The Osprey Advent Calendar - December 1st

December 1, 2010 12:00 AM

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Sarah Broadway is the Osprey and Shire Sales Director, and is ultimately responsible for getting our books into the various places that sell them, be it book shops, museums, supermarkets or even online retailers like Amazon and The Book Depository. We haven't given her too large a market to work in though, Sarah only has to sell books to accounts in the UK, Europe...and around the rest of the world, from Australia to Singapore. In fact, the only countries that Sarah doesn't have to sell books in are the USA and Canada - a job that is handled by none other than my fellow blogger John!

When I asked Sarah to choose her favourite ever Osprey book, this is what she had to say -

"The Battle of Britain has got to be my favourite Osprey book of all time. Almost every publisher in the country has rushed out a title on the subject this year to tie-in with the 60th anniversary commemorations and finding ways to make our title stand out from these was initially a big concern. We deliberated (argued!) a lot over the front cover and ultimately decided against an obvious photo of a spitfire opting instead for a stunning piece of artwork by John Nash from the Imperial War Museum’s collection, which I love. Not only does the cover look great, the production values throughout the book make it stand head and shoulders above the competition – from the quality of the paper the book is printed on to the selection of photos and other images included. The author (Osprey’s own Publisher Kate Moore!) has been a joy to work with, but her writing is also first-rate. Her writing is accessible to the general reader without dumbing down in a way that would put off the history buffs. The inclusion of the first-hand accounts really do bring the subject to life and I found myself truly inspired by the tales of the pilots’ bravery.

Regardless of how much I like a book on a personal level, as Sales Director, my first thought is always how many copies we’ll sell! To my delight (and relief!) all the major booksellers displayed the book prominently in their Battle of Britain table promotions and some retailers (such as Blackwell’s) were so impressed by the front cover that they used it on all of their posters and in-store promotional material. The Battle of Britain has been one of our top-selling titles in the UK this year and I’m hoping to see another surge in sales in the run-up to Christmas. I for one will be adding to sales with a Christmas present order for several family members!"

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The Osprey Advent Calendar - December 1st