Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas to all our readers from the whole team here at Souvenir Press!

If your Christmas goes anything like mine, by now you will have given and received all your presents, and you’ll be in that awkward space between meals, waiting for dinner to be ready. Or waiting for the Queen’s speech. Or waiting for something good to appear on TV.

Well, fear not. Some of you lucky readers will have been given book tokens. Some of you even luckier readers might have received e-readers, so now’s the perfect chance for you to work out what to buy, or what exciting books to load onto your brand new e-reader. And we’ve got some fantastic suggestions for you.

Welcome to Biscuit Land by Jessica Thom

Without a doubt, one of the most inspiring titles you will read this year. Jess has Tourettes Syndrome, which means that she makes sounds and movements over which she has no control. Follow a year in her life and the whole spectrum of her experiences, from the heartwarming to the heartbreaking. Witness the kindness and the cruelty of strangers. And above all, meet Jess: courageous, optimistic and inspiring.

Bum Fodder by Richard Smyth

Do you use toilet paper? Well, of course you do. Everybody does. It is one of the most important (but least talked about) inventions of the 1800s. Well, not inventions. It was invented long before then. But that’s when it broke through into mainstream society. But how much do you actually know about loo roll? Not much? Time to learn! A fascinating history of a product that we all take for granted, and can’t live without.

The Book by Alan Watts

Everyone’s talking about it. John Lloyd on Desert Island Discs called it “the best book I’ve ever read on the nature of what actually is, what the world is about, and how you should behave.” It’s been reprinted twice in the last month. Alan Watts presents a critique of Western culture and a healing alternative. Offering spiritual answers to the problems of a materialistic lifestyle, this book may just change your life.

The Digital Diet by Daniel Sieberg

Maybe you’re looking ahead to 2013, trying to plan your new year’s resolutions. How about this one: take a step back from the technology that is increasingly running our lives, and instead reconnect with friends and family in the real world. The Digital Diet will help you to take control back of your life, find time for real friends and most importantly, make technology work for you… not the other way around.

Modesty Blaise: A Taste for Death by Peter O’Donnell

Or maybe you’re just looking for some entertainment. A Taste for Death was serialised on BBC Radio 4 in the week before Christmas, in an adaptation starring Daphne Alexander as Modesty Blaise, and written by Stef Penney. If you heard the adaptation, now is the perfect opportunity to pick up a copy of the book and see what they had to cut out. Hint: the book has a sword fight in it! And you can find out about the whole series.

Whatever you do over the festive period, we hope it is happy and peaceful, and we will see you in the new year. Happy Christmas, everyone, and best wishes from all of us at Souvenir Press.

The End of the World… or is it?

21.12.2012: The day the Mayan calendar comes to an end. The day the world comes to an end.

Or is it?

In The Hidden Science of Lost Civilisations: The Source Field Investigations David Wilcock rewrites the Mayan myth. Drawing upon alternative science, as well as cutting-edge quantum physics and consciousness research, Wilcock connects the scientific with lost traditions of ancient wisdom to predict what lies in mankind’s future. THE HIDDEN SCIENCE OF LOST CIVILISATIONS is a guided tour through the most incredible scientific mysteries in the modern world and a rediscovery of an ancient system of physics and spirituality that has since crumbled almost entirely into ruin.

He believes that 2012 will not be the end of the world but will be the start of mankind’s golden period.

What do you think? Will you be joining us to usher in a golden age for mankind, or  are you one of the lucky ones with an invite to an ‘end of the world party’? If so, come Saturday you may well feel like the world has ended. Post-apocalyptic hangover, anyone? Or maybe you  will be jumping into your bunkers this evening and waiting for this all to blow over. If this last one sounds like you, be sure take an e-copy of THE HIDDEN SCIENCE OF LOST CIVILISATIONS with you.

Along with, of course, plenty of tinned food, bottled water, and maybe even some BUM FODDER…

See you in 2013, everyone! Unless the world end before then, in which case… we won’t.

2012 at Souvenir Press: A Recap

It’s been a busy year here at Souvenir Press, and as 2012 draws to a close it’s time to take a look at some of the highlights from this fantastic year.

First and foremost: our books. 2012 has been a great year for new titles at Souvenir Press. True to form, it’s an ecclectic mix of titles to make you laugh, make you think, to educate and inspire.

