Peter Usborne

Thomas Peter Usborne CBE (18 August 1937 – 30 March 2023) was a British publisher. In the early 1960s, Usborne co-founded the satirical magazine Private Eye.[1] In 1973 he founded the children's book publisher Usborne Publishing.[1][2]

Peter Usborne

CBE
Born
Thomas Peter Usborne

(1937-08-18)18 August 1937
Died30 March 2023(2023-03-30) (aged 85)
Alma materUniversity of Oxford; INSEAD
OccupationPublisher
Years active1973–2023
Known forUsborne Publishing

Career

Usborne studied at the University of Oxford and INSEAD business school in France.[1] He was the first managing director of the London-based satirical magazine Private Eye from its foundation in 1961, before leaving to study at INSEAD.[3]

After taking a position at the British Printing Corporation, he started working in children's books when he found out he was going to become a parent.[1] Soon afterwards, in 1973, he set up his own company.[4][5][6][1]

His eponymous publishing company was named Children's Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards in both 2012 and 2020,[7] Independent Publisher of the Year at the Independent Publishing Awards in 2014,[8] and Private Business of the Year in 2015.[9]

Usborne specialised in illustrated children's books: according to his Daily Telegraph obituary, most of the company's books were "conceived, written and designed in-house".[1] Its best-known books include the Usborne Puzzle Adventure series,[10] the World of the Unknown series[11][12][13] the Book of the Future, Poppy and Sam's Farmyard Tales,[11] Sticker Dolly Dressing and the "That's not my"[11] series of touchy-feely board books for babies by Fiona Watt.[14]

Awards and honours

Usborne was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to the publishing industry,[15] and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to literature.[16] He was awarded the London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.[17][18]

Personal life

Usborne said that parenthood had been the greatest privilege of his life, and that publishing children's books had been an extension of that.[19][20]

In 2007, the Usborne family founded The Usborne Foundation,[21] a registered charity[22] which harnesses research, design and technology to create playful media addressing issues from literacy to health. Teach Your Monster to Read[23] is a series of games that has helped millions of children learn to read, funded by The Usborne Foundation. His son, Martin, also runs a publishing company, Hoxton Mini Press.[24][25]

Death

On 30 March 2023, Usborne died "suddenly but peacefully", surrounded by his family. He was 85. Usborne was survived by his wife, Wendy, children Nicola and Martin, and his five grandchildren.[26]

References
  1. "Peter Usborne, co-founder of Private Eye and successful publisher of children's books – obituary". Daily Telegraph. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  2. Horn, Caroline (22 October 2007). "The Usborne Identity – an interview with Peter Usborne". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 11 September 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  3. "'Genius' children's publisher Peter Usborne dies aged 85". The Irish News. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  4. "Thomas Peter Usborne M.B.E." usbornefamilytree.com.
  5. "How I Made It: Peter Usborne, founder of Usborne Publishing". The Sunday Times. 28 April 2013.
  6. Natalie Graham (14 March 2014). "Work is child's play for book publisher Peter Usborne". ft.com.
  7. "The British Book Awards 2020 | The Nibbies | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  8. Shaffi, Sarah (27 February 2014). "Usborne, Nosy Crow, Summersdale winners at Independent Publishing Awards | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  9. Eyre, Charlotte (2 October 2015). "Usborne crowned 'private business of the year' | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  10. Bell, Alice (28 June 2021). "Anyone else want games of those Usborne Puzzle Adventure books from the 80s and 90s?". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  11. "Usborne Publishing". usborne.com. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  12. Flood, Alison (12 June 2019). "'Ghosts shaped my life': out-of-print children's classic to be resurrected". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  13. Barnett, David (21 December 2021). "The book I got for Christmas: 'Even the cover was terrifying'". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  14. "How this bestselling series from Usborne came about in 1998 | Toppsta". Toppsta. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  15. United Kingdom: "No. 59647". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 31 December 2010. p. 23.
  16. "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N10.
  17. Joshua Farrington (6 March 2015). "Peter Usborne to receive LBF Lifetime Achievement award". thebookseller.com.
  18. "Peter Usborne to receive The London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award 2015". The London Book Fair. 6 March 2015.
  19. "Who is Peter Usborne?". Usborne. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  20. "Meet the Usborne Family". Usborne. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  21. "The Usborne Foundation". The Usborne Foundation. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  22. "The Usborne Foundation, registered charity no. 4034232". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  23. "Teach Your Monster to Read". www.teachyourmonstertoread.com. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  24. "Hoxton Mini Press publishes collectable photography books". Hoxton Mini Press. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  25. "Good bye, Pa. I love you". Hoxton Mini Press. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  26. "News from Usborne March 2023 | Usborne | Be Curious". usborne.com. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
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