Discript Publishing

Email us: sales@discript.com

Telephone us: 020 7240 3196

About Us

Discript has been working with authors who are household names since 1989. We have been closely involved with other literary publishers, writers, translators and illustrators to produce books that are widely distributed and win prizes. It has been our pleasure to work with authors who have won the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Booker Prize.

As a small independent publisher we started our own imprint with five titles in 2021, with more in the pipeline. We commission titles and originate our own material for publication. Printed books are our products, with high production values, exciting covers and clear typographic design.

As independent publishers we take on books that corporate conglomerates would turn down: books by little-known authors or controversial subjects. We publish authors who have the talent to create books that otherwise might never be seen. We believe this will be more engaging for our readers.

Word Up!

polysyndeton

Definition: Rhetoric. The use of several conjunctions or, more usually, the same conjunction several times, in swift succession.

Etymology: from the Greek sundetos, which means "bound together ".

Usage example: Thoreau's exaggerated use of polysyndeton subverts the simple lifestyle in the pastoral world.

Poe: "And his brow was lofty with thought, and his eye wild with care; and, in the few furrows upon his cheek I read the fables of sorrow, and weariness, and disgust with mankind, and a longing after solitude."

Current titles

David Wurtzel, The Chosen City

photo of book The Chosen City by David Wurtzel

Bobby Steingrove is an outsider in his large, Jewish family. His Uncle Stanley owns and runs a motion picture studio in Hollywood during the golden era of the 1930s but Bobby’s father alone amongst the Steingrove brothers is dependent on Stanley’s charity. When Bobby gets into Yale, though, a new world opens up to him. He falls in with a moneyed clique of amoral young East Coast men. Handsome and clever, Bobby is able to keep up with them. He also falls in love and after an elegant party on Fifth Avenue he is willingly led into Central Park.

      Ultimately his aspirations change, and he goes back to Los Angeles to work in his uncle’s studio whose biggest star, Laura Hampshire, insists that Stanley films a new novel as a vehicle for her. What Bobby knows is that the novel, which was written by one of his Yale friends, includes a disguised version of himself as a protagonist. With mixed motives, Bobby is propelled into writing the script and taking over as director, but when his past catches up with him, he discovers how far family loyalty goes. In a world where talent can be rewarded but acceptance and belonging are fluid, it is never clear who is being seduced or by whom.

Author David Wurtzel practised at the English Bar and for several years was consultant editor of the Bar’s magazine, Counsel. His first novel, Thomas Lyster: A Cambridge Novel was published by Brilliance Books.

‘A really good pace makes for a highly enjoyable read.’ – The Middle Templar

‘A witty, surprising and captivating novel about Hollywood in the 1930s’ – Richard Zimler, author of The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon and The Incandescent Threads

Fiction, published September 2023
Paperback original
ISBN 978–1–9163613–6–2       £11.99



Visit thechosencity.com for more information.

James London, Murder in the Old Village

photo of book Murder in the Old Village by James London

Shanklin Carnival annually celebrates the joys of summer in a charming village on the Isle of Wight. This year, carnival high spirits are replaced by carnage. As the parade proceeds toward the High Street, the float carrying the Carnival Queen gathers pace and quickly runs out of control, causing pandemonium within the watching crowd. The Carnival Queen, Gillian Napier, young and beautiful, with her whole life ahead of her, is tragically killed, along with Mick McClusky, the driver of the float. Brake failure makes it look like an accident – but could it be something more sinister?

This novel is the sequel to One-Way Ticket to Ryde by James London which we published in 2020. It weaves a twisting tale of carefully crafted suspense in his latest murder mystery. Fans of his previous crime fiction will be kept on the edge of their seats by this thriller that will especially appeal to readers familiar with the beautiful Isle of Wight and the sunny South Coast of England.

Crime fiction, published July 2023

Paperback original

ISBN 978–1–9163613–7–9       £8.99 rrp plus postage

paperback



Other recent titles

Contributors: Michael Carroll, Susan Hampshire, Astrid Hilne, Georgina Hunter-Jones, Kate Levey, Diana Melly, Katharine Schopflin, Edward Thorpe, Julia Williams, Jo Wreford, Richard Bates (ed.),Who Cares

photo of book Who Cares by Richard Bates.

What does it really mean to be a carer? When your spouse, parent, sibling or friend is ill, disabled or vulnerable, they may need help all day, every day. Will you give part of your time to be with them? How much will you sacrifice? Your home, family, friends? Your job, income, career? Is your commitment open-ended? Where do you draw the line? How much can you do for those you love?

