Everyone loves a David versus Goliath story and that is what has just happened in the highly competitive world of book publishing.
Against all the odds, independent publisher Permanent Publications have just slugged it out with industry giants and won the main prize at the 2017 Garden Media Guild Awards (GMG). Their No Dig Organic Home & Garden book by Charles Dowding and Stephanie Hafferty beat major industry supported celebrity titles to the prestigious Peter Seabrook Practical Book of the Year at the annual event held at The Savoy Hotel, London.
The book has already sold over ten thousand copies in the UK and North America and the GMG Award will further promote the authors’ ‘no dig’ gardening expertise to gardeners. The publisher also believes it is evidence that their passion for supporting positive, can-do sustainable living messages are not only needed but are now wanted by a public who are ever more educated about our effects on planet Earth. These methods also help in this age of austerity when many are having to tighten their belts economically.
If David verses Goliath is about being different then Permanent Publications certainly are
Permanent Publications have been publishing books, and the quarterly Permaculture Magazine International, for over 25 years and this is their first major book award (although they are a recipient of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise). For them it shows that old, outdated thinking can be challenged and embraced.
It is akin to French winemakers being challenged by other farmers across the world. Now we can source new local, tasty wine varieties, buy new craft beers, Fairtrade teas and coffees, and there is a resurgence in growing our own veg, herbs, craft home brew and winemaking.
If David verses Goliath is about being different then Permanent Publications certainly are:
• They only use UK printers, refusing cheaper, environmentally damaging overseas printers and retaining British jobs. They use FSC paper.
• They are co-founders of The Sustainability Centre, a 55 acre educational site on the South Downs, which offers hands on experiences with the environment for school children and adults alike. Unlike most publishers, they don’t just write and talk about things, they actually walk their talk and are part of the solution to many of the environmental challenges we are facing.
• Permaculture has grown from humble beginnings to being adopted in over 170 countries worldwide and being a major supporter and influencer of growing techniques, soil replenishment, wellbeing and importantly future care. It is a ecological and social movement that is making real, practical changes and that is what the GMG Award acknowledges – within our own gardens we can be climate awareness champions and care for other species.
No Dig Organic Home & Garden illustrates what to grow, how to store, harvest and cook our produce. This is connecting gardening to our real needs and explores our potential to live more lightly on the Earth.
Find more information on No Dig Organic Home and Garden including how to order your copy.