Bahá’í Publishing in Britain
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The British Isles is the geographical area within which English gradually evolved, and through historical accident the English language has also been planted in North America, Australia, parts of south Asia, parts of Africa and numerous other territories. 'Abdu'l-Bahá could see the importance, at that time, of English as an essential medium in which to take the Faith forward. He therefore arranged for Shoghi Effendi to attend the American College in Beirut, to acquire this language. Shoghi Effendi made it normal practice for translation of the Bahá’í Writings to me made first into English and thence into other languages.
Britain has, whether through accident or the controlling hand of Providence, gone on to become a centre of Bahá’í publishing.
The Bahá’í Publishing Trust[edit]
During the time of the Guardian, several National Spiritual Assemblies were given the task of setting up Bahá’í Publishing Trusts, one of which was the N.S.A. of the British Isles. Early B.P.T. publications give various addresses in Manchester or London, but by the 1960s, the publishing work and the existing stock were all concentrated in the county of Rutland, in central England. The Bahá’í Publishing Trust was a significant publisher of Bahá’í Writings, prayer books, leaflets and other basic materials. For a variety of reasons, the National Spiritual Assembly (now of the United Kingdom) decided to close down its publishing arm. Some titles have gone to other publishers. For instance, the popular "Jewels" series of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Writings are now published in Australia.
George Ronald[edit]
David Hofman and his wife Marion set up a new publishing company, George Ronald, just after World War II. With only a small amount of capital, and with paper being rationed due to the post-war conditions, only a few books could be published at any one time. The name "George Ronald" derives from David Hofman's middle names. For many years, George Ronald operated from a converted house in Kidlington, near Oxford, England, but the sales department is now based in Hertfordshire, north of London. George Ronald publishes a wide range of books about the Bahá’í Faith.
One World[edit]
One World Publishing was set up by Juliet and Novin Doostdar, and was based in Cyprus. As Cyprus did not have a sufficiently well-developed publishing infrastructure, the operation was moved to Oxford, in England. Their titles include many Bahá’í books (a number of which were for children), works on the study of religion, and academic works. They concentrate on getting books into universities, libraries and trade bookshops, and now seem to carry less titles for Bahá’í families.
Warwick Bahá’í Bookshop[edit]
The Warwick Bahá’í Bookshop was set up by the Bahá’ís of Warwick in 1975 as a local sales outlet for Bahá’í books. In 1989, faced with severe difficulties in obtaining simple teaching materials, it began to produce its own leaflets. In 1997, it produced a Bahá’í quiz game, Spiritual Pursuit, and in 2012 began to produce simple booklets for teaching purposes.
Sapling Publications[edit]
Sapling Publications is a small operation based on the Isle of Mull, in Western Scotland. It specialises in books for children from Bahá’í families. Typically, a Sapling publication will involve one-colour printing, with a limp manila cover and stapling.
Intellect Books[edit]
Intellect Books is an independent publisher of books, based in Bristol, England. It was set up by Masoud Yazdani, and publishes a wide range of titles, the majority of which are not concerned with the Bahá’í Faith. However, the company publishes the compilations made by Corinne Randall, which she herself illustrates with exquisite and uplifting artwork. These are made available to the public at a very low cost.
