A guide to incorporating natural materials and fostering experimentation in woven projects.

In Wild Weave, textile artist Alice Fox encourages an open-minded and playful approach to creating beautiful and innovative woven artworks. Alice promotes the idea of engaging with simple tools and technology, as well as making use of locally sourced and unconventional materials, all of which can produce exciting results.

Packed full of introductory information, the book covers everything from the historical background of weaving to how it crosses boundaries between textiles, basketry, art and craft. She includes an introduction to frames, heddles and other simple tools, explaining how you can use the most basic equipment including found, home-made and re-purposed structures.

Packed with practical advice and beautiful photography of the artist’s own work, Wild Weave covers:

• Sourcing materials and an introduction to equipment.

• Weaving on frames, in the round, three-dimensionally and ephemerally.

• Examples of weave-based ideas for recording landscape and ‘spirit of place’.

• Techniques for working with alternative materials, which may be rigid or fragile.

This book is ideal for anyone wanting to develop their textile art practice to include natural materials, or for newcomers seeking inspiration without the requirements of expensive tools or materials.

This fascinating anthology is a dive into the personal letters of some of the brightest literary minds in history. 

This collection is a look into the personal lives of some of the world’s most beloved poets, novelists, and playwrights. Take a peek into their correspondence, where you might be surprised what you learn. The letters contain wisdom and life lessons from the likes of John Keats and Oscar Wilde, as well as shared feelings of loneliness from Charlotte Brontë, loss from Ovid, and love from George Eliot.

With one letter for every day of the year, you can start or end your day with words from some of the brightest minds that ever put pen to paper. This is a collection with emotional, historical and literary significance, helping us to understand some of our favourites even further.

This anthology spans the centuries from the classic to the contemporary, and includes Ignatius Sancho, Jane Austen, William Wordsworth, the Brontës, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, Maya Angelou, and many more.

A guide to finding, researching and using historical textiles in your stitched work, to bring layers of meaning and a rich sense of emotional connection through place and time.

Renowned textile artist and tutor Hannah Lamb frequently uses and is inspired by old fabrics in her work, from age-worn cotton and linen sheets to delicate lace collars, vintage patchwork to snippets of colourful printed silk. In this book she explores many creative ways to incorporate historical textiles into your own work, from first conception and initial research to the finished piece. Chapters cover:

• Unfolding: how to track down historical textiles in shops, markets, antiques fairs, museum collections and online, or in your own family scrap bag, and how to conduct thorough and meaningful research into them.

• Connecting: how to design and plan your work with historical textiles, starting with mood boards and sketchbooks and progressing to practical creative experimentation, including old-fashioned techniques such as the ‘prick and pounce’ method of pattern transfer, popular in Tudor times.

• Making: the practicalities of using old and fragile materials in your work, and how to combine them with newer fabrics to make cohesive and beautiful pieces that tell powerful stories. This chapter also explores alternative ideas, such as digital printing, that allow you to import the fabric’s essence but leave the original piece intact.

• Gathering: this chapter considers examples of contemporary artworks that respond to textile heritage and place, and studies how we tell histories and whose perspective we tell them from.

This thoughtful, imaginative book is illustrated with inspirational examples of the author’s own work and that of other leading textile artists, and provides a valuable introduction to working with historical textiles to enhance your own pieces of textile art.

Elsewhere is the definitive oral history of British skateboarding. Told chronologically from the beginning of its identity shift to the start of the new millennium, the book explores the lasting influence British skateboarding continues to have on fashion, film, photography, art and media. 

While British skateboarders moved the sport away from its Californian roots, embracing a different terrain with skaters in the north taking to ramps in abandoned warehouses and in the south skating the streets of new developments, the story of skateboarding in the UK goes far beyond the act of riding a board. As important were the cottage industries of clothes manufacture, photography, filmmaking and zine production which were inspired by British skateboarders: many of which are now multi-million-pound brands which regulate mainstream culture today. 

Suitable not only for skaters but for anyone interested in film, fashion and photography, Elsewhere tells the story of skateboarding in the UK during the pivotal era of 1987–2002 when the British iteration of the sport developed its own unique identity and subsequently went on to inspire and transform global popular culture. 

