Pavilion

In celebration of International Women’s Day and the publication of Secret Voices: A Year of Women’s Diaries we’re offering 3 lucky winners the chance to win some exciting prizes!

Win a copy of Secret Voices: A Year of Women’s Diaries, edited by Sarah Gristwood, a copy of Such a Sweet Singing, edited by Kirsty Gunn, and some beautiful Secret Voices merch including this gorgeous matching tote bag!

These important treasuries of women’s writing explore the daily experience of womanhood throughout the ages.

Such A Sweet Singing is a transformative collection of poetry spanning themes of love, friendship, desire, hardship and responsibility.

Secret Voices: A Year of Women’s Diaries is a decadent collection of women diarists sharing their inner most thoughts and feelings across four centuries.

To enter, fill in the form below. The competition is open to UK residents until 31 March 2024.

Good luck!

B.T. Batsford Ltd has appointed Eoghan O’Brien as their Art Director. Working at the heart of Batsford’s creative department, he is responsible for the design of the publisher’s diverse range of 40+ titles a year.

Eoghan has nearly 20 years of experience working in graphic design and the publishing industry. He honed his skills working as a graphic designer at Hachette for 9 years, before founding the independent design company Wide Open Studio, which specialised in producing books, presentations, series identities, art direction and packaging for UK and international publishers and brands.

Eoghan said: ‘I am delighted to bring my skills and experience to the role of Art Director at Batsford and to work with the team to develop their excellent reputation for beautiful, well-considered commercial publishing.’

Batsford’s Managing Director David Graham said: ‘We are already enjoying the impact of Eoghan’s design skills and look forward to him adding further lustre to the already outstanding looking Batsford books.’

Founded in 1843, B.T. Batsford Ltd is an award-winning independent publisher of beautiful, illustrated books in categories including Architecture and Design, Nature, Gardening and Lifestyle, Craft and Textile Art, Poetry and Literary Gift, Heritage and Folklore.

We’re delighted to announce that three Batsford titles have been shortlisted in three different categories for The Creative Book Awards 2024.

The Creative Book Awards, established in 2021 strives to showcases the books that are ‘integral to the craft industry’ in over 20 different categories. It’s 2024 judging panel includes writer, broadcaster and journalist Gyles Brandreth, known for his collection of novelty jumpers as well as quilt designer and contestant of The Great British Sewing Bee, Stuart Hillard.

Our shortlisted titles are:

Simple Weave by Kerstin Neumüller for Best Mixed Media Book

Textile Portraits by Anne Kelly for Best Sewing Book

And Maggie Magoo’s Amazing Alphabet by Maggie Magoo Designs for Best Colouring Book

A big congratulations to our shortlisted authors!

Keep your eyes peeled for winners and runners up to be announced on 19 February 2024. The full shortlist can be viewed from The Creative Book Awards craft websites.

All three books are available on our website as well as all good bookstores.

Following Batsford’s recent acquisition of Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers, the company is excited to announce new appointments and promotions within the team.

Anna Danby has been appointed Publishing Director of Scala, starting on 9 January. Anna has over 10 years’ experience working at SJH Group, where among other roles she led their art and architecture imprints Black Dog Press and Artifice Press.

Batsford Managing Director David Graham said: ‘We knew when we acquired Scala that we needed a really strong commercial leader to reinvigorate the UK-based programme, and we’re delighted to have found the ideal candidate to do just that, Anna comes with many years’ experience and a terrific track record in partnership publishing, and we are really looking forward to Anna bringing her commercial acumen and publishing skills to the Scala UK list.’

Anna Danby said: ‘I am thrilled to be joining Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers in the exciting and challenging role of Publishing Director. I look forward to building on Scala’s excellent reputation alongside the talented and knowledgeable team.’

Supporting Anna in her role is Katie Kennaway who has joined as Publishing Co-ordinator, working across Scala and Pitkin contract sales.

In editorial, Oliver Craske, who has been working for Scala in a freelance capacity re-joins the company as Editorial Director, while Claire Young has been promoted to the role of Editorial Manager. Completing the Scala UK editorial team are Project Editor Beth Holmes and newly appointed Editorial Assistant Tally de Orellana.

We’d like to thank you for all of your support this fabulous year and we hope you enjoy your exciting purchases from the Batsford Online Shop.

Any orders made between the 20th and 31st of December will be processed and sent in the New Year.

Please note that today is also your final day to receive your 25% launch discount on your first purchase!

