Farrow becomes patron of IPG

Nigel Farrow, former chairman of Ashgate Publishing, has joined the Independent Publishers Guild as patron.

Farrow has been active and influential in publishing for more than half a century. He was chairman of Ashgate Publishing until it was sold to Taylor & Francis’ parent company Informa last summer, and founded its original imprint, Gower, in 1967. He continues to have interests in the industry through his ownership of art book publisher Lund Humphries, which was separated from Ashgate and relaunched as an independent company in late 2015. He has also held various directorships in educational publishing companies and is founder of the Estelle Trust, which supports educational charities and projects.

Farrow joins a growing group of IPG patrons, who are made up of former publishing company members of the IPG who have given significant service to independent publishing and who wish to remain involved with the guild in some capacity. Patrons contribute donations in return for a life membership, which are ring-fenced for special projects or purchases rather than channelled towards the IPG’s general expenditure.

The full list of patrons, who are said to together embody the "entrepreneurial and collegiate spirit" of the IPG, is David Blunt, Kathryn Earle, Nigel Farrow, Alan Finlay, Oliver Gadsby, Chris Hall, Jonathan Harris, Pat Heathcote, Sonny Leong, Edward Milford, Brian Moeran, Geoff Nuttall, Jill Pearce, Martin Sheppard, John Skelton, Jim Smith, Brian Willan and Martin Woodhead. The late David Fulton and Tim Rix have also served.

IPG chief executive Bridget Shine said: “We are delighted that Nigel has chosen to become an IPG patron. Ashgate was a much-valued member of the IPG for many years, and we are very pleased that Nigel can join a group that makes such an important contribution to our work. Their generosity is typical of our membership and the spirit that makes the IPG so special.”

Farrow said: “It is an honour and a pleasure to be joining IPG’s group of patrons. Especially as the present and past members of the group include several good friends and former colleagues among its list of distinguished publishers.”