Devonfire Books is an independent publisher of non-fiction books launched in 2020 by TV historian Oliver Crocker. His debut book, All Memories Great & Small features interviews with 75 cast and crew, including stars Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy, Peter Davison, Carol Drinkwater, Ali Lewis and Paul Lyon. Oliver is pictured above with Ali and Paul, who were reunited for the first time in 30 years for the launch of the book at the World of James Herriot museum in Thirsk.
Since 2017, Oliver has been researching the classic ITV police drama The Bill. He has interviewed hundreds of cast and crew for The Bill Podcast, played over 400,000 times in 50 countries worldwide, and written Witness Statements: Making The Bill (Series 1-3) detailing the creation of the series, followed by Witness Statements: Making The Bill (1988) focusing on the first year of bi-weekly episodes.
Prior to launching Devonfire Books, Oliver spent the first decade of his career working in TV production and film marketing. His television credits include three series as a researcher on ITV’s This Morning and 40 episodes of Something for the Weekend for BBC2. He has produced the special features for dozens of Blu-ray & DVD releases, from TV classics Dixon of Dock Green and Z Cars, to movies The Hatton Garden Job, The Limehouse Golem and the 2016 Dad's Army remake.
In 2023, Oliver expanded Devonfire Books to publish titles by other authors and offer design, editing, formating, ghostwriting, typesetting and proofreading services. Listed below are some of the authors he has worked with to date:
Edward Kellett is an award-winning writer, having broken through at the age of 13 with first prize in his school's ghost story competition. Devonfire Books is proud to have published Edward's debut book, Reaching a Verdict: Reviewing The Bill (1983-1989), the most in-depth critical study ever written about The Bill in the 1980s. The book has spent months in the Top 100 Amazon chart for Television History & Criticism books, peaking at #6. The sequel Reaching a Verdict: Reviewing The Bill (1990-1992) was published in March 2024 and reviewed as "an essential purchase".
Larry Dann's acting career began with a knock on the door, when a seven year old schoolboy was talent scouted by London's Corona Academy and invited to be in a film shooting at Denham Studios. This was the start of a career that saw him perform in hundreds of stage productions all over the world, star in four of the iconic Carry On movies and play Sgt Alec Peters in ITV's The Bill. Devonfire Books is honoured to have published Larry's autobiography Oh, What a Lovely Memoir, where he recalls his 70-year career in showbiz. Visit the News & Press page for a list of book signings and events Larry will be attending throughout 2024.
TV historian Robert Cook (above left, with producer Tony Virgo) is currently researching and writing Case Studies: Making Peak Practice (Series 1-3), a new unofficial guidebook to ITV's popular drama series, featuring new interviews with key creatives. For enquiries about this title, please email our Contact page.
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TV historian Patrick Stratford is currently writing a forthcoming TV tie-in title.
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If you would like to submit an idea for a non-fiction book to Devonfire Books, please use the Contact form and Oliver will be in touch.