Enid's longest book?/Award Books

[Anita Bensoussane]

Unfortunately, prices will vary from country to country. Here in Britain, most of the single volume Award books cost just under £3 each (or only about £1 when I saw them in bargain bookshops) which is good for a hardback.

Anita

[Philip Mannering]

Quite cheap compared to here!

Meanwhile, good to know that you've modified the title of the topic, Anita. Our last post on the topic (original topic, I should say!) was on about the start of Page 3! Since then, it is Award books and the new editions. Now that the topic is modified, it seems that all of the posts are on topic, a feat which does not happen much in the threads here!

[Anna Wilkinson]

Firstly, many thanks to Viv at Ginger Pop for news of this thread on the site. I am thrilled that Award Blyton titles have attracted so much comment, though concerned at some of the perceptions!

I am nonetheless delighted to confirm that there are over 120 of Enid Blyton titles in print with Award. These include:

72 titles of ‘Popular Rewards’ in hardback (short stories, largely written for the Sunny Stories magazine )
5 Secret Island titles in new (2007) HB editions (more of this later!!)
6 Barney Mystery Stories in PB
6 Young Adventurers in PB
3 Adventurous Four in PB
3 short story omnibuses in HB (‘The Secret of Skytop Hill’; ‘The House in the Fog’; ‘The Smugglers’ Caves’)
3 ‘Adventure Omnibuses’ in HB (‘The Secret of the Lost Necklace’; ‘The Secret of Cliff Castle’; and ‘The Adventures of the Six Cousins’, a bind up of the two Six Cousins titles)
4 illustrated Bedtime Anthology Books (HB, and boxed set)
6 illustrated Picture Story Books (PB)
18 ‘Happy Days’ (PB) (including the Mr Pinkwhistle, Mr Meddle, and Mr Twiddle titles)

And yes, we are hugely excited to be republishing the ‘Secret Series’ in 2009 with the addition of a sixth title. Release is scheduled for the end of April, and as has already been mentioned, cover artwork will be by Val Biro.

The existing jackets will be fully redesigned and reillustrated, and all the titles will publish in paperback. The original five titles will feature the existing line drawings, with reset text to allow an increased point size – as the current font size is felt to be too small for the target age range.

That this new release does not feature in our 2008-9 catalogue is due to the fact that a full promotional campaign is planned, supported by instore ‘point of sale’ display material and, with luck, plenty of press coverage! Details of this campaign, and the new jacket designs will be posted here as soon as they are available.

Regarding our pricing policy, I am sorry to see that our aim to publish at the best possible prices has caused so much confusion! Unfortunately, at least in the UK, this approach – designed to widen affordability, and therefore maximise availability to all those with an interest in reading the stories – has not been as successful as we had hoped. This is partly because some of the major chains have the same issues as have earlier been raised here on this site ie. that quality hardback editions retailing at less than the cost of a paperback, creates confusion amongst consumers.

Suffice to say that our recommended retail prices are gradually being realigned with regular trade prices (yes, they will be increasing), partly to allow the big chains to stock the books and also to cover increased print costs.

With regard to supplying bulk quantities, as opposed to individual copies, to the trade – there appears to be some misunderstanding! Yes, in order to offer readers such great value, we do try to supply to the trade in old fashioned ‘wholesale’ quantities eg. 36 assorted copies of a series of 6 Popular Reward titles. BUT, we also work with the major UK wholesalers, who in turn can and do supply single copies to any trade outlet in the UK, and further a-field, worldwide.

Amazon UK also buys directly from us, so anyone having difficulty finding a particular title in store at a local bookshop, can get it delivered to their door within Amazon’s usually quite speedy terms. Just go into ‘Books’, ‘Advanced Search’ and enter ‘Blyton’ in the ‘author’ field, and ‘Award’ in the ‘publisher’ field.

And, lastly, for those concerned by our apparent failure to correctly categorise certain titles, you have our apologies. It has never been our intention to deceive, and we are reviewing, and trying to improve, our categorisation as the range continues to be rejacketed and developed.

As many of you know, we have enjoyed and supported Blyton publishing over many years, and through periods when her stories have been considerably less ‘popular’ than in these enlightened (revivalist!?) times. We look forward to continuing to publish, and to helping to publicise and promote her work in the years to come, and particularly to the new editions of the Secret Series in 2009.

Best,
A

[Tony Summerfield]

For those that don't already know, I would just like to add that Anna is the 'boss' at Award, and it is really nice of her to take the trouble to reply to the various queries (and gripes!).

Thanks a lot Anna.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks very much indeed for your detailed response Anna. That really does clear a few things up and I feel I have a better understanding of the situation now. It's a pity that the policy of some of the big chains (together with rising print costs) has meant that you will have to increase your prices. On the other hand, I look forward to seeing Award Blytons in the major bookshops - it's great that you keep so many titles in print.

Anita

[Lucky Star]

Many thanks Anna for taking the time and trouble to explain things so clearly to us her at the EBS. Its good to hear that you are planning a significant amount of promotion for the books. I shall look out for it. Thanks again.

[Philip Mannering]

Thanks for such a detailed reply, Anna. I hope the books will be available in foreign countries - by foreign I mean other than UK: eg, India, my country - because I haven't seen the Secret Series ever here new! Looking forward to the new editons, hope I can buy one too.

The categorisations have been a little wrong - but then, we are all human. I hope you can correct them at some point in the future.