The combined wisdom of the writers of the articles in this Yearbook provide some of the most up-to-date and best practical advice you will need to negotiate your way through the two main routes to publication. Whether you opt for the traditional route via an agent or the self-publishing model, there are key things it would be useful to consider before you begin.
There is increasing competition to get published. Hundreds of manuscripts appear in the inboxes of publishers and literary agents every week. Potential authors have to be really dedicated (and perhaps very lucky) to get their work published. That is one of the reasons so many writers are turning to self-publishing. So how can you give yourself the best chance of success whichever route you take?
1. Know your market
• Be confident that there is a readership for your book. Explore the intended market so you are sure that your publishing idea is both commercially viable and desirable to the reading public, agent or publisher.
• Know your competition and review the latest publishing trends: look in bookshops, at ebook stores, at online book sites, take an interest in publishing stories in the media and, above all, read. See News, views and trends: review of the publishing year here.
2. Agent, publisher or do-it-yourself?
• First decide if you want to try and get signed by a literary agent and be published by an established publisher. Self-publishing in both print and electronically has never been easier, quicker or cheaper and can be a viable alternative to the traditional approach.
• If you opt for the agent/publisher model, decide whether you prefer to approach an agent or to submit your material direct to a publisher. Many publishers, particularly of fiction, will only consider material submitted through a literary agent. For some of the pros and cons of each approach, see How literary agencies work here, How to get an agent here, and Understanding publishing agreements here. Whether you choose to contact an agent or a publisher, your work will be subjected to rigorous commercial assessment – see Getting hooked out of the slush pile here.
• For information about self-publishing, consult What do self-publishing providers offer? here, Self-publishing online: the emerging template for sales success here and The Alliance of Independent Authors here.
3. Choose the right publisher, agent or self-publishing provider
• Study the entries in this Yearbook, examine publishers’ lists and their websites, and look in the relevant sections in libraries and bookshops for the names of publishers which might be interested in your material.
• Take a look at the Contents list and the indexes in this Yearbook for lists of publishers, agents and other providers across all genres and forms of writing, everything from film scripts, to poetry and biography.
• Consult the Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2019 (Bloomsbury 2018) for in-depth coverage of writing and publishing for the children’s and young adult markets.
• Authors should not pay publishers for the publication of their work. There are many companies that can help you self-publish your book, for a fee; see What do self-publishing providers offer? here. Make sure you know what it is the company will actually do and agree any fees in advance.
• Crowdfunding is becoming a viable option for some (see here).
• Presentation is important. If your material is submitted in the most appropriate electronic format an agent or publisher will be more inclined to give attention to it.
• Numerous manuscripts are rejected because of poor writing style or structure. A critique by an experienced editorial professional can help to iron out these weaknesses.
• It is understandable that writers, in their eagerness to get their work published as soon as possible, will send their manuscript out in a raw state. Do not send your manuscript to a literary agent or publisher and do not self-publish your script until it is ready to be seen. Wait until you are confident that your work is as good as it can be. Have as your mantra: edit, review, revise and then edit again. See Editing your work here.
5. Approach a publisher or literary agent in the way they prefer
• Submit your work to the right person within the publishing company or literary agency. Look at the listings in this Yearbook for more details. Most agents will expect to see a synopsis and up to three sample chapters or the complete manuscript. Most publishers’ and literary agents’ websites give guidance on how to submit material, and should make clear if they accept unsolicited scripts by email or only by post. Many agents have a ‘submissions’ email link or button on their site.
• Always keep a backed-up copy of your manuscript. Whilst reasonable care will be taken of material in the possession of a publisher or agent, responsibility cannot be accepted if material is lost or damaged.
6. Write a convincing cover letter or email
• Compose your preliminary letter or email with care. It will be your first contact with an agent or publisher and needs to make them take notice of your book for the right reasons.
• When submitting a manuscript to a publisher, it is a good idea to let them know that you know (and admire!) what they already publish. You can then make your case about where your submission will fit in their list. Show them that you mean business and have researched the marketplace.
• What is the USP (unique selling point) of the material you are submitting? You may have an original authorial ‘voice’, or you may have come up with an amazingly brilliant idea for a series. If, after checking out the marketplace, you think you have something truly original to offer, then believe in yourself and be convincing when you offer it around.
Publishers’ contracts
Following a publishing company’s firm interest in a MS, a publisher’s contract is drawn up between the author and the publisher (see Understanding publishing agreements here). If the author is not entirely happy with the contract presented to them or wishes to take advice, he/she could ask their literary agent, the Society of Authors (see here) or the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (see here) to check the contract on their behalf – providing the author has an agent and/or is a member of those organisations. Or you can seek advice from a solicitor, but before consulting one, make sure that they are familiar with publishing agreements and can give informed advice. Many local firms have little or no experience of such work and their opinion can often be of limited value meaning that the cost may outweigh any possible benefit they can provide.
• Writing can be a lonely business – don’t work in a vacuum. Talk to others who write in the same genre or share a similar readership. You can meet them at literature festivals, conferences and book or writers’ groups. Consider doing a course – see Writers’ retreats and creative writing courses here.
• Go to a festival and be inspired. There are numerous literature festivals held throughout the year at which authors appear (see Festivals and conferences for writers, artists and readers here).
• Join one of the numerous online communities, book review and manuscript share sites; see Book sites, blogs and podcasts here.
8. Don’t give up!
• For an agent and publisher, there are many factors that have to be taken into consideration when evaluating the hundreds of submissions they receive each week, the most important of which is: ‘Will it sell?’. See What do publishers do? here.
• Be prepared to wait for a decision on your work. Editors and agents are very busy people so be patient when waiting for a response. Don’t pester them too soon.
• Publishing is big business and it is more competitive than ever. Even after an editor has read your work, there are many other people involved before a manuscript is acquired for publication. People from the sales, marketing, publicity, rights and other departments all have to be convinced that the book is right for their list and will sell.
• The harsh reality of submitting a manuscript to a publisher or literary agent is that you have to be prepared for rejection. But many successful authors have received such rejections at some time so you are in good company.
• For advice from established writers on how they first got into print see the articles under Writing advice that start here.
• Have patience and persevere. If the conventional route doesn’t produce the results you were hoping for, consider the self-publishing route as a viable alternative.
Good luck!
Alice Jolly discusses why she turned to crowdfunding to publish her memoir and subsequent novels, how the system works, its place as an alternative to mainstream and self-publishing, and the pros and cons of this new publication option.
It is April 2014. I am in a bar in Soho, talking to John Mitchinson, one of the founders of the crowdfunding publisher Unbound. He is interested in publishing a memoir I have written called Dead Babies and Seaside Towns. Our conversations about the book itself are straightforward but the wider purpose of our meeting is more problematic. He is thinking – not the ideal person to crowdfund a book. And I would have to agree with his unspoken assessment.
I’m a country mum, a quiet, academic type, who doesn’t attend literary events. I have never used social media. On top of that, mainstream publishers have already told me that, no matter how good my memoir is, there is simply no market for it. Yet, despite these inauspicious omens, John has already decided he wants the book. And I agree to the crowdfunding idea because I am absolutely determined to get my memoir published.
Cut to June 2016 and I’m standing on a platform being awarded the Pen/Ackerley prize for that same memoir. John is in the audience and I catch his eye. Neither of us need to say – well, that’s stuck it to them! It turns out that my book did need to be published ... and that crowdfunding was as good a way to publish it as any other.
On the basis of this experience, you might assume that I am something of an expert on crowdfunded publishing and that I would unreservedly recommend it to other writers. But the reality is more complicated. Although I have subsequently crowdfunded another two books with Unbound (both novels), I only really know about what I have done – and not much more; and although crowdfunding has been a good choice for me, that does not mean I would suggest every other writer should go down the same road.
The crowdfunding process
So how does a writer decide if crowdfunding might be a good choice for them? First, let me give a quick summary of how it works. The process starts with the writer submitting his or her idea (or book) to a crowdfunder such as, in my case, Unbound. Unbound are ‘curated’ crowdfunders and so (like any mainstream gate-keeping publisher) they decide whether or not they want that book. The important difference from a mainstream publishing is, however, that the company is run by three people who are writers themselves. If one of them wants to publish a certain book, then it will happen. This means that you won’t be told: ‘The editors loved your book but unfortunately the Sales and Marketing team just couldn’t....’
If Unbound agree to work with you, then they help you to put together a page on their website which will include a biography and an extract from your book. A short film will also be made which explains the book. This web page then becomes the tool which you will use to bring in pledges or – to put it more simply – to pre-sell copies of the book. This idea is far from new. It is actually the same as ‘publishing by subscription’, which was how many books were published in the 19th century.
If you chose Unbound’s digital option, then you might need to raise £3,000 or £4,000. If you are going to be producing a hard-copy book, then the cost rises to £10,000 or £12,000, depending on length, illustrations, etc. The budget is something you discuss with Unbound and it can be adjusted. Once all of this has been agreed, then you have to bring in the pledges. Unbound have a well-developed social media presence and a huge mailing list, so that helps spread the word but, fundamentally, it is down to you, as the writer, to raise that money. That process is tough – very tough. You need thick skin, persistence and confidence in what you are doing. You will suffer many dark moments – but you will also regularly be amazed by the random generosity of people you have never even met.
Writers have a hundred different crowdfunding strategies. Some authors are highly professional and imaginative; others, like me, shamble through the whole thing, relying on the support of family and friends, slowly and painfully spreading the word by doing readings, and events and workshops.
Once the money is raised, Unbound operate in just the same way as any other publisher. They do the editing, proofreading, cover design, publicity and distribution. When the book is published, the writer does not get royalties as such but they receive a profit share of 50% (obviously much higher than the usual 10%). Although they are a small publisher, until recently Unbound had a distribution agreement with Penguin Random House and they now have a similar agreement with independent sales force PGUK.
From my own experience with my memoir, I know that Unbound can publicise and distribute a book widely. But, of course, the experience of one writer may be wildly different from that of another. How often have you actually heard a writer say how pleased they were by the publicity for their new book? More or less never, I would bet. As a breed, we tend to be naturally ungrateful and disappointed, even when we don’t really have a reason to be so. All the same, we know that it is not the case that big publisher equals big publicity and small publisher equals small publicity. It all depends on the type of book, the timing, the status of the author, the personnel in the publicity department. A junior and inexperienced book publicist in a small publishing house can sometimes achieve great things if they have a passion for a particular title.
Comparisons with self-publishing
Of course, I am regularly asked – why don’t you self-publish? I take my hat off to those who have chosen that route. I know that the potential financial gains are much greater. Those who do self-publish also tell me that the Unbound £10,000 budget is too high. But I’ve looked into it (comparing the cost with quality self-publishing) and I rather doubt that. If you want a beautiful book then the process is long, slow and expensive.
Book production values are a matter of personal choice but, as ever, if you want quality you have to pay for it. Personally I don’t necessarily expect my books to sell thousands of copies but I would be desperately disappointed if they looked shoddy. I do not do curly, shiny covers and homespun cover design (daft, I know, but we’ve all got our petty little prejudices).
Although I know that self-publishing has worked well for some genre writers, there is little evidence that it works for more literary books. There is also the intractable question of time. I don’t have IT or marketing skills and I don’t particularly want to acquire them. I struggle to find time for my writing – there is no chance that I’d manage to be a publisher as well.
At a more fundamental level, I also want to be part of a collaborative process. Writing is a horribly lonely business. I need some people to celebrate with when it goes well, and to down a consoling glass with when it does not. Mainstream publishers, in general, seem to take a ‘divide and rule’ attitude to writers (... For God’s sake don’t get more than two of them in a room together or they’ll whinge incessantly). Unbound, by contrast, have created an online forum for their authors. And yes, in that forum there are some challenging discussions, but there is also a huge amount of camaraderie, consolation and support, plus many examples of writers clubbing together to promote each other’s books and organise readings and events.
A developing role for crowdfunding
I’ve described my experience with Unbound, but what other crowdfunding options are available? There are many on-line organisations who offer crowdfunding to novelists, although none (as far as I know) are ‘curated’ crowdfunders. Kickstarter is a platform which anyone can use to raise money, but that still leaves the writer with all the book production work. Might this approach be the worst of both worlds? I’m not qualified to judge. But do remember – publishing is not the same as printing.
So far Unbound have done well – their books have won major prizes, reached the bestseller lists and, perhaps most importantly, fuelled important debate, meaning that there are real benefits to being published by them. But what are the limits of this approach? Well, sadly, I don’t think it can do much to improve diversity in publishing. It does return more money to the author than the mainstream model. And that’s important given that the median earnings for a professional writers is approximately £11,000 (according to ALCS figures from 2013), far below the £17,900 which the Joseph Rowntree Foundation suggests is needed for a single person to reach the minimum income standard.
In addition, Unbound bravely publish anthologies which look at issues of social justice (notably The Good Immigrant, edited by Nikesh Shukla, 2016 and Trans Britain, edited by Christine Burns, 2018). However, the crowdfunding model itself will tend to favour those who already have a name, a reputation, a network.
Although a recent Arts Council report (Literature in the 21st Century: Understanding Models of Support for Literary Fiction, 2017) suggests that crowdfunding may be able to play a role in addressing the difficulties in publishing literary fiction, as one of the guinea pigs, I remain less than certain at this stage. But the reality is that, if a book is going to be hard to sell, it will usually to be hard to crowdfund as well.
As Unbound are still a new company, they are navigating a route through uncharted waters. Despite these challenges, I remain proud to be published by Unbound. I never really wanted to man the barricades with a bunch of publishing revolutionaries, but I am acutely aware that the range of books published by the mainstream industry has become increasingly narrow and that does need to change.
Unbound have made it possible for some of those challenging, difficult, eccentric books to be published which would otherwise languish in a box under a writer’s bed. That matters to me. I passionately believe in a world where all the voices are heard, a world we need now more than ever. I’ve always preferred the ‘out-crowd’ to the in-crowd.
Alice Jolly is a novelist and playwright whose memoir Dead Babies and Seaside Towns (Unbound Digital 2015) won the 2015 Pen/Ackerley Prize. Her short story Ray the Rottweiler won the V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize in 2014. She has published two novels with Simon and Schuster, What The Eye Doesn’t See (2002) and If Only You Knew (2006), and with Unbound has two further novels: Mary Ann Sate, Imbecile, due out in June 2018 and Between the Regions of Kindness in 2019. Alice teaches Creative Writing at Oxford University. Her website is http://alicejolly.com/wp. Follow her on Twitter @JollyAlice.
Now that authors can successfully publish their own work, why are publishers still needed? Bill Swainson makes clear how vital the editor’s experience and expertise – and that of designers, publicists and sales teams – are in bringing a book to market. Publishers manage and pay for all parts of the publishing process, with all departments working together to give your book the greatest chance of success.
In the age of digital publishing, when self-published authors can occasionally achieve spectacular success, you might think that publishers would by now have become extinct. After all, some types of book and book distribution have ceased to exist, so why not the people and companies who make them?
In 1894, when the private lending libraries like WH Smith and Mudie’s stopped buying the popular three-decker novel (150,000 words of genteel excitement spun out to three volumes – the nice little earner that had sustained the private libraries and publishers for half a century) it was not so much the public’s taste that had changed overnight, but a row over the costs of production and distribution and competing one-volume cheap editions that brought things to a head. Agreement could not be reached, with the result that the triple-decker disappeared almost at once. The publishers adapted, so did the writers and so, even, did the private lending libraries – at least for a while – and into the gap left by the three-decker slipped the slim modern novel by the likes of E.M. Forster, H.G. Wells and Virginia Woolf.
If one of today’s commercially more challenging forms is the literary novel, the descendant of Forster et al., could this be the moment when the triple-decker wreaks its revenge? (One thinks, for example, somewhat mischievously of E.L. James’ originally self-published Fifty Shades of Grey.) Maybe.
