Duncan Baird Publishers
Duncan Baird Publishers was a British independent publishing company based in London, specializing in books on cookery, mind, body, and spirit, gardening, and other areas of interest. The company was founded in 1991 by Duncan Baird, a former director at HarperCollins and Macmillan Publishers, and began publishing books in 1994.
History
Duncan Baird Publishers was established in 1991 by Duncan Baird, who had previously worked for HarperCollins and Macmillan Publishers. The company began publishing books in 1994, with a focus on the categories of cookery, mind, body, and spirit, gardening, and other areas of interest.
The company's early titles included "The Food Doctor" by Ian Marber and "The Complete Guide to Natural Healing" by Tom Monte. In 2001, the company expanded its publishing program to include art and design titles with the acquisition of the Trafalgar Square Publishing imprint from Publishers Group West.
In 2008, Duncan Baird Publishers was acquired by Quarto Group, a leading global publisher of illustrated non-fiction books. Following the acquisition, Duncan Baird Publishers continued to operate as an independent imprint within the Quarto Group, publishing books on a wide range of topics.
In 2017, the Quarto Group announced that it was consolidating its imprints and restructuring its operations to focus on key markets and categories. As a result, Duncan Baird Publishers was merged with other Quarto imprints to create a new division, Quarto Publishing.
Criticism and Controversies
Duncan Baird Publishers faced criticism in 2006 over the publication of the book "The Cancer Survivor's Bible" by Jonathan Chamberlain. The book, which claimed to offer a comprehensive guide to alternative cancer treatments, was accused of promoting pseudoscientific and potentially dangerous advice. The controversy led to calls for the publisher to withdraw the book from circulation, although the company defended its decision to publish the title.
Awards
Despite the controversy, Duncan Baird Publishers received recognition for many of its books. In 2010, the company won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for "Best Book on Cooking with Wine" for its title "Cooking with Wine" by Fiona Beckett. The same year, the company's book "The Gardener's Year" by Pippa Greenwood was shortlisted for the Garden Media Guild Book Award.
In 2012, Duncan Baird Publishers was shortlisted for the Independent Publishers Guild's Frankfurt Book Fair Awards in the category of "Children's Publisher of the Year."
Notable titles
Duncan Baird Publishers published a wide range of books on cookery, mind, body, and spirit, gardening, and other areas of interest. Some of the company's most notable titles include:
- "The Food Doctor" by Ian Marber
- "The Complete Guide to Natural Healing" by Tom Monte
- "The Art of Calligraphy" by David Harris
- "The Zen of Creativity" by John Daido Loori
- "The New Encyclopedia of Orchids" by Isobyl la Croix
Legacy
Although Duncan Baird Publishers is no longer an independent company, the imprint's backlist of titles continues to be available through the Quarto Group. The company's books are still widely regarded as authoritative works on their respective subjects, and many continue to be popular with readers.
References
This article "Duncan Baird Publishers" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Duncan Baird Publishers. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
