The Salariya Book Company is an independent publishing house based in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, United Kingdom, which publishes children’s non-fiction, fiction and baby books both domestically and internationally. Salariya books are published in the UK through its Book House, Scribblers and Scribo imprints.

History

The Salariya Book Company was founded by David Salariya as a book-packaging company in 1989 in Brighton, England. In 2002, it started publishing under its imprint Book House, going on to launch the imprint Scribblers (designed to develop key learning skills for babies and pre-school children) in 2007 and the children’s fiction imprint Scribo in 2009.

Founder

David Salariya was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1954. He attended Ancrum Road Primary School then Harris Academy, before studying illustration and printmaking at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design,

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, specialising in book design in his postgraduate year. He worked as a freelance illustrator and designer before founding The Salariya Book Company in 1989. He lives in Brighton with his wife Shirley and their son Jonathan.

Books

Book series publishing by The Salariya Book Company include ''You Wouldn’t Want To Be'' (published as ''The Danger Zone'' in the UK), a series of more than 50 illustrated historical non-fiction titles told using a first-person narrative, and ''Graffex'', classic novels adapted into the graphic novel format. In 2009, the company bought the rights to the popular

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...

fantasy fiction series '' Amos Daragon'', an animation of which is being developed by Spectra Animation in Canada.

Awards

In 2009, The Salariya Book Company was one of three publishers shortlisted for the Independent Publishers Guild's Children’s Publisher of the Year award. In 2010, the Company went one better, beating Walker Books and Top That! to win the Children's Publisher of the Year award.

''Graffex''

''Graffex'' is a series of books published in the UK by Book House and available in numerous languages worldwide. The series takes famous literary classics and retells them in a graphic novel format. Each title is an abridged version of the original book, and is designed to engage young readers through the use of simplified narratives and colourful visual aids. Most of the titles are illustrated by Penko Gelev, although Li Sidong, Nick Spender and Romano Felmang have also contributed to the series. Titles in the series include: *'' The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

(retold by Tom Ratliff) *''Dracula'' by

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

(retold by Fiona Macdonald) *''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' by Robert Louis Stevenson (retold by Fiona Macdonald) *'' Frankenstein'' by Mary Shelley (retold be Fiona Macdonald) *'' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

(retold by Michael Ford) *''

A Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...

'' by

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

(retold by Fiona Macdonald) *''

Kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

'' by Robert Louis Stevenson (retold by Fiona Macdonald) *''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' by William Shakespeare (retold by Stephen Haynes) *'' The Man in the Iron Mask'' by

Alexandre Dumas, père Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where ''Suffix (name)#Generational titles, '' is French language, French for 'father', to distinguish him from ...

(retold by Jim Pipe) *'' Moby Dick'' by Herman Melville (retold by Sophie Furse) *''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...

'' Charles Dickens (retold by John Malam) *'' A Tale of Two Cities'' by Charles Dickens (retold by Fiona Macdonald) *'' Treasure Island'' by Robert Louis Stevenson (retold by Fiona Macdonald) *'' Hamlet'' by William Shakespeare (retold by Kathy McEvoy) *''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'' by William Shakespeare (retold by Micheal Ford) *'' Wuthering Heights'' by

Emily Brontë Emily Jane Brontë (, commonly ; 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, ''Wuthering Heights'', now considered a classic of English literature. She also published a book of poet ...

(retold by Jim Pipe) *'' Jane Eyre'' by Charlotte Brontë (retold by Fiona MacDonald) *'' The Three Musketeers'' by

(retold by Jim Pipe) *'' The Odyssey'' by Homer (retold Fiona MacDonald) *''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' by William Shakespeare (retold by Jim Pipe) *'' Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'' by

(retold by Jacqueline Morley) *''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', or ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'' is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan ...

'' by Jonathan Swift (retold by John Malam)

''A Very Peculiar History''

''A Very Peculiar History'' is a series of illustrated non-fiction books published in the United Kingdom by Salariya under the "Book House" name. The series is intended to interest adults and young people in history by compressing many facts and curiosities into 192 pages. The books are designed with multiple entry points (fact boxes, lists, recipes etc.) so they can be 'dipped into'. The emphasis is on highlighting little-known and bizarre stories and facts, while covering the known history of the subject and debunking popular urban myths. The books are written by different authors, including Fiona Macdonald, Jim Pipe,

David Arscott David Arscott is an author, local historian and publisher from Sussex. He has written more than 40 books about Sussex, as well as several volumes of the Salariya Book Company's ''Very Peculiar History'' series and a number of works of fiction. ...

, Ian Graham and Jacqueline Morley. Titles in the series include: *''Ancient Egypt: A Very Peculiar History – The Art of Embalming: Mummy, Myth and Magic'' *''Scotland: A Very Peculiar History (2 volumes)'' *''London: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Castles: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Golf: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Great Britons: A Very Peculiar History'' *''The Olympics: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Kings & Queens: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Christmas: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Titanic: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Royal Weddings: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Global Warming: A Very Peculiar History'' *''The Tudors: A Very Peculiar History'' *''William Shakespeare: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Charles Dickens: A Very Peculiar History'' *''World War One: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Whisky: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Brighton: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Wales: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Ireland: A Very Peculiar History '' *''The Blitz: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Rations: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Vampires: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Victorian Servants: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Yorkshire: A Very Peculiar History'' *''The World Cup: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Cats: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Dogs: A Very Peculiar History'' *''England: A Very Peculiar History (3 volumes)'' *''Edinburgh: A Very Peculiar History'' *''Oxford: A Very Peculiar History'' 2013 will see the release of ebook editions of the "A Very Peculiar History" series.

References

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External links

Book House website

Salariya Book Company website

Scribblers website

Amos Daragon website
Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom