Richard

Future Titles (Part III) - Hitlist meetings!

You may have gathered from previous posts a bit of the process that a suggestion goes through before it becomes an Osprey book, and that process is about to begin again.

From Seventies Grit to Forties Smut, Battle and Jane!

Those terribly nice chaps at Titan have sent over a couple of their latest books for us to take a gander at. Both volumes celebrate in their own way gentler, kinder times where neither Guitar Hero or Call of Duty existed, where social networking was something that happened in a pub and Jordan was better known as a country in the Middle East.

The Military History Weekend

As you may have noticed we got very involved recently in putting together the Military History Weekend in Colonial Williamsburg over the weekend of 17/18 October. I had a fantastic time and just wanted to mention a few of the people I was lucky enough to meet and show you a few photos.

A Waterloo Medal

Just before I went off to Virginia for the Military History Weekend I was lucky enough to go to a reception at Apsley House, the London residence of the Duke of Wellington, laid on by Waterloo 200.

Marlborough, Britain's Greatest General

When reading Richard Holme's biography of John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough I was struck by how close we were to not ever seeing the full potential of 'Corporal John'. The court of Charles II in which Churchill and his wife Sarah operated was a wilder, less civilised and more dangerous place than I had imagined (It was also dirtier; Charles II only bothered to shave a couple of times a week). The career path John Churchill would take would eventually lead him to a command of a coalition army in the struggle against the imperial ambitions of Louis XIV but this future was by no means assured.

The Making of the British Army

Allan Mallinson's new book is a a wolf in sheep's clothing. At first glance it is an entertaining and sympathetic portrayal of the British army from Edgehill to the modern conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan but running through out is a considered and passionate outline of the challenges and threats the army faces today, from its own government and from chronic overstretch. As the book details there is nothing really new in that.

And the winner is (#sixwordwar)

We had some great entries on the #sixwordwar competition over on Twitter. Here is the full list:

Can you write about a battle in six words?

I've been trying to work out whether Twitter is worth doing recently and I fear I may be getting a little addicted... I began thinking of describing battles and wars in just six words which happily filled a few minutes between invoices and event planning for next year.

Future Series Titles (Part II)

Thank you all for the comments and your appreciation of the post on Future Titles – it took a little while to put together! I will do my best to answer your queries and comments as best I can. Here goes.

Inglourious Basterds - is it any good?

This weekend I finally managed to get out to see the much anticipated Inglourious Basterds. I was ready. I knew that historical accuracy wasn't top of the list when Quentin Tarantino made it. I was ready for some sharp dialogue and some bloody violence. I walked in completely open-minded.

Counter-insurgency in the news

Various UK papers including the Times and the Telegraph commented yesterday on the criticism of counter-insurgency efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq as reported in the British Army Review. Featured amongst the serving soldiers and military experts who have expressed concerns about the UK's ability to fight this kind of war was Daniel Marston one of our authors.

Future Series Titles

This morning I thought I’d have a good look through the forum pages to try to draw out some of the key themes and subjects from your discussions about titles we should publish, following on from previous posts. Several hours later, I’ve finally read through them all and I think I’ve got it. I had to restrict myself to just posts from 2009, but here are a few of the things you are talking about, in no particular order with some updates on where we are with them:

Another Year, Another Historicon Done (Part 2)

Here is a picture of the winning 'Best Use of an Osprey Campaign' game in progress. It fails to convey the energy and noise of Marvin, he is going to start waving that ruler around any minute now!

Another Year, Another Historicon Done!

Another year, another fantastic time at Historicon but this year I was a bit special for a number of reasons not least because it was the last year at the Lancaster Host before the move to Baltimore.

Presentation for Historicon

I’m currently busy working on my presentation for Historicon which as usual will be titled Osprey Insights: From Development to Latest Publications.

Reclaiming the Blade - Medieval & Renaissance Swordplay

There is something very special about a sword. I’ve picked up a couple from different places and currently have one sitting behind my desk. It is very handy for difficult meetings. Anyway in July a new film is coming out that celebrates swords, sword-makers and sword-masters and it is fantastic. Reclaiming the Blade covers...

Commemorating the Peninsular War

Last week I attended a seminar at the Portuguese Embassy on the British and Portuguese role during the Peninsular War. The room was full of academics, military, government and interested parties from both countries drawn together to commemorate the contributions of both countries to the eventual defeat of Napoleon and France during the Napoleonic Wars.

