It was what my mother used to call a dog day – one of those steamy, cloudy, still days of August when nothing much changes. I was walking to the copse at the end of Clapham Common and, when I entered it, could see it hadn’t altered much since I was last there. Two men with bicycles were waiting patiently for their lovers, one beside a bench and the other near a battered sign. Further on was a blunt looking Scotty dog, busy and alert amongst the undergrowth. There was nothing else remarkable except for the stillness of the foliage, all noise of the surrounding roads dimmed by the moist atmosphere and lack of breeze. I stood quite still, concentrated and enchanted, flashing back down the years to my childhood.

Occasionally, during a quiet school holiday, my mother would say, ‘Let’s go out in the car…’ She and I would set off, full of expectation and enthusiasm, and after meandering around for a while, often seemed to end up down a deep track in a wood. There, she’d turn off the engine, we’d wind down the windows, and go very quiet, smelling the bracken, listening to the invisible birds high up in the trees, watching the sunlight change amongst the undergrowth. It was always a magical moment, filled with joy. Eventually, she’d sigh and say, ‘Isn’t it wonderful? It’s so primitive…’

What she meant, I think, was the way you can sometimes feel fully alive when you go quiet and really focus on where you are - often helped by being completely still, in a place of natural beauty.

This is all in my mind at the moment because of the recent visit to London by Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh. He gave a speech at the Hammersmith Apollo a couple of weeks ago, and some of us went to hear him from the office. He was as inspiring and as extraordinary as ever, demonstrating what real concentration is all about in the way he picked up a glass of water to drink, in the way he spoke for an hour without notes (though he is in his eighties), and in the clarity of mind he used in answering the questions, his face alight. But what I haven’t been able to forget was the way, when he finished speaking, he just left. Whilst others around him on the stage began to move and reorganise for the next part of the evening, Thich Nhat Hanh simply stood up, turned to face the backdrop, and slipped away. There was no bow to the audience, no pause for applause. Nothing. The contrast between him and all the rock bands, mediums, orators and dancers who have filled Hammersmith Apollo before him, was enormous.

That evening I started re-reading his seminal book, The Miracle of Mindfulness. I hadn’t forgotten how practical and helpful is his advice about performing everyday tasks with mindfulness. He makes it all seem so simple. Perhaps it really is. But I had forgotten how very profound are his instructions ‘so we can live each minute of life’. At some point he says: ‘If we’re really engaged in mindfulness…then we will consider each step we take as an infinite wonder, and a joy will open our hearts like a flower, enabling us to enter the world of reality.’

Perhaps that’s what my mother and I were really doing, deep inside that wood, without realising it – getting a dose of reality by fully focusing on where we were. And what I caught a glimpse of once again on Clapham Common last Saturday.

Judith Kendra - Rider Publishing Director

Read an extract of The Miracle of Mindfulness

In a typically British summer fashion, both the sun and the rain were out in force last Saturday for the Vintage at Goodwood festival. As well as amazing vintage cars, beautiful 1940s outfits, lots of vintage stalls and an exceptionally posh looking Veuve Cliquot tent, Gizzi Erskine was at the festival letting people sample some of her delicious sweet treats.

We had a lovely tea party in the Let it Rock tent - while people danced and chatted to some good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll, Gizzi served up free cakes, cookies and cups of tea, all served in beautiful vintage china. She was also on hand to sign her book, Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic, which features all the desserts served up as well as lots of other delicious recipes for everything from Victoria Sponge to the perfect roast chicken.

Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic

Katie - Digital Marketing Manager

The 21 speeches explored in this book are moments in time – points in history used to illustrate the development of the ways we see the world today. These world views did not appear in isolation: they grew out of the events, ideas, politics and people of the last one hundred years or so.

I reviewed over a hundred transcripts in the process of choosing which speeches to focus on, and decided to limit the final number to 21 to represent the current century. The chosen speeches all spoke to me in a powerful way and captured the essence of the ideas that I was exploring: they reflected one of two principal outlooks which currently dominate global thinking and which might be characterised – albeit simplistically – as ‘idealist’ and ‘realist’ positions.

It was also essential that the final selection had some female and non-Western voices (unlike in too many other books). To that end there are speeches by Emmeline Pankhurst, Margaret Beckett, Margaret Thatcher and Marie Fatayi-Williams, as well as by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Osama bin Laden, Salvador Allende and Mohandas Gandhi. The book features politicians, soldiers, activists and ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. Many of these people brought about tremendous change, or at least came to represent that change. Whether you think they shaped the zeitgeist or grew from it depends on whether you believe in the pre-eminence of the individual or society as a whole. Examples pointing to both are included in 21 Speeches that Shaped Our World.