One of Britain’s most successful writers, Rachel Abbott, has this to say about the realities of DIY publishing: ‘The self-publishing model can look attractive because, depending on the price of the book, the author can take up to 70% of the proceeds of each sale – which is a bigger return than they would get through a traditional publisher. But it takes a lot of work to make those sales: when I started to follow my marketing plan for Only the Innocent, I was working 14 hours a day, seven days a week. For three months, not a word of a novel was written.’ [Guardian, 30 March 2016] Rachel Abbott has made a hard-earned fortune with her self-published psychological thrillers and the writer in her has clearly decided to accept the periodic downside of long hours and no writing in exchange for ‘the variety and the challenge’ each self-publication presents.
And there’s the point. It takes ‘a lot of work’ and, it should be remembered, a fair bit of money to publish a book successfully. While there will always be some energetic self-publishers – craftsmen like William Blake, William Morris and Walt Whitman – there have also been those who believed so strongly in what they had written that they paid for their own work to be published. Jane Austen (Sense and Sensibility, 1811), Marcel Proust (Swann’s Way, 1913) and rather more recently Sergio de la Pava (A Naked Singularity, 2008, winner of the 2013 Pulitzer for Debut Fiction once it was commercially published) all took this route. In the end the books and their authors were vindicated and sustained even greater success when an enterprising publisher (John Murray for Jane Austen, Gallimard for Proust, Chicago University Press for De la Pava) saw the opportunity that self-publishing had revealed and took on writers previously rejected.
Acquiring a book
So what is it that publishers actually do and how do they do it? In brief, they decide to back a writer’s work and take on the financial risk involved in exchange for an advance against royalties in anticipation of income from print books, ebooks and rights sales that will exceed the initial outlay and yield a profit.
Every publishing company acquires its books from similar sources: from literary agents, publishers in other countries, direct commissions to authors and, very occasionally, from unsolicited submissions taken from what is unceremoniously dubbed the ‘slush pile’, although this is becoming very much rarer.
The in-house selection process goes something like this: the commissioning editor finds a book from among his or her regular weekly reading and makes a case for taking it on at an ‘acquisitions meeting’, which is usually attended by all the other departments directly involved in publishing the book, including editorial, digital, sales, marketing, publicity and rights; lively discussions follow and final decisions are determined by a mixture of commercial good sense (estimated sales figures, likely production costs and the author’s track record) on the one hand, and conviction and taste (and remember the tastes of every company and every editor are different) on the other.
Paying for the rights
Traditionally authors earn royalties, a guarantee of which is paid up front in the form of an advance, and once that advance has earned out (i.e. once the royalties earned have matched the advance paid) all future royalties are paid to the author, usually via his or her agent. Often the returns are modest. Below are typical figures for a contemporary novel:
Advance: £10,000 |
Earnings |
|
2,500 HBs @ £16.99 x av. 8% royalty = |
£3,200 |
|
5,000 PBs @ £8.99 x av. 6% royalty = |
£2,697 |
|
Total |
£5,897 |
The starting hardback royalty is traditionally 10% of cover price (7.5% for the paperback), but there is usually a reduced royalty (typically four fifths of the agreed rate) on high discount sales which for most hardbacks start at about 50%, hence 8% in the example above. Export sales would be paid at the home royalty but on price received, so 10% of what’s left after a, say, 70% discount.
These figures may look modest, and they are, but once a book really takes off they can also be substantial, even though such success is all too rare a phenomenon.
Other costs: design, production, distribution
There are also a whole host of other expenses, namely for: cover and text design; typesetting (styling and formatting of text); print, paper and binding; distribution (shipping the book to the bookseller and dealing with the return of unsold books); and marketing, sales and publicity costs. To these must be added the cost of converting the text to digital format for ebook (although soon this conversion stage and the associated editorial checking costs will be obviated by the preparation of all text in XML format) and the posting of the book with the e-distributor; in the UK, for example, that includes Amazon, iPad, Kobo, Tablet.
And finally there are the overheads: the office space; IT maintenance; photocopiers, etc.; and staffing costs – everyone from the receptionist and post-room staff to the sales team, publicists, marketeers, purchase ledger and royalty accountants, the MD or Ceo, and the person in a publishing house the author will usually have most to do with, the editor.
What do editors do?
Given all these costs, not to mention the booksellers’ and e-tailers’ costs, why not just self-publish digitally and cut out the middleman? Well, Rachel Abbott provides part of the answer: ‘It’s a lot of work’. Even when ebooks are successful (at peak moments in a traditionally published book’s life digital sales can match or exceed print sales), what they cannot yet do, or rather what publishers have not yet found a way to do with any guarantee of success, is regularly generate the publicity that will attract readers. It doesn’t mean it won’t happen, but print and broadcast media, for all that they have a strong online presence (you only have to think of the Guardian, BBC or the Daily Mail’s internet reach), do not yet compete with what’s left of traditional media for bringing a book to the public’s attention, and ebook sales are still mostly driven by those in the 55–75 age range buying titles, usually for their Kindles and iPads.
However, digital publishing does not suit every kind of book and, while some writers might be confident in their ability to produce a word-perfect text, there are many – whether novelists or historians, scientists or chefs – who value the collaborative process that editing involves. Like translators, who must be the closest readers of all, editors must also stand at a distance and coolly assess the text the writer has slaved over and is now perhaps too close to review clearly. Here is William Plomer of Jonathan Cape writing to Ian Fleming after his first reading of the typescript of Moonraker: ‘Have just finished and much enjoyed the new book . . . I have been through it with minute care and a pencil & have applied both to your punctuation and spelling. You don’t have to accept my corrections but they are reasoned ones.’ And here is Ian Fleming responding to Plomer, whom he had come to trust completely, about the latter’s notes on Doctor No: ‘I note the ghastly clichés. How awful it is that so many slip by when one is making little effort to write “well”. I will attend to them.’ The editorial process almost always improves the quality of a book, focusing on continuity, tone, pacing, argument, plot or characterisation. It is a kind of peer review but, in the editor’s case, a peer whose ultimate aim is to help the writer to achieve the best possible expression of his or her narrative or argument. And, while that work could be dispensed with, readers would be the poorer for it.
Sales, rights, marketing and publicity
Getting the text right is one thing, but taking it to market is quite a different matter. Here publishing is at its most collaborative with marketing, sales and publicity working closely together to interest retailers and potential readers. There used to be clearer divisions between these roles, with marketing providing the sales team with the material to get the books into the shops and publicity working with both to get the books out of the shops and into the readers’ hands. Today – while publishing is no longer exclusively about physical books, or even ebooks sold through e-tailers, but includes internet subscription models like Drama Online (www.dramaonlinelibrary.com) or Encyclopædia Britannica (www.britannica.com), or online magazines like Words without Borders (www.wordswithoutborders.org) and Salon.com, or a mixture, like the enterprising And Other Stories (www.andotherstories.org) – the aim remains to persuade customers to buy what the publisher is selling. The means at the disposal of marketing, sales and publicity departments, now including Twitter, YouTube, vimeos, specialist blogging and vlogging, etc, may have changed, but publishers still have to get a reader’s and, crucially, a purchaser’s attention. Generally, this is easier for a professional company to achieve than the individual, however well connected, working alone.
Good luck
How the publisher balances these costs against income in order to create a company that pays its bills and makes the profits that allow reinvestment in new books and production is one of the great conjuring tricks of publishing. Whether you’re publishing graphic novels, erotica, fine art, commercial, historical or literary fiction, history, current affairs, natural history or sports, a publisher is involved in curation. His or her reputation is built on the quality of that curation and the effectiveness with which works and authors are championed in the marketplace. In a lively and energetic publisher there will always be a healthy and creative tension between curation and promotion, a sensitivity both to new talent and to new ways of finding readers for your authors. This creative tension between good commercial sense and taste, often driven by conviction and aided by luck, is at the heart of good publishing.
Bill Swainson has worked for small, medium and large publishers since 1976 and was a senior commissioning editor at Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for 15 years, where he edited non-fiction and fiction, including in translation. He is currently a literary consultant and freelance editor, who also publishes a portfolio list under his own name at MacLehose Press, and is editor at large for non-fiction at Oneworld.
See also...
• Editing your work, here
• Understanding publishing agreements, here
Debut success with an indie publisher
Wyl Menmuir describes the long, often uncertain and obscure path that led to his debut novel being written, and the encouragement, support and belief of others that helped him reach completion and success.
To say I achieved unexpected success with my debut novel is serious understatement. When I started to write The Many, I knew I would finish it and that was all. I would finish it – if only to prove to myself that I could. But a novel that would appear on bookshop shelves? A novel that people might buy? That was still the same vague dream I’d had since I first visited the library as a child.
Depending on which article you read, my first novel took me between two and three years to write. The truth is, I probably started three years earlier than that. I just didn’t realise that was what I was doing when I was writing the stack of impenetrable short stories and novel openings on which I cut my fictional teeth (stories, incidentally, that remain locked in a drawer where they belong). It wasn’t until something clicked, while I was on an Arvon ‘Starting to Write’ residential week (see here), that I worked out what I should really be working on. One of the tutors, Nikita Lalwani, challenged me to write the story that was at the back of my head, bugging me to be written, the one I thought that I could not write. How she knew it was there still mystifies me but, of the tens of thousands of words I discarded as I wrote the novel, the thousand-word story I wrote that afternoon sits at the heart of The Many, pretty much as I wrote it. When I got home though, when the rush of the course dissipated, I realised I had no idea where I was going with it, or how to take those first few words and turn them into the novel I wanted it to be.
There’s a vastly overused but useful metaphor which suggests that writing a novel is like going into the woods; it looks like a great idea from a distance, the canopy gleaming in the sunlight. At that point, there seem to be endless possibilities for taking your reader on a journey through those woods and leading them blinking into the sunlight at the other side, bemused and enlightened by the journey they’ve just taken. As a writer, what actually happens when you get to the edge of these literary woods is that there’s no sign of a path at all. Or if there is a path, it’s so well-worn – a fictional hollow-way trodden by too many before – that there’s no point in following it. You discount the hollow-way but start to worry that you’re going to lose your way immediately. Or step on a snake. Or get caught in the brambles. When I started, I had no idea of my destination. I had my thousand words from my week at Arvon but, aside from that, I felt I was picking my way through increasingly dense forest. For me at least, the novel-writing process is one in which I have to feel my way and most days I have no idea what I will write next.
My practice consisted of walking around Cornwall’s coast out of season and spending hours in the small fishing villages I used as inspiration for the novel’s setting. I skulked around fishing boats, watched the changing sea, took countless photographs and talked to obliging fishermen, and by the time I was back at my desk the next scene was ready to be uncovered. That’s the part of the process with which no one can help you. As for everything else, I say take as much help as you can get.
Once I realised I had a novel on my hands, I signed up for an MA in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. The course gave me much-needed deadlines and the support of a community of writers, all of whom were finding their way through their own literary woods. I signed up for an early version of the tracking and productivity app, Prolifiko (https://prolifiko.com; some writers might roll their eyes at the idea, but it worked for me, and I’m currently tracking my second novel in the same way). A novel happens in increments, in an incalculable number of changes so small it’s often impossible to see the progress. That’s where tracking my writing comes in. I have a marvellous capacity for self-deception, but the app made me accountable for getting words on the page. I set myself a modest target – 500 words a day – and over the weeks and months it helped me not only to see the progress I’d made but to keep going, which is invaluable when you’re ready to throw the whole thing out of the window (a more common state than many writers would like to admit). As novelist and friend Liz Jenson so eloquently put it to me when I was despairing recently, ‘We may lose hope, but we can still keep our appointment with the manuscript.’ Anything that helps you to keep your appointment with the manuscript is worth its weight.
By the time you come to rewrites and editing, everything changes. You don’t have to know what your novel is when you start, but by the time you’re at the end you’d better be unambiguous about it. You have to be able to look back through the woods and see the wrong turns and dead ends as clearly as you do the path you want your reader to follow. After I’d written my first draft, I asked the author Steve Voake for his advice on editing and rewriting and he suggested I should summarise the novel in a single sentence, pin it up, and ask myself continually whether or not each scene moves the reader towards an understanding of this central statement. I was still looking at that note ten or eleven drafts in.
When I was close to finishing, my MA tutor, Nicholas Royle, suggested that Salt Publishing, for whom he is a commissioning editor, would be interested in publishing my novel. Choosing a publisher, like choosing an agent, is a matter of trust. You’ve spent possibly years crafting your novel, so you have to trust that your editor and publisher will care for it, that they will lift it further and help it to find the readers it deserves. It wasn’t a hard choice. I already loved Salt’s fiction list, in particular the work of Alice Thompson and Alison Moore. I had worked with Nicholas on the novel already through my MA; he understood the book I wanted to write and I trusted his judgement. Then there was the question about going with a small, independent publisher. At its best, small and independent means nimble and risk-taking. It means committed. Knowing Nicholas and the novels I’d read of theirs, I felt that Salt was all of the above. And whether or not a larger publisher would have put the novel up for the Man Booker Prize over the other titles on their list, I’ll never know. What I do know is that Salt did. They believed in my strange, short novel.
The day before the Man Booker longlist came out in 2016, I wrote my predictions in the margin of the Guardian. My novel wasn’t on the list I wrote, and it didn’t even cross my mind that it might be. It seemed too far removed, the domain of Kazuo Ishiguro, Hilary Mantel and Graham Swift, writers who occupied another space entirely. Only then it wasn’t. When the longlist was announced, I wasn’t even listening out for it. I ignored my phone when it rang. ‘You realise this changes everything?’ my publisher asked me when I finally answered. I didn’t. But it did. It continues to change everything. It has meant a huge boost in confidence, readers in far greater numbers than I could have hoped for, festival appearances, articles and another novel on the way. I wrote the novel I needed to write, the one that was nagging at the back of my head and wouldn’t leave me be until it was down on paper, not the one I thought I ought to write. And that (to paraphrase a prince of the woodland metaphor) has made all the difference.
Shortly after I started writing, I stuck a Post-it® above my desk repeating Neil Gaiman’s singularly useful piece of advice: ‘Finish what you start’. It sounds prosaic, but I need that advice so much that I now have it carved into the surface of my desk as a constant reminder. It took me three, four, or seven years (take your pick), eleven drafts and countless incremental changes to finish The Many. And I’d like to pass Gaiman’s sage words on to you. However long it takes – however many drafts, wrong turns, dead ends and backtracking it takes to get there – finish what you start. You never know where it might take you.
Wyl Menmuir is author of the novel The Many (Salt Publishing 2016), longlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize, Rounds (Nightjar Press 2016) and In Dark Places (National Trust 2017). He is based in Cornwall and is co-creator of the Cornish writing centre, The Writers’ Block. Wyl teaches creative writing at Falmouth University and Manchester Metropolitan University and works as a freelance editor and literacy consultant. His website is http://wylmenmuir.co.uk. Follow him on Twitter @Wylmenmuir.
Understanding publishing agreements
Publishers usually require authors or their agents to sign a written legal contract when they decide to publish a book. Gillian Haggart Davies demystifies some of the clauses in such agreements.
Publishing agreements are contracts governed by contract law, the defining feature of which is that it treats parties to the contract as being of equal standing. In other areas the law deems that there is a ‘weaker party’ who needs to be protected, for example in employment law a person with a disability/physical impairment or a pregnant employee is deemed ‘weaker’ than the employer organisation. But this is not so with publishing agreements, albeit that we all know the reality of the situation: the author/writer is the one (usually) who wants a publishing deal and the publisher, in certain circumstances, can take it or leave it so can dictate the terms.
