National Trust partners with Nosy Crow and Faber

The National Trust (NT) will expand its publishing range, growing its list with Pavilion and beginning new partnerships with children's publisher Nosy Crow, and a deal to publish narrative non-fiction with Faber.

The new partnerships will sit alongside the NT's existing publishing with Pavilion Books, which will continue to focus on its illustrated offering, such as Houses of the National Trust and The National Trust Complete Country Cookbook, and cover areas such as gardening, cookery, craft and gift books. The number of titles will be also be increased, forming the majority of the NT's publishing.

Katie Bond, who joined the NT as publisher in April after leaving her role as director of trade marketing and publicity at Bloomsbury, told The Bookseller: "We've had great success over the years with Pavilion, so it seemed like a no-brainer to look how we could look to expand what we do here and reach into new areas."

Across 2013-2014, sales of children's books grew 600% in the NT's 200 shops, reaching the audience of 1.4m NT family members.

Bond said: "I went to see lots of publishers, but it was Nosy Crow that really stood out to me – they are such a dynamic company, who can do the whole range, from baby books through to young adult." The first jointly-branded titles will be launched in March 2016, with the NT looking to begin with around six to 12 titles a year.

Nosy Crow m.d. and founder Kate Wilson said: "The more we thought about the potential of working with The National Trust, the more excited we felt about it, and the more great book ideas we came up with. From board books to anthologies via spotter guides and sticker books, we felt that there were so many opportunities to extend and enhance children’s understanding and experience of the wealth of nature and history heritage that The National Trust represents."

The other new focus will be narrative non-fiction through Faber, with the NT looking to co-publish around four titles a year. Bond said: "The NT is so connected to this country, to the landscape and its history, and there is the scope for so much good writing, which is what Faber understands."

Julian Loose, publisher for arts and non-fiction at Faber said: "Faber has always been excited by great writing about history and the natural environment, and we can't imagine a better publishing partner in these key areas than the National Trust.

As well as the new partnerships, the existing relationship with Pavilion will expand from around 12 titles a year to 15-20. Pavilion chief executive Polly Powell said: "We greatly appreciate working with the National Trust. It is in a unique position to nurture the wonderful countryside and the plethora of historic sites we have all around us. We look forward to growing the publishing programme with them."