Speeches come in many forms and in selecting those for inclusion in this book I used a broad definition of what constitutes a speech, so there is also a written last statement, a video message, a radio broadcast and a televised address. There may be surprise at some of the other speeches that have been included: George Bush is not known as the world’s greatest orator and bin Laden – while a powerful speaker – is not usually considered to have delivered some of the modern world’s most influential speeches, though he has. If, on the other hand, the book is missing some famous speeches, it is because it isn’t intended to be a collection of the ‘greatest’ speeches – some excellent anthologies already exist. Even if you have come across some, or all, of these speeches before, they warrant re-reading – and I hope to add the understanding of how they have shaped the world we live in.

In writing this book, I also wished to introduce a new generation of readers to some of the most important words ever spoken. Many will recognise lines such as ‘we will fight on the beaches’ or ‘I have a dream’ but may have little understanding of their significance or perhaps not even know who spoke them or, more importantly, why. I have tried to address this, and therefore each speech is preceded by an introduction exploring the context and wider impact of that moment and the background of the speaker.

Despite the modern desire for sound bites, the best speeches can remind us of Shakespeare: eloquent language and novel phrases are used to impart a message about the human condition that can be understood by almost everyone. They are akin to poetry and, in fact, utilise many of the poet’s techniques, from rhythm to repetition. Like the sophist teachers of philosophy and rhetoric in ancient Greece, however, speakers can also use ambiguous language and rhetorical sleight-of-hand to promote weak or false arguments or obscure the truth. A great speaker can use their verbal skills to manipulate our emotions and deceive our thinking. In this way, speeches have the power not only to inspire others to great achievement but also to lead them to great harm (some devastating examples of which are included in this book).

In the end, though, this book is about hope: hope for a safer, more equal world, where our differences are not settled by wars and where we are able to work together to overcome the huge social and environmental challenges humanity will face over the course of this century.

Chris Abbott, author of 21 Speeches that Changed Our World: The People and Ideas That Changed the Way We Think

In previous years we had taken a number of Ebury authors to the Latitude festival, where their talks, signings and events had always been a huge success (we served tea and biscuits with Stuart Maconie and Friends, gave out Ebury toilet rolls to an audience incapacitated with laughter at Emma Kennedy’s The Tent, The Bucket and Me event and had a strong showing at the festival overall).  So, Latitude audiences really like our authors; what else could Ebury do? Then Latitude’s Festival Director Tania Harrison offered Ebury our very own area in the forest; a warm, sunlit woodland glade where we could create a literary haven for festival goers and the idea for The Ebury Library and Bookshop was born.

We called on the skills of authors Lucy Edge and Miles Irving to run our Yoga and Foraging workshops, and, buoyed by Tania’s certainty that ‘The Ebury Library and Bookshop’ would be a success, set to planning the logistics of creating a vibrant library, bookshop and informal café in the heart of the ‘Faraway Forest’…

After weeks of planning, we put 29 carefully labelled boxes on the back of a courier van and set off after it. Despite a couple of heart-in-mouth moments at 7.30am the next morning  (‘Er, has anyone seen our shed?’) we had The Ebury Library and Bookshop ready in record time, thanks to Liz’s totally unflappable approach and Clare and Victoria’s impressive screwdriver skills! By the time the gates opened at 11am our area of the Faraway Forest was transformed from wilderness to literary tranquillity, with deckchairs, rugs and cushions aplenty and, of course, a kettle, some mugs and lots of tea.

11am also saw The Handbag and Wellies Yoga Club author Lucy Edge’s first Yoga workshop. We were inundated, with people spreading their mats on the grass once the stage was full! I spoke to several people afterwards who said how much they had enjoyed Lucy’s readings from her books, how delighted they were that we were offering Yoga at Latitude and that they had purchased copies of Yoga School Dropout and The Handbag and Wellies Yoga Club.

Latitude-goers are a creative lot, and back at The Ebury Library kids and adults alike were rising to the creative challenge of contributing to our ‘Tales from the Ebury Library’ and inevitably, people were keen to help themselves to our branded toilet roll! We did a roaring trade in books throughout the festival, and made sure that visitors to our stand got their own Ebury at Latitude bookmark, complete with special rbooks discount to use on their return home. Visitors to the library were also keen to show off their literary knowledge, packing in to take part in the inaugural Ebury Latitude Book Quiz.

