Penguin UK
Penguin Reveals the Secrets of the Secret Service
The publication of The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized History of MI5 by Professor Christopher Andrew, Britain's leading historian of intelligence, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History and former Chair of the Faculty of History at Cambridge University, was marked with star-studded press conference at the Penguin offices in November.
For most of its history, the Security Service (MI5) has seemed to outsiders a deeply mysterious organization. The Service, like the rest of the intelligence community, was told to stay as far from public view as possible. It was not until the passing of the Security Service Act (1989) that "the last taboo of British politics" was broken and the secret services were placed on a statutory footing.
In 2002, in preparation for its centenary, the Security Service decided to authorize an independent scholar to write an 'open' history of the Service and appointed Professor Christopher Andrew. He was given virtually unrestricted access to its files (almost 400,000 files, many of them multi-volume, a prospect he found "both thrilling and intimidating"). The book contains nearly 2000 references to previously unpublished documents in the Service archives and recollections of former Service officers. These, together with Christopher Andrew's unparalleled knowledge of the intelligence world, make The Defence Of The Realm the most authoritative history ever published of any of the world's leading secret services and shed new light on many different aspects of British, colonial and international history over the past 100 years.
Stuart Proffitt, Penguin Press Publishing Director, said of the book: "Absolutely no major intelligence organisation in the world has ever let an independent historian into its archives in this way. The book contains not only some very major news stories, but allows us to see for the first time in the round the role of this previously extremely secretive organisation in the history of Britain in the past century-through two world wars, the Cold War, and now the war against radical fundamentalist terrorists."
Simon Proffitt also described Defence of the Realm as "certainly one of the two or three most interesting" books he had worked on in his career.
On the day after publication, Penguin Press was thrilled to announce that The Defence Of The Realm had zoomed up to number one on Amazon, beating Dan Brown and Stieg Larsson. Not bad for a title costing £30 (RRP).
A Suitable Girl for Vikram Seth
Penguin acquired Vikram Seth's A Suitable Girl, the long-awaited sequel to the much- loved million copy bestseller A Suitable Boy, set in India just after Independence. A Suitable Girl will be published by Penguin (UK, India and Canada; the US rights are not yet for sale) in autumn 2013. In Seth's new book, he will bring the action of the narrative up to the present day, encompassing some of the enormous social and economic changes India has undergone in the last sixty years. Lata, the sparky and rebellious heroine of A Suitable Boy, is now a grandmother, and her grandson is the one in search of a good match.
2013 marks the twentieth anniversary of the publication of A Suitable Boy, which was a worldwide sensation. Penguin will put the book into its distinguished Modern Classics list and republish the book in paperback. In the intervening years, Penguin will also publish volumes of Vikram's poems and essays.
Vikram Seth said, "In India, all my books have for years been published by Penguin. But I am very happy today to be joining foreign colonies of the Flightless One. They have already made me feel very welcome, and I hope in time to hatch many suitable eggs with them."
Penguin imprint Hamish Hamilton bought World English Language rights (excluding the US) from Vikram's agent, David Godwin. This is the first worldwide acquisition by Hamish Hamilton UK, together with its newly formed imprints in Melbourne, Toronto and Delhi.
John Le Carré Makes an 'Unmissable' Move to Penguin
One of the UK's best-loved and best-selling authors is moving to Penguin with his next book. John le Carré, who has been published by Hodder for thirty-five years, is to publish his new novel with Viking next year. His backlist of twenty-one novels will also move to Penguin and become Penguin Modern Classics as the licenses expire over the coming years.
Le Carré's novels include the famous Karla trilogy (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People) and The Spy Who Came In from the Cold as well as more recent bestsellers such as The Constant Gardener - a hugely successful movie starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz. His last book, A Most Wanted Man, was number one in paperback earlier this year. His new thriller, which a small handful of us have read in draft, is just as exciting as the last. It will delight his fans and also offer us the chance to find new readers for this remarkable author, writing at the age of seventy-eight, at the height of his powers.
The new novel will be published in 2010 with the new simultaneous reissue of The Spy who Came in from the Cold and The Russia House in Penguin Modern Classics.
Le Carré said of the move, "It saddens me to be leaving Hodder after 38 loyal years before the mast, covering three changes of ownership. But the opportunity to see my life's work presented by a classic paperback house with a unique backlist is at this stage in my career unmissable."
Tom Weldon said, "We are thrilled to welcome John le Carré to Penguin. There are very few novelists writing today who combine such terrific narrative, unforgettable characters and an urgent engagement with our own times. I've been a le Carré fan for well over half my life and it is an honour that he is entrusting Penguin with his fabulous new novel and backlist."