John Keegan's A History of Warfare

I’ve just finished re-reading John Keegan’s A History of Warfare (and I’m halfway through The Face of Battle), his comprehensive sweep through military action from the earliest records up to the first Gulf War which seeks throughout to challenge the work of Carl Von Clausewitz, as set out in On War that so came to dominate the thinking of military minds in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Win Historicon tickets!

We have ten pairs of tickets for Historicon 2009 to give away to some lucky Osprey readers. To enter the competition just click here and follow the instructions.

Preparing for Historicon

I’ve just finished the advert for the Historicon catalogue showcasing some of the titles I’ll be bringing over to the event.

Oxfordshire's Hidden Military Museum

Last week I visited the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust (SOFO) an organisation that houses the archives and military memorabilia of three Oxfordshire regiments - the Oxfordshire OTC, Oxfordshire Yeomanry and Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (43rd and 52nd).

Historicon 2009 is coming...

I know that it is a couple of months away but my thoughts are turning to Lancaster PA in July and Historicon. Soon it will be time to fly off to the heat of Pennsylvania for a busy few days showing our latest to the hordes that descend on the show and drinking the odd beer.

A Game of Thrones

When it comes to fantasy fiction I'm extremely picky. Too many times the presence of elves, wizards and orcs has been an excuse for terrible dialogue and lame plots. I prefer 'realistic' fantasy where the characters and story grapple with situations and conflicts that ring true. And where they get to carry a big axe.

Inglourious Basterds

This may have as much to do with military history as High School Musical but I'm looking forward to Inglourious Basterds. Quentin Tarantino does The Dirty Dozen should be a lot of fun even if I'm not sure about Brad Pitt. Where is Lee Marvin? Anyway catch the trailer here.

Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill

Apparently there is a new exhibition at the Tower of London that should be worth a look at if you are interested in the arms and armour of the Tudor age...

Osprey in Crisis?

Osprey Publishing faced its greatest crisis in its forty-one year history today, a crisis that meant the very real prospect of the end of such series as Men-at-Arms, Campaign and Duel.

Field of Glory e' disponibile in lingua Francese, Tedesco, Spagnolo e Italiano

Orpey questo mese sta provando qualcosa di differente in quanto sono state pubblicate le edizioni in lingua straniera di Field of Glory.

Field of Glory llega en francés, alemán, castellano e italiano

Este mes intentamos hacer algo un tanto diferente aquí en Osprey ahora que se lanzan las ediciones de Field of Glory en varios idiomas europeos.

Field of Glory arrives in French, German, Spanish and Italian

This month we are trying something a little different here at Osprey as the foreign language editions of Field of Glory come out.

Field of Glory erscheint auf Deutsch, Französisch, Spanisch und Italienisch

Diesen Monat probieren wir etwas Neues hier bei Osprey: Die fremdsprachigen Ausgaben von Field of Glory erscheinen.

Field of Glory arrive en Français, Allemand, Espagnol et Italien

Ce mois-ci nous essayons quelque chose d¹un peu différent chez Osprey, en publiant des éditions de Field of Glory en langues étrangères.

Military History on the High Street: Empire: Total War

I was very pleased to see this grim faced Grenadier in the window of the Oxford HMV last week on a poster advertising the turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game Empire: Total War.

The Anglo-Zulu War, 130 years on - Osprey authors attend events to mark the anniversary

The anniversary of two of the most famous and dramatic battles in British military history has just passed. One hundred and thirty years ago on January 11 1879 British troops crossed into the independent Zulu kingdom in southern Africa. Just eleven days later, they suffered one of the worst defeats of the Victorian era at Isandlwana, when the Zulus over-ran a British camp and killed 1300 of the defenders. Just a few hours later part of the Zulu reserve from Isandlwana went on to attack the mission station of Rorke’s Drift, but were repulsed after ten hours of fierce fighting, much of it at hand-to-hand...

Reclaiming the Blade Film

OK this is looking like a must-see for anyone who thinks a sword is more exciting than a tank. Reclaiming the Blade is a new film...

Corunna is back

Over the last year our production department has been working very hard to find a cost-effective solution to bring back a lot of our old (and not-so-old titles) that have gone out of stock. After some frustrating false starts and changing suppliers we think we may actually be there and you should see a lot more of our titles back in stock on the website and in the bookshops over the coming months. First off the press, and just in time for the anniversary is Campaign 83: Corunna 1809...

Predictions for 2009

No not another piece about economic catastrophe and economic chaos but a look ahead to some of the Osprey titles coming out in 2009 and some wild guessing as to which might be the most popular.

