Oberon Books

Oberon Books is an independent publisher which specialises in drama and the performing arts. Whilst the majority of Oberon's catalogue is made up of play texts, in recent years it has begun to publish theatrical biographies as well as books on ballet, opera, illustration, photography and cinema.

Overview
Oberon is one of the most prolific publishers of drama in the UK, with over 800 titles in its back catalogue and approximately 80 new books going into production each year. In 2009/10 plays were published alongside productions at the Royal Court, the National Theatre, RSC, Trafalgar Studios, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Belgrade Theatre, National Theatre Wales, Tricycle Theatre, Donmar Warehouse, Soho Theatre, the West End and Broadway.

For nearly a decade Oberon Books has sponsored the annual Illustration Prize at the Royal College of Art, now known as the Oberon Books Award. Oberon also administers the inaugural Sheridan Morley Prize for best theatre biography.

Theatre group partners
Oberon also publishes plays from the following theatre companies:
 * ''Kneehigh Theatre
 * ''Complicite
 * ''OperaUpClose
 * ''Out of Joint
 * ''The Red Room Theatre Company

Critical acclaim and awards
John Logan's Red was the winner of six Tony Awards in 2010, including Best Play and Best Direction (Michael Grandage). Red was also the winner of the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play. The following Oberon plays were also nominated for Olivier Awards in 2010:

A number of Oberon playwrights have been nominated for the 2010 Evening Standard Awards: Nominees for the 2010 TMA Theatre Awards include: Oberon's previous award winners include:
 * Ìyà Ilé (The First Wife) by Oladipo Agboluaje nominated for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre
 * Afghanistan: The Great Game by various authors, nominated for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre
 * England People Very Nice by Richard Bean, nominated for Best New Comedy
 * Our Class by Tadeusz Slobodzianek, nominated for Best Director for Bijan Sheibani
 * ''Richard Bean's "The Big Fellah" for Best New Play.
 * ''Laura Wade's "Posh" for Best New Play.
 * ''Anya Reiss and Atiha Sen Gupta, both nominated for the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright
 * ''"Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian" by Gary Owen for Best New Play.
 * ''"Spur of the Moment" by Anya Reiss for Best New Play.
 * ''"Kursk" by Bryony Lavery for Best Touring Production.
 * A Disappearing Number by Simon McBurney and Complicite, winner of the both the Evening Standard Award and the Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2008
 * Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry by Richard Norton-Taylor, winner of the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre in 2006
 * Nell Leyshon, winner of the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright for Comfort Me With Apples in 2005
 * Torben Betts, winner of the Critics' Award for Theatre in Scotland for Best New Play with The Unconquered, 2007.

John Osborne discovery
In September 2008 two early playscripts by John Osborne, previously thought to be lost, were discovered in the British Library's archives. Both plays predated Look Back in Anger and were published together for the first time by Oberon Books, as Before Anger.