Focal Press

Focal Press
Name	Focal Press
Founded	1938
Founder	Andor Kraszna-Krausz
Country	United Kingdom
Headquarters	London
Topics	Photography, Film, Broadcasting, Media Technology, Audio
Parent	Elsevier (previous), Routledge (Taylor & Francis) (current imprint)

Focal Press is a British publishing imprint specializing in technical and instructional books for photography, filmmaking, broadcasting, audio engineering, and multimedia production. Founded in 1938 by Andor Kraszna-Krausz, the imprint became known for practical manuals and reference works used by professionals and students across Europe, North America, and Asia. Its catalog has included handbooks, textbooks, and trade titles linked to studios, broadcasters, and educational institutions.

History

The firm traces origins to entrepreneur Andor Kraszna-Krausz, whose activities intersected with figures and organizations such as BBC, British Film Institute, Royal Photographic Society, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and United Artists in the mid-20th century. Early decades saw publications tied to practitioners associated with Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, Alexander Korda, Carol Reed, and technicians who worked at Pinewood Studios and Ealing Studios. Postwar expansion coincided with the rise of television and broadcasters like ITV, CBS, NBC, and ABC, prompting collaborations with engineers and authors connected to RCA, Bell Labs, and Marconi Company. The imprint adapted through transitions in media technologies influenced by institutions such as BBC Radiophonic Workshop and universities including University of Southern California, New York University, and Royal College of Art.

Publications and imprints

The catalog has encompassed titles across subject areas reflected in partnerships with publishers and imprints like Elsevier, Butterworth-Heinemann, Taylor & Francis, and Routledge. Many books targeted practitioners in industries linked to organizations such as Sony, Panasonic, Canon, Nikon, Panavision, and ARRI. Trade and textbook lines addressed curricula at conservatories and schools such as Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, School of Visual Arts, and California Institute of the Arts. Series and handbooks referenced standards and practices associated with bodies like SMPTE and AES.

Notable authors and works

Authors published through the imprint included technicians and educators whose careers intersected with institutions like BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Film School, Julliard School, University of California, Los Angeles, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and studios such as Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and Columbia Pictures. Prominent works appeared alongside the reputations of photographers and filmmakers connected to names including Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange, Robert Capa, W. Eugene Smith, Stanley Kubrick, Orson Welles, Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, Jean-Luc Godard, Akira Kurosawa, Satyajit Ray, Wes Anderson, and Christopher Nolan. Technical authors with links to professional societies such as IEEE and IET contributed manuals used by members of BBC World Service and production crews on projects for HBO, Netflix, Amazon Studios, and Disney.

Educational and professional impact

The imprint’s textbooks informed syllabi at conservatoires and departments connected to Goldsmiths, University of London, Royal Holloway, University of London, Columbia University School of the Arts, New York Film Academy, and London Metropolitan University. Manuals were adopted by vocational programs with industry placements at facilities like Shepperton Studios, Elstree Studios, Film4, and broadcasters such as Sky UK. Training materials influenced accreditation processes at organizations including City & Guilds and professional development through associations like BECTU and IAT.

Corporate ownership and mergers

Corporate trajectories involved acquisitions and integrations with publishing groups including Butterworths, Reed Elsevier, and later parent companies within RELX Group and Informa plc-linked structures before alignment under educational lists of Taylor & Francis. Transactions connected the imprint to trade publishing decisions shaped by conglomerates like Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette Livre, and Macmillan Publishers through industry consolidation and catalogue sales. Management and editorial direction were influenced by corporate strategies similar to those executed by Pearson plc and Wiley in academic markets.

International presence and distribution

Distribution networks extended through partnerships with wholesalers and retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, Fnac, Kinokuniya, and university presses globally, reaching markets across United States, Canada, Australia, India, Japan, Germany, France, Brazil, and China. Translation and licensing deals linked titles to publishers like Grupo Planeta, Bertelsmann, and Bungeishunjū, while export strategies paralleled those used by publishers interacting with trade fairs including the Frankfurt Book Fair and London Book Fair. The imprint’s books supported international workshops, festivals, and conferences such as Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, SXSW, and IBC Amsterdam.

Category:Publishing companies of the United Kingdom Category:Book publishing companies