Affirm Press
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Book publishing |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Martin Hughes, Graeme Wise |
| Headquarters | Melbourne , Australia |
Key people | Martin Hughes (CEO and Publishing Director), Keiran Rogers (Sales and Finance Director), Graeme Wise |
| Products | Books (non-fiction, fiction, children's books) |
Number of employees | 6 (national sales team, 2023) |
Affirm Press operates as a book publishing company headquartered in Melbourne.
History
Established in 2010 initially as a part-time initiative by Martin Hughes, who previously served as editor of The Big Issue, alongside Graeme Wise, the founder of The Body Shop Australia, Affirm Press transitioned into a full-time publishing enterprise in 2014 following the recruitment of Keiran Rogers as Sales and Marketing Director.
Affirm Press offers a wide array of non-fiction works and selected fiction titles, introducing a children's collection in 2017. Each year, the publisher collaborates with charitable organizations to create profit-driven books that have generated substantial funds through popular releases such as Letters of Love (Alannah & Madeline Foundation), The Silver Sea by Alison Lester and Jane Godwin, and From Little Things Big Things Grow by Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody.
In September 2024, Simon & Schuster Australia revealed plans to acquire Affirm Press.
Awards
Affirm Press received the Small Publisher of the Year award at the Australian Book Industry Awards in 2019 and was shortlisted for Publisher of the Year in 2024. Numerous titles from the publisher have been honored with prestigious awards.
In 2021, Pip Williams' The Dictionary of Lost Words secured several accolades including the ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year, Indie Book Awards Book of the Year and Debut Fiction, ABA Booksellers' Choice Adult Fiction, MUD Literary Prize for Best Debut Novel, and the People's Choice Award at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. It was also a finalist for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards Christina Stead Prize for Fiction as well as the UK Walter Scott Historical Prize.
That same year, Amelia Mellor's The Grandest Bookshop in the World won both the ABIA Book of the Year for Younger Children and the NSW Premier's Literary Award Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature. It was nominated for several other honors including the ARA Historical Novel Prize (Children and Young Adult), Readings' Children's Fiction Prize, and Speech Pathology Australia's Book of the Year (8-10 years).
In 2023, Mellor’s The Bookseller's Apprentice earned the ARA Historical Novel Prize: Children and Young Adult. It was also shortlisted for the ABIA Book of the Year for Younger Children (7-12), Book People Awards Children's Book of the Year, Readings' Children's Prize, and longlisted for the Indie Book Awards in the Children's category.
Pip Williams’ The Bookbinder of Jericho was awarded ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year and Marketing Strategy of the Year in 2024. Additionally, it was shortlisted for both the Indie Book Awards and Dymocks Book of the Year. In 2023, it received Booktopia’s Best Overall Book Award and appeared on the longlist for the ARA Historical Novel Prize.
Additional distinguished recognitions include winning the Stella Prize with The Strays by Emily Bitto, receiving the Booksellers Choice Award for The Birdman’s Wife by Melissa Ashley, and securing The Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Picture Book of the Year with A Walk in the Bush by Gwyn Perkins. In August 2018, Affirm Press published Christian White’s debut novel The Nowhere Child, making him Australia's fastest-selling debut novelist on record.
Corporate affairs
Ownership of Affirm Press is shared equally among Martin Hughes (CEO and Publishing Director), Keiran Rogers (Sales and Finance Director), and Graeme Wise.
In 2023, the company formed a national sales team consisting of six members, supported by Hachette New Zealand, while Alliance Distribution Services manages its distribution.
Affirm Press serves as the representative for multiple international publishers within Australia and New Zealand, including The Experiment, School of Life, Gemini Books, David Fickling Books, New Dawn, Little Book Press, along with two Lighthouse accounts.
The publisher actively licenses rights to foreign publishers as well as to audio and film production companies. It collaborates with Kaplan/DeFiore Rights Agency based in New York City and Rights People located in London.