Pen and Sword Books, also stylised as Pen & Sword, is a British publisher which specialises in printing and distributing books in both hardback and softback on military history, militaria and other niche subjects, primarily focused on the United Kingdom. Pen and Sword has over 6,000 titles available in print, and also available as ebook download. Releasing 500 new titles each year on a variety of subjects, it is part of the Barnsley Chronicle newspaper group.

History

The first books produced by the company were in response to public demand, following a series of articles first published weekly in the Barnsley Chronicle. Dark Peak Aircraft Wrecks told the story of crash sites in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park, and a further weekly feature on the history of two Kitchener battalions, known as the Barnsley Pals, aroused a public interest. Over the years these books have been reprinted a number of times. Following on from the success of the Dark Peak and Barnsley Pals books, a number of local history paperbacks were produced, along with a series of battlefield guide books. Battleground Europe proved successful, and as more titles were produced, the company made the decision to launch a book publishing arm of the group. When the Leo Cooper imprint became available, the Barnsley Chronicle purchased it; and the Pen and Sword publishing house was established in 1990. Leo Cooper (1934–2013), the late husband of novelist Jilly Cooper, had established a reputation for publishing military history titles. Leo Cooper later retired. Pen and Sword expanded its subject matter, branching out to cover naval and maritime history, aviation, local history, family history, collectables and antiques, nostalgia and true crime. It further expanded to include transport and railways, science, archaeology, exploration, and political memoirs. In 2008, Pen and Sword made two acquisitions: Frontline Books, which focuses on United States–based military history; and Seaforth Publishing, which is a leading maritime history imprint.

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