Happy Christmas and happy reading!

Leading art and crafts publisher Batsford teams up with ten outstanding artists to offer full day workshops ranging from embroidery to collage, silk painting to weaving and patchwork. 

This January, The Batsford Gallery is hosting a series of exciting workshops with ten prominent textile and collage artists. Participants will have the opportunity to slow down and enjoy a day of mindful making, work with their hands, get intimate with materials and learn a new skill. From embroidery to collage, silk painting to weaving, cordage and patchwork, there’s something for everyone. 

Attendees will receive a beautiful box filled with the materials necessary for each workshop, a notebook, a 25% discount voucher on all books in The Batsford Shop and some surprises. Lunch and bottomless hot driks will also be provided for necessary creative fuel!

Each workshop is limited to 10 participants and aimed at adults, but teenagers over 14 years old accompanied by a participating adult are very welcome to join.

The perfect Christmas gift experience for all lovers of craft!

WHEN:

17—28 January 2024

WHERE:

The Batsford Gallery, 266 Hackney Rd,  London E2 7SJ

PRICE:

Each workshop is individually priced. Purchase tickets and find out more about each workshop here.

SCHEDULE:

17 January 2024:

—Introduction to Frame Weaving with Dalia James. Book here.

18 January 2024:

—Cordage and Looping with Repurposed Materials with Alice Fox. Book here.

19 January 2024:

—Introduction to Chicken Scratch Embroidery and Hand Beaded Rings with Miesje Chafer. Book here.

20 January 2024:

—A Stitch Drawn with Richard McVetis. Book here.

21 January 2024

—Hand Stitch a Quilted Wallhanging with Jessie Cutts. Book here.

24 January 2024:

—Milk Carton to Collage with Lucie Summers. Book here.

25 January 2024:

—Screen printing and Fabric Printing with Victoria Richards. Book here.

26 January 2024:

—Data Storytelling in Stitch with Jordan Cunliffe. Book here.

27 January 2024:

—Abstract Collage with Jonathan Lawes. Book here.

28 January 2024:

—Freehand English Paper Piecing with Catherine-Marie Longtin. Book here.

Featured in the list of artists are Batsford Authors Alice Fox and Jordan Cunliffe.

Discover Alice Fox’s books ‘Wild Textiles’ and ‘Natural Processes in Textile Art’ and Jordan Cunliffe’s ‘Record, Map & Capture’

For enquiries, please contact:

Hattie Grylls gallery@batsfordbooks.com

Buy your ebooks directly from us and get a generous 25% discount. Whether you’re into architecture or chess, textiles or heritage – we have something for you.

The discount is applied automatically.

Ebooks bought directly from us can be read through the Glassboxx App on Android and IOS mobiles, tablets and on Kindle Fire. Read more about buying ebooks from us.

Leading art book publisher Batsford presents The Batsford Prize 2024. The award is open for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying at a UK institution, with over £4,500 of prizes to be won.

There are four categories to enter, with a £300 cash prize for the winner of each category:

• Applied Art and Textiles
• Fine Art
• Illustration
• Children’s Illustration
• Plus: £300 cash prize for the overall winner

THE THEME

The theme for the Batsford Prize 2024 is ‘Gravity’.

We are looking for entries that show innovative and well-crafted interpretations of the theme, in terms of subject or materials used, or a combination of the two. There is no restriction on the medium used, and we accept both entries that have been made as a part of coursework as well as personal work.

‘Winning the Batsford Prize has been a major steppingstone in my newfound confidence of my design work. … It is my biggest creative achievement to date and an experience I will never forget!’

– Pia Elliot, Winner, Batsford Prize 2022, Applied Art & Textiles

THE PRIZES

There are over £4,500 worth of prizes to be won!

• £300 cash prize for the winner of each category, including the overall winner award.
• £100 worth of Batsford books for the winners and £300 worth of books for their college.
• £50 worth of books for two runners up in each category.
• All shortlisted candidates will be invited to exhibit their entries at the Batsford Gallery in May 2024.

Entries will be accepted on Zealous from end of February 2024, a link will be provided.

Deadline for entries is 25 March 2024.

More information on how to enter here.

‘Having the chance of exhibiting your work in a London gallery as shortlisted is reason enough to enter the Batsford Prize. But whether your work gets selected or not, it will be seen by our judging panel of professional artists and illustrators. That in itself is important, so do enter the Batsford Prize! Good luck!’

– Vaughan Grylls, Batsford Prize judge and chairman at Batsford.

