Media
Catch up with what’s happening on our social media feeds, and find out about the latest authors to publish with The Book Guild… there’s also company news, the latest author events and a round-up of our latest reviews and media coverage.
Video introductions
Media Coverage
MAY 2017
Woman and My Weekly The Choice (Valerie Mendes) Portsmouth News The Fortunes at War (Tony Foot) BBC Radio Norfolk The Hotel Life of Brian (Brian Wilson) BBC Radio Scotland A Charmed Rock ‘n’ Roll Life (Robin Le Mesurier with Andy Merriman) Eastern Daily Press The Hotel Life of Brian (Brian Wilson) East Grinstead Courier and Kent Messenger Mum’s Guide to the University Search (Dagmar Morris) Crawley Observer and Female First Family Concerns (Stuart Fifield) Ismailimail Price Sadruddin Aga Khan: Humanitarian and Visionary (Diana Miserez) Microlight Flying Magazine Unto the Skies (K. A. Lalani) Bookstall Forgotten in Memory (Chloe Grant-Jones) Mojomums A Life Lived (Liz Parker) Sunday Herald A Captain’s Ransom (Captain Alex Westland) Daily Express A Charmed Rock ‘n’ Roll Life (Robin Le Mesurier with Andy Merriman) Talk Radio Europe Jackson King and the Morpher’s Heart (Debbie Hood) Books Monthly A Life Lived, Unto the Skies, Winter’s Leap That’s Books The Hotel Life of Brian
APRIL 2017
Daily Express A Charmed Rock ‘n’ Roll Life (Robin Le Mesurier with Andy Merriman) The Yorker Forgotten in Memory (Chloe Grant-Jones) Nursing Standard Journal Under the Knife (Gulzar Mufti) Chartered Management Institute Brandfather (John Murphy) Fully Booked Redemption of Charm (Frank Westworth) Dumfries Courier Portals of Discovery (Lord George Norrie) Discovering Diamonds Colour Sergeant Chesney V.C. (Steven Baker) That’s Solent TV News The Fortunes at War (Tony Foot) Mystery People To a Country House Darkly (N.M. Scott) East Anglican Times Brandfather (John Murphy) Promoting Crime A Door Marked Hawker (Nigel Milliner) Female First Come Sing With Me My People, A Life Lived Talk Radio Europe A Life Lived, Jackson King and the Morpher’s Heart That’s Books Colour Sergeant Chesney V.C., The Weathermen, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, The Fortunes at War, Sorak’s Redemption, The War Baby, Family Concerns, Samson the Super Dog, Caught in the Act
MARCH 2017
BBC Business Live The Grandfather (John Murphy) ITV News Meridian Under the Knife (Gulzar Mufti) East Grinstead Gazette Jackson King and the Morpher’s Heart (Debbie Hood) Edinburgh Evening New Samson the Super Dog (Sarah E Webster) NE Connected Keeping Secrets: A Wicketkeeper’s Handbook (Paul Sullivan) Discovering Diamonds The War Baby (Andree Rushton) Nursing Times The Rocky Road of Naughty Neurons (Sylvia Bryden-Stock) The Law Society Gazette May It Please You, Madam (Neil Hickman) Female First Winter’s Leap; Jackson King and the Morpher’s Heart; The Audition Room, Caught in the Act, Forgotten in Memory Talk Radio Europe The Audition Room, Unto the Skies, The King’s Tower Rascal, Sorak’s Redemption, Mum’s Guide to the University Search Pirate FM Samson the Super Dog (Sarah E Webster) Freshair Radio The Audition Room (Sharon Sorrentino)
FEBRUARY 2017
York Press Forgotten in Memory (Chloe Grant-Jones) The Irish News Mum’s Guide to the University Search (Dagmar Morris) South Wales Echo Ben and the Spider Lake (Angela Fish) The Times Brandfather (John Murphy) Talk Radio Europe Mum’s Guide to the University Search (Dagmar Morris) Promoting Crime Death in Winter (Ian McFadyen) Books Monthly It’s Not All Rosey; The Weathermen; Sorak’s Redeption; A Country House Darkly; The King’s Tower Rascal; Colour Sergeant Chesney V.C.; Caught in the Act; Forgotten in Memory Female First It’s Not All Rosey; Mum’s Guide to the University Search That’s Books A Country House Darkly (N M Scott)
JANUARY 2017
Lancashire & North West Magazine Death in Winter (Ian McFadyen) Honourable Company of Master Mariners Merchant Seafaring (Peter Lyon)
DECEMBER 2016
thatschristmas.blogspot.co.uk Love is Small Talk (Fred Jefferies thatschristmas.blogspot.co.uk Death in Winter (Ian McFayden)
NOVEMBER 2016
Booksbooksbooks.blog Actual Reality (Cat Mantra) Paddle Pedal Pace The Butterfly Within (Rachel Brown) The Croydon Citizen Tony Collins: Football Master Spy (Sarita Collins) The Irish Garden Fruit: Grow, cook and preserve your own (Rosemary Sassoon Newsweek Tony Collins: Football Master Spy (Sarita Collins)