Warrior Women

At our last publishing meeting we happily passed a new Stephen Turnbull book on the Samurai women of Japan from 1184 to 1877. It will feature such mighty warriors as the semi-legendary Empress Jingo-kogo who led an invasion of Korea while pregnant with the future Emperor Ojin and Tomoe Gozen. who handled her sword and bow with such dexterity that she was a match for ‘a thousand warriors, and fit to meet either god or devil’. It is scheduled for 2010.

Plasters, Bandages, Antiseptic Cream and Maggots

If you read any Bernard Cornwell you will know that Harper is always fond out whipping out his maggots to clean up the latest wound inflicted on his friend Sharpe.

Napoleonic Cavalry

I've never really liked the cavalry much. Give me a solid English Redcoat or a dashing Voltigeur any day of the week. The cavalry were, in my mind better at looting helpless baggage trains, sabring fleeing, broken enemy (broken by whom I ask you?) and charging into the enemy guns on exhausted horses when they should be sensibly retiring. And the uniforms were, even by Napoleonic standards quite ridiculous.

Why is the second World War still popular?

Last Friday Osprey were asked by More 4 news to comment on a piece they were running on why, despite it receding from living memory, was World War II more popular than ever, in books, films, TV and games?

95th Rifles in action!

Sharpe has now returned to our TV screens in the UK with Sean Bean fighting his way across India in the usual company of evil villains, plucky youngsters and beautiful women as well as Patrick Harper with his trusty Nock Volley gun.

Don't throw away your books!

When we were at Britcon a few months ago Phil and I were sat next to Dave Lanchester's second-hand book stand and in our quiet moments we would both start rummaging through the shelves, drawn by the fantastic smell of old books and the huge range of military history just sitting there whispering to us.

Garth Ennis returns to the Battlefield

If like me, you love the comics of Garth Ennis, in particular his War Stories, you will be very happy to hear that he has returned to the his favourite subject for a new series of gritty, violent tales of war, with Battlefields from Dynamite Publishing.

Everything Azincourt

Congratulations to Bernard Cornwell as his new novel Azincourt has taken the top spot in the UK best-selling book chart and is getting plenty of press coverage.

Walking Towton

I saw this great article about the battle of Towton last week and thought you might be interested. For anyone after a more extensive description of the battle there is always Campaign 120....

How old should your children be before they read about war?

For the last three nights my five year-old has insisted that Griffon Spitfire Aces is an essential part of his bed-time stories.

Napoleonic Revival?

Debates on other forums like the miniature pages often mirror internal debates we have over what subjects and periods we should be publishing. No one forgets, whether they be editorial, sales or marketing, that books have to work on their own merits, but within that caveat there is still plenty of wriggle room for the occasional jump onto a soapbox about your own personal favourite.

Osprey's 40th birthday

2008 is the 40th Anniversary of Osprey in the UK and to celebrate this and our belief that military history as a publishing genre is in rude health and as valid today as it ever was, we have launched a campaign culminating in a party at the National Army Museum in November.

Congratulations to all Britcon Winners...

...and commiserations to everyone else. Phil and I had a great time in Manchester this weekend at Britcon 2008. We took along the latest titles and quickly sold out of...

Britain's Greatest Ever Military Hero?

You may have seen in the news last week that in a poll conducted on behalf of the United Kingdom National Defence Association [UKNDA] by ComRes Nelson was voted Britain’s greatest ever military hero....

Osprey goes to Britcon

Next week Phil and I will be packing our bags for the largest gathering of Field of Glory players to date at Britcon in Manchester.

Back from Historicon

I’m now back from Historicon after an intensive four days of chatting on the stand, viewing games, presentations, yueng-ling beer and more chatting.

We're off to Historicon

Well the posters are printed, books shipped and the Field of Glory shirts have been dug out of the events cupboard and washed. The seminar 'From Development to the Latest Publications' (Friday 12.30pm) is almost finished.

Buy your own Osprey

I read today that the civilian version of the Osprey tilt-rotorcraft will soon be available to buy. So if you wish to deploy you and your family at the beach this summer in a way that gets you noticed then dig out that spare $18-23 million stuffed under the bed and you are all set.

Osprey launch fashion label?

Those of you who have been to Historicon for the past three years will already have a t-shirt with Osprey artwork sitting in their drawer for very special occasion. But for those of you who haven’t we have been talking to Legacy of Valor, the collectibles people, about a new special clothing line. They have sent over some samples which several people in the office got very excited over...

So, how does this new site work then?

