Flame Tree Publishing

Flame Tree was established in 1992 as The Flame Tree Publishing Company, a part-time illustrated art book and gift packaging operation by founder Nick Wells. In 1995 Wells left HarperCollins Publishers to turn Flame Tree into a full-time business, operating from an office in Chiswick. The company name was changed to The Foundry Creative Media Company Ltd but Flame Tree Publishing was retained as the publishing imprint and brand. Managing Director Frances Bodiam joined in 1996. Wells and Bodiam continue to run the business. In 2012 The company name changed to Flame Tree Publishing Ltd and John Holloran and Ross Clayton of Marston Book Services Ltd invested to provide distribution and accounting services. In May 2023 Flame Tree left Marston to join Hachette UK Distribution.[8]

In the first few years Flame Tree's main activity was to create a range of packaged books for a series of corporate publishers, including HarperCollins (25 of the original colour reference Collins Gems and two illustrated encyclopedias[9][10]), Dorling Kindersley (including 16 K.I.S.S. Guides, such as Astrology[11]) and 24 of the then Letts Education's Success Guides to KS3, and GCSE[12]

During this period Flame Tree started to create and sell calendars and greeting cards to retail markets and has exhibited at the Spring Fair and Autumn International Gift Shows[13] at the NEC since 1997.

In 1998, Flame Tree moved into new premises on the borders of Hammersmith and Fulham, close to The River Café (London) and, at that time, a few minutes walk from several other publishers, Virgin Books, HarperCollins and Constable & Robinson. Flame Tree started publishing into the UK and international markets, focusing on art, music, cookery and general reference. Among its first books were Guitar Facts, An Illustrated Guide (ISBN 9781904041726) and Simple Cookery: Wok and Stir Fry (ISBN 9781903817049) both of which demonstrate Flame Tree's method of creating practical content for everyday use. Step-by-step photos continue to be a feature of many of their publications. In 2015 Flame Tree moved to its current premises near the Kings Road in Fulham, by Putney Bridge tube station, coinciding with a greater concentration on art, music and fiction.

Flame Tree exhibits at a number annual trade shows including the London Book Fair,[14] The Spring Fair International Gift Show, Frankfurt Book Fair,[15] BookExpo America.[16] and The Beijing International Bookfair.[17]

Flame Tree's brand The Art of Fine Gifts includes illustrated art books, art calendars and deluxe notebooks featuring licensed and created art by a wide range of modern artists and illustrators such as Josephine Wall,[18] Kerim Beyit,[19] Ann Stokes[20] and Lesley Anne Ivory[21]

In 2019 Flame Tree and the Chinese media giant Phoenix Publishing and Media Group held a signing ceremony at the Beijing International Bookfair for a cooperation venture in the Chinese and English language markets.[22]

2015 saw the publication of the first titles in a range of short story collections which combined new writing from submission calls online, and classic writing. Examples include Chilling Ghosts Short Stories,[23] Time Travel Short Stories[24] and Agents & Spies Short Stories.[25]

Flame Tree Press colophon for fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing Ltd

In 2018 the company launched Flame Tree Press, a trade imprint for novels in genre fiction, mainly horror, sf, dark fantasy and crime. First writers included Bram Stoker Award winner John Everson, Jonathan Janz and Brian Trent, with new writers and novels in translation from China. Ramsey Campbell endorsed the launch of the new list which included the publication of his own Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach.[26]

In 2020 Flame Tree announced a partnership with Compelling Science Fiction magazine, a US publisher of science fiction.[27]

Flame Tree is a member of the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) and The Greeting Card Association (GCE).

• Guitar Chords (ISBN 9781844513925). Edited by Jake Jackson.
• World Art: The Definitive Illustrated Guide (ISBN 9781844515646). Foreword by Mike O'Mahony.
• Animation Art Author Jerry Beck. Forewords by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Bill Plympton.
• Dragon Art (ISBN 9781847863003). Author Graeme Aymer. Foreword by John Howe.
• Art Deco: The Golden Age of Graphic Art and Design (ISBN 9781847862792). Author: Michael Robinson.
• William Morris: Artist, Craftsman, Pioneer (ISBN 9781847867131). Author: N.M. Wells and R. Ormiston.
• British History, An Illustrated Guide. Editor: Professor Eric J. Evans.
• Kings, Queens, Chiefs & Rulers. Editor: Professor David Loades.
• For the Love of Cupcakes (ISBN 9781847869777). Author: Ann Nicol.
• The Definitive Encyclopedia of Rock (ISBN 9781844515219). Foreword by Scotty Moore.
• Guitar Heroes (ISBN 9781847862181). Foreword by Brian May.
• Led Zeppelin Revealed (ISBN 9781844517336). Author: Jason Draper. Foreword by Paul du Noyer.
• Classical Music Encyclopedia. (ISBN 9781904041719). Edited by Stanley Sadie, Foreword by Vladimir Ashkenazy.
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music. (ISBN 9781904041702). Foreword by Sir George Martin.
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Opera. (ISBN 9781844510269). Edited by Stanley Sadie, Foreword by Philip Langridge.
• The Definitive Guitar Handbook. (ISBN 9781847863911). Foreword by Paco Peña.
• The Sorrows (ISBN 9781787580565) by Jonathan Janz [28]
• The Influence (ISBN 9781787583733) by Ramsey Campbell

• Erté (Romain de Tirtoff)
• Alphonse Mucha
• Louis Comfort Tiffany
• Gustav Klimt
• Tate calendars and diaries.
• V&A calendars and diaries.
• The British Museum calendars and diaries.
• Angela Harding calendars and diaries

• Interpreting Dreams (ISBN 9781907562419). Author: Adam Fronteras. General Editor: Rashid Ahmad.
• The Songwriters Rhyming Dictionary (ISBN 9781907562143). Author: Jake Jackson.
• World War II (ISBN 9781907562396). Authors: Jon and Diane Sutherland. Introduction: Paul Cornish.
• Animation Art. Author and Editor Jerry Beck.

• flametreepublishing.com
• flametreepress.com