DK LIFE
Richard Atkinson, Publisher, Paper Sailor, DK Life
I’m a publisher with long experience in creating illustrated books, many of which have won major awards. I’m known for working closely with authors, combining creativity with attention to detail. Over the years, I’ve published books that have received accolades including the inaugural Waterstones Book of the Year, the Royal Society Science Book Prize, and more than 25 James Beard Foundation, André Simon, Guild of Food Writers and Fortnum & Mason awards.
At DK, my focus is on publishing original, covetable books – mostly about food, but also about craft, gardening, nature and other ‘IRL’ pursuits. In a nutshell: I’m here to publish books about people’s personal passions – author-focused and design-driven, with the highest editorial and production values.
Books I’m proud of...
Among Paper Sailor’s first titles: Chatsworth Bakehouse Cookbook, celebrating a community bakery that embodies everything I want the list to stand for; Sarah Raven’s Kaleidoscope, the distillation of a lifetime’s gardening with colour; and Niki Segnit’s Supertaster, an entertaining, enlightening book aimed at anyone who really, really, really wants to enjoy their food.
A book I wish I’d published...
I try not to let the green-eyed monster into my professional life – so I don’t have an answer for this!