The books they choose to publish are the ones they can envisage urging all our friends to read. Their belief is that if our small team of book lovers feels that way about a book, there is a good chance all you readers out there will share our enthusiasm for it. But they don’t just take on a book – they take on authors. They pride themselves on finding new talent and nurturing a writer’s career.
 

Sceptre began 21 years ago as Hodder & Stoughton’s literary paperback imprint, publishing fiction and non-fiction alongside Coronet and NEL, the company’s mass-market imprints, and drawing on hardbacks published by both Hodder and other houses.  In its first eight years, fiction publications included Thomas Keneally’s Schindler’s Ark, Melvyn Bragg’s The Maid of Buttermere, Michael Chabon’s The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Rose Tremain’s Restoration, Siri Hustvedt’s first novel The Blindfold, and Fay Weldon’s Life and Loves of a She-Devil. Non-fiction ranged from John Colville’s The Fringes of Power to James Hamilton-Paterson’s Playing With Water.

In 1994, Sceptre started publishing its own fiction in hardback as well as paperback, and in recent years has begun publishing non-fiction in hardback too. Alongside  long-standing authors, many new novelists have been introduced – David Mitchell, Andrei Makine, Jill Dawson, Alexei Sayle, Jake Arnott, Andrew Miller and Charles Frazier to name but a few.  In non-fiction, highlights include Giles Milton’s Nathaniel’s Nutmeg, Victoria Findlay’s Colour, Charles Cross’s biography of Kurt Cobain Heavier Than Heaven, Pete McCarthy’s McCarthy’s Bar, the 2006 bestsellers Cloudspotter’s Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney and Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew by Bernard Hare, and Nabeel’s Song by Jo Tatchell, shortlisted for the 2006 Costa Biography of the Year Award.

Since Sceptre’s inception, its authors have won or been shortlisted for every major literary prize (apart from the Nobel) from the Booker to the Goncourt. They deserve their accolades! 
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To celebrate the 21st anniversary, Sceptre, commissioned 21 contemporary artists and illustrators to come up with original covers for a range of our classic titles. 

They chose artists whose work would bring a fresh interpretation to these 21 classic books.

The artists include Andrew Bannecker, Petra Borner, Paul Bower, Catalina Estrada, Lizzie Finn, Gregory Gilbert-Lodge, Paul Jackson, Joel Lardner, McFaul, Parra, Ulla Puggaard, Bernie Reid, Chris Rubino, Si Scott, Zakee Shariff, Sanna Annukka Smith, Jim Stoten and Alice Tait.

They have worked in a variety of media including embroidery, biro, paper cut-out, graffiti and felt tip pen. The results are a wonderfully eclectic series which both re-imagines and re-invigorates best-selling books.

We love their books. We hope you love them too.