Penguin Particular-ly Proud of New Imprint
Last year Penguin Press held an away day, when they talked about Allen Lane, and how its non-fiction publishing is focused on ideas and subjects we have to know about — Nassim Taleb on Black Swans for example. And yet there were books we had always published whose subjects were more fun to know about than essential to know about, like the secret meanings of nursery rhymes or the best Churches in England. Although close to Penguin's heart, subjects such as these sat somewhat oddly in the Allen Lane imprint.
So in July this year, we published the first titles in a new imprint: Particular Books. These books all contain full of fun-to-know information, where the voice of the author is charming and characterful, and the physical book will delight the reader. Our first list features old and new authors, writing on topics such as the collective nouns for animals, the history of pub names, or why Q is always followed by U. We hope the new imprint will open our eyes to publishing opportunities we might not have seen before, from what we think of acquiring to how and where we sell the books, where we hope to see them talked about, and what they look like, inside and out.
The first titles to come out of the Particular imprint are:
- Why Q Is Always Followed By U by Michael Quinion — Word-perfect answers to the most-asked questions about language.
- The Shell Country Alphabet by Geoffrey Grigson — From apple trees to stone circles; How to understand the British countryside.
- The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman — Showcasing the wonderful and varied sartorial tastes of real people.
- A Mess Of Iguanas by Alon Scholman — An amazement of animal facts.
- The Old Dog and Duck by Albert Jack — The secret meanings of pub names.
- The Wonder Of Whiffling by Adam Jacot de Boinod — a look at this and other extraordinary words in the English language.
- A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi — Charles Timoney's brilliant guide to sounding, acting and shrugging like the French.
Amazon Launches New Kindle with Penguin UK as a Leading Partner
British book fanatics are now able to get their hands on Amazon's popular Kindle electronic book reader, after the company unveiled the gadget internationally. The device was made available around the world on October 19, selling through the company's American website and shipping to the UK for $279 (£175). Although customers will have to order from the United States for the time being, Amazon plan to introduce a UK Kindle experience that will enable UK customers to purchase Kindle and Kindle books in sterling from Amazon.co.uk.
Penguin was a partner for the international launch, providing some 2,900 eBook titles for the Kindle catalogue. Initial sales reports are impressive with more than 4,500 eBooks sold in the UK in the first ten days alone. The Help by Kathryn Stockett was the bestselling Penguin UK title. John Makinson was quoted in Amazon's press release, saying: "Penguin is a leading supplier of digital books to Kindle in the U.S. and we are delighted to be extending that successful partnership to the rest of the world. The publishing industry is experiencing explosive growth in digital book sales in the U.S. and we hope to stimulate digital buying elsewhere by making our content widely available on new devices."
And Another Thing... Michael Joseph's Biggest Launch of the Year Takes Place on South Bank
Sunday 11th October saw scores of men, women and children loitering in dressing gowns on the Southbank... promenaders may have been left asking why, but inside the Royal Festival Hall the answer to this, life and the universe could be found. It was, of course, Hitchcon 09, a celebration of the 30th anniversary of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the launch of Eoin Colfer's 6th instalment to the series, And Another Thing . . .
Early birds got a chance to be part of a "photo call" of one of the largest group of Hitchhiker fans ever assembled, and there were plenty of events throughout the day to please old and new fans alike. The event had masses of press coverage with features in The Guardian, Telegraph, Metro and the Evening Standard. In addition to readings from Eoin Colfer, there was a live radio-style performance of excerpts from Douglas Adams's classic saga, with Clive Anderson and the original cast.
Penguin UK Children's
Puffin Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of one of the World's Bestselling Picture Books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle sells one copy every 30 seconds somewhere in the world, day and night. It has been translated into more than 45 languages and sold over 29 million copies. It is no surprise then that the 20th March, otherwise known as The Very Hungry Caterpillar's 40th birthday, was a huge country-wide success with people getting involved at every level—from Puffin HQ at 80 Strand to bookshops, libraries, schools and nurseries nationwide.
The day kicked off with a bang as the nation logged on to find the Google logo had been given the Caterpillar treatment, as designed by Eric Carle himself. The Penguin offices were buzzing with activity as the caterpillar himself made an appearance and birthday cake was served up in the canteen! In addition to celebrations at the Penguin offices, the anniversary was celebrated country-wide over the months following the special day.
A large number of Very Hungry Caterpillar products were launched: including new formats of the book for all price points and age-ranges (from 0-6) plus a comprehensive new range of merchandise launching into the marketplace throughout this anniversary year, such as cuddly toys, mugs, t-shirts, stationery and games.