If you have a literary agent, she or he should handle all these issues for you; and if you are a member of the Writers’ Guild (see here), the NUJ ( here) or the Society of Authors (see here), they will help review the details of a contract. The main resource for lawyers in this field is Clark’s Publishing Agreements (ed. Lynette Owen; Bloomsbury Professional, 9th edn 2013) which sets out standard form contracts for various kinds of publications. The contract for ‘General book–author–publisher’ has 35 clauses, some of which are ‘legal nuts and bolts’ and need not concern us too much – they are there to ensure the contract operates properly and can be enforced (e.g. ‘Arbitration’, ‘Interpretation’, ‘Entire Agreement’, ‘force majeure’, ‘Notices’). According to Clark’s, ‘The contract should empower both author and publisher with the confidence that each party will do its job to mutual advantage’, and that a simple structure underlies all publishing contracts:
‘The author owns the copyright in their work. In return for various payments, he/she licenses to the publisher, primarily exclusively, the right principally as readable text (printed book and ebook) to create multiple copies of that book and the further right to license others to exploit it in both readable text and other forms. The author writes; the publisher invests; from sales of copies of the book that they create together and the licensing of rights in it, the author earns royalties and other earnings, and the publisher makes its profit. It is as simple – and as complicated – as that.’
You may also want to refer to the Publishers Association Code of Practice on Author Contracts (www.publishers.org.uk) to see what the publishing industry suggested standards are and consult The Media and Business Contracts Handbook by Deborah Fosbrook and Adrian C. Laing (Bloomsbury Professional, 5th edn 2014).
So, there is a basic structure, and some clauses are ‘more fundamental’ than others. We do have judicial precedent suggesting that at the very least a publishing contract, to be accepted by the courts as such, must have terms dealing with royalties (or fees), print run and form of publication (e.g. hardback, paperback, digital). It can be a contract with those three things alone, and even if it is an implied or a verbal agreement, and as such can be enforced (in that case successfully by an author against the publisher).
What follows are some of the other more significant clauses which will be key for writers. Whatever kind of contract you see, remember that in principle you can add, delete and amend any of the clauses in it. In practical terms, it will depend on how much clout you or your agent have as to whether your publisher will be happy to negotiate or not, and on the time available.
Rights
Rights are multiple and sub-divisible. You can license them outright or in part (e.g. sound recording not images, script not film, illustrations not text, English translation not other languages), and do so for a set period of time or forever (i.e. the duration of the copyright). You can choose the territory. You can grant exclusive or non-exclusive rights. Clark’s lists 23 varieties of rights but that is not necessarily exhaustive.
It is key that you license and do not assign your rights, as assignation is almost impossible to reverse. If you must assign copyright, note that you would have a small chance of legal protection because the publisher may owe you ‘fiduciary duties’, i.e. be obliged to look after your best interests; but this would be very difficult and costly to enforce and the best advice would always be to never assign rights.
Most publishers will want all rights’ and ‘world rights’, but you/your agent may want to negotiate to retain certain rights. Consider whether the publisher would consult you before transferring the rights to a third party: they should. Would the publisher act on your behalf if someone else is in breach of your copyright? Would the publisher protect your work to the best possible extent? For example, if the work is posted online, would it be tagged for permissions information to allow anyone who wants to reuse it to find you or the publisher to ask permission? Subsidiary rights include, for example, anthology rights.
Serial rights are generally offered as ‘first’ and ‘second’. First serial rights are often retained by authors and refer to the right to publish elsewhere (e.g. in a magazine feature in advance of a book’s publication). Second serial rights can belong to a different party and are often controlled by the publisher. They concern rights to reprint after publication.
There have been calls for less slicing up of the copyright cake into so many individual rights, with the industry increasingly accepting the need to take a ‘360-degree’ approach to intellectual property. However, this is work in progress.
All of the above relates to the ‘economic copyright’ rights, but authors have moral rights too; see the PA Code of Practice on Author Contracts and the government’s IPO website (www.gov.uk/government/organisations/intellectual-property-office).
Delivery, acceptance and approval
The publisher will want to ensure it is not committing itself to publishing work which is not what it commissioned, or not as expected, and should of course be able to reject or not proceed to publish work which is poor, or which seems factually incorrect or libellous (on which see new developments under Scots law below, referring to ‘defamation’ rather than libel under Scottish law), or unlawfully copied from someone else. But what can you do if a publisher wants to reject your work for another reason, perhaps because the market or competition has changed since you were commissioned? The Society of Authors in the past used to advise writers not to sign ‘acceptance’ clauses for this type of reason, arguing that publishers should fully assess the work by asking for a synopsis and specimen chapters, rather than letting an author complete the work, submit it to them and have it rejected. You may be powerless to remove such a clause, but it is something to be aware of.
The Scottish Law Commission’s draft Bill for 2018 includes:
• ‘a defence of publication on a matter of public interest;
• a serious harm test, meaning that claimants would be required to prove serious harm before a claim can proceed;
• a single publication rule, so that the time limit for bringing a defamation claim applies from the first publication of a statement and is not reset every time that statement is shared, for example by re-tweeting;
• a reduction of the time limit for bringing a claim from three years to one year.’
Timing of publication may also be important. For example, if you are writing a law book and the publisher fails to send it to press within a reasonable time, the book may be so out of date as to be useless/unlawful, so your reputation would suffer as well as sales. You won’t want to revise it without payment of a further fee. Another example may be that the publisher has budgetary reasons for the timing of publication or may want to link, say, a sports book with an event. These types of situations may be covered in a clause about ‘Date of publication’ or ‘Publisher’s responsibility to publish’.
Think about the details as well. What are you agreeing to deliver? For example, with some textbooks you may also be agreeing to deliver pictures as well as text, but is it clear who clears copyright permissions for the pictures? And who pays for this? The publisher may give you a budget to do this work or may just expect it to have been done, and if so, and if you have not done it, that could jeopardise the whole enterprise because it can be not only an expensive but potentially very lengthy process.
Some contracts may also require you to be around for editing queries within a certain time-period – failing which the publisher will bring someone else in to edit. Would you be happy with that? Is that a term in the contract? This also touches moral rights. Are you agreeing to future updates of the book within the fee?
Remember to check the termination clause (‘break clause’) too. No one is thinking about a relationship breaking down when a deal is being signed, but the reality is that things can go wrong and one party may want to get out. Publishing relationships tend to be personal and so in reality, if one party wants to go, the other party would probably be best served simply letting this happen.
If a publisher decides to shelve publication of your book, the publisher might be in breach of contract; but in practice, it would be very difficult for an author in that situation to get an order from the court forcing the publisher to honour the contract and publish – especially if the book hasn’t been edited yet. The author would have to claim for damages, and probably for payment of advances as yet unclaimed (subject to the contract terms), and possibly for loss of earnings for future editions if this pivots around cancellation of a first edition. But this is all about power and reputation and the lesser-known/unknown author may struggle to win such a fight or be able to afford to go into battle in the first place. However, there is some hope here if you are looking for it – in Malcolm v. OUP [1994] EMLR 17 Court of Appeal, around £17,500 was awarded against the publisher in favour of the disappointed author (although the court costs could easily be around the same again for such an author).
Outside the law of contract, any author who considers they have been wrongfully treated may also look to other areas of the law to support their case (for damage to goodwill and reputation under copyright moral rights; defamation; passing off, etc).
Alternatively, a publisher may have to enforce its rights and publish despite an author wishing to back out (say, to go with another publisher). The publisher will be legally entitled to do so depending on what the author signed up to, so be mindful of how long you are agreeing to tie yourself into a deal and how soon you can get out of it, if it is possible to do so. Ultimately, if authors break their side of the deal they will probably have to pay back any advances, and potentially damages too (although the courts do say that the damages sum claimed must be reasonably quantifiable by the party claiming loss: a difficult point to prove if the book wasn’t even written, never mind marketed). Again, it is about reputation and clout: see Penguin’s legal action in 2012 against Elizabeth Wurtzel for failure to deliver a follow-up to Prozac Nation (and for return of a $33,000 advance).
Warranties and indemnities
With warranties and indemnities you ‘warrant’ to the publisher that you have done certain things like fact-checking, copyright clearance, checking there are no libellous or blasphemous or plagiarised statements and promise to ‘indemnify’ them against any losses they may suffer as a result of anything like that happening after publication. Indeed, careful publishers may want a lawyer to read your text to check for these things before publication. Is there a clause saying if this happens the publisher will bill you the author for the ‘legalling’? I have seen some lawyer–authors strike warranties and indemnities out. In practice, you need to consider whether you would be in a financial position to indemnify a publisher against its loss – most individuals wouldn’t be, especially against libel actions. (Remember, you cannot defame the dead but you can defame a business entity, so beware when writing blogs.) However, you may be confident that no issues will arise; or you may be happy that you are ‘decree proof’ (no point suing you, you have no money); or you may have professional indemnity or other insurance. Insurance is something authors should consider especially if writing on particular subjects (e.g. writing about medical dosages) or are of a certain profile.
Exclusion clauses and limitations of liability
The publisher may wish to exclude liability for certain eventualities. It may wish to exclude liability for any damage the author might suffer to her name because of the publication (loss of reputation), or might suffer ‘loss of opportunity’ (say if the contract is exclusive to one publisher and prevents it from taking the content off elsewhere). Note, however, that some contractual exclusions of liability – or purported exclusions – may fail (i.e. be legally unenforceable). This may be the case if a publisher tried to prevent an author from including parody or satire in her work, fearing it may cause offence to some other author. Such a clause would technically now be unenforceable (in copyright terms anyway) because parody, pastiche and satire are now ‘allowed’ as a defence to breach of copyright. That said, in practice, the subject of the parody could have other civil law remedies against the publisher and/or author. The late Ronnie Barker hated Ben Elton’s Not the Nine O’Clock News pastiche entitled ‘The Two Ninnies’, but Ronnie Barker would probably never have thought that this was a copyright issue; it was insult and injury to his reputation and goodwill that mattered to him. The separate legal issues of libel and passing-off would arise. A publisher could also seek to avoid liability for those issues by including an exclusion clause in a publishing contract.
Royalty advances and payment
An ‘advance’ is an advance on royalties which will be earned on book sales. This is different from a flat fee that is paid for a commission. Obviously, royalties are a very good thing if sales are to be significant, but they are perhaps less useful to authors whose markets are small, i.e. academic or specialised areas, like children’s book authors who receive lower royalty rates (5% of the book’s published price rather than the 10% a writer of fiction for adults might receive), albeit perhaps dealing with larger volumes. Some novelists receive huge advances that are never recouped by the publisher; the writers will receive royalty statements reporting a deficit but most publishers do not expect that deficit to be repaid. Clarifying what would happen about a recouped advance is therefore crucial. (Keep royalty statements for tax reasons: declare royalties as ‘income’ not ‘other expenses’; losses/recouped advances are ‘expenses’ for income tax.)
If you are to receive royalties only, or an advance on royalties, it is important that someone is actually going to market the book. The clause ‘Production and promotion responsibility’ refers to this.
If the royalties payable to you are expressed as a percentage of estimated receipts (what the publisher actually earns from the sale of your book) rather than as a percentage of the book’s published price, you will want to ask the publisher what it estimates receipts will be. However, the publisher may wish that information to be confidential.
Date of payment
As an author, when do you want to be paid? Probably on receipt by the publisher of your typescript at the latest, if not on commission – depending on the job and your status. You do not want to be paid ‘on publication’ because for reasons beyond your control the book may never be published, for example due to the publisher going bust.
When does a publisher want to pay? Possibly not on receipt of the typescript because there is still the copy-editing, typesetting and printing to carry out.
Payment in three stages is pretty standard – on signature; on delivery of the typescript; and on the day of first UK publication. Four stages are also possible, the third stage broken down into publication of hardback and of paperback editions.
The contract
It is best to avoid adversity and dispute wherever possible. Bear in mind that most publishers will be using a precedent form, i.e. a pro forma document. This may be historical or inherited from another part of the publishing group or a subsidiary/parent group and edited for your particular publication, so do not be surprised if it needs tweaking or renegotiating on issues important to you. Perhaps try to be firm and understanding. The contract is possibly not the author’s preferred focus, but it might also be a chore for the publisher.
Note too that you may have legal rights and remedies from areas of the law which are external to the contract, i.e. some things that are not explicitly written down in a contract may be enforceable by you under equity, breach of confidence, etc. The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 might be interpreted by lawyers to mean that if an author tells the publisher to ‘pay my royalties to my friend’, the friend gains the legal right to sue the publisher under the contract if this does not happen.
Publishing agreements are a minefield but if you can think about what is most important for you, your publication and its markets, whilst also being aware of some of the issues noted above, you will at least be off to a good start.
Gillian Haggart Davies MA (Hons), LLB is the author of Copyright Law for Artists, Designers and Photographers (A&C Black 2010) and Copyright Law for Writers, Editors and Publishers (A&C Black 2011).
News, views and trends: review of the publishing year
Tom Tivnan reflects on a steady if unspectacular year in the book industry, but a third consecutive year of growth, with a rise in sales of middle-range authors and the children’s sector, and featuring a marked feminist trend in both non-fiction and fiction and further revival of physical bookshops.
A good word to describe the last year in the books world might be ‘meh’. Solid but unspectacular, there were no real blow-the-doors-off hits or breakout trends. Don’t just take my word for it, listen to Waterstones’ James Daunt. In the run-up to Christmas 2017, the boss of the UK’s biggest specialist book chain called the previous 12 months a ‘funny old year’ and ‘fallow’ time, with few walloping bestsellers coming through’.
Daunt was not wrong, as some of the most anticipated books and authors did not quite perform up to expectations. Dan Brown’s latest Robert Langdon’ thriller Origin (Bantam 2017) had £4.4m in hardback sales, but that was 20% down on his previous effort, Inferno (Bantam 2013). Paula Hawkins’ Into the Water (Doubleday 2017) sold a not-too-shabby £1.7m, but that didn’t come close to her all-conquering The Girl on the Train (Doubleday 2015). Despite two new titles in 2017, fitness and cookery star Joe Wicks’ overall sales plummeted 56% compared to his monster 2016 (the poor lamb only sold £6.1m). E.L. James had another go with the money-for-old-rope rewriting of her original Fifty Shades of Grey series from the point of view of kinkster billionaire Christian Grey. But James’s Darker (Arrow), released in November 2017, sold 205,000 copies in its first month on sale; her previous outing, Grey (Arrow 2016), shifted 887,000 units in its initial four weeks.
Yet (what do you know?) despite some of those big hitters swinging and missing, the books market still grew, albeit by the barest of margins. Print revenue in the UK through industry sales monitor Nielsen BookScan for the full year 2017 was £1.592bn, a wafer-thin 0.2% up on 2016. A tiny upwards bump, but if we look at this in context we can cheer, as this continues a winning run. In 2014, the books market plummeted to £1.395bn, the lowest point in 12 years, but 2017’s slim rise means that booksellers and publishers have enjoyed the third year of growth on the trot.
If there is an emblematic book of the last 12 months, it might be TimMarshall’s Prisoners of Geography. Published in 2016 by the well-respected indie Elliott & Thompson, the title was championed by booksellers and a hit in its first year, earning £1.2m. Its 2017 matched 2016, but in – yes – a solid but unspectacular fashion. Marshall’s book only hit the weekly top 50 twice during the course of the year, but was always in the top 200, selling between 2,500 to 3,000 copies, week in and week out, and it ended up the 35th bestselling book of the year.
