Tandem Publishing Ltd

The Fundraiser Who Became a Philanthropist. A leading fundraiser and philanthropist’s memoir about money, power and the common good. John Nickson traces his journey from privilege to purposeful giving, showing how philanthropy, civil society and ordinary citizens can repair divided Britain and renew hope. “ John takes us through his life as a fundraiser for a succession of important organisations, and then his transformation into a philosopher of philanthropy and a philanthropist himself. In doing so, he may well have provided us with some of the answers to the bleak times we are living through – to the rise of authoritarianism, the decline of liberal democracy, the absence of hope in too many people’s lives. John’s book can help. Its fundamental belief in the role of civil society, of collective decision and action, of the value of empathy, of the purposes of philanthropy, can help to steer us to a better world.” – Chris Smith ( Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury, Chancellor of the University of Cambridge) “John Nickson has seen it all in the world of giving… He argues passionately and with an army of witnesses and examples that the very health of our society requires a solid foundation of charity, philanthropy and local responsibility for the myriad of society’s actual needs. He dares to hope that society at large will recognise these needs and respond to them.” Sir John Tusa

An extensively researched account of an exceptional battalion at war “Perhaps you can try and imagine being faced with the prospect, on a cold Sunday evening in November, of rising from your sleeping bag at two-thirty the following morning to lead your men through hedges and over fields in an attack down to a canal bank two miles away, leaping into the icy water and paddling across the length of a cricket pitch on a flattened jerrycan, and then sitting on the far bank in your soaking uniform to help your soldiers across with ropes. To do this when subject to continuous machine-gun fire but with the possibility that if you are successful and survive, you may never need to fight another battle." Many of us had a relation who served in the Great War, the majority of those men defending trench lines or attacking from them. They undertook wiring parties and raids on enemy trenches, but well over half their time was in reserve, in training and repairing trenches, tracks and roadways. They endured bitter cold, terrible rains, deep mud and moments of terror. Some suffered from trench foot or shell shock. They were ordinary men doing extraordinary things, all for their fellow soldiers, their country and their King. The ‘1/8th Worcesters’ rose to the challenges to become one of the most effective infantry battalions of the War. This is their story, written with the help of letters, diaries, memoirs and newspaper articles, as well as conversations with the surviving sons of two of the most bemedalled young officers.

Foreword by HRH The Princess Royal Preface by Algy Cluff … some corner of a foreign field … How a nation treats its dead fighting men is a telling barometer. How were soldiers viewed by society? Were lower ranks thought deserving of having honour bestowed on their graves? Was death in battle or in the course of duty worthy of remembrance? Did those who died far from the mother country warrant commemoration – and who at home would ever know? The graves of the majority of those who have died for their country since August 1914 are the responsibility of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. But what of those who fell in previous conflicts – in the Seven Years War, the Revolutionary and French Wars, and the various wars of empire? The Remembrance Trust, founded by Algy Cluff in 2018, has begun to address the issue of caring for early military memorials.

The Emergence of Awe: Reimagining Human Progress for the 21st Century is an accessible, concise, yet thought-provoking read for curious minds of all ages – particularly students, independent thinkers, and those interested in science, philosophy, and the future of society. The book examines humanity at a pivotal moment, where rapid technological advances collide with stagnant political and social systems. Drawing on science, philosophy and history, Hayk Sarkissian presents a bold new way of thinking, urging us to align human values with objective reality. He challenges long-held assumptions underpinning modern society and proposes a philosophical shift to empower human flourishing in today’s world of unprecedented change and social upheaval. The Emergence of Awe reimagines our relationship with time, evolution, consciousness and tradition to reveal a fresh path towards progress and purpose in the Age of Intelligence. Perfect for readers of The Economist, the Financial Times, New Scientist, New Philosopher, Aeon and Wired — and for anyone seeking to broaden their perspective in an increasingly interconnected and complex world.

Lady Antonia Fraser has lived in the same house in Notting Hill for over sixty-six years. Here she shares memories of her home: a magical collection of vignettes featuring beloved pets, bombings, early years with Harold Pinter, children, books, parties and a whirl of literary London over the generations. “It’s all true. I did walk into 52 Campden Hill Square in the autumn of 1957 and feel some extraordinary compulsion which my feverish imagination translated into a voice. And it was a voice that stayed with me. And at time of writing, summer 2025, still does.”

‘Fiction is a form of disguise, certainly. But, more important, it is a way of telling your own stories through other people's lives.’ The author of more than thirty novels, published over fifty years, Rachel Billington is a natural storyteller. Now shifting the focus from her imagined characters to those who have been so vibrant and vital in her own life, Billington casts herself as protagonist in this honest memoir. Born in 1942, a war baby, fifth child of eight turbulent Pakenhams whose parents Frank and Elizabeth Longford left politics to become social reformer and biographer respectively, Billington was recorded by her mother as the ‘placid’ one. Stories of unexploded bombs, home-made cowboy films in which her role was to throw herself from her pony, merge into London convent, feisty nuns, smogs and friends, escape to an Irish island and an inherited Irish castle. Leaving a television job under a cloud, there come stories about her new life in New York, working on a documentary about drug addiction. After two years she meets her English film director husband, Kevin Billington, and the stories pass back to London, then Hollywood, New Orleans, London and Spain. Four children, the oldest continuously inhabited house in Dorset, and Billington’s adventures continue, taking her first into the writers’ organisation, PEN, eventually as President, and then into the dark world of British prisons, as she becomes Associate Editor and regular contributor to the national newspaper for prisons, Inside Time. A Writer’s Story is a collection of memories, told with wit and understanding, which not only reveals the inspiration behind many of Billington’s works of fiction but offers insight into the art and nature of writing.

The reader of these stories will follow the author around the world. From Bangkok to Brixton, Capri to Cairo, Truro to Trinidad and Venice to the Vatican, they reflect his travels and mindset. Some have happy endings, many don’t; all shine a light on the human condition and its varied stimuli: generosity and greed; decency and deceit; love shared and love denied. “There could be no more apt title for this collection than Mixed Blessings. The world they describe is opulent: Gstaad, Mustique, Rome, Switzerland, Monte Carlo. But the people in these stories are not made happy by their vast wealth, their membership of private clubs, nor their rare collections of furniture or ancient books: there’s a scorpion’s sting in every tale. John Seilern has reimagined Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected for the White Lotus age. Just don’t expect the fast cars, beautiful women and opulence in these pages to bring anything other than bad fortune.” — Cressida Connolly, author of After the Party ‘These are very enjoyable stories from international high life written with great panache.’ — James Stourton John Seilern’s outstanding short stories evoke Stefan Zweig in their human sympathy, with a tinge of Roald Dahl in their narrative twists. — Philip Hook, author of Breakfast at Sotheby’s

East Anglian Book Awards: History and Tradition: Winner “Emma Rose Barber leads us on an elegant, intimate and always illuminating walk through the history, theology and poetry of wayfaring.” Rhidian Brook, author of The Aftermath & The Killing of Butterfly Joe. In the vein of Robert Macfarlane’s The Old Ways, a literary, artistic and spiritual journey through past and present. Throughout history, the figure of the wayfarer, and the notion of wayfaring, has seized the imagination. Through a series of walks, the author follows in the path of the medieval wayfarer to see how this captivating figure developed from being seen as an indigent nuisance, much maligned, to romantic muse for artists and writers. The book brings the wayfarer to life. And all up-to-date: to see how it is found in contemporary culture. Finding the Wayfarer is a captivating exploration of the age-old tradition of wayfaring – the simple, often solitary journey on foot. Through a blend of historical enquiry, evocative place writing and memoir, the book weaves together the stories of wayfarers across time. From the marginalized figures in medieval manuscripts, to the introspective writings of Charlotte Smith, Wordsworth and Hardy, the wayfarer has often been viewed with suspicion and fear. Yet, they have also inspired admiration, embodying melancholy and a deep connection to the natural world. Themes of illicit love and scorn through wayfaring are the themes of later writers and artists like Dickens, Samuel Beckett and Grayson Perry. The book is a rich tapestry of walking, resilience and survival, inviting readers to consider this enduring archetype.