B.T. Batsford Ltd is delighted to announce the acquisition of Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers and its subsidiary Scala Arts Publishers Inc. bringing together two companies with long and distinguished publishing histories.

Scala specialises in producing illustrated books for museums, galleries and heritage sites around the world, and in the United States under the wholly owned subsidiary Scala Arts Publishers Inc. Batsford is a niche illustrated publishing business and its subsidiary, Pitkin Books, partners primarily with cathedrals and UK based heritage sites.

The Scala and Batsford team gathered in the Batsford courtyard for a celebratory breakfast.

Polly Powell, owner of Batsford said: ‘The combined forces of Scala, Pitkin and Batsford make complete sense. Between them, they are the leading suppliers of guidebooks into the heritage industry. I have long been an admirer of Scala and I look forward to seeing how the businesses – both with high design and editorial strengths – complement each other over the next few years as we develop this side of our publishing. We are delighted to welcome Katie Channon to the board of B.T. Batsford as a non-Executive Director where her experience will be greatly valued across the wider business.’

Katie Channon, Director of Scala said: ‘I care passionately about the future of Scala, a company that my late husband Henry Channon championed for many years. I believe Batsford to be the perfect home for it, and I am excited to see how the business develops. I am delighted that MD Jenny McKinley, whose input over the many years has been invaluable, stays with the company until January. I am looking forward to working with the team, including MD David Graham, Chairman John Stachiewicz and Polly Powell at Batsford.’

The deal was brokered by Batsford MD, David Graham and Piers Russell-Cobb of MediaFund on behalf of Robin Howard and Scala’s Board of Trustees.

We are thrilled to announce that Rosamunde Pilcher’s Cornwall by author Gill Knappett has won the Gorsedh Kernow’s Holyer an Gof Awards 2023!

From the elegance of the grand salons of Prideaux Place, Padstow’s most stately of homes, to the wild and remote Cornish coastline, Rosamunde Pilcher captured in her novels Cornwall’s unique, diverse beauty and compelling charm.

Born and raised near St Ives, Rosamunde Pilcher published her first novel at the age of 25, and Cornwall remained her long-standing inspiration as the wild and diverse setting of most of her novels. This gorgeous Pitkin guidebook brings to life the key areas and places that inspired Pilcher’s writing with beautiful images to illustrate the vast landscapes and quaint towns.

Clamber down the steep Bedruthan Steps and enjoy the traditional Cornish welcome in the beautiful harbour town of St Ives. St Michael’s Mount, one of the most famous sights in Cornwall, sits majestically off shore while the sound of the waves battering the coasting is a key element in enjoying a visit t oLand’s End. These sites and many more informed Pilcher’s writing, making her novels and short stories some of the most popular and cherished around the world and have been adapted into several television shows.

Explore Cornwall’s glorious landscape with this award-winning guidebook this summer!

Rosamunde Pilcher’s Cornwall | £6.00

Gill Knappett is an author with a wealth of experience in writing about Royal Family and the history of British Royalty. She is the author of The Crown’s Royal Britain, The Princess of Cambridge and The History of Royal Britain in 100 Objects. For over 20 years she has worked on numerous Pitkin guidebooks, specialising in royal titles and many of Britain’s best-loved places to visit.

ABOUT THE AWARD

Rosamunde Pilcher’s Cornwall won the Gorsedh Kernow’s Holyer an Gof award for Category 6 – Booklets at the prize-giving event on Saturday 15th July 2023.

The annual Gorsedh Kernow Holyer an Gof Awards were instigated in 1996 for books published in 1995 and are so named in memory of Redruth publisher and Cornish Bard Leonard Truran, whose Bardic name was Holyer an Gof – Follower of The Smith. The scheme was established and is organised by Bards of Gorsedh Kernow to promote books about Cornwall, set in Cornwall or in Cornish (Kernewek).

Find out more about the Holyer an Gof award here.

 

Come along to this talk at Battersea Bookshop where Chris Romer-Lee will talk about his new book Sea Pools: 66 Saltwater Sanctuaries from Around the World. He’ll take us on a tour around some of the world’s best and most interesting sea pools and explores why we love them.

From the origins of sea bathing as a cure for most ailments, and the construction of one-person tidal baths through to the largest pools in South Africa and Australia, Chris will dive into the social history of these precious man made resources.