The middle class
Perhaps the most interesting thing of the past year is that the jump in sales was not driven by the big brand authors but by that often much-maligned group, the midlist. There had been a trend over the last decade or so of rich authors getting richer, with the top 50 writers each year earning more and claiming a greater share of the overall market. But that changed in 2017, with the top 50 writers generating a smidgeon under £200m in print sales for the year. That’s a decent chunk of change, but 13% down on what the top 50 chalked up in 2016. Conversely, there was growth for the middle range. There were 1,233 authors with sales between £100,000 and £250,000 last year, 128 more than 2016. Collectively, those writers shifted £188.9m, 11% up on 2016’s cohort in the same sales range (I should underscore that that those figures are bookshop and online sales, not actual author earnings which are, alas, far lower).
In fact, it is astonishing to see how much of the UK book trade depends on vast swathes of authors who, quite frankly, aren’t making all that much money from their blood, sweat and tears. Consider this: 5,093 authors had print sales of more than £10,000 in 2017, the bulk of whom (3,147) were in the £10,000 to £100,000 range. Collectively, those 5,093 authors shifted £893.4m last year, or 56% of the industry’s £1.592bn in sales. This means that a massive part of the market – 44%, or £699m – came from authors having sub-five-figure sales through the tills last year. We often speak of the likes of J.K. Rowling, Lee Child, David Walliams and Julia Donaldson who rule the top of the bestseller lists. But they are standing on the shoulders of many authors who unfortunately earn very little.
Belle of the fall
But, of course, there were some authors who enjoyed a fab past 12 months. Walliams (helped by his illustrator Tony Ross) continued a winning run of form. The author’s sales rose 20% to £16.5m and had nine titles on the 2017 top 50; no one has ever had more than six books chart in a year-end top 50 since accurate records began. He is certainly valuable to his publisher, HarperCollins (HC): he had the three top sellers of the year for the wider HC group, and almost £1 in every £2 spent on a HC Children’s Books title in 2017 was on a book authored by Walliams.
It was a year when a lot of the energy was in the children’s sector. Rowling (£15.5m) and Donaldson (£14.7m) were the second and third bestselling authors of the year, and the unquestionable publishing event was Philip Pullman’s La Belle Sauvage (co-published by Penguin and David Fickling Books, DFB). The first in an ‘equel’ (i.e. ‘equal’) trilogy to Pullman’s much-beloved His Dark Materials series, the book launched in October 2017 with high-profile events and midnight bookshop openings, earning Pullman his first-ever UK number one. Ah, but in the book world minor controversies are always ready to rear their heads. Indie booksellers were incensed that Waterstones was given 5,000 copies of an exclusive, signed special edition of the title. Penguin and DFB responded by offering indies Pullman-signed book plates – but that was two weeks after publication, and indies were decidedly unimpressed.
Knock out sales for rebel girls
The past year has not been completely devoid of hot trends, either. One that has spanned both the children’s and adult sectors is feminism. Leading this was Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo’s kids’ title Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, an illustrated collection of ‘100 stories of extraordinary women’. The path to publication was interesting, with the writers first financing the project on Kickstarter in 2016, obliterating the crowdfunding platform’s record for a children’s book by raising just over $675,000 (it probably helped the cause that the duo are in tech, having co-founded Silicon Valley start-up Timbuktu). The book was then taken up by traditional publishers with rights feverishly snapped up in 30 territories, including Penguin in the UK. Rebel Girls’ cross-generational appeal has helped it become a sensation in Britain, with £3.1m in sales and counting since its March 2017 release. The public is hungry for more: Cavallo and Favilli are doing a sequel along the same crowdfunded model, and in its first day it became the fastest-funded project in Kickstarter history ($229,000 pledged in 24 hours).
Inevitably when there is a success in books, there is a raft of ‘me too’ publishing. Enter a typical bookshop in 2018 and you will see the shelves groaning with Rebel Girls-esque ... um ... homages, including Rachel Ignotofsky’s Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World (Wren & Rook 2017), Libby Jackson’s A Galaxy of Her Own: Amazing Stories of Women in Space (Century 2017) and Kate Pankhurst’s Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World (Bloomsbury 2016). To be fair to Pankhurst – who is a descendant of the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst – her book preceded Rebel Girls, but only truly hit its stride in sales terms after Favilli and Cavallo’s success. Heck, the trend is so hot even the fellas are getting a shot: in April 2018 Quercus released Ben Brooks and Quinton Winters’ Stories for Boys Who Dare to Be Different, tales for youngsters who ‘don’t conform to the stereotype of masculinity’. One can easily imagine the wild-eyed staffer bursting into Quercus editorial meeting shouting, ‘Boss, I’ve got it – girls stories ... but for boys.’
The power and the furore
It was an excellent year for feminism in adult fiction, too. Naomi Alderman’s The Power (Viking 2016) – depicting a world in which young women suddenly gain the ability to inflict pain and death on men and its effect on society (spoiler: it doesn’t work out well for the patriarchy) – won the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Here’s what nabbing a major award can do for a writer: since winning the gong, The Power has gone on to shift almost 180,000 copies in the UK. Alderman’s next bestselling title, Disobedience (Penguin), has sold a comparatively modest 19,000 units since its 2007 publication. Margaret Atwood’s feminist dystopian classic The Handmaid’s Tale (McClelland & Stewart 1985) sold over 270,000 copies in 2017, helped by the hugely successful Hulu/Channel 4 TV series starring Elisabeth Moss (you know, Peggy off of Mad Men). There is a lesson for writers here. Atwood revealed in early 2018 that she did not make any money off the series itself as she sold the production rights to MGM in 1990 for a movie adaptation, rights the film company retained and was therefore the beneficiary of the hefty profits from Hulu (Atwood still benefited from the massive rise in book sales).
The feminist books surge is partly a response to a wider focus on women’s issues in the 100th anniversary celebrations of some women getting the right to vote in the UK, and the larger public conversation on gender pay imbalance and sexual harassment, in the wake of the #metoo and #timesup movements that have mushroomed after Harvey Weinstein’s and other Hollywood stars’ scandals. Commissioning editors seem keen to snap up stories that, if not overtly ‘feminist’, at least feature compelling female leads. Historical fiction is a particularly strong area in this respect, with a number of successful debuts in 2017 and 2018 including Beth Underdown’s The Witchfinder’s Sister (Viking 2017), Imogen Hermes Gowar’s The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock (Harvill Secker 2018) and Anna-Marie Crow-hurst’s The Illumination of Ursula Flight (Allen & Unwin 2018).
While the #metoo campaign has brought out scads of stories from women subjected to sexual harassment in Hollywood, the Houses of Parliament, and seemingly almost every industry on the planet, the UK books sector to date has been scandal-free. Perhaps this is because about 75% of those employed by UK publishers are female. But #metoo has started widespread debates about gender balance in the top jobs and in the boardroom (despite the overwhelming dominance of women in the trade as a whole, only three of the top 20 British publishers are run by women). Publishers are also looking at what and who they publish, spurred on by author Kamila Shamsie’s call for 2018 to be a year of publishing only women, to redress gender imbalances in review coverage and the top books prizes. While many were sympathetic to Shamsie, only literary press And Other Stories has committed to the scheme.
Working class heroes
Who and what is published – and who is employed by the industry – is also being increasingly scrutinised in terms of diversity. Book trade bosses have in recent years recognised that their workforce is overwhelming white and middle class (perhaps by simply looking around the table at company meetings) and have consequently implemented a number of programs to aid inclusivity. This ramped up another notch last year, with the likes of the UK’s biggest publisher Penguin Random House (PRH) creating an ‘inclusion tracker’, data that measures the diversity in its staff and the authors it publishes with its goal to ‘reflect UK society’ by 2025. Little, Brown in 2017 launched an imprint called Dialogue Books, spearheaded by former literary scout Sharmaine Lovegrove, to ‘source, nurture and publish writing talent – and reach audiences – from areas currently underrepresented or not covered by the mainstream publishing industry’.
‘Underrepresented’ is the key word. Finding new communities surely appeals to the well-meaning liberals who make up the bulk of publishing. But there is a hard, commercial case, too: with book sales flattening, the industry needs to reach out to as many potential readers as it can to expand the market. A demographic often neglected by publishers is working class readers. In a November 2017 Radio 4 documentary Where Are All the Working Class Writers?, Penguin Random House Ceo Tom Weldon said he was ‘sick in my stomach when I realise books and publishing don’t reflect the world we live in’. To help widen access to publishing beyond the upper and middle classes, Weldon said PRH had removed the need for university degrees in its recruitment, banned all personal referrals for work experience, and set up an author mentoring program Write Now, which encourages writers from ‘communities whose stories aren’t often told’.
High times on the high street
For some time, the reviews of the book trade in Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbooks have had one consistent and depressing commonality: the decline of the bricks and mortar bookshop, particularly in the indie sector. But the Booksellers Association (BA) revealed that, in 2017, 39 new independents opened their doors, while 25 closed – the first net gain since the BA began tracking these figures in 1995. Before you begin popping the champagne corks, it should be pointed out that we are a long way from the heyday: there are 881 indie bookshops in the UK and Ireland, just over 1,000 fewer than there were in the mid-1990s. Still, the figures reflect an industry that has weathered the perfect storm in recent years of digitalisation, rising business rates, competition from Amazon and other deep discounters, to name just a few of the challenges.
Daunt’s Waterstones is bouncing along. The 275-store chain saw its pre-tax profit rise 80% to £18m (on turnover of £403.8m) in its last set of results, cementing the recovery that began when Russian oligarch Alexander Mamut bought the company in 2011 and installed Daunt at the helm. It continued to expand, with five new sites opened in November and December 2017, and a similar number are expected to launch in 2018. Some openings have been controversial, with the chain accused of ‘subterfuge’ as several of the shops have been ‘unbranded’ – usually named after their locations in the style of an indie store with no Waterstones livery (the late 2017 cohort included The Deal Bookshop, The Weybridge Bookshop and The Blackheath Bookshop). That minor kerfuffle aside, the firm faces a new chapter as Mamut put Waterstones up for sale. Though most expect a smooth transition (hedge fund Elliott Advisors became the new owner in April 2018), any disruption of what has been a remarkable return from the brink worries the trade. Daunt has stayed on after the sale – which publishers certainly hoped for – but might an acquisitive hedge fund put its own, rather than the wider book trade’s, interests first. Stay tuned.
Tom Tivnan is features and insight editor of the Bookseller. Previously Tom was a freelance writer and his work has appeared in the Glasgow Herald, the Independent, the Daily Telegraph and Harper’s Bazaar. He has also worked as a bookseller for Blackwell’s in the UK and Barnes & Noble in the US. He wrote the text for Tattooed by the Family Business (Pavilion 2010) and his debut novel is The Esquimaux (Silvertail 2017).
See also...
• Electronic publishing, here
• The mathematics of publishing, here
Ebooks continue to change the face of the publishing industry and possibilities for e-publishing are rapidly developing all the time. With new author-to-reader routes opening up, Philip Jones sets the scene and explains the implications for authors.
Markets, growth and sales
In the UK, the ebook market is a fixed reality, with digital sales for most trade publishers now making up about 30% of their total books revenue – for commercial fiction, the ratio of ebook to print book sales may be more even.
But the market growth that was extreme between 2010 and 2013 has plateaued, and most trade publishers saw their ebook sales numbers slow from 2014 onwards, a consequence of rising prices and tax (VAT is levied on ebooks, but not print books), as well as device fatigue (Waterstones stopped selling Kindles in 2015). Some regard this slowdown as temporary, others suggest it indicates that the book trade’s digital transition will be complicated, with smart-speakers as well as mobiles having as much impact on reading as the more humble e-reader.
In 2017 there was better news for the big trade publishers, with the digital market lifting slightly – a result of more experimentation in pricing following their move back to so-called agency ebook deals, whereby they have full control over the price consumers pay for ebooks. Growth has also continued to pick up in the audiobook download sector (driven primarily by the Amazon-owned retailer Audible), with many trade publishers pointing to audio as the fastest growing segment of their digital content business.
Smaller publishers, digital specialists and self-published authors continue to do well, particularly at the very low price points favoured by ebook buyers. Amazon, though, refuses to release sales data about this new market, so no one really knows. What we do know is that print book sales are also growing – first in 2015, a likely consequence of the spectacular growth in sales of colouring books, but again in 2016 and 2017, when most of the major segments, including fiction, grew.
Overall, though, don’t be fooled into thinking that digital is losing its edge. The truth about digital publishing is that its significance is, if anything, even more fundamental than first imagined. Even if the pace of ebook growth continues to slow and stabilise – as many predict it will – the wider impact of digital on the book business runs deep and by no means in one direction. The importance now of self-published writers or smaller digital-only publishers, such as Bookouture, Endeavour Media, Canelo and even Amazon Publishing, is not necessarily measured just in market share growth: in offering higher royalty rates and more regular payment terms these alternative routes are creating a different way of doing business today for some authors, and in some cases it is a satisfactory alternative to traditional publishing. It is perhaps for this reason, rather than simply as a boost to its topline, that Hachette bought Bookouture in March 2017.
At the beginning of 2018 the ebook market was dominated – as it has been throughout its creation and growth – by Amazon and its Kindle device. Challengers came – Apple, Google, Nook, Kobo, Blinkboxbooks – but did not make a dent. In the case of some the effort was too much, with Tesco closing its ebook retailer Blinkboxbooks at the beginning of 2015, while Nook fled the UK at the beginning of 2016. Subscription services such as Oyster, Scribd and Mofibo (among others), who were briefly in vogue having inked deals with many major publishers in an attempt to expand the market beyond those readers already locked into Amazon, have also faded from view. Oyster was swallowed by Google. Mofibo was bought by fellow Scandinavian start-up Storytel that has grown a formidable audiobook download operation out of its Sweden base. Scribd is only just now emerging from a period of readjustment; profitable, the company has recently reintroduced its all-you-can-eat model, but says it may cap some users who over-read. Amazon’s own Kindle Unlimited subscription model continues to grow too – though it is primarily focused on self-published writers and smaller publishers.
However, where once we expected new retailers to look to the growing ebook market, no new entrants emerged during the past year, and it is highly unlikely this situation will change much until there is a dedicated shift to reading (or listening) on mobile devices or tablets. It reflects a certain torpor around the ebook market, a consequence of a market dominated by one company – Amazon. In 2017 the European Commission concluded its investigation into the Seattle-based giant, contending that it considered Amazon’s behaviour (in particular around Most Favoured Nation clauses in its ebook contracts, that meant publishers could not price promote their titles on other retailer websites or sign up to new business models without also offering Amazon the same terms) might violate EU antitrust rules that prohibit abuses of a dominant market position and restrictive business practices. Amazon has offered to remove such clauses for five years, and the impact of this on the overall ebook market will be interesting to follow. It may stimulate competition, despite Amazon’s continuing dominance.
In terms of tracking the size of the digital content market in 2017, we are, as before, stymied by the lack of verifiable data from this new marketplace; Amazon does not share its numbers either with its investors, the news media, or third-party data companies such as Nielsen BookScan, which tracks physical book sales. Nevertheless, as in previous years, the Bookseller has collated the digital sales numbers from all the major trade publishers, providing a good view of most of the digital market. In early 2018, the Bookseller noted that the combined digital volume of the Big Five publishers (Hachette Livre, HarperCollins (HC), Penguin Random House (PRH), Simon & Schuster (S&S) and Pan Macmillan), stood at 46.2 million units in 2017, up 1.2% against 2016. It ended a three-year run of decline for the sector.
The raw numbers reflected how publishers chose to address the market in 2017. Both Hachette and S&S saw double-digit increases, with S&S up 12.2% to 2.7 million (ebooks sold) and Hachette jumping 20.5% to 17 million. Both totals are the best on record, said the Bookseller. Hachette’s 17 million figure does not include Bookouture’s sales, so its growth is reflective of how it has priced more aggressively over the year. It had previously set relatively high ebook prices, but in the past year or so Hachette has experimented with dynamic pricing, particularly with backlist and new writers.