Over at the Literary Arena, at a festival where practically everyone is living in a tent, what could be more appropriate than a talk by a man who lived for 6 weeks in a cave? Peter Owen Jones, author of Letters of an Extreme Pilgrim held the audience spellbound as he talked about how he coped with living in the Sinai desert. He was swamped with people wanting to share their appreciation afterwards, as were Mark Thomas, Richard Herring, Katharine Hibbert and Jeremy Hardy, all of whom also performed in the tent during the weekend.

Saturday dawned bright - and rainy. I had been told Suffolk was the home of unpredictable weather and here was the proof of it! Having done a pre-foraging workshop recce with Miles Irving at 10.30am in the blistering sun, we found ourselves desperately seeking shelter beneath the trees as the heavens opened at 11.00…  just in time for the event! Fortunately it’s an understatement to say that Miles is the outdoor type. He immediately galvanised us into action, building a makeshift awning out of Caroline’s bunting, twigs and bracken so that everyone could sit comfortably out of the rain to listen to the talk. After introducing the basics of foraging (how to identify the different plant families; why it’s not a good idea to eat hemlock…), Miles led us on a tour of the Latitude site, pointing out wild radish, water mint, bull rushes and many more edible plants which we were able to sample en route, finishing beneath a huge chestnut tree. As with Lucy Edge’s Yoga, both foraging workshops were extremely popular, with over 60 people on the busiest day. There was lots of interest, with people staying behind to ask Miles’ advice on how to get started and buy signed copies of The Forager Handbook.

The best part of the Ebury Library and Bookshop experience was watching people reading Ebury books. We all commented on what a perfect fit our books and author events were with the Latitude demographic – and not just those about Yoga and Foraging. It was great to see young kids pouring over Life and a group of students chuckling over Danny Wallace. Mark Thomas’ The People’s Manifesto was hugely popular, as were the Keep Calm books and Alys Fowler’s The Edible Garden – and of course, 101 Things to do in Shed! It was clear that there is an avid readership out there eager to devour our books – and that festivals like Latitude are the perfect way to reach them. Ultimately, it was good to realise we were providing an environment that people appreciated and books that they enjoyed. As one visitor wrote: ‘Dear Ebury, a cup of tea and a shady spot means a lot. Thanks’.

Jenny - Press Officer

The gracious surroundings of Dartington Hall played host to several Ebury authors at the Ways With Words Festival this weekend. Oliver James discussed his controversial parenting manual How Not to F*** Them Up on Saturday at 4pm, followed by Jeremy Hardy who took to the stage to do a comedy gig. He was then back at 10am on Sunday to discuss My Family and Other Strangers. Richard Herring will also be at Dartington this week, speaking about How Not to Grow Up on Thursday 15th.

Excitement is rising in anticipation of Ebury’s foray into the world of Latitude Festival next weekend. Ebury have a fantastic line-up at Latitude Festival this year with performances from Jeremy Hardy, Mark Thomas, Richard Herring, Katharine Hibbert, Miles Irving, Peter Owen Jones and Lucy Edge.

Equally excitingly, for the first time, we have been given our very own area, The Ebury Library and Bookshop.

Located in The Faraway Forest, The Ebury Library and Bookshop will be a haven for festival goers, who can browse our bookshelves (housed in a shed provided by Latitude) then lounge beneath the bunting with a book and a cup of tea in one of our deckchairs or hammocks. We will have branded goody bags and even Ebury toilet roll. There will be visitors’ books where the creatively minded can write their own ‘Tales from The Ebury Library’ - we aim to upload these to the Ebury blog and twitter feed at regular intervals.

Events taking place from the Ebury Library include Foraging Workshops with Miles Irving and Yoga with Lucy Edge. Our blackboard will display the latest events info for all our authors, which will also be billed in the festival programme. Look out for updates from the Ebury team at the festival…

And finally… we have a stellar contingent at Edinburgh this year, with performances from Jeremy Hardy, Oliver James, Shappi Khorsandi, Oliver Chittenden, Tom Chatfield and Katherine Hibbert. What other publisher could offer authors speaking on subjects as diverse as family history, what it’s like to grow up Iranian in London, the international gaming industry, how to live for free and, of course how not to F*** your kids up? Look out for further updates on this year’s exciting opportunities at Edinburgh.

