Born in 1929 in Czechoslovakia, the son of clothing manufacturers Richard and Annie Hecht, Ernest Hecht arrived in Britain as a Kindertransport (Jewish refugee) child in 1939; he recalls: … See more

Hecht started Souvenir Press in 1951 in his bedroom at his parents' flat with a loan of £250, "a bed, a desk, a typewriter and a phone in the hall", his first book being "a paperback on … See more

Ernest Hecht and Souvenir Press also produced concerts and presented many theatrical productions, including Uproar in the House, with Brian Rix, Joan Sims, and Nicholas Parsons; Sign Here Please by Valentin Kataev, adapted by Marty Feldman, … See more

Set up in 2003, the Ernest Hecht Charitable Foundation has the aim of providing financial and practical assistance that can "making a … See more

Hecht's awards include the Specsavers National Book Awards 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award, the Neruda Medal presented by the Chilean government, and an honorary fellowship of University College London, in 2006.
He was appointed … See more

Hecht lived and worked in London, where he was a long-standing supporter of Arsenal Football Club: he took his Arsenal hat with him to See more

• Souvenir Press website.
• The Ernest Hecht Charitable Foundation.
• Michael Allen, "Ernest Hecht and the Souvenir Press", Grumpy Old Bookman, 12 September 2007. See more