Editing Whitaker's Almanack

{{Short description|British annual reference book}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox book
| name              = Whitaker's Almanack
| author            = 
| language          = [[British English]]
| country           = [[United Kingdom]]
| genre             = [[Almanac]]
| publisher         = {{ubl|J Whitaker & Sons (1868–1997)|[[The Stationery Office]] (1998–2003)|[[A. & C. Black]] (2004–2020)|[[Rebellion Publishing]] (2020–2021)}}
| isbn              = 
| title_orig        = 
| translator        = 
| image             = File:Whitaker's_2018.jpg
| caption           = 2018 edition
| illustrator       = 
| cover_artist      = 
| series            = 
| subject           = [[General knowledge|General]]
| pub_date          = 1868–2021
| english_pub_date  = 
| media_type        = Almanac
| pages             = 
| oclc              = 220734304
| dewey             = 
| congress          = 
| preceded_by       = 
| followed_by       = 
| website           = {{official URL}}
}}

'''''Whitaker's''''' is a [[Almanac|reference book, published annually]] in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name ="American Political Science Review 1985">{{cite journal |date=December 1985 |title=Reviewed Work(s): Whitaker's Almanack 1985: The Year Book by |journal=The American Political Science Review |volume=79 |issue=4 |pages=1281 |publisher=[[American Political Science Association]] |doi= 10.2307/1956423|quote= The 117th in its series, this volume provides  considerable information on British government and society. The complete edition also includes several additional pages that cover such topics as the British Commonwealth of Nations, dependent territories, basic information on foreign countries, the United Nations, sports and the arts, the media, British architecture, science, education, trade unions, and more. Volume contains index.|jstor= 1956423}}</ref><ref name ="The Burlington Magazine 1915">{{cite journal |date=February 1915 |title=Reviewed Work(s): Whitaker's Almanack, 1915 by; Who's Who, 1915 by |journal= [[The Burlington Magazine|The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs]] |volume= 26|issue=143 |pages=216–217 |publisher=Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd. |quote= We acknowledge with thanks the receipt of "Who's Who " and "Whitaker's Almanack ". Both these publications maintain their usual very high standard, though the war has naturally affected them considerably. In "Whitaker's Almanack" the space devoted last year to "The World's Peace" and " Proceedings of the Hague Tribunal " has this year been given up to an account of the origins of "The Great War", which we commend to our readers' attention. We note with approval the omission of the Emperor William's and the Crown Prince's name, with those of other belligerents, from the list of [[Order of the Garter|Knights of the Garter]]|jstor= 859969}}</ref> It was originally published by [[Joseph Whitaker (publisher)|J. Whitaker & Sons]] from 1868 to 1997, next by [[HM Stationery Office]] until 2003 and then by [[A. & C. Black]], which became a wholly owned subsidiary of [[Bloomsbury Publishing]] in 2011. The publication was acquired by [[Rebellion Developments|Rebellion Publishing]] in 2020,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rebellion acquires Whitaker's Almanack {{!}} Rebellion Publishing {{!}} 28 February 2020|url=https://www.rebellionpublishing.com/post/3305|access-date=2020-06-07|website=www.rebellionpublishing.com|date=28 February 2020|language=en}}</ref> with the 153rd edition appearing on 15 April 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.waterstones.com/book/whitakers-2021/whitakers-almanack/9781781089781|title=Whitaker's 2021 by Whitaker's Almanack &#124; Waterstones|website=www.waterstones.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rebellionpublishing.com/product/whitakers_2021/|title=Whitaker's 2021 (Whitaker's Almanack) Rebellion Publishing}}</ref> In mid-2022, Rebellion announced that there would not be a 2022 edition and no further editions have appeared since then.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rebellionpublishing.com/whitakers/|title=Whitaker's|access-date=7 May 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517042226/https://rebellionpublishing.com/whitakers/|archive-date=17 May 2022}}</ref>

==First publication==
[[Joseph Whitaker (publisher)|Joseph Whitaker]] began preparing his Almanack in the autumn of 1868.<ref>{{EB1911|wstitle = Whitaker, Joseph|volume=28}}</ref> He postponed publication of the first edition on learning of the resignation of [[Benjamin Disraeli]] on 1 December 1868, so that he could include details of the new [[First Gladstone ministry|Gladstone administration]]. At the same time, Whitaker continued to expand the information so that the initially planned 329 pages grew to 370. The first edition of the Almanack appeared on 23 December 1868,<ref>"Whitaker's Almanack" (advertisement), ''The Times'', 21 December 1868, p. 14.</ref> priced at 1 [[Shilling (British coin)|shilling]], introduced by a short editorial piece written by Joseph Whitaker. It began "The Editor does not put forward this Almanack as perfect: yet he ventures to think that he has succeeded in preparing a work which will commend itself to those who desire to see improvement in this direction." It concluded by inviting critics to suggest ways in which improvements could be made.<ref>"Advertisement", "An Almanack For the Year of Our Lord 1869. By Joseph Whitaker.", J. Whitaker, 1868, p. 6.</ref>

''[[The Guardian|The Manchester Guardian]]'', reviewing the first edition, described it as "the largest of the cheap almanacks" to appear, and noted it contained a great deal more valuable information than other such works.<ref>"Almanacks", ''Manchester Guardian'', 27 December 1868, p. 3.</ref> In 2013, the 2014 edition became the first to be published under the new simpler branding of "''Whitaker's''".<ref>{{cite book|title=Whitaker's Almanack 2014|publisher= Bloomsbury Yearbooks|year=2013|isbn=978-1408193334}}</ref>