As the Bookseller also noted, determining what these numbers mean for the digital market as a whole is, as always, tough. These five publishers contributed 55% of the print market in volume terms in 2017; extrapolating that ratio to digital sales equates to a ‘total’ volume of around 84 million ebooks sold in 2017. We do not have value figures, but it is unlikely to be up. The great unknowns remain self-publishing authors, and Amazon’s own digital publishing business, Amazon Publishing.
How do these numbers chime with those reported elsewhere? A recent consumer survey from Nielsen Book confirmed that purchases of ebooks are in decline, with consumers buying 4% fewer in 2016 – a trend which coincides with a slowing in the growth of device ownership and the increasing of ebook prices. In addition, multi-function devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, overtook dedicated e-reading devices as the most commonly used for e-reading, with a 48%-44% split respectively, according to Nielsen. The latest figures are not yet available, but according to the Publishers Association the invoiced value of consumer ebooks dropped by close to 17% in 2016 to £204m.
The upshot is that even if the big publishers are no longer growing their ebook businesses (significantly), the market itself continues to shift and offer opportunities for smaller players and individual authors, especially those prepared to sell their ebooks at the kind of low prices prevalent on the Kindle. A good example is the ebook specialist Bookouture (now owned by Hachette). Bookouture was founded in 2012 by former Harlequin/Mills & Boon marketing controller Oliver Rhodes, and made its first book signing in November of that year. In 2013 it sold 81,000 ebooks, in 2014 362,000, in 2015 it sold 2.5m ebooks, and in 2016 6m. In short, it could be said that a tiny digital press has outperformed the bigger publishers. The rub: Bookouture prices its bestselling titles extremely aggressively – resulting in a turnover (by value) that is not much bigger than its volume number.
The context is important to understand when trying to figure out the growth rates of a market that is still in its infancy, and prone to tantrums. Four years ago in the Yearbook I wrote that – in the UK at least – the rate of growth in the ebook market was exaggerated in 2012 because of the Fifty Shades trilogy, which also then further skewed the perceived slowdown in sales growth in 2013; for example in 2012 the companies that would become Penguin Random House reported ebook sales volume growth of 169%, but one year later their ebook sales business fell by 20%. As the ebook market has become part of the overall reading market, its fortunes look to be also partly based on what is selling well elsewhere; in short, the success of print books, from colouring books to the adult Ladybird Christmas books, will also impact what sells in digital formats.
Others have suggested that there is also a visibility issue, with Amazon promoting its own publishing and self-publishing as well as subscription service, Kindle Unlimited, at the expense of traditional bestsellers, putting off discerning readers. As HarperCollins UK chief executive Charlie Redmayne put it to the Bookseller recently: ‘There has been a lot of focus on the plateauing of ebooks because of price, but it is also about relevance: Amazon is focused on building Kindle Unlimited, its own publishing and self-publishing, and that means that books from the bigger publishing companies tend not to get the same exposure. But it is also ghettoising them, as consumers are not seeing the kinds of books they see and are buying elsewhere.’
That does not mean there are not huge successes to be had in ebook publishing. The Girl on the Train (Doubleday 2015) by Paula Hawkins was a runaway success in print during 2015 and 2016, and did as well, if not better, in ebook format. But there was no runaway hit in 2017 (in print or ebook), and that impacts the market.
The biggest question mark, however, remains over how big the market is that we do not see, as represented by authors who choose to self-publish, whether that is via Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform, or those rivals offered by Nook (in the USA) and Kobo, or by using one of the print-on-demand players such as Blurb or Ingram. No sales made via these routes are being tracked (or indeed are trackable without the intervention of a third party such as Amazon), and many authors do not use an ISBN, meaning that even the number of titles being published annually is not measured.
Author Earnings, the website established by bestselling ebook writer Hugh Howey and the anonymous Data Guy, which looks at the relative rankings of ebooks in the Amazon Kindle charts, continues to push its view that indie-published (or self-published) ebooks are the dominant movement in the ebook market. As it notes: ‘Self-published indie authors are verifiably capturing at least 24%–34% of all ebook sales in each of the five English-language markets; it’s not just a US-only phenomenon. When you also include the un-categorized authors, the vast majority of whom are also self-published, the true indie share in each market lies somewhere between 30% and 40%. The Big Five, on the other hand, are letting themselves progressively get squeezed out of nearly every English-language ebook market.’
There is no reason to think this situation has not developed further in 2017 – the ebook market is one dominated by very low-priced commercial fiction, and self-published authors are often most well placed to take advantage. Amazon also has a tendency to showcase these titles, either because they come from an Amazon Publishing imprint, or because they feature in its Kindle Unlimited or Prime Reading programmes. But keep in mind that Author Earnings’ figures are an extrapolation, and at best an indication of market change, and its figures for UK publishers (as reported in last year’s Yearbook) are inaccurate.
Individual writers and smaller publishers can still have huge success in the Kindle store, even while the wider market ebbs and flows. But, as with much about the self-publishing market, anything said as fact should be re-interpreted as supposition.
With due irony, I add that self-publishing is, without doubt, a big part of the digital book business and a growing one, but it is not usurping the role of the traditional publisher. Both now accommodate and feed off each other – and authors transition in both directions.
Publishers’ horizons
Two years ago I wrote that, for publishers, a stable market is a good one, and we should begin to see a trickle-down effect in terms of better publishing and greater investment in authors. And I was right. Publishing seems as confident today as I have known it for some time. The high street is in growth again, all of the major booksellers are in profit (or close to it), and some are even opening new stores. Waterstones – purchased by hedge fund Elliott Advisors in April 2018 – is in a particularly good state, after years in the wilderness.
From the perspective of digital, the important thing is not to assume that what may be a short period of print growth leads to a longer period of digital decline. I have noted that some publishers got burnt betting the bank on continued strong ebook growth, but the concern now is that they may get caught out simply by looking the other way. How publishers ready themselves for what happens now that the first wave of digital has come to an end will be key. At Penguin Random House its main focus appears to be on discoverability and marketing to the consumer, not on selling direct. ‘We want to connect. We don’t need to make the transaction,’ said its chief executive Markus Dohle in 2015. In early 2016 it launched its consumer website Penguin.co.uk to do just that, and it has continued to build its consumer networks in 2016. Publishers are thinking hard about three things: how they reach readers; what tools they use to reach readers; and what they should do once they’ve reached those readers.
But Hachette’s acquisition of Bookouture was also important, and evidence that now the wild west days of the ebook market are behind us, publishers may once again begin to think strategically about this sector – great news for authors if true. Bookouture has profited from an ebook market many in the trade misread; while the bigger publishers have focused on ebook sales in relation to print, and priced accordingly (pegging ebook prices to print book costs), digital-only publishers faced no such quandaries and concentrated just on selling ebooks at whatever prices ebooks could be sold at.
Lots of ebooks appear to work better at lower prices, and Bookouture – as with Amazon Publishing, Head of Zeus, Endeavour Press (now Endeavour Media), Canelo, and numerous self-publishing writers – have taken advantage. Hachette, in buying a fast-growing ebook specialist, will be trying to figure out if its traditional print business can accommodate a digital operation without one curbing or cannibalising the other. It is worth remembering that for years publishers were split between hardback houses and paperback imprints. It took decades for these two entities to figure out that they had more in common than just the content they published. Now most publishers publish across all formats simultaneously. Ironically, the ebook bit of their business might benefit from a specialist approach.
Hachette is also one of the few big publishers thinking outside of the ebook. Hachette Group Ceo Arnaud Nourry recently expressed his frustration with the ebook format, calling it a ‘stupid product’ and forecasting its sales would continue to plateau because of a lack of innovation. Of course publishers are creative and they want to be creative in the digital space, as well as in print, but it is also true that many are concerned that a healthier market for digital content has not yet emerged.
What’s in it for writers?
How does this changing market affect writers? When we talk about the fundamental impact digital is having on the book business, nowhere is this more apparent than in the traditional publishing world’s relationship with authors.
Authors now have more ways to find readers than ever before, and often without the intervention of an intermediary. Successful self-publishing is now no longer the exception that proves the rule, it is becoming the exception that threatens the rule. Writers such as Hugh Howey, whose fiction title Wool was 2012’s stand-out self-published hit, are showing not only that they publish successfully, but that they can bring publishers to heel. Simon & Schuster in the USA bought print rights to Wool, but the author refused the company digital rights. Other writers following this path include Mark Edwards, Mark Dawson and Rachel Abbott.
Howey’s way is not for every writer, but what it shows is that publishers now have to market themselves to each and every writer, not just in competition against other publishers, but in competition to not having a publisher at all. Most publishers have a strong message. The biggest-selling book of many years, Fifty Shades of Grey, sold far more copies after it was traditionally published by Random House than it did before this, and ever could have done. Paula Hawkins was a jobbing writer until her agent and her publisher alighted on The Girl on the Train. There is an alchemy to the publishing process that remains mysterious, but can still work. Each year the Bookseller compiles a list of top 50 bestselling writers, each raking in millions for their publisher and a good proportion of that for themselves. It doesn’t stop working because self-publishing also works and, in sheer numbers, traditional publishing still sells far more books across a far wider range of titles and authors. Furthermore, if you are writing a book that is not commercial fiction or a genre title, traditional publishing remains the only viable route to market.
But as in other creative sectors, digital flattens the market, and punches the nose of the corporates. In a world with so many new options open to writers, is big publishing’s ‘value-add’ still significant enough to prevent authors taking what promises to be a more lucrative route sideways? Probably. But it is a question that is not going away.
There remain plenty of questions for authors, and a raft of possible routes to market. Do you wait for a publisher to discover you? Or do you publish direct to a retailer’s website? Do you use a third-party aggregator? Or pay for professional help? Should you publish everything you have written?
Whichever approach you take, digital has not changed one thing: authors struggle to make an income from their published writing, with the DIY option suitable for some but not all. A report commissioned by the ALCS (Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society; see here) in 2014 noted that the most successful self-publishing ventures had an average rate of return of 154% (and a typical ‘median’ rate of return of 40%). But it remained a risky option, partly because of the costs associated with self-publishing. The report found that the bottom 20% of self-publishers made losses of £400 or more.
Of course Indie writers make a huge noise about their success, but even self-publishing companies such as Smashwords noted a slowdown in sales growth for this sector, as has Author Earnings, which believes Amazon Publishing is making greater strides than it once was.
There has been a shift too, to suggesting authors should also self-publish in print, with Amazon’s paperback programme, making use of its print-on-demand services, and the launch of new indie services. Though a few rare indie hits do break through into print – such as The Rabbit Who Wants To Fall Asleep (Ladybird 2015), created by Swedish behavioural psychologist and linguist Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin – most do not. Having said that, Amazon’s POD imprint CreateSpace always performs well in the Bookseller’s end of year round-ups, regularly posting double-digit rises in sales of physical books (possibly through Amazon!).
All that glisters
Amazon’s success in digital and its dominance within the self-publishing market is also its biggest problem. The lack of genuine competition, beyond that provided by Nook Press (now US only) and Kobo Writing Life, is also limiting the noise. Sites such as WattPad, where writers promote and improve their work, are increasingly being used by both self-publishers and publishers as ways of meeting and interacting with readers in a more neutral territory. They are also slowly figuring out ways for contributors to make money from their activities, but again this is in its infancy.
That said, should you choose to self-publish, then Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform remains the compelling option. It offers clarity, high rewards, and a route to the largest audience of ebook readers. But it is not a risk-free decision. During 2014 it launched Kindle Unlimited, a subscription offer seemingly hurried out in order to compete with the perceived threat of newer ebook vendors Oyster and Scribd, whose business model was the near mythical ‘Spotify for ebooks’. Amazon placed many independently published titles into the service without asking authors to opt-in, and set up a pool of money that they would share based on the number of reads. Many authors quickly opted out as they feared (like traditional publishers) that their sales would be cannibalised. Though the jury is out on this, there was a sense of a bond of trust between platform and author having been stretched – though perhaps not quite to breaking point.
Over the next couple of years Amazon has continued to grow the pot of money made available to writers participating in this scheme (though not with any accounting transparency), but has also had to change how it measures the rates paid to books read after it discovered some authors gaming the system by using shorter novels that triggered full payments after 10% was read; the change meant it would pay based on total pages actually read. It is also worth noting the following clause in the Amazon self-publishing contract – ‘The Program will change over time and the terms of this Agreement will need to change over time as well. We reserve the right to change the terms of this Agreement at any time in our sole discretion.’ Never forget: Amazon is the de facto monopoly in this space and remains in control. A traditional publishing deal, even one from a digital specialist, will offer a broader publishing strategy and a safety net should things go wrong.
The range of services marketed to authors has grown exponentially, with the arrival and growth in importance of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) helping to add an informed voice within the community. Because – and this is important – as an author you will at some point need to engage an expert. Even successful self-published writers will engage an editor, a cover designer, and perhaps even a ‘social media guru’. This market is now well served, and certainly more honourable than it was even a few years ago. But, as ever, be careful what you pay for up front, and make sure you understand what you are getting in return for your money. The rebranding of the self-published into ‘indie’ writers has not meant an end to the traditional vanity operations; many have simply transformed into online author platforms offering to publish a book and make it available worldwide for a fee. Just as there is much more to publishing than simply printing a book, there is also much more to digital publishing than merely acquiring an ISBN or distribution. As the author Ros Barber wrote in a Guardian blog two years ago, ‘If you self-publish your book, you are not going to be writing for a living. You are going to be marketing for a living. Self-published authors should expect to spend only 10% of their time writing and 90% of their time marketing.’
It is worth consulting the giant ebook aggregators, such as Ingram (www.ingrambook.com), Lulu (www.lulu.com) and Smashwords (www.smashwords.com); these companies will ensure the ebook basics are covered and that the ebooks are featured on third-party websites at a fraction of the cost of a typical vanity publisher.
First and foremost remember this: the traditional publishing route invests in a writer and their book, with ‘risk’ part of the publishing deal. Of course authors have invested their time and effort in the writing; but it is the publisher’s job to invest in the publishing, production, marketing, PR, copy-editing, cover design, distributions and sales relationships with retailers. Self-publishing works in exactly the opposite way: the author invests in the publication of their work, and as such takes on all of the risk. You will find many websites and author service platforms talking about a revolution, parading their wares as a type of freedom: believe some of that, but not all of it. Any entity taking money for publication from an author upfront is not really invested in making that book a success: it is debatable that they are really a publisher.
But it is true that digital has shaken up the market, with new style publishers such as Unbound or Bookouture demonstrating that authors are no longer tied to the old routes. Digital-only lists such as Little, Brown’s Blackfriars, HarperCollins’ Impulse, Canelo, Bonnier Zaffre’s twenty7, or even Amazon Publishing’s growing suite of imprints, have become more sophisticated, having recognised that they too can publish outside of the ebook format. Endeavour Press (now Endeavour Media) is just the latest to launch a printed book imprint. As many have remarked, digital can be used to create a story around a book or author that can then lead to a different type of publishing – usually print publication.
Talent does out, however. Publishers are beginning to look for new talent more aggressively, and they are prepared to look outside the usual routes. Publishers such as HarperCollins’ Borough Press and even Random House’s Jonathan Cape have been experimenting with a period for ‘open submissions’, suggesting that even as more gets published, and the routes to readers clear, publishers remain desperate to root out the talent. Perhaps the biggest burden to getting published these days is not that a gatekeeper won’t entertain you, but that they are so busy dealing with the rush through the gates!