Jenny - Publicity Officer

We have 24 pairs of tickets to give away for a double-bill event at the iTunes festival on Sunday 18th July, from 6pm. Discover Confidence in a Minute with iTunes bestselling author, TV presenter and NLP master practitioner Tony Wrighton. Tony will share several easy techniques, all of which can be done in under a minute, which can help you to instantly feel more confident and set you on the track to achieving what you want. As Tony puts it, he’s not a ‘sharp-suited guru’ - he’s very down to earth and his aim is to empower people with the techniques to gain confidence quickly, with incredible results! One of the intriguing things about the book is how the techniques Tony has developed harness the technology we surround ourselves with – your PC, email, blackberry, iphone, mobile etc…

So if you feel more anxious than assertive, come along to an audience with Tony Wrighton then take your newly empowered self to an event with Stephen Fry. Sound like a good deal?!

To enter the competition, email kcollins@eburypublishing.co.uk with Tony Wrighton Tickets in the subject line, plus their address and contact number in the email. If you have won, someone will be in touch with you next Thursday.

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After his first book One Dog at a Time became a Sunday Times bestseller, Pen Farthing is back with new book No Place Like Home (published tomorrow). Picking up the story of Pen as he leaves the Forces and starts to run the charity NowZad Dogs full time, alongside his wife, it tells the remarkable story of how he continues to help servicemen rescue dogs from war-torn Afghanistan, to be re-homed across the world.

Serial for the book ran this weekend in the Mail on Sunday and today Pen and Lisa, along with their dogs Patch, NowZad and Tali came to London to appear on This Morning.

The dogs won over everyone in the green room, as well as Phil and Holly, and for former Afghan strays they couldn’t have been more relaxed in-front of the cameras.

Then to top the day we headed off to Battersea Park for a celebratory picnic lunch – with an amazing spread of delicious food from Ottolenghi.

Watch a video of Pen and the dogs on Amazon

Caroline - Deputy Publicity Director

Thursday 1st July saw the launch of head teacher and behavioural expert Charlie Taylor’s second book, Divas & Door Slammers. The balmy Kensington garden was full of enthusiastic friends and relatives debating how we can make (and maintain) better relationships with the teenagers in our lives.

Charlie Taylor’s approach to teenagers is unique. While they crave independence, Charlie points out that teenagers actually need to know that there are times when it’s ok to be children. This doesn’t mean we need to keep them under curfew, but it’s important to give them the support and boundaries they need to feel secure and to develop confidently. Divas & Door Slammers explains how teenagers’ lives are ruled by FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out – and how you can communicate more effectively with your teen by remembering the ‘three Ts’: Tone, Timing and Text. Charlie is a great advocate of praise; we should be aiming for around 6 moments of praise to every moment of criticism.

Having worked in inner city comprehensives and specialised in working with children with behavioural difficulties, Charlie has lots of sound advice for parents, families, or anyone else who has a tricky teenager in their lives. If you’d like a free copy of Charlie’s book, please email: jrowley@eburypublishing.co.uk. The first 20 people to e-mail in with their name and address will get a copy (and don’t worry - you won’t be signed up to any future marketing lists).

Find out more about Divas & Door Slammers

Jenny - Publicity Officer

Sarah Brown came into the office today to talk about her forthcoming memoir which we’ll be publishing for Mothers’ Day 2011. It was a privilege to hear Sarah talk firsthand about her experience of living in Downing St, and finding herself as a working mother in an extraordinary position. Sarah is pictured here with Ebury MD Fiona MacIntyre. Watch the blog for more news on Sarah’s memoir as we near publication.

Ed - Senior Publicity Manager

On Monday Hunter Davies hosted a gathering of some of the curators and superheroes featured in his new book, Behind the Scenes at the Museum of Baked Beans at the Cumberland Pencil Museum in Keswick home of the world’s largest pencil.

Captain Beany from the Baked Bean Museum of Excellence was there in his vibrant super hero costume. Captain Beany recently stood as a candidate in the general election and received more votes than the UKIP candidate! Also in attendance were ex-dentist Peter Nelson whose life was consumed with an overriding passion for famous cars and now runs two museums in Keswick: The Bond Museum and Cars from the Stars; Brian Radam from the British Lawnmower Museum in Southport; and of course, Alex Spencer and David Sharrock from the Pencil Museum.

Watch a video from the event

Read an extract of Behind the Scenes at the Museum of Baked Beans

Claire - Senior Publicity Manager