In the UK an estimated 6.5 million adults are carers — 1 in 8 of the population. An estimated 13.6 million people are caring through the Covid-19 pandemic. Are carers 'volunteers', or do we rely on them? Without 'informal' carers would social care and the NHS cope or collapse?

A paperback book by carers illustrated with their photos.
Social issues and processes / Ageing / Society and culture / Social inclusion / Health care / Dementia care / Social care

ISBN 978‑1‑9163613‑4‑8     £9.95 rrp plus postage



Visit who-cares.co.uk for more information.

Jane Manley, Mrs Trewhella's War

photo of book Mrs Trewhella's War by Jane Manley

Gertrude and Percy Trewhella, members of an English family long resident in Sicily, left their house in Taormina shortly before Italy entered the Second World War in 1940, hoping to join their daughters in England. Unfortunately they left their journey a little too late and only managed to reach Paris – just as the Germans were arriving. They spent most of the rest of the war as internees. Amazingly, Mrs Trewhella succeeded in keeping a diary throughout the difficulties and indignities to which she and her husband were subjected.

The courage and staunchness of the couple, who were by no means young, shine through her words and give a vivid picture of those years under the Occupation in France.

Social history

ISBN 978‑1‑9163613‑3‑1       £13.99 rrp plus postage

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Laurence Haugh, A Thousand Best Tunes

photo of book A Thousand Best Tunes by Laurance Haugh

Many years of listening to Radio 2, in particular, helped Laurence Haugh to select the tunes for this book. He has selected for your listening pleasure the most memorable songs and tunes ever made, starting with 'Greensleeves' written by Henry VIII and ending with 'Nocturne' by Secret Garden. Lavishly illustrated with 52 original colour illustrations by Christopher Straker to match the tunes, this book, including as it does all styles of music, is the only one of its kind ever published.

Popular music

ISBN 978‑1‑9163613‑2‑4       £8.99 rrp plus postage

Shaggy Johnson Lane, Sticks & Stones & Gravy Bones

photo of book Sticks & Stones & Gravy Bones

"Life is great! I've come a long way since joining Greybeard and the Woman's household. Join me in meeting all the different types of dogs, some of whom have become my best mates — where I pee, they pee over it. You can't get a better endorsement of friendship than that."

Join Shaggy, his sister Chiquita and all his park mates, for their daily adventures. Enjoy their uncensored thoughts, shenanigans and tales of getting up to no good. With more than 30 images to illustrate how we manage our household and keep the staff happy.

Dog Humour

ISBN 978‑1‑9163613‑1‑7       £8.99 rrp plus postage

James London, One-Way Ticket to Ryde

photo of book One Way Ticket To Ryde by James London

Following the success of The Island Murders which topped the Waterstones best‑seller list for five weeks in 2018, One-Way Ticket to Ryde is another roller-coaster crime investigation by Detective Inspector Bruno Peach.

When Detective Inspector Bruno Peach's phone rings his calm weekend turns into a hunt for the identity of a dangerously elusive killer. Bruno's quest for the perpetrator of one gruesome murder at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway takes him all over the Island as well as to Oxford, London and Paris.

The story will appeal to fans of quality crime fiction, especially those who know the beautiful Isle of Wight. Buy this book at Waterstones.

ISBN 978‑1‑9163613‑0‑0       £8.99 rrp plus postage

paperback


Robert Sénécal, They Came They Saw They Were Conquered

photo of book They Came, They Saw, They Conquered by Robert Sénécal

A unique book about 'Rome as seen by British artists, writers and travellers over five centuries' consisting of 220,000 words and 112 images of vintage postcards and etchings, this book was edited and designed by Discript working closely with the author over a ten-year period.

Producing this quarter casebound edition of 352 colour pages, we realised the lifetime achievement of the author and publisher to create a handsome coffee-table book for art historians and Italophiles. Published in 2017 by Gatehouse Editions.

ISBN 978‑0‑9927342‑4‑4       £50.00 casebound

Alan Clark, Rory's Boys

photo of book Rory's Boys by Alan Clark

The author sent us his manuscript as a Word file. We copy-edited it then recommended it to a publisher, Arcadia Books Ltd., who read the edited Word file and decided to publish it. Discript designed the book cover and found an economical lithographic printer. The book has received favourable reviews and sold well.

ISBN 978‑1‑906413‑88‑0       £7.99 paperback

Robert Sénécal (ed.), Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore - Visitors' book from 13 October 1870 to 12 May 1890

photo of book Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore - Visitor's Book

The editor asked Discript to reproduce photographic images of pages of a visitors' book in an Italian monastery, and design a four-colour cover. This is a book mainly of interest to historians, art historians and academics, so we produced a relatively small print run. Published in 2017 by Gatehouse Editions.