Listen for the future
For a number of years now, I’ve written about what might happen as readers transition to using mobile devices rather than dedicated e-reading devices. As the Nielsen data suggested earlier in this piece, there is now good evidence that we are living through this transition, with many pundits anticipating a decline in long form digital reading (simply because it is harder on the eyes). Many also wondered if it would lead to a re-awakening of the enhanced ebook – that heady mix of words, pictures, sound, movies, animation, etc. In 2017 Amazon published Patricia Cornwell’s Ripper: The Secret Life of Walter Sickert as Kindle in Motion ebook, that featured words and animation for Kindle readers. But the results are mixed, and the enhancements minimal (though not ineffective). Either way, there is little sense that the enhanced ebook has arrived – though some companies, such as Orson & Co and The Pigeonhole, continue to believe there is a market for such mash-ups. Publishers are continuing to show a willingness to try and reinvent the product (of which Orion’s Belgravia app is yet another good example). Virtual reality is a coming trend too, with opportunities for writers. In 2016 the literary agent Sarah Such struck what she described as the world’s first VR deal for a YA series, the Fallow Trilogy written by Amy Lankester-Owen. It remains to be seen if such projects have legs.
By far the biggest impact from the arrival of smartphones has not been on reading, but listening. Every trade publisher speaks now not just of ebooks, but of audiobook downloads, a market driven in the UK, as in the USA, by Amazon subsidiary Audible, whose own sales increased by 54% in 2016, with similar growth expected in 2017. Overall, the audiobook download market is thought to be worth as much as £100m in the UK. In 2015 the Bookseller began running a monthly audio download chart in its pages for the first time, and in 2016 relaunched its dedicated audiobook conference. Audible has even put the tools into the hands of authors via its ACX platform (recently launched in the UK), meaning that authors can now create their own audiobook versions. But other players are emerging, and some are significant. BookBeat and Storytel from Sweden, Audio-Books.com, Kobo, Google, with iTunes and Spotify the sleeping giants.
If the UK market follows the USA, then further rises can be predicted: the Audio Publishers’ Association in the US estimates that audiobook sales in 2016 totalled more than $2.1bn, up 18.2% on 2015, and with a corresponding 33.9% increase in units. It was the third consecutive year that audio sales grew by nearly 20% in volume.
The bigger publishers, such as HarperCollins and Penguin Random House, are investing heavily in their audio production teams, with many observers expecting this market to develop and grow quickly over the next few years as the availability of listening tools on mobile devices proliferates. There are also numerous third-party producers who may vie for audio rights, such as Naxos or Bolinda, while Audible too has its own production arm. Audio, it seems, is the enhanced ebook already here.
The real push, though, will come as smart-speakers such as Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home device infiltrate people’s homes, providing ready access to spoken-word content. It is said that in the evening the primary activity for those using smart-speakers is listening to spoken-word content, primarily audiobooks. Of course, some of the predictions about adoption and usage bring back memories of the early days of the iPad, but there is little doubt that we are once again witnessing a major shift in consumer behaviour, pioneered by the big tech giants.
Reading rules
So, having lived through this first wave of digital, what can we say with any kind of certainty about the future? Readers like reading, and many of them like writing too. Despite the great disruptions we’ve seen, the bits in between the reader and writer remain largely stable and stabilising. The shift in 2017 was, again, not at either pole but in this middle ground; publishers simply got better at getting books from authors to readers – both digitally and in print. But anyone who expected the ebook market to develop as it had done over the previous half-decade was mistaken. The major action was in the print book market, and in audio.
As I said at the beginning of this article, digital is now ever-present in the publishing business. It has changed the market, and will continue to change it, creating opportunities and challenges for publishers and authors alike.
Philip Jones is Editor of the Bookseller, and co-founder of the digital blog FutureBook.net.
See also...
• News, views and trends: review of the publishing year, here
• Self-publishing online: the emerging template for sales success, here
• Alliance of Independent Authors, here
• Notes from a hybrid author, here
• The dos and don’ts of self-publishing, here
The Nielsen ISBN Agency for UK & Ireland receives a large number of enquiries about the ISBN system. The most frequently asked questions are answered here and for more information visit www.nielsenisbnstore.com.
What is an ISBN?
An ISBN is an International Standard Book Number and is 13 digits long.
Contact details
Nielsen ISBN Agency for UK and Ireland
3rd Floor, Midas House, 62 Goldsworth Road,
Woking GU21 6LQ
tel (01483) 712200
email isbn.agency@nielsen.com
website www.nielsenisbnstore.com
What is the purpose of an ISBN?
An ISBN is a product number, used by publishers, booksellers and libraries for ordering, listing and stock control purposes. It enables them to identify a particular publisher and allows the publisher to identify a specific edition of a specific title in a specific format within their output.
What is a publisher?
The publisher is generally the person or organisation taking the financial and other risks in making a product available. For example, if a product goes on sale and sells no copies at all, the publisher loses money. If you get paid anyway, you are likely to be a designer, printer, author or consultant of some kind.
What is the format of an ISBN?
The ISBN is 13 digits long and is divided into five parts, as shown below, separated by spaces or hyphens.
• Prefix element: for the foreseeable future this will be 978 or 979
• Registration group element: identifies a national, geographic, or national grouping. It shows where the publisher is based
• Registrant element: identifies a specific publisher or imprint
• Publication element: identifies a specific edition of a specific title in a specific format
• Check digit: the final digit which mathematically validates the rest of the number The four parts following the prefix element can be of varying length.
Prior to 1 January 2007 ISBNs were ten-digit numbers; any existing ten-digit ISBNs must be converted by prefixing them with ‘978’ and the check digit must be recalculated using a Modulus 10 system with alternate weights of 1 and 3. The ISBN Agency can help you with this.
Do I have to have an ISBN?
There is no legal requirement in the UK and Ireland for an ISBN and it conveys no form of legal or copyright protection. It is simply a product identification number.
Why should I use an ISBN?
If you wish to sell your publication through major bookselling chains, independent bookshops or internet booksellers, they will require you to have an ISBN to assist their internal processing and ordering systems.
The ISBN also provides access to bibliographic databases, such as the Nielsen Book Database, which use ISBNs as references. These databases help booksellers and libraries provide information for customers. Nielsen Book has a range of information, electronic trading and retail sales monitoring services which use ISBNs and are vital for the dissemination, trading and monitoring of books in the supply chain. The ISBN therefore provides access to additional marketing opportunities which could help sales of your product.
Where can I get an ISBN?
ISBNs are assigned to publishers in the country where the publisher’s main office is based. This is irrespective of the language of the publication or the intended market for the book.
The ISBN Agency is the national agency for the UK and Republic of Ireland and British Overseas Territories. A publisher based elsewhere will not be able to get numbers from the UK Agency (even if you are a British Citizen) but can contact the Nielsen ISBN Agency for details of the relevant national Agency.
If you are based in the UK and Ireland you can purchase ISBNs online from the Nielsen ISBN Store: www.nielsenisbnstore.com.
How long does it take to get an ISBN?
If you purchase your ISBNs online from the Nielsen ISBN Store (www.nielsenisbnstore.com) you will receive your ISBN allocation within minutes. If you are purchasing ISBNs direct from the ISBN Agency via an off-line application, it can take up to five days, but there is a Fast-Track service of three working day processing period. The processing period begins when a correctly completed application is received in the ISBN Agency and payment is received.
How much does it cost to get an ISBN?
Please refer to www.nielsenisbnstore.com or email the ISBN Agency: isbn.agency@nielsen.com.
What if I only want one ISBN?
ISBNs can be bought individually or in blocks of ten or more; visit the ISBN Store to find out more: www.nielsenisbnstore.com.
Who is eligible for ISBNs?
Any publisher who is publishing a qualifying product for general sale or distribution to the market. By publishing we mean making a work available to the public.
Which products do NOT qualify for ISBNs?
Any publication that is without a defined end should not be assigned an ISBN. For example, publications that are regularly updated and intended to continue indefinitely (such as journals, serials, magazines, newspapers, updating loose-leafs, updating websites) are ineligible for ISBN.
Some examples of products that do not qualify for ISBN are:
• Journals, periodicals, serials, newspapers in their entirety (single issues or articles, where these are made available separately, may qualify for ISBN);
• Abstract entities such as textual works and other abstract creations of intellectual or artistic content;
• Ephemeral printed materials such as advertising matter and the like;
• Customised print-on-demand publications (Publications that are available only on a limited basis, such as customised print on demand publications with content specifically tailored to a user’s request shall not be assigned an ISBN. If a customised publication is being made available for wider sale, e.g. as a college course pack available through a college book store, then an ISBN may be assigned);
• Printed music;
• Art prints and art folders without title page and text;
• Personal documents (such as a curriculum vitae or personal profile);
• Greetings cards;
• Music sound recordings;
• Software that is intended for any purpose other than educational or instructional;
• Electronic bulletin boards;
• Emails and other digital correspondence;
• Updating websites;
• Games;
• Non text-based publications.
Following a review of the UK market, it is now permissible for ISBNs to be assigned to calendars and diaries, provided that they are not intended for purely time-management purposes and that a substantial proportion of their content is textual or graphic.
What is an ISSN?
An International Standard Serial Number. This is the numbering system for journals, magazines, periodicals, newspapers and newsletters. It is administered by the British Library, tel (01937) 546959; email issn-uk@bl.uk; website www.bl.uk/bibliographic/issn.html
How do I contact the ISBN Agency?
Registration Agencies: ISBN Agency; tel (01483) 712215; fax (01483) 712214; email isbn.agency@nielsen.com.
agent
See literary agent.
aggregator
A company or website that gathers together related content from a range of other sources and provides various different services and resources, such as formatting and distribution, to ebook authors.
art editor
A person in charge of the layout and design of a magazine, who commissions the photographs and illustrations and is responsible for its overall appearance and style.
audio editor
A person who edits the raw audio from the recording into the final, retail-ready audiobook.
audio producer
A person who supervises the entire production process of the audiobook.
author
A person who has written a book, article, or other piece of original writing.
book packager
See packager.
columnist
A person who regularly writes an article for publication in a newspaper or magazine.
commissioning editor
A person who asks authors to write books for the part of the publisher’s list for which he or she is responsible or who takes on an author who approaches them direct or via an agent with a proposal. Also called acquisitions editor or acquiring editor (more commonly in the US). A person who signs up writers (commissions them to write) an article for a magazine or newspaper. See here.
contributor
A person who writes an article that is included in a magazine or paper, or who writes a chapter or section that is included in a book.
copy-editor
A person whose job is to check material ready for printing for accuracy, clarity of message, writing style and consistency of typeface, punctuation and layout. Sometimes called a desk editor. See here.
distributor
Acts as a link between the publisher and retailer. The distributor can receive orders from retailers, ship books, invoice, collect revenue and deal with returns. Distributors often handle books from several publishers. Digital distributors handle ebook distribution.
editor
A person in charge of publishing a newspaper or magazine who makes the final decisions about the content and format. A person in book publishing who has responsibility for the content of a book and can be variously a senior person (editor-in-chief) or day-to-day contact for authors (copy-editor, development editor, commissioning editor, etc). See here.
editorial assistant
A person who assists senior editorial staff at a publishing company, newspaper, or similar business with various administrative duties, as well as editorial tasks in preparing copy for publication.
illustrator
A person who designs and draws a visual rendering of the source material, such as characters or settings, in a 2D media. Using traditional or digital methods, an illustrator creates artwork manually rather than photographically.
journalist
A person who prepares and writes material for a newspaper or magazine, news website, television or radio programme, or any similar medium.
literary agent
Somebody whose job is to negotiate publishing contracts, involving royalties, advances and rights sales on behalf of an author and who earns commission on the proceeds of the sales they negotiate. See here; here.
literary scout
A person who looks for unpublished manuscripts to recommend to clients for publication as books, or adaptation into film scripts, etc.
The department that originates the sales material – catalogues, order forms, blads, samplers, posters, book proofs and advertisements – to promote titles published. See here.
narrator
A person who reads a text aloud into a recording device to create an audiobook. This may be the author of the text, or a professional voice artist.
packager
A company that creates a finished book for a publisher. See here.
picture researcher
A person who looks for pictures relevant to a particular topic, so that they can be used as illustrations in, for example, a book, newspaper or TV programme.
printer
A person or company whose job is to produce printed books, magazines, newspapers or similar material. The many stages in this process include establishing the product specifications, preparing the pages for print, operating the printing presses, and binding and finishing of the final product.
production controller
A person in the production department of a publishing company who deals with printers and other suppliers. See here.
production department
The department responsible for the technical aspects of planning and producing material for publication to a schedule and as specified by the client. Their work involves liaising with editors, designers, typesetters, printers and binders.
proofreader
A person whose job is to proofread texts to check typeset page presentation and text for errors and to mark up corrections. See here.
publicity department
The department that works with the author and the media on ‘free’ publicity – e.g. reviews, features, author interviews, bookshop readings and signings,
festival appearances, book tours and radio and TV interviews – when a book is published.
publisher
A person or company that publishes books, magazines and/or newspapers. See here.
rights manager
A person who negotiates and coordinates rights sales (e.g. for subsidiary, translation or foreign rights). Often travels to book fairs to negotiate rights sales.
sales department
The department responsible for selling and marketing the publications produced by a publishing company, to bring about maximum sales and profit. Its tasks include identifying physical and digital outlets, ensuring orders and supplies of stock, and organising advertising campaigns and events.
sub-editor
A person who corrects and checks articles in a newspaper before they are printed. See page 0.
translator
A person who translates copy, such as a manuscript, from one language into another. See page
typesetter
A person or company that ‘sets’ text and prepares the final layout of the page for printing. It can also now involve XML tagging for ebook creation. See here.
vanity publisher
A publisher who charges an author a fee in order to publish his or her work for them, and is not responsible for selling the product. See page
web content manager
A person who controls the type and quality of material shown on a website or blog and is responsible for how it is produced, organised, presented and updated.
wholesaler
A person or company that buys large quantities of books, magazines, etc from publishers, transports and stores them, and then sells them in smaller quantities to many different retailers.
David Taylor explains how print on demand is keeping books alive.
What is ‘print on demand’?
Ever since mankind first started committing words to a physical form of delivery, whether on wood, stone, papyrus, illuminated text or moveable type, the method of supplying these for sale has largely followed a similar pattern: produce first and then sell. Of course, the risk in this is that the publisher can overproduce or underproduce. Overproduction means that the publisher has cash tied up in books that are waiting to be sold. Underproduction means that the publisher has run out and sales are being missed because the book is not available to buy.
If you walk around any publisher’s distribution centre you will see huge quantities of printed books that are awaiting sale, representing large amounts of cash tied up in physical inventory. This is often referred to as ‘speculative inventory’ because the publisher has printed the books in anticipation of selling them. One of the hardest decisions that a publisher has to make is how many copies of a title to print upon publication; equally hard is how many to reprint if the initial print run is sold. Get these wrong and it can cost the publisher dearly and, in some extreme cases, prove mortal to the business.
For others in the supply chain, this model is also deeply flawed. The author whose title sells well can fall into the limbo of’ out of stock ‘pending a reprint decision by the publisher. The bookseller, who has orders for a title but cannot supply them, also loses sales and disappoints customers. In some cases, those orders are of the moment and when that moment passes, so does the sale. Last but by no means least, the book buyer is frustrated as they are unable to buy the book that they wish to read.
The supply model is also famously inefficient, characterised as it is by large amounts of speculative stock being printed, transported, stored in warehouses, transported again, returned from the bookseller if it does not sell and, in many cases, being pulped. Not only is this commercially inefficient, it is also environmentally costly, involving large amounts of energy being used to print and transport books that may end their life as landfill.
In the mid-1990s, developments in the then emerging field of digital printing started to hold out the possibility that this traditional ‘print first then sell’ model might be changed to a more commercially attractive ‘sell first and then print’ model. Such a supply model was premised upon a number of things coming together.
