Celebrate Aviation History Month with free books!

As November is Aviation History Month, we thought it would be good to celebrate with all our aviation enthusiasts and offer you a great competition prize of three free aviation titles of your choice if you answer the following question:

Who were the two brothers who invented the world’s first working airplane?

Email your answer by the end of the month for your chance to win. In the meantime, check out our choice of aviation books on the CUS and CUK websites.

I also found this recommended list of aviation museums in the US and this weekend, I will be visiting my favourite, the Wellington Aviation Museum in Moreton-in-Marsh, not far from my family home, and a museum I have regularly been to since I was a child.

What will you be doing to celebrate Aviation History Month, and which aviation museum is your favourite?

Veterans and Armistice Day

Everyone here at Casemate would like to thank all our veterans and active duty military personnel.  We honor the sacrifices and courage you have made and are making around the world to protect us and other nations in need.

Our thoughts are with all those serving today, and may they soon return safely home.

Casemate Spring 2010 New Books Catalog

Casemate is proud to announce our Spring 2010 New Books Catalog for North America. This catalog is available for download on our website. Printed copies will be available in just a few short weeks. If you would like to receive a copy in the mail, please send your address to casemate@casematepublishing.com.

Download the Spring 2010 Catalog Here (PDF)

Request to have a Copy mailed to you here.

Fall In—show report

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Casemate booth at Fall In 2009 at Gettysburg. We had a great weekend—saw a lot of friends and made a lot of new ones and the youngest Casemate has discovered he loves wargaming. Perfect weekend really.

Visit us at Fall In this Weekend at Gettysburg

Casemate US will be exhibiting at this year’s Fall In at the Eisenhower Hotel. Why not come and pay us a visit?

Exhibitor room hours are:
Friday 11/6 Noon – 6 pm
Saturday 11/7 9 am – 6 pm
Sunday 11/8 9 am – Noon

Stop by our tables to see the latest books from Casemate and the publisher’s we distribute and meet the Casemate crew.

From the Fall In Website:
This year’s theme will be “Beginning of the End”: 65th Anniversary, 1944 Campaigns. The theme encompasses many interesting actions across the better portion of the globe. Land, Sea, and Air scenario possibilities equally abound. From Luzon to Bastogne, and all points in between, 1944 showcases no fewer than 38 major battles and Campaigns, involving troops drawn from more than a dozen Nations.

Plenty to do then in Gettysbrg this weekend.

See you there!

Military History Weekend Wrap-Up

The Williamsburg Hospitality House

We are just returning home from a very successful weekend in Williamsburg, Virginia, where Casemate co-sponsored the first annual Military History Weekend at the Williamsburg Hospitality House.  Michael Harter, Colleen Nolan, Steve Smith, and Tara Lichterman all made the trek to Virginia as part of the Casemate team.

Despite grey skies, military history fans turned out on Saturday and Sunday to enjoy reenactments, discussions with authors and experts, and the company of others passionate about military history.  The Casemate booths were visited by hundreds of enthusiasts eager to investigate our extensive catalog.  There was something to satisfy every interest, and Casemate was pleased to take part in such a dynamic event.  We are also grateful to authors Patricia Driscoll, Jonathan Gawne, and James Bilder, who were able to speak with many fans and address their comments and questions.

Casemate's booths

On Saturday, we were privileged to enjoy a speech given by Col. Eddie Shames, who regaled us with his experience with the 101^st Airborne Division and as 2^nd Lieutenant assigned to Easy Company, known as “The Band of Brothers.”  Col. Shames captivated the crowd with his humor and gusto, and allowed us an alternative view of the Hollywood portrayal of the famous “Band of Brothers.”

Also extremely popular were the Tranquility Suite for spouses, which featured 18^th and 19^th century authentic female clothing, and the children’s model painting.  We were so excited to see entire families enjoying themselves at the event.  Overall, the weekend was a resounding success, and we at Casemate are already looking forward to next year!

Michael & Colleen with Casemate author Patricia Driscoll

Casemate author Jonathan Gawne signing books and addressing questions!

Return from Frankfurt with Andrea, History Facts and Kagero

Well it was a great show for us at Frankfurt Book Fair this year. A trade show, with hundreds, if not thousands of publishers from all over the world exhibiting their company and products, it is the perfect place to find out exactly what is happening in the publishing industry. Foreign rights deals, co-publishing agreements, new book announcements, book sales, finding new booksellers, and author acquiring are all part and parcel of what goes on at the fair.

With three of our distribution publishers also attending: Helion & Company, Lancer International, and CUK’s art publisher Paul Holberton publishing, we had a big stand this year, which attracted a lot of visitors. We even had an article in the Publisher’s Weekly Fair Dealer discussing our future plans to double our publishing programme, (lots more Casemate books coming!) and the strong interest in World War II with 70th anniversaries beginning this autumn, particularly the Pacific with HBO and Spielberg/Hanks’ The Pacific series launching next year. Check out the awesome trailer here.

Following the show we are pleased to announce to all readers outside the United States that Casemate UK will now be distributing the books for history publisher and model-maker Andrea Press, military vehicle and modelling reference publisher History Facts, and aviation history and modelling reference publisher Kagero Publications. All publishers of exceptional books for both historians and modelers alike, we are delighted to bring you their formidable range of books. Notification on when the books will be available and more information on all of Andrea, History Facts and Kagero’s titles will be posted up on the blog and our website as soon as possible! (For info on new releases as and when they happen, you can sign up to our e-newsletter on the website – UK or US, or email us to be added to our catalogue mailing list.)