Welcome to the new Osprey website, we think you might like it. Of course in the beginning there are going to be a few new features to explain which we will be doing over the course of the next few weeks. To get you started here is a quick explanation of all the old and new features you can see around you.

Bringing back old Osprey

We recently had a very nice letter from a customer in Canada seeking to fill the gap in his Men-at-Arms collection. He has everything from #1 through to #445 except for #36 and is very keen to get it. So I went looking for it and initially struggled until I realised that we had actually done it twice. The original #36 The American War 1812-1814 with text by Philip Katcher and artwork by Michael Youens had been replaced by #226 The American War 1812-1814 with exactly the same text by Philip Katcher and new artwork by Bryan Fosten. This raised a couple of questions that I thought it was worth asking you...

Required Reading - Maybe

I've spent a lot of time recently sitting on aeroplanes, queueing at security and hanging around in departure lounges and I've been killing time by reading a lot, some of which I'd share here as I reckon you might like it...

Killing Rommel Film

I was over in Los Angeles last week for Book Expo America where publishers, authors and everyone else meet to talk books. Whilst I was there I was lucky enough to meet Steven Pressfield, one of the best Historical Fiction authors out there. We talked about his latest novel - Killing Rommel...

ANZAC Day

In the excitement of last week we missed ANZAC Day on the 25th April. For those of you who don't know, and it can't be many, ANZAC day celebrates the incredible bravery and sacrifice that the Australian and New Zealand Forces made in World War I, in particular at the bloody horror that was Gallipoli...

Killing Rommel

I had certain expectations when I approached Killing Rommel by Steven Pressfield. When you see a title like Killing Rommel and a write-up like the following you have a fair expectation of what you are going to see...

Field of Glory Stock

Osprey is happy to announce that both the Field of Glory Rulebook and the Rise of Rome companion book are now back in stock in the UK and can be ordered directly from our website. Stock is limited for the next couple of weeks as we try to catch up with the original overwhelming demand so order now...

Toys for Big Kids!

I saw this at the weekend. Is it wrong to want one?

What subjects have we missed (part 2)

Wow! Thank you everybody who submitted suggestions to my previous post: What subjects have we missed?. The following is a brief overview covering those subjects on the list, what we may have done on them already and what is to come in the future. It was good to see some common ground between your list and ours. As for the rest - they will take a little while to digest...

Why a knife can be more dangerous than a gun

One of the perks of working for Osprey is getting your hands on early promotional copies of books that you really want to read. Last week I just finished a book titled Tools of Violence: Guns Tanks and Dirty Bombs...

What subjects have we missed?

We recently had a hit-list meeting here at Osprey where Editorial, Marketing, Sales and anyone who knows anything about anything sit down and talk through future titles. We take a look at submissions from Authors both old and new, ideas from all our Editors, feedback from shows and bookshops, the results of the monthly poll and then we sit down and start bickering (amicably)...

Field of Glory Delays

Last Wednesday I was down at our book distribution centre somewhere near Grantham, standing in a vast warehouse full of books from different publishers including Lonely Planet and Titan books. This routine visit coincided with the release of Field of Glory...

For Goat-lovers everywhere

For those of you concerned about Goats being mistreated by the Royal Navy in the UK I can confirm that they are now safe. The Ministry of Defence has announced they will no longer be using them aboard submarines...

The Religion - Hospitallers and Ottomans

I'm currently reading The Religion by Tim Willocks, a bloody historical thriller set during the Siege of Malta in 1565. It tells the story of Mattias Tannhauser, an arms dealer and former janissary who agrees to accompany a French Countess searching for her long-lost son on Malta...

An analysis of 'Bloody' Omaha

Military History on the TV can be pretty bad, with poor history, a need for new 'revelations' and a tendency towards repeating itself every two minutes. But last night I caught up with the BBC Timewatch programme 'Bloody Omaha' which attempted to analyse what happened on the beach during the D-Day invasion...

10th Military History Carnival

The 10th Military History Carnival is taking place at Walking the Berkshires from today. Dedicated to the late George McDonald Fraser it summarises the best writing on military history in the 'blogosphere' this month...

Advanced Terrain Modelling Reviewed

I thought I'd share this review with you because I think that Advanced Terrain Modelling by Richard Windrow is a fantastic resource for any modeller but its great to hear someone else say so...

George McDonald Fraser has passed away

George McDonald Fraser, the brilliant author of the Flashman Papers has died aged 82...

Is Alternate History Worth it?