• First, the technology of digital printing advanced to the stage where simple text-based books could be produced to a standard that was acceptable to publishers in terms of quality.
• Second, the speed of digital presses advanced so that a book could be produced upon the receipt of an order and supplied back to the customer within an acceptable timeframe.
• Third, models started to emerge which married these digital printing capabilities to wholesaling and book distribution networks such that books could be stored digitally, offered for sale to the market with orders being fulfilled on a ‘print-on-demand’ (POD) basis from a virtual warehouse rather than a physical warehouse full of speculative inventory. This hybrid model requires a highly sophisticated IT infrastructure to allow the swift routing and batching of orders to digital print engines so that genuine single copy orders can be produced ‘on demand’.
The first mover in developing this model was the US book wholesaler Ingram Book Group which, in 1997, installed a digital print line in one of their giant book wholesaling warehouses and offered a service to US publishers called Lightning Print. This service presented to publishers the option of allowing Ingram to hold their titles in a digital format, offer them for sale via Ingram’s vast network of bookselling customers and print the title when it was ordered. In addition, the publisher could order copies for their own purposes.
Twenty-one years on, Lightning Source, which operates as the POD service for what has now become Ingram Content Group, has operations in the USA, the UK, Australia, a joint venture with Hachette in France, a research and training facility in Germany and agreements with POD vendors in Spain, Russia, Poland, South Korea, China, India, Italy and Germany. Lightning Source prints millions of books from a digital library of 15 million titles from tens of thousands of publishers. The average print run per order is less than two copies.
POD service companies
Digital printing technology has developed at a staggering pace and the quality of digitally printed titles is now almost indistinguishable from titles printed using offset machines. Ink jet digital print engines, now into their second generation, are well established in the market and have taken the quality of digitally printed books to the next level, especially for full-colour titles. Speed of production has also improved at amazing rates. For example, Lightning Source now produces books on demand for Ingram customers within four hours of receiving the order, thereby allowing orders to be shipped within 24 hours to the bookseller. Ingram also recently acquired some robotic technology, taking the POD model to a true status of virtual wholesaler. Ingram’s fourth American POD facility opened in California in late 2014 and deploys this next generation of capability.
The number and types of players in the POD market continues to expand. In the UK, Antony Rowe established a POD operation in partnership with the UK’s biggest book wholesaler, Gardners, in early 2000. Antony Rowe’s POD facility supplies orders on demand for Gardner’s bookselling customers using a very similar model to that of Ingram and Lightning Source in the USA. Other UK printers have been scrambling to enter the fast-growing POD space with significant investments being made in digital printing equipment. Rather ironically, the arrival of the ebook is fuelling the growth of POD as publishers move more titles into shorter print runs or opt to operate from a virtual stock position as they attempt to cope with the shift from ‘p’ to ‘e’. The last thing a publisher wants is a warehouse full of titles that are selling faster in an ‘e’ format. Publishers are increasingly moving to a ‘p’ and ‘e’ model of supply and using POD to offer a print alternative as well as an ‘e’ version.
In Germany, the book wholesaler Libri has a POD operation, Books on Demand, which also offers a self-publishing service to authors. Lightning Source and Antony Rowe deal only with publishers. Books on Demand have recently extended their offer into both France and the Netherlands and have an arrangement with Ingram so that their self-published authors can use the Lightning Source network to get their titles into North America, the UK and Australia. In the French market, the joint venture between Lightning Source and Hachette Livre and the arrival of the genuine single copy POD model has fuelled the growth of French self-publishing businesses which previously lacked this supply model.
In the Australian market, the arrival of Lightning Source in mid-2011 has had a dramatic impact on Australian self-publishing companies. Now that they have a POD model in their market, they are actively growing their title base and are able to offer Australian authors easy access to a global selling network in addition to local services. One of the most significant moves in this area was the purchase in 2005 by Amazon of a small US POD business called Booksurge. Like Libri’s Books on Demand model, Amazon also offers a self-publishing service to authors and is actively leveraging its dominance of the internet bookselling market to develop innovative packages for authors via this model and their CreateSpace brand. The consensus within the book trade appears to be that Amazon sees POD as a very important part of the way in which they manage their supply chain and as a key opportunity to improve service levels to their customers. Amazon is now also a publisher in the traditional sense of the word and is using its own POD service to support the availability of many of these titles within their supply chain. In the wider world, traditional publishing and self-publishing did seem to be moving ever closer together as witnessed by the rather surprising purchase in 2012 by Penguin of Author Solutions, which was at the time probably the largest self-publishing company in the market. However, in 2016 Penguin Random House sold Author Solutions to private investors, so perhaps the trend is now moving the other way. Time will tell.
Elsewhere in the world, there are emerging POD supply models in an increasing number of countries including South America, India, China, Japan and Europe. Self-publishing in India is especially vibrant. Ingram is actively building supply partnerships with many of these organisations via its Global Connect programme, thereby offering publishers and authors an increasingly global option to make their books available on demand to their readers.
As digital print technology has improved, many traditional book printers have tried to enter this market and offer POD. However, without significant investment in the IT infrastructure needed to deliver single copy production at scale and speed and without allying that capability to an established book distribution or wholesaling network, many of these offers are effectively ultra short-run printing offers and cannot replicate the genuine POD supply model of a single copy printed when an order is received. Increasingly, as well, that supply model needs to be built on a global scale to offer authors and publishers the maximum exposure for their titles.
What POD means for self-published authors
POD is impacting aspiring and published authors in different ways. The existence of POD has led to a whole set of new publishing models and platforms. Removing the need to carry speculative inventory has reduced the barriers to entry for organisations which want to enter the publishing space. For example, in the US market, Ingram’s Lightning Source supply model has enabled a large number of self-publishing companies to flourish and to offer aspiring authors a wide range of services to get their work into print. These companies will typically use a POD service to do the physical printing and distribution of a title, and also use them to list the titles for sale via book wholesalers like Amazon and Gardners, internet booksellers like Amazon, and physical bookshop chains such as Barnes & Noble and Waterstones. Authors may also have the opportunity to order copies of their own titles. They would also offer the aspiring author a set of support services covering editorial, marketing, design, etc. See Editorial services and self-publishing providers here. In addition, in 2013, Ingram launched a new platform called IngramSpark, specifically designed to help self-published authors and smaller publishers with POD (via Lightning Source) as well as ebook distribution. IngramSpark makes it easy to upload POD and ebook formats and then make those formats available to Ingram’s 39,000 global retail and library partners. Growth has been really quite significant and perhaps one of the trends is that individual authors have become far more adept at managing the whole publishing and distribution process themselves, rather than relying completely upon a self-publishing company. The market would seem to be maturing in that sense.
No longer does an author wanting to self-publish have to commit upfront to buying thousands of copies of his or her title. The previously mentioned self-publishing organisations are large, sophisticated and have many tens of thousands of authors whose books are available for sale in mainstream book reselling outlets. In addition, traditional publishers who have historically been a little snooty about self-published books now view them in a slightly different light, perhaps as a less risky way of testing the market with new authors who are willing to pay for the privilege of being published. They trawl self-published titles for potential: there have been several well-publicised cases of authors who started out by self-publishing before being picked up by one of the established publishing houses (e.g. E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey).
The published author
The POD picture for the published author is a little more mixed. There is no doubt that traditional publishers are engaging more than ever before with the benefits that POD brings. The ability to reduce speculative inventory or get out of it completely, to ensure that sales are not missed, to reduce the risk of getting a reprint decision wrong, and even to bring titles back to life from the out-of-print graveyard, are all very attractive financial propositions. For the author who has a book already published, POD means sales are not missed and therefore royalties are forthcoming. Many books can languish in ‘reprint under consideration’ limbo for years: POD removes that category and ensures that books are available for sale. Probably the thorniest issue is around the decision to put a book out of print and here most author contracts have simply not caught up with the new technologies. Some contracts still require that the publisher has to keep physical inventory of a title to show that it is in print, yet many millions of books are in print and there is no physical inventory held anywhere. An author may therefore find their title being put out of print because of such a clause even though the publisher is willing to keep it in print but does not want to keep speculative inventory before an order is received.
The flip side of this, of course, is that a publisher might use POD to retain the rights to the title by printing a small amount of inventory when really the best thing for the author might be to allow the title to go out of print and get the rights back. There have been many cases where rights have reverted to the author who has then either set himself up as an independent publishing company or utilised the services of one of the self-publishing companies mentioned earlier. There have also been examples of literary agents using POD to offer a new publishing service to authors who may have the rights as the title has gone out of print at their original publisher.
In conclusion, the advice for both aspiring authors and published authors is to do your homework. For an aspiring author, look carefully at the various self-publishing organisations out there and do your sums. Are you better off using them or do you want to set up your own publishing company? For published authors, take a long hard look at how your contract defines ‘out of print’. The old definition was typically based on ‘no physical copies in existence’: POD has made that irrelevant and your contract should reflect these new realities if you are to take full advantage of them.
And finally, here is one of the most delicious ironies of this whole model. The death of the physical book has been predicted many times now that we live in a digital age. POD has digital technology at its core and yet it is giving life to one of the oldest products on the planet: the paper book. POD is set to be at the heart of the way in which paper books are published, printed and distributed for many years to come. Without this new model, there would be far fewer books available to buy and read and I, for one, think that the world would be a duller place for that.
David Taylor has worked in the book trade since 1983 and spent most of his time in bookselling. He has worked at Ingram Content Group since 2003 and is currently Senior Vice President, Content Acquisition International, Ingram Content Group and Group Managing Director, Lightning Source UK Ltd. He is also the Director of Lightning Source Australia, President of Lightning Source France and Managing Director of National Book Network International, a UK-based book distributor which was acquired by Ingram in mid 2017.
See also...
• News, views and trends: review of the publishing year, here
• Electronic publishing, here
Under the PLR system, payment is made from public funds to authors and other contributors (writers, illustrators/photographers, translators, adapters/retellers, ghostwriters, editors/compilers/abridgers/revisers, narrators and producers) whose books (print, audiobook and ebook) are lent from public libraries. Payment is annual; the amount authors receive is proportionate to the number of times that their books were borrowed during the previous year (July to June).
Further information
Public Lending Right
PLR Office, First Floor, Richard House, Sorbonne Close,
Stockton-on-Tees TS17 6DA (until 30 September 2018)
Public Lending Right, British Library, Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire (from 1 October 2018)
tel (01642) 604699 (until 30 September 2018)
tel (01937) 546030 (from 1 October 2018)
websites www.bl.uk/plr, www.plrinternational.com
Contact Head of PLR Operations
The UK PLR scheme is administered by the British Library from its offices in Stockton-on-Tees (the ‘PLR office’). Please note that the operation will move to Boston Spa in autumn 2018. The UK PLR office also provides registration for the Irish PLR scheme on behalf of the Irish Public Lending Remuneration office.
Application forms, information and publications are all obtainable from the PLR Office. See website for further information on eligibility for PLR, loans statistics and forthcoming developments.
British Library Advisory Committee for Public Lending Right
Advises the British Library Board, the PLR Head of Policy and Engagement and Head of PLR Operations on the operation and future development of the PLR scheme.
How the system works
From the applications received, the PLR office compiles a database of authors and books (the PLR Register). A representative sample of book issues is recorded, consisting of all loans from selected public libraries. This is then multiplied in proportion to total library lending to produce, for each book, an estimate of its total annual loans throughout the country. The estimated loans are matched against the database of registered authors and titles to discover how many loans are credited to each registered book for the calculation of PLR payments, using the ISBN printed in the book (see below).
Parliament allocates a sum each year (£6.6 million for 2017/18) for PLR. This fund pays the administrative costs of PLR and reimburses local authorities for recording loans in the sample libraries (see below). The remaining money is divided by the total estimated national loan figure for all registered books in order to work out how much can be paid for each estimated loan of every registered ISBN.
Since July 2014 the UK PLR legislation has been extended to include public library loans of audiobooks and ebooks downloaded to library premises for taking away as loans (‘on-site’ ebook loans). On 27 April 2017 the Digital Economy Bill, which included provision to extend the UK PLR legislation to include remote loans of ebooks from public libraries, received Royal Assent. The new arrangements are expected to take effect officially from 1 July 2018, when remote ebook loans data will start to be collected, and any payments arising from the newly eligible loans will be made in February 2020. The PLR website will keep authors informed of the progress of this legislation.
Limits on payments
If all the registered interests in an author’s books score so few loans that they would earn less than £1 in a year, no payment is due. However, if the books of one registered author score so high that the author’s PLR earnings for the year would exceed £6,600, then only £6,600 is paid. (No author can earn more than £6,600 in PLR in any one year.) Money that is not paid out because of these limits belongs to the fund and increases the amounts paid that year to other authors.
The sample
Because it would be expensive and impracticable to attempt to collect loans data from every library authority in the UK, a statistical sampling method is employed instead. The sample represents only public lending libraries – academic, school, private and commercial libraries are not included. Only books which are loaned from public libraries can earn PLR; consultations of books on library premises are excluded.
The sample consists of the entire loans records for a year from libraries in more than 30 public library authorities spread through England, Scotland and Wales, and whole data is collected from Northern Ireland. Sample loans represent around 20% of the national total. All the computerised sampling points in an authority contribute loans data (‘multi-site’ sampling). The aim is to increase the sample without any significant increase in costs. In order to ensure representative sampling, at least seven libraries are replaced every year and a library cannot stay in the sample for more than four years. Loans are totalled every 12 months for the period 1 July–30 June.
An author’s entitlement to PLR depends on the loans accrued by his or her books in the sample. This figure is averaged up to produce first regional and then finally national estimated loans.
ISBNs
The PLR system uses ISBNs (International Standard Book Numbers) to identify books lent and correlate loans with entries on the PLR Register so that payments can be made.
Summary of the 35th year’s results
Registration: authors. When registration closed for the 35th year (30 June 2017) there were 61,364 authors and assignees.
Eligible loans. The loans from UK libraries credited to registered books – approximately 42% of all library borrowings – qualify for payment. The remaining loans relate to books that are ineligible for various reasons, to books written by dead or foreign authors, and to books that have simply not been applied for.
Money and payments. PLR’s administrative costs are deducted from the fund allocated to the British Library Board annually by Parliament. Total government funding for 2017/18 was £6.6 million. The amount distributed to authors was just over £6 million. The Rate per Loan for 2017/18 was 8.20 pence.
The numbers of authors in various payment categories are as follows:
*294 |
payments at |
£5,000–6,600 |
382 |
payments between |
£2,500–4,999.99 |
760 |
payments between |
£1,000–2,499.99 |
829 |
payments between |
£500–999.99 |
3,271 |
payments between |
£100–499.99 |
16,572 |
payments between |
£1–99.99 |
22,108 |
TOTAL |
* Includes 195 authors whose book loans reached the maximum threshold
ISBNs are required for all registrations. Different editions (e.g. 1st, 2nd, hardback, paperback, large print) of the same book have different ISBNs. See ISBNs: what you need to know here.
Authorship
In the PLR system the author of a printed book or ebook is any contributor such as the writer, illustrator, translator, compiler, editor or reviser. Authors must be named on the book’s title page, or be able to prove authorship by some other means (e.g. receipt of royalties). The ownership of copyright has no bearing on PLR eligibility. Narrators, producers and abridgers are also eligible to apply for PLR shares in audiobooks.
Co-authorship/illustrators. In the PLR system the authors of a book are those writers, translators, editors, compilers and illustrators as defined above. Authors must apply for registration before their books can earn PLR and this can be done via the PLR website. There is no restriction on the number of authors who can register shares in any one book as long as they satisfy the eligibility criteria.