Both Casemate and Casemate UK are in distribution discussions with a number of other publishers following the show, so check back for more developments as and when they happen.

We also announced our own Spring 2010 new releases, and will be sharing the exclusive news outside of Frankfurt walls with you next week. Don’t miss it!

Andrea Press

History Facts

Kagero Publications

Set-up day at the Fair

Casemate’s stand in all its glory

Only 3 More Days Until Military History Weekend!

We at Casemate have a big event coming up that we would like to remind you of.  The Military History Weekend in Williamsburg, Virginia is being held at the Williamsburg Hospitality House this weekend, October 16-18.  Sponsored by Casemate, W. Britain, and Osprey, the weekend includes book signings, museum tours, reenactments, and vendors, as well as Miniature Figurine painting for the kids!  In addition to being a unique opportunity to meet Casemate authors Patricia Driscoll, James Bilder, and Jonathan Gawne, attendance at the event makes you eligible for one of our door prizes – valued at over $2,000!  This is truly an event the entire family can enjoy; from a private tour of the Virginia War Museum, to the chance for kids to paint a mounted knight, American Civil War figure, or French and Indian War soldier, there is something to satisfy every interest.

Admission Information

Adults: $5.00
Children 16 and under: FREE
Families (up to 6 people): $5.00
Veterans and Active Duty Military: FREE
Osprey, and W. Britain Club Members: FREE
Historic Reenactors in Uniform: FREE (no weapons)

For more information regarding ticketing, contact W. Britain:
First Gear, Inc./W. Britain
P.O. Box 52
Peosta, Iowa 52068
Toll Free: 1-888-771-5576
Local: 1-563-582-2071

For more information about the events of Military History Weekend, visit www.mhwshow.com.  We hope to see you there!

Casemate Show Season 2009

It has been a steady raft of shows to attend over the past few months, with classic moments that stood out from all of them. With only three more to go for the year (Frankfurt Book Fair next week, as well as the Military History Weekend, and Scale Modelworld UK in November) I thought it would be a good time to do a round up of our best show bits so far in 2009.

Salute in April was Casemate UK’s first attendance at a wargaming show, and what a manic day it was. Catching up with reviewers, editors, customers and the curious, it was a very useful day – made most useful because we now distribute wargaming rules by Foundry Publications into bookshops in the UK.
At wargaming show Historicon over in the US, we attended their 25th birthday celebrations. With highlights such as a cake, (shown here at Scott Mingus’ Charge blog) made by the “Ace of Cakes” TV programme’s Charm City Cakes company, Jason Salkey talking about his days as Rifleman Harris in Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series with the Sharpe Experience, and free beer and nachos for all attendees on the Saturday night, it was one of the best Historicons in memory.
Military Odyssey in August had many men in uniform all weekend, with Samurai, Spartans, Tommies, Knights and more. With re-enactments, living history displays, fly-bys and many militaria, book and clothing stands, it was a great way to spend a bank holiday. Visit our Flickr photo gallery for more pics from the Military Odyssey album.
EuroMilitaire was a fantastic show this year, with many high calibre modelling entries to their annual competition. With a Panzer III, IV and a Spitfire fly-by, there was much for the military and modelling enthusiast!
All in all, it was a great show season. It was wonderful to meet so many of our customers and find out their likes, dislikes and requests, as well as get a feel for what is happening in the hobbies. To all those who stopped by, it was great to meet you and looking forward to seeing you next time. To anyone heading to either the Frankfurt Book Fair, our Military History Weekend or Scale Model World, do drop by!

Rifleman Harris and the Rifles at Historicon

Confederates at Military Odyssey

Our stand at EuroMilitare

Competition entries at the show

The Spitfire flying by!

Introducing Warlord Games and Mushroom Model Publications

Casemate US is pleased to present to you our two newest distribution clients, Warlord Games and Mushroom Model Publications.  Like Casemate, Warlord Games and MMP are committed to bringing you the premier books written by experts in the wargaming and modeling arenas.  Please allow us to introduce them.

Sensing a demand for regulatory rules and first-rate miniatures, Warlord Games was established by gamers with a combined forty years experience in the industry.  Their publications are unique for their blend of the specific and the general; though specific rules indicate the capabilities of troops and weaponry, the general approach to conflict is guided simply by suggestion.

Also an authority in its field, MMP was established in 1996 to publish “Mushroom Model Magazine,” a quarterly magazine which expanded on the club newsletter “Mushroom Monthly.”  “Mushroom Monthly” was already widely-known and critically acclaimed for its dedication to finely researched articles on modeling, as well as its diverse coverage of topics in the form of photographs and esteemed reviews.  “Mushroom Model Magazine” proudly carried on this tradition, and in 1999, MMP introduced books to its range of publications.

Since 2006, MMP has focused exclusively on book publication and expanded its catalog to include books on military models, as well as aircraft, aviation, and military history.  MMP prides itself on providing the opportunity for an increased understanding of modeling and history.

Our new relationship with Warlord Games and MMP represents another step towards creating the most thorough catalog of military history literature in the industry.  We are proud to offer you the chance to experience our latest contribution to the Military History genre, and we hope you will join us.

We are expecting to receive the first shipment of books in early November, and the full range of books will be up on our website to order soon. Casemate UK will also be distributing Warlord Games and Black Powder, from October.