==Content==
''Whitaker's Almanack'' consists of articles, lists and tables on a wide range of subjects including [[education]], the [[peerage]], [[government]] departments, health and social issues, and the [[Social environment|environment]].<ref name=contents>{{cite book|title=Whitaker's Almanack 2021|publisher=Rebellion Publishing|year=2021|isbn=978-1781089781|pages=3–4}}</ref>

The largest section is the countries directory, which includes recent [[history]], [[politics]], economic information and culture overviews.<ref name=contents/> Each edition also features a selection of critical essays focusing on events of the previous year. Extensive [[Astronomy|astronomical]] data covering the forthcoming year is published at the rear of the book.<ref name=contents/>

Whitaker's was prized enough that [[Winston Churchill]] took a personal interest in the continued publication of the book after its [[headquarters]] were destroyed in the [[The Blitz|Blitz]]. A copy is also sealed in [[Cleopatra's Needle, London|Cleopatra's Needle]] on the north bank of the [[River Thames]].<ref name=bookseller>{{cite web|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/bloomsbury-sell-whitaker-s-1114866|title=Bloomsbury to sell Whitaker's Almanack|date=19 November 2019|publisher=The Bookseller|access-date=14 May 2021}}</ref>

==Formats==
Each year the ''Almanack'' is published in two formats – the Standard Edition and a shortened Concise Edition. In previous years, a larger-format of the Standard Edition, [[Bookbinding|bound]] in [[leather]], was produced for [[Library|libraries]]. In 2016, Whitaker's launched its online edition through its website, which was updated weekly with free-to-view and subscription only content.<ref name=bookseller/>

==Editors==
The ''Almanack'''s current editor is Michael Rowley.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rebellion acquires Whitaker's Almanack {{!}} Rebellion Publishing|url=https://www.rebellionpublishing.com/post/3305|access-date=2020-06-07|website=www.rebellionpublishing.com|date=28 February 2020|language=en}}</ref>

===Editors since 1868===
There have been eleven editors since 1868:<ref>{{cite book |edition= Facsimile|title= Whitaker's Almanack 1900|year= 1999|publisher= [[The Stationery Office]]|location= London|isbn= 978-0-11-702247-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Whitaker's Almanack 2016|date= 14 January 2016|url= http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/whitakers-2016-9781472909305/|publisher=[[A & C Black]] |location= London|isbn= 978-1-4729-0930-5}}</ref>
{{Div col|colwidth=21em}}
* [[Joseph Whitaker (publisher)|Joseph Whitaker]] 1868–1895
* Sir [[Cuthbert Whitaker]] 1895–1950
* F.&nbsp;H.&nbsp;C. Tatham 1950–1981
* Richard Blake 1981–1986
* Hilary Marsden 1986–1999
* Lauren Simpson 1999–2004
* Vanessa White 2001–2002
* Inna Ward 2004–2008
* Claire Fogg 2008–2010
* Ruth Northey 2010–2020
* Michael Rowley 2020–
{{div col end}}

==Alternative publications==
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
*''[[The World Almanac and Book of Facts]]''
*''[[The World Factbook]]''
*''[[TIME Almanac with Information Please]]''
*''[[The New York Times Almanac]]''
*''[[Der Fischer Weltalmanach]]''
*''[[Europa World Year Book]]''
{{div col end}}

==In popular culture==
*''Whitaker's Almanack'' provides the key to a [[book cipher]] message at the beginning of [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s 1915 [[Sherlock Holmes]] novel ''[[The Valley of Fear]]''.  Lt. Cmdr. Data refers to the ''Almanack'' in his [[Holodeck]] portrayal of Holmes in the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episode "[[Elementary, Dear Data]]."<ref name="trivia">{{cite web|url=http://whitakersalmanack.com/history/whitakers-trivia/|title=Literary References|publisher=Whitaker's|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304070553/http://whitakersalmanack.com/history/whitakers-trivia/|access-date=14 May 2021|archive-date=2016-03-04}}</ref>
*''Whitaker's Almanack'' is mentioned in chapter 2 of [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]]'', with a copy being owned by the Count.<ref name="trivia"/>
*It is also mentioned in [[Virginia Woolf]]'s short story "[[A Haunted House and Other Short Stories|The Mark on the Wall]]",<ref name="trivia"/> the James Bond novel ''[[Moonraker (novel)|Moonraker]]''<ref name="trivia"/> and Evelyn Waugh's ''[[Vile Bodies]]''.<ref name="trivia"/>
*In "The Round Dozen", a short story by [[W. Somerset Maugham]], a character recalls being advised by a famous novelist that the two most useful books for a writer are the Bible and ''Whitaker's Almanack''.<ref name="trivia"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=whitakers ''Whitaker's Almanack'' archives] at [[Online Books Page]], [[University of Pennsylvania]]

{{Serial almanacs, factbooks, and yearbooks about world and country news, facts, and statistics}}
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[[Category:Almanacs]]
[[Category:Publications established in 1868]]
[[Category:1868 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British books]]
[[Category:Bloomsbury Publishing books]]
[[Category:Whitaker family]]
[[Category:Publications disestablished in 2021]]