UNIQUE CONTEST DRAWS FANS AND BOOK COLLECTORS TO HTTP://WWW.BEVERLEYNICHOLS.COM

An new online contest has created quite a stir at http://www.beverleynichols.com. Timber Press, the publisher sponsoring this site, is offering one lucky person the chance to win an autographed copy of the rare, first-edition of "Garden Open Tomorrow" by the famous British humorist, Beverley Nichols.

Portland, OR - August 22, 2002 - Timber Press, publishers of "Better Books for Gardeners, Horticulturists, and Botanists," has launched a new Web site, www.beverleynichols.com, dedicated to famous British humorist, Beverley Nichols (1898-1983). Fans can visit http://www.beverleynichols.com for some entertainment and a chance to win a rare, first edition copy of Nichols's "Garden Open Tomorrow," signed by the author himself!

To compete for the book, the public is invited to write a short essay (250-500 words) in the humorous style of Beverley Nichols, and submit it to Timber Press by December 31, 2002. Any topic is welcome, but possible themes include: "My favorite gardening memory," "My most embarrassing gardening moment," and "My favorite plant."

Visit http://www.beverleynichols.com for more details and complete contest rules.

Entries can be submitted via:
1. E-mail: beverley@timberpress.com
2. Postal service: Beverley Nichols Essay Contest, c/o Timber Press, 133 SW Second Ave., Suite 450, Portland, OR, 97204
3. Fax: (503) 227-3070 (attn: Beverley Nichols Essay Contest).

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Beverley Nichols (1898-1983) was a prolific writer on subjects ranging from religion to politics and travel, in addition to authoring six novels, five detective mysteries, four children's stories, six autobiographies, and six plays. He is perhaps best remembered today for his gardening books. The first of them, "Down the Garden Path," centered on his home and garden at Glatton and has been in print almost continuously since 1932. "Merry Hall" (1951) and its sequels "Laughter on the Stairs" (1953) and "Sunlight on the Lawn" (1956) document Nichols's travails in renovating a Georgian mansion and its gardens soon after the Second World War.

Nichols created his final garden at Sudbrook Cottage, which serves as the setting for his books "Garden Open Today" (1963) and "Garden Open Tomorrow" (1968).

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"A drawback to having too many lilies is that they insist on a party being given for them, and since they are so grand and elegant you have to try to be grand and elegant too, and that means dinner jackets, and hiring masses of very ugly silver, and it is all inclined to be rather expensive."
-Beverley Nichols, from "Merry Hall"