• The Hidden Science of Lost Civilisations by David Wilcock
• The Heart of Care by Amanda Waring
• Meet Sebastian Vettel – the first English-language biography of the now triple World Champion
• Terribly English by Rupert Besley
• A Meditator’s Diary by Jane Hamilton-Merritt
• The FitMama Method by Marie Behenna
• The Language of the Angels by Claire Nahmad
• A Natural History of the Piano by Stuart Isacoff
• Welcome to Biscuit Land by Jessica Thom
• Better than Great by Arthur Plotnik
• Bum Fodder by Richard Smyth

Secondly, staff changes. Yes, it’s been a busy year. In the summer we said goodbye to Amy, who had been PA to Ernest Hecht for a couple of years – she’s moved back to Australia. In October we welcomed back Nikki, receptionist/office manager who had been off on maternity leave for twelve months, which meant a new role for me (and the company): online marketing assistant. All change!

Third, and this is ongoing as we speak: we went Modesty Blaise crazy. Often described as “the female James Bond” it seems apt that with the new Bond movie out, Modesty had her chance, too. This week Radio 4 are serialising A TASTE FOR DEATH starring Daphne Alexander as Modesty Blaise. Think Bond, but better.

Our fourth highlight has to be The Book by Alan Watts. Chosen by John Lloyd on ‘Desert Island Discs’, and lauded as “the best book I’ve ever read on the nature of what actually is, what the world is about, and how you should behave”, this backlist title has to be one of our biggest sellers of 2012. So big, in fact, that we have had to reprint for the second time since November! Definitely a highlight!

Fifth: Stephen Fry. Yes, that Stephen Fry. Having worked with Jessica Thom on his TV show ‘Planet Word’, we were delighted when he provided the foreword to WELCOME TO BISCUIT LAND, and very excited when he mentioned the book to his millions of followers on Twitter on the day of publication.

And finally? All of you. All of our authors, all of our readers, who have played a part in making 2012 a very special year for us at Souvenir Press. Roll on 2013!

Modesty’s back!

The iconic 1960s heroine Modesty Blaise, subject of thirteen novels all published by Souvenir Press (as well as years’ of cartoons), has been resurrected by BBC Radio 4.  A TASTE FOR DEATH is to be serialised as a Christmas special by BBC Radio 4’s ‘Women’s Hour’, in five 15-minute slots from 17th to 21st December.

The script has been adapted by Stef Penney, author of ‘The Tenderness of Wolves’ and a well-known fan of Modesty. Daphne Alexander has been cast in the role of Modesty Blaise, alongside Alun Armstrong as Sir Gerald, and Carl Prekopp as her trusty sidekick Willie Garvin.

For more information about the radio adaptation, take a look at the Radio Times listing, or you can watch some exciting preview clips on the BBC website. You can also buy a copy of A TASTE FOR DEATH to read the full story (because of course this is radio, some things just aren’t possible), and you can find out more about the complete series of Modesty Blaise books.

Modesty Blaise: A Taste for Death starts Monday 17th December at 10:45am on BBC Radio 4.

And the winners are…

Last week, to celebrate the end of the 2012 Formula One season, and a third consecutive championship victory for Sebastian Vettel, we at Souvenir Press ran a competition to give away three copies of MEET SEBASTIAN VETTEL, the first English-language biography of the youngest ever F1 champion.

We were flooded with entries and are now very excited to announce the winners of this give-away. Winners will be emailed later today because obviously I need your contact details so that I can send you your book!

Without further ado, the winners of the copies of MEET SEBASTIAN VETTEL are:

Cheryl Clarke

Daniela Botezatu

Ian Abrahams

Congratulations to our randomly selected winners, and thank you to everyone who entered. If you didn’t win, the book is out now. Roll on 2013 and the new season!

Disability History Month

We are currently in the middle of UK Disability History Month, an annual event that runs from 22nd November to 22nd December. Now in their third year, the theme for 2012 is “Changing Lives, Changing Times, Challenging the Ideas that Lead to Hate Crime”. In the UK, the popularity of the Paralympic Games in the summer really highlighted the change in people’s attitudes towards people with disabilities, but we are yet to see whether this has had any lasting legacy across the country.

In her inspiring book, WELCOME TO BISCUIT LAND, Jessica Thom writes eloquently and honestly about living with Tourettes Syndrome. From how it affects her daily life, to the reactions her tics provoke from strangers (positive and, unfortunately, negative) this enlightening book provides a new insight into living with a disability. Or, as Jess sees it, living.

This is a book that has already touched a lot of people – a quick skim of the reviews on Amazon shows that. 17 reviews, of which 16 are five-star, and the other is a 4-star, and common words include ‘inspiring’, ‘amazing’ and ‘brilliant’. WELCOME TO BISCUIT LAND is the perfect book to recommend for Disability History Month, because it’s already out there, changing people’s ideas about Tourettes, about living with disability.

Want to know more? Take a look.