All3Media International’s Jason Easy and Quarto’s Richard Green on bringing Race Across the World into puzzle books

Jason, Richard, it’s great to chat. Jason, before we dive into the new Race Across the World puzzle book, what makes this an exciting brand to work on?
Jason Easy, VP of Licensing, All3Media International: It’s such a unique brand because it blends adventure, strategy and real human stories in a way few shows can. The competition element – no air travel, minimal budgets and no smartphones – forces contestants to rely on their wits, local knowledge and quick decision-making. This makes for compelling storytelling.

The human element is equally important. Contestants from diverse backgrounds bring their own motivations and relationships, which evolve throughout the journey. The stress and unfamiliar environments make them vulnerable, leading to emotional highs and lows that resonate deeply with viewers.

Additionally, the show’s limited transport options introduce viewers to hidden gems – villages, cities and cultures often overlooked in mainstream travel. Combine this with its strategy-luck balance, and you have an immersive, real-world problem-solving adventure that appeals to a broad audience.

How do you feel you’d fare on the show?
Jason: I do love the show! In truth, my daily commute courtesy of Southern Rail is a little too much to bear at times so I’m not sure how I would fare…

“Publishing has always presented a strong avenue for Race Across the World.”

Ha! Now, as you’ve explained, this is a show connected to a remarkable experience. How do you approach licensing experience-led brands?
Jason: The key is staying true to the brand – adventure, exploration, teamwork and resourcefulness. These values shape the kinds of off-screen activity we aim to develop. We’ve partnered with categories and brands that align naturally with this ethos. For example, travel-inspired products or collaborative games that mirror the strategy and teamwork seen in the show. Our audience includes families, adults, travel enthusiasts and young professionals, so products need to appeal across this spectrum while capturing the spirit of discovery and challenge.

Richard, let’s press you in! For anyone new to Quarto and Ivy Press imprint, how would you describe the company and its focuses?
Richard Green, Group Publisher (Ivy Press), Adult Trade: At Quarto we are specialists in publishing high-quality non-fiction for an international audience. Each of our imprints has a particular personality and identity, and focuses on producing the best possible book for the audience in question. We are a team and everyone contributes in a different way to creating, shaping and selling a wide range of high-quality content – from cookery and gardening to puzzles and games, children’s books and narrative non-fiction to art history and self-help – for audiences all around the word.

What appealed about the Race Across the World brand? And what made it a neat fit for a puzzle book?
Richard: Race Across the World is such an exciting brand, and one that’s captured the public’s imagination. It’s perfectly suited to puzzles as it is associated with challenge, and contestants have to solve conundrums on a daily basis – be that working out if they have enough money to travel in luxury, or travel at all!, or how to communicate in a language they are unfamiliar with. Most of their experiences are fun too, and that’s an ideal ingredient for a successful puzzle book.

Jason, what made Quarto a perfect partner for this venture?
Jason: Publishing has always presented a strong avenue for Race Across the World, and we’ve had plenty of interest in it. We first connected with Quarto late last year, and their enthusiasm for the brand was clear from the start. They really understood the show’s core values and brought forward ideas that stayed true to its adventurous spirit. After consulting with the producers at Studio Lambert, Quarto’s vision for an authentic, adventure-themed puzzle book stood out. They’ve been fantastic partners throughout, and the final product is something we’re thrilled to see hit the shelves.

“We were careful to match the puzzle journey of each chapter to the actual journey undertaken by the challengers.”

Richard, can you talk us through the process of creating some of the puzzles and challenges in the book?
Richard: All puzzles are based either on aspects that challenged contestants – like travel times, locations and scenery – or were inspired by parts of the show, like bus travel, car rental, nature, spot-the-difference and so on.

We were careful to match the puzzle journey of each chapter to the actual journey undertaken by the challengers. We saw them struggling with geography – there are quizzes. They had to work out money and exchange rates – we included maths puzzles. They had to find their way around unknown locations – we featured mazes. They needed to be observant – we included spot-the-difference and other visual puzzles. They say travel broadens the mind; so do puzzles!

Terrific. Do you feel there’s more opportunities for brands to embrace the puzzle book space?
Richard: There are so many opportunities for other brands to enter the puzzle book space. In fact, we have been in discussion with Jason and Katie about obvious brands such as Catch Phrase and Lingo, as well as more abstract ideas for Midsomer Murders, Traitors and even Naked Attraction!

A Naked Attraction puzzle book! Now there’s a spot-the-difference challenge that’ll test the mettle of the most experience puzzler.
Richard: Ha!

And what does a show need to suit the puzzle book format?
Richard: Just as with the TV shows, innovative concepts, challenging and engaging content and an element of fun are the ideal ingredients for success. We are particularly interested in the new series Chess Masters as this has all of the above. We think it would make a terrific puzzle book for chess lovers and anyone interested in learning how to play the game.

Jason, before we wrap up, what other launches for Race Across the World can you tell us about?
Jason: We’ve been working on some exciting new opportunities. The board game launched in the UK last year and has recently expanded to Denmark, with versions for Sweden and Finland on the horizon. Beyond that, we have three or four other partnerships in development that we’re aiming to announce early next year. Each project stays true to the show and the potential for licensing remains huge!

Fantastic. Thanks again guys – let’s check back in when the Naked Attraction book hits shelves!