OCTOBER 2016
BBC Northwest Tonight Tony Collins: Football Master Spy (Sarita Collins) BBC Radio London Abdication (Mark Hitchens)
SEPTEMBER 2016
Ulverston Now Belinda (Peter Trimming) Green Pepper Belinda (Peter Trimming)
AUGUST 2016
New Welsh Review Ben and the Spider Prince (Angela Fish) Yorkshire Post Dreamcatcher (Matthew J. Hancock)
JULY 2016
Books Monthly The Horch and the Rotterdam Ingots (R W Strachan) Books Monthly Christopher Shakespeare (Malcolm Elliott) Books Monthly Ben and the Spider Prince (Angela Fish)
JUNE 2016
Books Monthly Libby at the Botanic Gardens (Basabi Banerjee) That’s Books and Entertainment Dream Catcher (Matthew J. Hancock) That’s Books and Entertainment Kill or Be Killed (Barry Johnson)
Media
Catch up with what’s happening on our social media feeds, and find out about the latest authors to publish with The Book Guild… there’s also company news, the latest author events and a round-up of our latest reviews and media coverage.
Out and About…
The Book Guild has been in attendance at events this year, the most notable being the London Book Fair and Winchester Writers’ Conference. The London Book Fair again took place at Olympia, but a month earlier than usual in April. The Book Guild had a stand in the Writers’ Block, a stand opposite the Authors’ Centre upstairs in the main hall. Our Managing Director, Jeremy Thompson, was part of a discussion panel looking at alternative ways to get published, including Partnership Publishing and self-publishing. The general consensus was that there are many different routes to publication, and that an author has the responsibility to choose what is right for their own circumstances and aims.
Winchester Writers’ Conference is a well known highlight of the writers’ calendar. The Book Guild shared a stand with parent company Troubador this year, showing off some of our latest titles and discussing publishing in general with delegates.
We also exhibited at the 5th Self-Publishing Conference in April, again with a display of books and constructive discussions with authors and other suppliers. More to come later this year!
WIN a book deal, plus £1,000!
Want to see your book in print, and net a tasty advance too? Writers Online are offering a special deal…
Prize
- The winning author will see their book published in 2017 by The Book Guild, and get £1,000 cash, courtesy of the David St John Thomas Charitable Trust.
- The Book Guild will provide a copyedit, cover design, full text design, and layout, one set of proofs, for author to check, ISBN allocation, bookshop sales representation, marketing to the trade and media and distribution to the book trade for one year.
How To Enter
To enter, you must have a novel manuscript of 60,000-100,000 words finished and ready to go.
We need to see:
- The first chapter
- A one-line elevator pitch or tagline
- A 500 word synopsis of the entire story
- A brief account of your publishing and writing experience to date
- A 500 word plan of any promotional opportunities and how you see your book fitting into the marketplace
Competition Closing Date
Entry to this competition has now closed.
Self-Publishing Conference 2016
The Book Guild was a co-sponsor of the 4th Self-Publishing Conference, held in Leicester in early May. As the company doesn’t offer a self-publishing service to authors, it may seem to be a strange thing for the company to do; but in these days of ‘authorpreneurs’ and author-led book promotion, the ethos of the event shares much with what The Book Guild does do.
In any form of commercial publishing nowadays, whether under a wholly traditional model or a partnership model (both of which The Book Guild offers), authors are key to the success of any new book. And authors are an essential part of the marketing mix; those authors who are active in promoting and marketing their work will generally se far better sales that those who sit back and expect the publisher to do everything. Sponsoring the event helps to encourage authors of any publishing background to get ideas and experience to make their publishing project a better and more successful one.