There is some suspicion of Alternate History - the exercise of looking at the past and asking "what if"? - as it can stretch to the most ludicrious situations. Personally I love it, all of it, from serious scholarly counter-factual history to Lizards invading Earth during the Second World War...

What to buy for Christmas

As a military history enthusiast it is your duty to spread your love of uniforms, campaigns and hardware as far as you can. Your grown-up non-warfare obsessed friends are probably far too used to you now. When you start talking about the importance of Basil Liddell Hart to German tank strategy and tactics they probably roll their eyes and head for the bar...

A Little Light Reading

For anyone with several days to kill I recommend The War of the World by Niall Ferguson. Don’t be deceived by the initially intimidating length, fondness for graphs and tables of economic growth. This is a heavyweight but accessible trawl through the ‘100 years of hatred’ that was the Twentieth Century...

Rapid Fire Weapons for Children

Every morning, the kids get to watch a bit of TV and for the last week, one advert keeps catching my eye. It is for the Rapid Fire mobile assault vehicle, which is suitable for eight-year-olds apparently...

What makes a hero?

Having spent time with Pete Scholey a few weeks ago and read bits of his new book Heroes of the SAS, in which he recounts the stories of so many of the men he regards as unsung heroes, I got to thinking about what makes a hero. In the book Warriors, Max Hastings recounts some of the stories of the great heroes of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries...

Commando: On the Front Line

I watched a fascinating programme last night. Commando: On The Front Line follows 50 new recruits to the British Royal Marine Commandos as they undertake the toughest basic training in the world and then head out for their postings. I was most surprised by the experience of one 23-year-old officer...

Swastikas at Frankfurt Book Fair

We're off to Frankfurt Book Fair this week for the annual European book trade extravaganza. We'll have some of the Duel artwork up as a backdrop to the exhibition stand with one slight difference. Come to the stand (J955 in Hall 8) and look closely at the FW190 as it swoops down and you'll see something missing...

Meeting the SAS

I have a great job. On Wednesday, I was paid to go down to the National Army Museum in London to meet with the author of one of our upcoming books on the SAS (Special Air Service Regiment). Pete Scholey is an ex-SAS man himself and has already published an account of his time in the regiment called The Joker...

The Latest Bernard Cornwell

OK I'm happy. I've just bought the latest Bernard Cornwell continuing the story of Uhtred and Alfred the Great. Sword Song occurs some five years after the events described in Lords of the North and tells how Alfred's forces evict the Danes from London. I love these books, possibly more than the Sharpe series...

FUBAR appears in the Spectator

We are all looking forward to October and the release of FUBAR, our book of soldier slang. It is already attracting interest from both military historians and language enthusiasts alike as this article from The Spectator shows. Dot Wordsworth seems particularly taken with the connection...

Why Study Military History?

Realistically, most of us (and I exclude those serving or working for the military) are not in a position to be able to properly apply the lessons of military history. Knowing you don’t attack squares of Napoleonic British infantry with just cavalry could not help me create a new minisite for one of our books for example...

Panorama and the Waffen SS

If like me you watched the Panorama special on BBC One last night 'Weekend Nazis' you may be asking yourself some hard questions...

Military History Blogging

Two posts ago I asked, a bit flippantly, when did Military History go out of fashion? I then received loads of great, entirely serious comments debating this, particularly in reference to the teaching of it in schools on both sides of the Atlantic and the influence of ‘political correctness’ and the rise in social history....

Battler Briton Returns to the Skies

I may have been a bit premature in my last post about the unpopularity of military history as it seems to have been popping up all over the place. This week a copy of the first all-new Battler Britton comic appeared on my desk fresh from Wildstorm. Written by the great Garth Ennis and illustrated by Colin Wilson it turned out...

When did Military History go out of fashion?

I have a theory, for the UK at least. I can even lay the blame. A few weeks ago was the 30th anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars movie and it got me thinking back to my blissfully idyllic childhood full of Action Men (GI Joe for the Americans amongst us), plastic soldiers and guns. Toys that contributed to a consuming interest in military history and a job at Osprey...

When did military history hook you?

So why am I a military history nut? Why, when my brothers went unscathed did I develop an unhealthy interest in guns, soldiers, swords and cannon that has survived childhood, the teenage years, marriage and children...

Ok, so who reads a book more than once?

Ever read a piece of fiction more than once? Whenever I mention that I’m rereading books I’ve read before I get sarcy remarks, about how I didn’t read it properly the first time. My reply is generally unprintable but once I’ve got over the rage I explain...