Publishers to put readers to test with Christmas puzzle-book pile-up

Publishers are preparing to hit the Christmas market hard in 2018 with a range of giftable quizzing titles. Penguin has announced a new puzzle book with GCHQ while Headline is following last year’s brainteasing collaboration with Bletchley Park with Secret Service Brainteasers. Even astronaut Tim Peake is readying to launch into the market, presenting his own a "part puzzle book, part guide" outlining the European Space Agency's selection process for the first time; closer to planet earth, Orion has partnered with Ordnance Survey to test readers' knowledge of British maps.

The GCHQ Puzzle Book (Michael Joseph) was the sleeper hit of Christmas 2016, sparking fears over stock shortages before ultimately selling 307,776 copies. Bletchley Park Brainteasers was meanwhile a break-out success for Headline in 2017 the following Christmas, last year spending over five weeks as the number one bestselling non-fiction paperback and selling over 148,587 copies through the TCM.

Penguin is now moving onto The GCHQ Puzzle Book 2, a new set of brainteasers devised to mark the UK communications intelligence and cyber security agency's centenary year in 2019. Due to be published under Michael Joseph on 18th October 2018, it will offer a range of new puzzles "with even more at the much needed ‘easy’ level". There will also be tips on "how to think like a codebreaker” alongside "authentic entrance exams” and anecdotes about the people, technology and partnerships that are central to GCHQ’s mission of keeping the country safe.

Daniel Bunyard, who bought world rights from Adam Gauntlett at Peters Fraser + Dunlop, said: “We couldn’t be more delighted to be publishing another book of puzzles from GCHQ, particularly as part of such a momentous anniversary for the organisation. The 2016 book was the Christmas stocking filler of choice and we’re hoping that this new batch will be as fun, mind-bending and rewarding as before.”

After throwing a spotlight on Britain’s greatest code-breakers, Headline is shifting its focus to Britain’s greatest spies. In the sequel to Bletchley Park Brainsteasers, historian Sinclair McKay will be blending tales of British spies - including female spy Daphne Park, who swam across an icy river in her underwear to escape Soviet spies - with a range of puzzles, challenging readers "with secret languages, sabotage-themed brain bogglers and hidden codes all whilst pitting their wits against some of the greatest minds of our time - and finding out whether they have what it takes to be a spy”.

Secret Service Brainteasers will publish in trade paperback on 20th September 2018. Publishing director Sarah Emsley, who acquired world rights from Anna Power at Johnson & Alcock, said: "Fresh from the success of Bletchley Park Brainteasers, Sinclair has now switched his focus to the clandestine world of espionage. His meticulous research has taken him deep into the shadowy back room recruitment tactics of an industry that ‘crackles with the electricity of crucial geopolitical purpose’ and once again his wonderful real-life stories of British heroism will entertain us as much as his brainteasers will infuriate us.”

Cornerstone is preparing to enter the market with The Astronaut Selection Test Book: Do You Have What it Takes?, a book comprising 100 real astronaut tests and training exercises for readers to try at home. Inviting readers of all ages to attempt the European Space Agency’s rigorous astronaut selection and training program, tests include visual memory and perception puzzles, concentration tests, maths and mental arithmetic problems, psychological quizzes, teamwork and leadership exercises, survival skills, physical and medical exams and even foreign language aptitude tests (ESA astronauts must learn Russian). The book has been contributed to not only by Peake but by a range of ESA astronaut trainers and hits shelves on 4th October.

Orion has meanwhile unveiled a partnership with national mapping agency Ordnance Survey so it can test readers on their map-reading abilities in The Ordnance Survey Puzzle Book. Anna Valentine and Emma Smith, publisher and Ccommissioning Editor at Trapeze, bought world all-language rights from Adam Gauntlett at PFD to publish as a £14.99 trade paperback on 18th October 2018.

According to Orion, the book challenges readers to "pit their wits against Britain's greatest map makers", hunting down hidden treasures, deciphering geographical details and discovering new facts by working through over 200 "fascinating and fiendish" puzzles inspired by Ordnance Survey British maps. There are 40 full-colour maps in the book in total, with each accompanied by an explanation of its cultural significance and a set of "mind-bending" brainteasers.

Nick Giles, m.d. of OS Leisure, called the project "a new and exciting chapter in our history" to which Smith added: "We are thrilled to be publishing their world-class material in such an exciting way ... . Ranging from navigational tests, word games, code cracking and maths challenges, and complete with historical facts, this book is certain to delight map fanatics and puzzle addicts alike."