These products had unmissable retail presence: including branded space with all of our major customers, both in-store and online, along with exclusive offerings for each channel. This was combined with Very Hungry Caterpillar activity weekends in thousands of bookshops and libraries nationwide based on our specially produced party kit - which was also available to download from puffin.co.uk
There was blanket media coverage about the anniversary in the national press including features and competitions in women's, parenting and design magazines. Exclusive coverage included an interview with Eric Carle in the Guardian Weekend magazine, along with a specially-illustrated Very Hungry Caterpillar cartoon in the Berger & Wyse food column.
There were also Very Hungry Caterpillar events at all the major literary festivals, including Oxford, Hay, Edinburgh and Cheltenham. Between April and August, The Very Hungry Caterpillar himself travelled around bookshops nationwide, generating lots of further regional media attention.
Reading Dads Campaign Back — and Better than Ever
Ladybird's Reading Dads Campaign returned in 2009. Reading Dads was created to encourage and inspire all fathers to read to their children on Father's Day 2009, igniting in them a love of reading to last a lifetime. Last year's National Year of Reading found that only 42% of Dads were reading to their kids compared to a whopping 76% of Mums, and that Dads who engage with their child's education significantly boost that child's confidence and levels of achievement. In 2009, Ladybird kick-started Dads into action with a read aloud campaign: fathers were invited to upload footage of themselves reading aloud to their children, and best video (and Dad!) won a family weekend holiday at Alton Towers, the biggest UK theme park.
A new partnership with the NSPCC saw Ladybird raising money for the dedicated children's charity while continuing the quest to get more dads involved with reading. Ladybird was thrilled to have Top Gear television presenter Richard Hammond on board to rev up the campaign by reading a well-loved fairytale which is still available to download on www.ladybird.com/readingdads.
Doctor Who: The Darksmith Legacy Crosses Platforms
January 2009 saw the launch of The Darksmith Legacy, the first-ever Doctor Who cross-platform publishing series and the first time ever that the BBC had allowed a bespoke Doctor Who web portal. A series of 10 books were released over the course of year, each offering access to www.thedarksmithlegacy.com, where readers used the knowledge gained from the Doctor's adventure to battle the monsters for themselves. By completing the games, players worked collectively to earn Eternity Points which add up to release exclusive content which included alternative endings, tips from the authors and illustrators, and free downloads.
The series culminated in an exclusive party at the RSA Vaults in London in October for 50 lucky winners who completed the quest online. From a Q&A with the authors and a moving, full-size dalek to face-painting, special effects and a quiz, there was more than enough to keep the most die-hard Doctor Who fan satisfied.
The Year of the Pig
2009 has been Peppa Pig's year! Ladybird was delighted when their Peppa Pig range of books stormed the competition to take top prize in the best-written, listening and learning category at the prestigious Licensing Awards in September. The judging for the category, for which 4,500 products were entered, was conducted by a panel of retail buyers including those from Amazon, Tesco, Bhs, Sainsbury's, M&S, Mothercare, play.com, Hamleys, Waterstone's and WHSmith. Peppa also won the overall prize for the best pre-school property at the same awards.
Some of you in the UK will have noticed the TV advertising for special Peppa Pig packs of Muller Little Stars range of fromage frais, yoghurts and jellies. Launched in September, the partnership has proved an instant success with over 110,000 redemptions being made for the 6 Peppa Pig books. Worth £3.99 each, a token is found on every pack and once you have 4 tokens, consumers can claim their free book. The promotion runs until the end of the year.
There continued to be no stopping Peppa when, earlier this year, Ladybird teamed up with Penwizard to launch personalised Peppa Pig publishing. Visitors to www.peppapigandme.com were able to make their own book by placing their chosen child into Peppa's world by creating and naming a character based on their child's appearance. A couple of clicks later and they had a completely unique book starring their child with Peppa, which is printed and sent out to them making it the ultimate personalised present. Go to Playgroup was the first title to feature and is still available to buy today at £14.99 at the following link: http://www.peppapigandme.com/?referrerID=20809&setstat=true&brandID=17&langID=GB.
The end of September 2009 saw global sales of Peppa Pig books to customers reach 3.7million (source: Bookscan).
Key Words Project Helps Nigerian Children Learn English
In 2009 Ladybird was the only Penguin business to have been selected to work with Pearson Education's New and Emerging Technologies team, and is currently taking part in a brand new mobile phone pilot. Paired with Mobile Xcetera, Ladybird explores how to digitally deliver aspects of the Key Words reading scheme as homework material, via mobile devices, to schoolchildren and their parents in Lagos, Nigeria. The children then send their results to their teachers who can analyse their progress. The pilot has been running for a number of weeks in a variety of schools in the Lagos area and the Longman Nigeria team with Mobile Xcetera will be soon carrying out a focus group of teachers, parents and students to ascertain the success of the pilot. This is a really exciting project for Ladybird to be involved with and it takes them into the brave new world of mobile digital delivery.