39 PROFILE DAVID AND CHARLES Email: nigel@davidandcharles.com Sales enquiries: emilyf@davidandcharles.com www.davidandcharles.com develop a great idea into a new book. Is there a tried and tested process for the patterns/ crafts in your books? I can only speak for art titles here but I know my colleagues in fabric craft work with specialist pattern-checkers and technical consultants. Most of our art books feature step-by-step photography and these are reviewed together with the author’s text to make sure they tie in together nicely, have absolute clarity and broken down into logical steps. What category of book is currently selling well? Watercolour books are consistent best sellers in the category, but we’re seeing growing popularity across all areas really, including digital art and we are building that side of our list with Get Started with Procreate (publishing April 2025). We’re also extending our range of Manga titles with the Manga Quick & Easy Drawing Deck with a companion box Kawaii Cute and Easy Drawing Deck (both publishing April 2025). Both of these card decks make drawing easy and fun for artists of all ages. In broad terms, abstract, collage and mixed media seem to be trending at the moment and themes of nature and outdoors are very strong with our new Sketching Nature by Dianne Sutherland (publishing May 2025) being a stunning introduction to mixing art and nature. Are you currently looking for book submissions? We have a heavy programme of titles until 2027 now, but there’s always room for us to squeeze something in that makes us all go ‘wow’! How do you bring your books to print? As you might expect in this increasingly digital age, there are stacks and stacks of data that we work with to help gauge an idea, but ultimately, the good ideas are developed, discussed and agreed with the team at David & Charles before they become finished books. As a specialist art and craft publisher, we have so many enthusiasts around the office and we’re always sharing ideas with each other. All our books go through a rigorous schedule of design, test and review, with all members of our sales and marketing team before being handed over to production for print and despatch to our distributors worldwide. What was 2024’s best seller? Creative Abstract Watercolor by Kate Rebecca Leach was our bestselling art title in 2024 and it’s still one of the top sellers in its category with online booksellers. It has also been sold into numerous foreign languages by our brilliant international sales team. Kate has a new title for later this year, so we have high hopes for that one too - Creative Abstract Mixed Media (publishes October 2025). What have you got in store for 2025? I’ve mentioned a few new titles already, but a sneaky peek further ahead includes some more interactive card decks for watercolour artists, a new series on drawing nature as well as some new titles for those people living in urban areas on capturing their local environment in practical art. I’m also looking forward to seeing our Bedside Book of Watercolor Wisdom by Trudy Friend (publishing May 2025) on the shelves later this year as I think it will become a classic reference book for artists of any talent. What sets you apart from your competitors? I’ve worked in book publishing for all my career and can honestly say that David & Charles go above and beyond with looking after their authors, employees and community. As an independent publisher, we’re all invested in what we do and care passionately for all that we do - in this sunny, lovely part of Devon! Do you visit any trade shows? I visit trade shows for the publishing industry every year, but David & Charles will be exhibiting at Spring Fair, London Book Fair and Frankfurt Book Fair in 2025. In addition, our authors regularly attend in-person consumer events, such as The Knitting and Stitching Show or the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival. What new titles can we expect from you in the next 12 months? Next year, we’ll be making an exciting announcement on a new fantasy art series but I have to keep that under wraps for now! We’re also developing some more reference titles to cover theories of art as well as some fantastic new gift ideas for arts and crafters, so there’s plenty to look forward to from David & Charles in 2025 and beyond.
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