The UK leads the world in greeting cards, both in design and per capita send – The Henries awards celebrate this pre-eminence.

The finalists in The Henries 2008 awards have been announced - the cream of the crop from the 15,000 greeting cards that were entered. (see Finalists 2008). Some 200 different UK card publishers entered The Henries this year (a record number) and each entry was judged by a panel of esteemed greeting card retail buyers. (To learn more about the judging process and the judging panel see Finalists and scrowl down).

Named after Sir Henry Cole (who introduced the first commercially produced Christmas card over 160 years ago), The Henries were introduced by Progressive Greetings Worldwide magazine in 1996 as annual awards to shine the spotlight on greeting card ranges.

The Henries are the ultimate accolades in greeting card publishing.

The Henries award categories span the whole gambit of greeting card publishing – from humour to cute, art to handmade and everything in between. (See Categories)
The majority of the awards are for card ranges that have either been launched in the preceding year or for new designs to an existing range.The Henries awards are open to all UK publishers from the largest multi-national to the smallest one-man band.

All entries are judged by an extensive panel comprising top retail buyers from right across the retail spectrum including specialist multiples, design-led independents, small groups, department store selectors, supermarket buyers etc.

The Henries winners are unveiled at THE big night in the greeting card industry calendar attended by 1,000 people from all walks of the card trade – including a myriad of publishers, retailers, artists, overseas distributors, and suppliers. (This year The Henries 2008 extravaganza is on Thursday October 9 at The Royal Lancaster Hotel in London). (See Tickets)