The Self-Publishing Conference covered a wide range of topics of interest to authors, from aspects of production through to author websites, self-promotion and even audio books. An excellent Keynote speech from The Bookseller’s Caroline Sanderson concentrated on the need for quality in books, however they are published. A plenary session from Kingston University’s Alison Baverstock looked at the rise of the independent author, and the many different and perfectly legitimate routes to publication that have developed over the last 15 years.
Participants at the event could choose from a wide range of sessions, 18 in all, covering editorial development, erotic writing, cover design and embellishments, structuring a children’s book, self-promotion, using digital and social media, metadata, opportunities in ebooks… an excellent range of subjects discussed by some very enthusiastic and knowledgeable speakers.
One of the most important aspects of events like this is the opportunity for authors – who are often solitary in nature – to network with like-minded people sharing a common goal. The conference included plenty of time for this, and by the first coffee break there was an obvious buzz going around the hospitality lounge as the ice had been broken and people shared ideas and experiences. When the sessions had all ended, a drinks reception got underway and the obvious benefits of the day to authors were self-evident, if the level of noise ion the reception was anything to go by!
Now in its fourth year, this conference certainly delivered on its promises, and has received only excellent reviews across author blogs and social media. We hope to be a sponsor next year!
London Book Fair 2016
April 12th saw staff from The Book Guild on their own stand for the first time in years exhibiting at The London Book Fair. Held at Olympia this year for the second time after its move from Earl’s Court, the trade exhibition is the UK’s premier event for publishers, retailers and all things ‘book’. This year in particular the Fair seemed to have grown again, at least judging by the number of stands and visitors attending.
The three-day event is a long and tiring one, but is essential for any publisher serious about book retailing in the UK. We welcomed a steady stream of our authors to the stand to meet the new staff and view their book, plus numerous suppliers, agents and retailers. With a new look to the company — though still based on the Siamese cat logo — the Book Guild stand attracted a lot of admiring glances and positive comments.
The event creates an enormous amount of follow-up work for the staff, so please bear with us in the coming weeks! Thanks to all those authors who dropped in to meet us, including Daniel Pascoe, Angela Fish, Jaime Manrique-Palacín, Sylvia Stock and many others. And thanks to Lauren and Hannah, stalwarts of The Book Guild LBF16 stand!
Wide coverage for Jimmy Hill celebration…
Bryony Hill’s new book My Gentleman Jim received wide coverage in the national media in November following its release. Coverage in the Daily Mail inevitably concentrated on Jimmy Hill’s decline in the last few years from Alzheimer’s disease, and the effect that it has had on his relationship with Bryony. Yet most of the book is a celebration of Jimmy’s life with Bryony, a life spent at the forefront of football in the last twentieth century, first as a player and manager, and latterly as a ‘pundit’.
Following earlier media coverage, other nationals also published features, including The Sunday Times and The Telegraph. Follow-up articles also appeared in the Daily Mail and other media, and Bryony was featured on local BBC TV news discussing the book and her life with Jimmy. Other media coverage is planned and executed at the time of writing.
Troubador Publishing acquires The Book Guild…
On July 1st, Troubador Publishing Ltd acquired The Book Guild Ltd for an undisclosed sum. Troubador will continue to run The Book Guild Ltd as an independent company.
The acquisition of The Book Guild is a strategic move by Troubador to consolidate its position at the high end of the author services market in the UK. As well as several traditionally published commercial lists, Troubador also runs the highly respected Matador self-publishing imprint, which leads the market in the UK for high quality author-financed publishing. The Book Guild has a similar ethos in its successful partnership publishing model, and is a natural commercial fit with Troubador.
Troubador’s Managing Director, Jeremy Thompson, said: “With the Matador imprint, our goal has been to offer the highest quality self-publishing production, distribution and marketing services that an author can source in the UK. The Book Guild also has this goal, and has successfully been offering a different form of author-financed publishing at the highest level for many years. Together, Matador and The Book Guild offer authors the highest quality publishing services in the UK, and under the same Troubador umbrella the synergy they offer can only be of benefit to authors.”
The Book Guild’s offices in Brighton have been relocated to join Troubador’s offices in Leicestershire, where it will benefit from Troubador’s greater resources, including dedicated book distribution facilities. The company’s services will be developed in the coming months to offer a wider range of services to authors and greater support that a larger publishing group can bring.