the company made headlines by creating an instant picture book edition of the

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

Christmas television advert, in partnership with John Lewis. The company has since produced picture book editions of several further John Lewis Christmas television adverts, in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. In September 2014, the company announced a partnership with

The National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

, to publish a jointly-branded children's book list, and in October 2015, Nosy Crow announced a second partnership with

The British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

for another jointly-branded children's book list. In June 2023, Nosy Crow announced their third partnership with

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

for another jointly-branded children's book list.

Awards

Since being established, Nosy Crow has won a number of awards, both for its books and apps, and as a company. These include:

Business Awards

* British Book Awards: Children's Publisher of the Year 2025, Independent Publisher of the Year 2020, Children's Publisher of the Year 2019, Children's Publisher of the Year 2017 * IPG Independent Publishing Awards: Publiship International Award 2025, Clays Children’s Publisher of the Year 2023; Zebralution Audio Award 2022; Marketing Award 2019; International Achievement Award 2018; Children’s Publisher of the Year 2017; Independent Publisher of the Year, Children's Publisher of the Year 2016; Digital Marketing Award, Young Independent Publisher of the Year 2015; Digital Marketing Award, International Achievement of the Year 2014; Children's Publisher of the Year, International Achievement of the Year 2013; Newcomer of the Year, Children's Publisher of the Year, Innovation of the Year 2012 *

Queen's Award for Enterprise Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * "Queens" (song), a 2018 song by Saara Aalto * ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984 * "Queens", ...

: International Trade 2018 * Stationers’ Company Innovation Excellence Award - June 2014 * Nectar Small Business Award: Small Business of the Year - September 2014Carpenter, Carolin
"Nosy Crow wins Nectar business award"
''

'', London, 4 September 2014. * Growing Business Award: Young Company of the Year - November 2014Ruthven, Hunte
"Xtrac's Peter Digby roars to success at the Growing Business Awards"
''Real Business'', London, 25 November 2014. Retrieved on 26 November 2014. * Mumpreneur Award: Inspirational Business Mum (Kate Wilson) - October 2011

Book Awards

* Waterstones Children's Gift of the Year (I Am The Seed That Grew The Tree: A Nature Poem For Every Day Of The Year) - November 2018 * Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Award: Children’s Book of the Year (Where's Mr Lion?) - August 2017 * UKLA Book Award: 3 to 6 Category (There's a Bear on My Chair) - June 2017 * Tir Na n-Og Award: Best English language children's book (Sweet Pizza) - June 2017"Tir na n-Og awards Past Winners"

Welsh Books Council The Books Council of Wales (; previously known as the Welsh Books Council) is a literature advocacy organisation in Wales. It was established in 1961, and today it is funded by the Welsh Government. The council's aims are to promote the interest ...

, 1 June 2017. Retrieved on 1 August 2017. * Amnesty CILIP Greenaway Honour (There's a Bear on My Chair) - June 2016 * Children's Book Award: Overall Winner (My Headteacher is a Vampire Rat) - May 2016 * British Book Industry Award: Children's Book of the Year (My Brother is a Superhero) - May 2016 * Waterstones Children's Book Prize: Overall Winner (My Brother is a Superhero) - March 2016 * Tir Na n-Og Award: Best English language children's book (Cow Girl) - May 2015 * Blue Peter Book Award: Best Story (The Spy Who Loved School Dinners) - March 2015 * Waterstones Children's Book Prize: Picture Book Category Winner (Open Very Carefully) - April 2014

App Awards

* FutureBook Awards: Best Children’s Digital Book (Goldilocks and Little Bear) - December 2016; Best Children’s Digital Book (Snow White) - December 2015; Best Children's Fiction Digital Book (Jack and the Beanstalk), Most Inspiring Digital Publishing Person (Kate Wilson) - November 2014;"Nosy Crow, Profile and PRH among FutureBook's innovation winners"
''

'', London, 14 November 2014. Retrieved on 17 November 2014. Best Children's Digital Book (Rounds: Parker Penguin) - November 2013; Best Children's App (Cinderella) - December 2011 * UKLA Digital Book Awards: Digital Book Award (Goldilocks and Little Bear) - June 2016; Digital Book Award (Axel Scheffler’s Flip Flap Safari) - July 2015 * Booktrust Best Book Award: Best Tech (Little Red Riding Hood) - July 2014 * Publishing Innovation Award: App — Juvenile (Cinderella) - January 2012 * KAPi Award: Children's Book App or eBook (Cinderella) - January 2012 * iLounge Award: iPad Kid's App of the Year (Cinderella) - November 2011

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Official website
2010 establishments in England Children's book publishers