Gabriel Hemery's Blog: Gabriel Hemery, page 30

The New Sylva wins major award for design and production

The New Sylva has won an award in the British Book Design and Production Awards 2014.

Click to view slideshow.

In the category for general non-fiction, known as “trade illustrated”, it won against stiff competition to secure the prize.

The judge’s comments:

The New Sylva is beautifully designed and produced. The stunning and delicate illustrations are printed onto a very tactile, soft uncoated stock which lends itself well to the pen and ink [pencil] drawings. Beyond its apparent simplicity and humbleness in the form and approach, what makes the book feel quite special are the details: how well the text is set and various glyphs used to animate the pages discretely and elegantly. The red and black colour palette throughout allows the book to be distinguished from other titles on nature. Overall this book is an exquisite object which invites one to learn and delve into the content as well as inspire quietness and calm.

Book designer Peter Dawson, from Grade Design, said:

“We are delighted to receive this prestigious award on behalf of the team whose collaboration have created such a stunning title. The Awards have brought the book’s profile to the wider attention of the design, print and publishing industries and in return they have rewarded our efforts with the accolade of Best Trade Illustrated Book 2014.”

British Book Design and Production Awards 2014 – winners

Review in Resurgence and Ecologist

“Gabriel Hemery’s text is a precise, fascinating, fluent, wide-ranging and hard-headed synthesis: an excellent popular introduction to tree biology and forestry. But the book is more than that . . . Hemery is out to celebrate and inspire passion and love . . .”

 

“The drawings really are astonishing: they are fine and vivid, combining anatomical precision with qualities that arouse intense emotion . . .”

 

“This book is gorgeous, precious and important.”

Trees of Enchantment – by Caspar Henderson

Resurgence & Ecologist Magazine, November/December 2014

Interview with Will Gompertz on BBC Radio

Originally posted on Gabriel Hemery:

I’m looking forward to being interviewed this morning by BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz on BBC Radio Oxford. I will be talking about forests and the work of the Sylva Foundation — the Oxfordshire-based charity I co-founded five years ago — and The New Sylva which was released in the US this week.

Will’s programme starts at 0900, and I will be on between 1000-1030.

You can listen to the programme on the BBC website for one week (listen from 1:08)

View original

The New Sylva is released in North America

The New Sylva – Bloomsbury Publishing USA

The New Sylva is released today, 21st October, in North America.

Visit Bloomsbury Publishing USA for more information.

It is available in all good bookstores, and via major online retailers such as  Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

The New Sylva wins design award

The New Sylva

The New Sylva has won an award for design from the International Society of Typographic Designers.

The Premier Award for books was collected by Peter Dawson, Creative Director of Grade Design at a ceremony in Bexhill-on-Sea, at the De La Warr Pavillion.

Title The New Sylva

Studio Grade Design

Art direction Peter Dawson

Designers Peter Dawson, Louise Evans

Peter Dawson said: “I’m absolutely delighted that our design and craft for The New Sylva title has been recognised with a Premier Award by the International Society of Typographic Designers Awards 2014. It’s a huge coup for me personally and for the studio, as it’s such a prestigious award and one that is judged to the very highest of standards.”

The award results have posted on the ISTD website

Review in The Countryman

“There can perhaps be no greater tribute to Dr Gabriel Hemery’s The New Sylva than that it manages to inhabit the soul of Evelyn’s original, whilst reinvigorating it, and reshaping his message for our times.”

 

“Its pages contain not merely descriptions of the appearance of individual species . . . It is a magisterial work that combines art and history with science.”

 

“The book is a stimulating read, and beautiful to look at.”

 

The New Sylva – by Jack Watkins

The Countryman, October 1st 2014

Guided walk by author Gabriel Hemery

Sat, 13/09/2014 – 2:00pm – 3:30pm




Harcourt Arboretum

Join the author of The New Sylva on a guided walk around the Sylva Trail at Harcourt Arboretum.  Learn more about what inspired him to rewrite Evelyn’s landmark book of 1664, what trees have meant to us over the centuries, and the future of our forests.  Gabriel is a chartered forester and is Chief Executive of the Sylva Foundation.

Tickets cost £15

To book your ticket, please click here

A selection of independent reviews

We have featured extracts from a number of published reviews of The New Sylva, ranging from The Times Literary Supplement to The Lady, from the Royal Forestry Society to Gardens Illustrated. Here is a selection of reviews from independent bloggers, readers and others written over recent months.

“The clear and authoritative text is sprinkled with quotes from John Evelyn; it’s almost as if the great man is listening in on the conversation and offering gems of wisdom from the comfort of an armchair.”

‘The New Sylva is a real treasury of woodland wisdom, and I know I shall be dipping into it regularly, both for pleasure and for reference.   This is a book to cherish for generations – but I hope it will also be used as an educational resource, re-connecting our children with the lore and science of trees.”

The Hazel Tree – reviewed by Jo Woolf

“It’s a real credit to Dr Gabriel Hemery that this is actually an enjoyable book to read as well as an interesting one. Necessary information regarding biology and pests/diseases is balanced by history and folklore, the result is undoubtedly scholarly as well as being entirely accessible by the lay person; it’s a book that keeps you reading on. What really makes it though are the absolutely stunning illustrations.”

Shiny New Books – reviewed by Hayley Anderton

“An intelligent and gorgeous book. John Evelyn would have been entranced.”

“Beautifully written and illustrated.”

“A fantastic and informative book, a must for all true arboriculture fanatics and all who are interested in our nations trees. Very well written and illustrated.”

“Wow! I thought it was a steepish price but SO much work has gone into this – it’s not! It’s an amazing piece of work.”

A small selection of reader reviews on Amazon.co.uk

If you know of any other reviews you think we should feature, please do let us know.

 

Author talk at Surrey History Centre

Author Gabriel Hemery will be talking about The New Sylva at the Surrey History Centre in Woking at 1430 on 4th October. The centre is just 14 miles from the John Evelyn’s birthplace at Wotton House.

Gabriel’s talk will be illustrated with the exquisite drawings of artist Sarah Simblet. An exhibition about John Evelyn’s work will be on show alongside Evelyn’s letters, diaries and copies of Sylva which are now in the care of Surrey History Centre.

Bloomsbury, the publisher of The New Sylva, has kindly donated a copy of the book to be given away to one lucky member of the audience at the event on 4 October. Signed copies will be available to purchase.

To read more about the talk and to book your place – see here

 

 

Review in Times Literary Supplement

“. . . an authoritative, up-to-date survey of modern forestry practice, set picturesquely . . .  among quotations and decorations from the first such book to be written in England.”

 

“There is a brief accountant of tree biology, then a long series of chapters on all the main British species of trees . . . These are delightful chapters: Hemery describes the trees attractively one by one, often coming up with fascinating facts about them, but concentrates always on the soundest methods of growing them . . .”

 

“[Evelyn's] many appearances in the text, the starred quotations from him that dot the pages, and even the layouts and occasional typography from Sylva, while they may seem bizarre in a scholarly work, nevertheless add something striking and worthwhile to the book.”

 

“The other important feature of the book is its illustrations. Black-and-white drawings by Sarah Simblet crowd the pages. They have an easy grace, while illustrating their subjects in the finest detail. They range from a bud on a twig to a whole tree in the landscape.”

Cherries, oaks and shifting beech – by Derwent May

Times Literary Supplement, August 8th 2014

Online access (for subscribers)