INDEPENDENT book publisher Ernest Hecht has been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

The Bloomsbury-based publisher is one of a number of people living in Camden whose work has been recognised in the list, released this week.

Mr Hecht set up the Souvenir Press in 1951 using £250 and, over 60 years, has seen it flourish. 

His authors have ranged from Argentine revolu­tion­ary Che Guevara to comic chronicler of the British upper classes, PG Wode­house, from Norwegian Kon Tiki adventurer Thor Heyerdahl to tap dance legend Fred Astaire. 

Souvenir Press has published books by five Nobel prize winners and tomes on sporting heroes including Tom Finney, Jackie Milburn and Bob Paisley. In 2003, Mr Hecht set up a charity to support advancement in fields of education, disability and the arts. His OBE was for services to publishing and to charity.  

He said: “I am deeply honoured, not only per­sonally by this award, but also for all the other inde­pendent publishers who contribute so much to the diversity of our industry.”

Actor Benedict Cumber­batch, known for his TV portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and more recently for his Oscar-nominated role as Enigma codecracker Alan Turing, has recently moved to Dartmouth Park. He has been awarded a CBE for service to acting. 

Public relations and editorial content guru Julia Hobsbawm, who is based in Highgate Newtown, was awarded an OBE for her services to business. She founded Editorial Intelligence 10 years ago, a company that offers a forum for networking for people in the media industry. 

She said: “It was a nice birthday present – Editorial Intelligence celebrates its 10th birth­day this month – during that time we’ve read and summarised 100 million words of comment.”

Candida Gertler, who lives in Hampstead, has been awarded an OBE for services to contemporary visual arts and arts philanthropy. She co-founded the Outset Contemporary Arts Fund in 2003 with Yana Peel, and has since helped to support new artists, provide education in creative sectors and donate works to public institutions. 

Tufnell Park-based writer Caroline Criado-Perez was awarded an OBE for services to equality and diversity. 

University College London academic Dr Helen Chatterjee, from King’s Cross, was awarded an MBE for services to higher education and culture. Her work includes studying the effect visiting museums has on people at risk of social isolation. 

Judith Cross, from UCL’s Institute of Child Health, was awarded an OBE for her research into childhood epilepsy, while Great Ormond Street Hospital clinical nurse specialist Nicola Bennett-Rees was given an MBE for services to nursing.