From mermaids to dragons, 16 ancient Celtic fairy tales retold with their histories

The Celtic cultures of the British Isles – Ireland, Scotland and Wales – have produced some of the richest traditional tales in Europe. Three words best sum up their themes and flavour: adventure, enchantment and romance. 

In this book, Rosalind Kerven has revived the best Celtic fairy tales for a new generation. The stories are sourced from old folk tale collections from all three regions, alongside selected medieval Welsh and Irish texts. 

• Visit mysterious Otherworlds inside the hills and below the sea – including a land where only the truth is ever spoken.

• Meet iconic characters such as the first great Welsh poet, Taliesin, and the mighty Irish hero, Fionn mac Cumhaill.

• Cheer on bold Scots lasses such as Mallie Whuppy, as she outwits a fearsome giant, and Kate Crackernuts, who rescues a prince from bewitchment.

• Encounter witches, fairies, a bogle, talking animals and strange underwater beings.

Each story is retold from the medieval texts and oral storytelling traditions of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with fascinating background notes and a long list of sources and further reading included. The background notes feature a list of source material, analyses of themes, and examples of similar legends from all over Europe.

Take the trip of a lifetime through poetry, journalism, historical fact, and science fiction with this daily anthology of travel writing.

Travelling’s never been easier. Wherever you are, find yourself somewhere else with the newest anthology in the Batsford Bedside Companion series. Journey through different eras, continents and points of view, with one entry for each day of the year. Whether you’re in need of inspiration, you want to manifest your dream trip, or you just need a break, climb aboard and let some of the best travel writers of all time whisk you away to intriguing new lands.

This collection is perfect for anyone who loves to travel, explore, and learn.

• Travel from Middle America to Peru with Bill Bryson, Jack Kerouac, and Michael Bond.

• See what the world has to offer, from Venetian Regattas to Iranian hospitality.

• Discover how others have moved through the world, from cities on foot with Lauren Elkin to countryside biking with Dervla Murphy, driving through Russia with Colin Thubron and waiting at railway stations with Bishwanath Ghosh.

• From London to Timbuktu via the Gobi Desert and the Brazilian Jungle, there’s poetry, travel guides, memoir, fiction and more as far as the eye can see.

Swap your backpack for this book to keep by your bedside, and start or end your days with a trip to wherever you desire.

Celebrate love with this daily anthology of poetry with one entry for every day of the year. From well-known classics to modern fresh takes, Poetry of Love for Every Day of the Year explores love in all its forms.

Love is such a uniquely human feeling which has made it an inexhaustible subject for writers across the ages. There are so many meanings for this one word – it can evoke friends, family, romance or a sense of home. Everyone has their own attachments and associations, which is what makes this collection so fascinating.

Among the 366 poems are Shakespeare’s classic sonnets, Ocean Vuong’s experiences of young queer love, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s ode to her dog, Charlotte Mew dealing with loss, and much, much more. With a wide range of voices spanning across the world through many centuries, this anthology explores how love can mean so many things and how it connects us all. 

This is the newest title in Batsford’s highly popular Poetry Anthology series, and is the perfect bedside companion for late night reading or morning meditation. 

This poetry anthology provides a bright and cheery way to start your day, with one joyful poem for every morning of the year.

Whether you wake up to the chirping of birds or stumble out the door in a last minute rush, it’s important to take some time for yourself in the mornings to boost your mood. Before stepping into the day, prepare yourself with a jolly poem. You could allow the poem that has been selected for that date to soothe you, to excite you, to motivate you: whatever your needs, have a meditative morning moment with a happy poem to set yourself up for a successful day.

With one happy poem for every single day of the year, keep this book by your bedside for a serotonin boost upon waking, on the kitchen counter for a pick-me-up while your coffee brews, or in your rucksack for a moment of (rare) commuting joy. With a delightful illustration for every month and a vast range of poems, it’ll be easy to find something that sparks joy within you. From the timeless phrasing of John Keats and Rumi to the celebratory observations of Wendy Cope OBE and Pulitzer Prize Winner Rita Dove, there’ll be a moment of delight ready and waiting, just for you.

A landmark survey of how textiles have been used for political protest in the 20th and 21st centuries, including banners, flags, clothing and pieces from the world of fine art.