Naturally refreshed by the tide, tidal, ocean and sea pools have been built the world over as a way to provide safe access to the vitamin rich oceans that surround us. But these saltwater sanctuaries are brimming full of stories. From the apartheid pools in South Africa to the pools that were built in Scotland to rival most others in the UK.

After a turbulent recent history, tidal pools are back in demand and new pools are popping up from Scandinavia to Australia. What will the next generation of pools look like and how will they satisfy our clamour for the outdoors?

Doors will open at 6.30pm

Tickets £7

Include a complimentary glass of wine/ soft drink and 15% discount on any book in the shop when purchased on the evening

About the author:

Chris Romer-Lee is the co-founder of architecture practice Studio Octopi. Chris was swimming in Lake Zurich when the idea for re-introducing swimming in the Thames was conceived as Thames Baths. He’s been working on tidal pool restoration projects in Scotland, a lido in Cumbria as well as on swim sites abroad. The Scotsman has named him ‘a global tidal pool expert’. Chris regularly appears on radio and TV to discuss outdoor swimming. Since 2013 Chris has spoken at TEDx KPMG, Centre for London Conference, Somerset House, V&A for London Design Festival and many more. Chris lives in London and swims every morning at the Serpentine in Hyde Park.

Sea Pools: 66 saltwater sanctuaries from around the world by Chris Romer-Lee is published by Batsford.

Image credits:

Chris Romer-Lee, photograph by Michael White

Chapel Porth seapool, Chapel Rock, Perranporth, Cornwall, photograph by Carl Brightman

Join Lisa Azarmi at the Bloomsbury Festival this year for a talk on her newly-published book An Apothecary of Art to soothe your soul.

Welcome on a transformative journey exploring emotions and how the healing power of art can promote personal growth. Lisa Azarmi, founder of social media sensation Ravenous Butterflies, shares her own life experiences and will immerse you in a soothing blend of paintings and prose from her debut title An Apothecary of Art. Set up at a time in Lisa’s life when things were difficult, Ravenous Butterflies was designed to provide a safe sanctuary for emotional wellbeing through inspiring art and uplifting quotes.

In this illustrated talk, Lisa explores a range of emotional journeys that many of us will go through at some point in life and how art can be harnessed to lift the spirit, calm the mind and heal the soul.

About the book

An Apothecary of Art is the ethos of Ravenous Butterflies presented in a beautifully produced book. Readers are invited to take a transformative journey to improve their mental wellbeing through 24 emotional journeys that suggests routes in which to navigate the pages, from grief and loss to optimism, friendship and self-love.

Within its pages are the works of world-renowned masters and the paintings of lesser-known talents paired with uplifting thoughts from great poets, writers and thinkers. Readers will encounter paintings from the likes of Amedeo Modigliani, Hasui Kawase, and Berthe Morisot with accompanying words from voices including Sappho, Pablo Neruda and Harriet Tubman.

An Apothecary of Art | £18.99

About the author

Ravenous Butterflies is a popular and unique art and literature blog, which began as a Facebook page in 2013 and has since generated a devoted global fanbase. With a huge following on Facebook and Instagram, the Ravenous Butterflies brand is a transformative source of wellbeing to millions.

Lisa Azarmi is the founder of Ravenous Butterflies. She is also a practising artist, journalist, poet, curator, founding member of South London Arts Lab and founding editor of MÜ Magazine. She is a fine art graduate from Goldsmiths and believes that art is not just a luxury for the few, but has a universal power to sustain positive mental health. She lives in Surrey and is available for interview.

About Bloomsbury Festival

Bloomsbury Festival is an annual celebration of the area’s creativity, presenting an inspiring programme of culture, arts, science, literature, performance, discussion and debate. The programme includes an exciting mix of contemporary arts, music, performance, theatre, science displays, talks, walks and community events.

The festival programme has over 100 events including theatre, music, exhibitions, talks and walks. The events are presented by numerous creative partners from our unique Bloomsbury local community which includes leading universities, communities from across the world, a high proportion of young people both resident and visiting students, talent emerging from our leading art, theatre and music academies, and some of the country’s leading science and medical teams.

Our 2023 theme Grow has a direct relationship to the talent development opportunities we offer as well as to our wide and varied programme of music, theatre, art, walks and talks which make up our festival events, all of which have been inspired by one of many interpretations of the theme, and by our New Bloomsbury Set project -a cultural reimagining of Bloomsbury in the 21st century.

Find out more here.

Explore Bloomsbury Festival’s Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for inspiration and further information.

#BloomsburyFest