Textile Protest showcases the richness and diversity of textiles that have been used to express resistance in its many forms. Protest textiles can be confrontational and explicit, satirical and subversive or ironic and humorous, and can be used to bridge gaps following conflicts, or to challenge the contentious issues of language, ideology or imbalances of power. Whether for social justice or peace, to demonstrate opposition to oppression or to celebrate liberty, to honour hope and equality or to express solidarity with others, people have made and united behind protest textiles for hundreds of years. This book forms a valuable history of their use.

The book is thoughtfully illustrated with examples that include heavily embroidered suffragette and trade union banners, the knitted pussyhats of the 2017 Women’s March, protest textiles from the Guerrilla Girls, Pride flags that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, and the vast variety of textile art in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. It also covers the rich history of fine art textiles with a political theme, such as Judy Chicago’s iconic 1970s installation The Dinner Party, and includes interviews with prominent activist artists that give further insight into the way everyday materials can be repurposed to create arresting political art.

Bold and subversive, beautiful and fascinating, Textile Protest is an important global exploration of how fabric has been used to make a political statement over the years.

Chess is fun! This follow-up to the bestselling Batsford Book of Chess for Children is a lively collection of chess puzzles, games and activities, guaranteed to increase your child’s enjoyment of the game while improving their skills and deepening their understanding.

In conversational text aimed at children aged 7 and up, meet our two chess-obsessed heroes Jess and Jamie as they address the reader in a straightforward and relatable way, and are this time joined by their friends Harry and Marnie, who love chess just as much as they do!

Explore fun problems and puzzles such as the Box ’Em In Challenge, easy chess variants such as Three Check Chess and Progressive Chess, a heap of guess-the-next-move quizzes, and revision pages to help remind children of the chess basics.

This book works well as a companion to Chess for Children but also as a standalone activity book. Whether your child is just beginning to learn chess or already gripped by the game, Chess for Children Activity Book will help you encourage their interest and make learning chess a real pleasure.

A compact collection of 100 supremely jolly poems to cheer you up wherever you are.

We can all benefit from a portable little nugget of happiness to soothe our weary souls in moments of stress, sadness and hardship. 100 Happy Poems gives you exactly that: 100 specially selected and sublimely happy poems to turn to in times of need, from cosy fireside idylls to exhilarating outdoor adventures, encounters with the beauty of nature, interactions with our fellow humans, and moments of quiet reflection.

This little bit of happiness is always on hand, and it includes uplifting words from some of the greatest poets ever to put pen to paper, from Emily Brontë wandering on the moors and Paul Laurence Dunbar welcoming his beloved to Katherine Mansfield reliving a childhood moment, Wendy Cope sharing an orange, and Algernon Charles Swinburne chatting to his cat.

Quirkily and colourfully designed, this wonderful book is the perfect way to lift your spirits in times of turmoil. Keep it in your pocket, bag or desk drawer for an instant dose of joy when you are in need of a boost. 

A brand new colouring collection from number 1 bestselling illustrator Millie Marotta, exploring wildlife conservation – a subject very close to her heart.

This gorgeous book features 77 amazing animals and plants from around the world to colour, with a focus on endangered and vulnerable species. Containing a rich mix of wildlife from the much-loved snow leopard to the adorable axolotl, from the vibrant ladybird spider to the otherworldly galaxy frog, it’s a celebration of creatures that are currently at risk but that humanity is making efforts to save.

Use your pencils or pens to bring colourful life to a wealth of wonderful wildlife, all rendered in Millie’s beautifully intricate style, including:

• Big beasts like the Javan rhino, the Bactrian camel and the elusive mountain gorilla.

• Treasures of the sea: the dugong, the mini blue bee shrimp and the northern right whale.

• Beautiful birds: the northern lapwing, the Ocarito kiwi and the fearsome bearded vulture.

• The insects that pollinate our world: many different bumblebee species, the purple skimmer dragonfly and the Madeiran brimstone butterfly.

• ‘Lazarus species’, thought to be extinct but now discovered in the world, such as the Cuban solenodon and the night parrot, and a few long-extinct and near-mythological animals – the woolly mammoth and the sabre-tooth tiger.

Printed on high-quality paper with minimal show-through, suitable for all sorts of colouring media, this is a glorious treasury of the wildlife we don’t want to lose.