Writers and/or illustrators. At least one contributor must be eligible and they must jointly agree what share of PLR each will take based on contribution. This agreement is necessary even if one or two are ineligible or do not wish to register for PLR. The eligible authors will receive the share(s) specified in the application.
Most borrowed authors
Children’s authors
1Julia Donaldson
2Daisy Meadows
3Roderick Hunt
4Francesca Simon
5Adam Blade
6Jacqueline Wilson
7Roald Dahl
8Fiona Watt
9Michael Morpurgo
10Lucy Cousins
11David Walliams
12Jeff Kinney
13 Enid Blyton
14Holly Webb
15Claire Freedman
16Jeanne Willis
17Micklnkpen
18Giles Andreae
19Terry Deary
20Eric Hill
Authors of adult fiction
1James Patterson
2M.C. Beaton
3Nora Roberts
4Anna Jacobs
5Lee Child
6David Baldacci
7Danielle Steel
8Clive Cussler
9Michael Connolly
10John Grisham
11Peter James
12Harlan Coben
13Ann Cleeves
14Alexander McCall Smith
15Katie Flynn
16Ian Rankin
17J. D. Robb
18Jeffrey Archer
19Agatha Christie
20Susan Lewis
These two lists are of the most borrowed authors in UK public libraries. They are based on PLR sample loans in the period July 2015-June 2016 (data for 2016–17 not available before going to press; this will be published on the PLR website in summer 2018). They include all writers, both registered and unregistered, but not illustrators where the book has a separate writer. Writing names are used; pseudonyms have not been combined.
Please note that these top 20 listings are based on the February 2017 UK PLR payment calculations.
Translators. Translators may apply for a 30% fixed share (to be shared equally between joint translators).
Editors and compilers. An editor or compiler may apply to register a 20% share if they have written at least 10% of the book’s content or more than ten pages of text in addition to normal editorial work and are named on the title page. Alternatively, editors may register 20% if they have a royalty agreement with the publisher. In the case of joint editors/compilers, the total editor’s share should be divided equally.
Audiobooks. PLR shares in audiobooks are fixed by the UK scheme and may not be varied. Writers may register a fixed 60% share in an audiobook, providing that it has not been abridged or translated. In cases where the writer has made an additional contribution (e.g. as narrator), he/she may claim both shares. Narrators may register a fixed 20% PLR share in an audiobook. Producers may register a fixed 20% share in an audiobook. Abridgers (in cases where the writer’s original text has been abridged prior to recording as an audiobook) qualify for 12% (20% of the writer’s share). Translators (in cases where the writer’s original text has been translated from another language) qualify for 18% (30% of the writer’s share). If there is more than one writer, narrator, etc the appropriate shares should be divided equally. If more than one contribution has been made, e.g. writer and narrator, more than one fixed share may be applied for.
Dead or missing co-authors. Where it is impossible to agree shares with a co-author because that person is dead or untraceable, then the surviving co-author or co-authors may submit an application to register a share which reflects their individual contribuation to the book.
Transferring PLR after death. First applications may not be made by the estate of a deceased author. However, if an author registers during their lifetime the PLR in their books can be transferred to a new owner and continues for up to 70 years after the date of their death. The new owner can apply to register new titles if first published one year before, or up to ten years after, the date of the author’s death. New editions of existing registered titles can also be registered posthumously.
Residential qualifications. To register for the UK PLR scheme, at the time of application authors must have their only home or principal home in the UK or in any of the other countries within the European Economic Area (i.e. EC member states plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein).
Eligible books
In the PLR system each edition of a book is registered and treated as a separate book. A book is eligible for PLR registration provided that:
• it has an eligible author (or co-author);
• it is printed and bound (paperbacks counting as bound);
• it has already been published;
• copies of it have been put on sale, i.e. it is not a free handout;
• the authorship is personal, i.e. not a company or association, and the book is not crown copyright;
• it has an ISBN;
• it is not wholly or mainly a musical score;
• it is not a newspaper, magazine, journal or periodical.
Audiobooks. An audiobook is defined as an ‘authored text’ or ‘a work recorded as a sound recording and consisting mainly of spoken words’. Applications can therefore only be accepted to register audiobooks which meet these requirements and are the equivalent of a printed book. Music, dramatisations and live recordings do not qualify for registration. To qualify for UK PLR in an audiobook contributors should be named on the case in which the audiobook is held; OR be able to refer to a contract with the publisher; OR be named within the audiobook recording.
Ebooks. At April 2017 only ebooks downloaded to fixed terminals in library premises and then taken away on loan on portable devices to be read elsewhere qualify for PLR payment. Information provided by libraries suggests that the vast majority of ebook and digital audio lending is carried out ‘remotely’ to home PCs and mobile devices, which means the loan did not qualify for PLR. That is not to say libraries will not make on-site lending available in the future. There is nothing to stop eligible contributors from registering their ebook and audio download editions for PLR, but it is unlikely at present that loans of this material will generate PLR earnings until remote loans of ebooks qualify under the scheme.
On 27 April 2017 the Digital Economy Bill, which included provision to extend the UK PLR legislation to include remote loans of ebooks from public libraries, received Royal Assent. The new arrangements are expected to take effect officially from 1 July 2018, when remote ebook loans data will start to be collected, and any payments arising from the newly eligible loans will be made in February 2020. The PLR website will keep authors informed of the progress of this legislation.
Statements and payment
Authors with an online account may view their statement online. Registered authors without an online account receive a statement posted to their address if a payment is due.
Sampling arrangements
• To help minimise the unfairness that arises inevitably from a sampling system, the scheme specifies the eight regions within which authorities and sampling points have to be designated and includes libraries of varying size. Part of the sample drops out by rotation each year to allow fresh libraries to be included. The following library authorities were designated for the year beginning 1 July 2017 (all are multi-site authorities). This list is based on the nine government regions for England plus Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
• East – Bedfordshire/Bedford, Hertfordshire
• East Midlands – Derbyshire
• London – Lambeth, Luton, Southwark, Triborough Libraries (Hammersmith and Ful-ham/Kensington and Chelsea/Westminster)
• North East – North Tyneside, Sunderland
• North West & Merseyside – Cheshire East/Cheshire West/Chester, Cumbria, Halton, Stockport, Warrington
• South East – Hampshire, Kent
• South West – Bournemouth, Poole
• West Midlands – Worcestershire
• Yorkshire & The Humber – Barnsley, Wakefield
• Northern Ireland – The Northern Ireland Library Authority
• Scotland – Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, South Lanarkshire
• Wales – Caerphilly, Conwy, Gwynedd.
Participating local authorities are reimbursed on an actual cost basis for additional expenditure incurred in providing loans data to the PLR Office. The extra PLR work mostly consists of modifications to computer programs to accumulate loans data in the local authority computer and to transmit the data to the PLR Office.
Reciprocal arrangements
Reciprocal PLR arrangements now exist with the German, Dutch, Austrian and other European PLR schemes. Authors can apply for overseas PLR for most of these countries through the ALCS (Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society) (see here). The exception to this rule is Ireland. Authors should now register for Irish PLR through the UK PLR Office. Further information on PLR schemes internationally and recent developments within the EC towards wider recognition of PLR is available from the PLR Office or on the international PLR website.
Scott Pack reveals the numbers underlying the publishing business and spells out the important, surprising and sobering figures – for publisher and author alike – to be considered when publishing a book, even a bestseller.
When you think about the world of writing and publishing you probably picture an industry built upon words. And rightly so. The book world would be nothing without the written word. But numbers play a crucial part too, and some of the numbers that crunch away behind the scenes of publishing may surprise you.
How many copies does a book need to sell to become a bestseller?
100,000? 50,000? 10,000? Each week the Sunday Times publishes four separate book charts: top tens in Hardback Fiction, Hardback Non-fiction, Paperback Fiction and Paperback Non-fiction. For a book to be able to feature the three magic words ‘Sunday Times Bestseller’ on the cover, it needs to have appeared in one of these charts for at least one week.
To sit at the top of these charts, especially Paperback Fiction, you generally need to sell thousands of copies. But pick a quiet time of year, perhaps February or March, and you could sneak in at number 10 in the Hardback Non-Fiction chart by selling around 500 copies, a somewhat less daunting figure.
Let’s put that in perspective. There are close to 5,000 book outlets in the UK. A book could sell one copy in just 10% of these locations in any given week and hit the bestseller chart. 90% of shops wouldn’t need to have sold any at all, and you’d still have a bestseller on your hands.
Things are very different at the top of the charts, of course. The bestselling paperback novel in the UK would typically have to sell well into five figures, although that could be anywhere between 10,000 and 90,000 depending on the time of year and what books are out that week.
And things get more interesting when you start to delve into the chart data a bit more. The Sunday Times top tens are taken from a much larger sales report generated by Nielsen Bookscan. They create a Top 5,000 chart each week that is distributed widely within the book trade, with retailers and publishers poring over the figures in some detail.
Let’s say the bestselling book in the country sold 25,000 copies in a week. That’s a lot of books, but not many titles can deliver that level of sales. In the same week it is likely that the tenth bestselling book sold around 7,000 copies – still a lot, but quite a drop-off. The book at number 100 in the charts will have sold 1,500 or so. The book at 500 may actually have sold 500 copies, and you can often get into the bottom regions of the Top 5,000 by selling 50 or so copies in a week.
So how does this pan out across an entire year? In a very good year, the bestselling book in the UK can sell close to a million copies, but it would more often be about half that number. The tenth bestseller may have sold half that again. The book at number 500 might have sold around 50,000, and you could have the 5,000th bestselling book of the year by selling 5,000 copies – or just one copy in every bookshop in the land.
It is important to stress that with the many tens of thousands of books published every year, and the hundreds of thousands already in circulation, the vast majority of books never even get close to the top 5,000 at all.
How much does it cost to publish a book?
These sales figures are all well and good, and may prove fascinating, but you cannot sell a single book until it is printed and distributed to shops, and that can prove to be a costly exercise.
Different types of books have different budgets – a big, illustrated, coffee-table book will usually cost several times more to produce than a fairly straightforward paperback – but for this example we are going to look at the costs for a standard novel with no fancy design elements or illustrations.
To get the manuscript ready for publication, with a developmental edit, copy edit, typesetting and proofread, you are rarely going to have much change from £2,500. A designer will charge around £750 to create a cover. Printing costs vary depending on the size of the print run, but 75p per copy is not untypical. So, to produce and print 3,000 copies of a paperback novel will cost a publisher in the region of £5,500. Of course, the major publishing houses manage a lot of these services inhouse, but most medium- and small-sized publishers will be paying freelancers to do much of this work.
And that £5,500 is without spending any money on warehousing, distribution, sales, marketing or publicity, the combined costs of which could easily bring the total outlay to £10,000.
Example P&L
Sales
Book RRP
£7.99
Book sales
3000
Discount
55.00%
NET BOOK SALES £10,787
Production costs
Editorial
£1,750
Typesetting
£750
Cover design
£750
Printing costs
Print costs
£2,700
Sales and marketing costs
Sales and distribution
£2,500
Marketing and publicity
£1,500
TOTAL COSTS £9.950
Other deductions
Returns @ 15%
£1,618
Royalties
£1,798
Total costs + deductions £13,366
TOTAL PROFIT: – £2,579
How much money does a publisher make from a book?
So, a publisher has spent £10,000 to produce, sell, distribute and promote 3,000 copies of a new novel. Let’s assume all 3,000 copies sell to bookshops, a rare feat but one that makes our maths a little easier, and that it has an RRP of £7.99.
Book retailers receive discount from publishers which can be anywhere from 30% to 70%, depending on the size of the retailer, how many copies they are ordering and whether or not the book goes into a big promotion – but let’s use 55% as an average. That means that for every copy sold to bookshops the publisher receives £3.59. Across 3,000 copies that comes to £10,770 of revenue.
Cast your eye back a few paragraphs and you’ll be reminded that it cost around £10,000 to produce these books in the first place, so even by selling the whole of the first print run, the publisher is only just breaking even. But wait! We forgot returns. In the UK, most books are sold to retailers on a sale-or-return basis. This means that shops can return unsold stock and typically 15-20% of all books sold to retailers are sent back. So that £10,770 mentioned above may end up being more like £8,600 once the returns are accounted for.
So how do publishers make any money from their books? Well, the truth is that many do not. They are often reliant on one or two books selling in excess of 10,000 copies, and ideally lots more than that, in order to generate the income needed to fund the other books on the list that sell below 3,000. Over time, they can build up a backlist of older titles that tick over, generating ongoing revenue. And ebooks can help too; they are cheaper to sell, as there are no warehouse costs and no returns, and many a book these days moves into profit on the back of healthy digital sales.
And how much money can an author make?
You probably know the score when it comes to royalties: for every copy of a book that sells, the author receives a percentage of the revenue. There are many variations on the basic deal but, if we continue with our example of a paperback novel, typically an author will receive 7.5% of the RRP for each copy that sells. On our £7.99 paperback that would be just under 60p – but I am feeling generous so will round it up.
Again, sticking with our example, if we sell 3,000 copies then the author will have made £1,800 in royalties. Hardly a life-changing amount, but not to be sniffed at either.
But let’s not focus on such tiny numbers. Instead, let’s be ambitious and bold and go back the bestsellers that we discussed earlier. Remember that bestselling book that sold 25,000 copies in a week, taking it to the top of the charts? Assuming it was a £7.99 paperback, that book will have earned its author £15,000 in just one week. The book at number 10, selling 7,000, will have generated £4,200. And even the number 500 book will have made £300, which isn’t bad for one week’s work. Although don’t forget that the agent will take 15% of that!
What does this all add up to?
It is important that authors understand the numbers behind the publishing world. If a book becomes a bestseller, then it is possible for both author and publisher to make a lot of money, and even a moderate seller can, over time, generate some decent income. However, the majority of books published will only make a small amount of money for their authors.
For most of us, this is not a get-rich-quick industry. Does that matter? Only you can answer that, but if you have decided to write a book in order to make your fortune, you are probably going to be disappointed. If, however, you are writing a book because you want to share your story, and you value a connection with readers above all else, then great fortune may await – it just may not be a financial one.
Scott Pack is a writer, editor and publisher. He was formerly head of buying for Waterstones and spent many years at HarperCollins. He is now editor-at-large for Eye & Lightning Books and associate editor for Unbound. Scott also works as a freelance editor. For more information see https://reedsy.com/scott-pack.
Book publishers UK and Ireland
There are changes to listings in this section every year – publishers cease to exist, new ones emerge and others merge with each other. We aim to provide a comprehensive list of publishing imprints, the name or brand under which a specific set of titles are sold by a publisher. Any one publisher might have several imprints, for example Bloomsbury publishes cookery books under the Absolute Press imprint and nautical books under Adlard Coles. The imprint usually appears on the spine of a book. Imprints are included either under a Publisher’s main entry or in some cases as an entry itself. Information is provided in a way that is of most use to a reader. The subject indexes which start here, list publishers and imprints for different genres and forms of writing. The listings that follow are updated by the Writers’ & Artists’ editors based on information supplied by those listed.
*Member of the Publishers Association or Publishing Scotland
† Member of the Irish Book Publishers’ Association sae = self-addressed envelope, MS = manuscript (MSS = manuscripts)
AA Publishing
AA Media Ltd, Fanum House, Basing View, Basingstoke, Hants RG21 4EA
tel (01256) 491524
email aapublish@theaa.com
website www.theaa.com
Atlases, maps, leisure interests, travel including City Packs and AA Guides. Founded 1910.
Abacus – see Little, Brown Book Group
Absolute Press – see Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Academic Press – see Elsevier Ltd
ACC Art Books Ltd
Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4SD
tel (01394) 389950
email uksales@accpublishinggroup.com
website www.accartbooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/ACCPublishing
Twitter @ACCPublishing
Publisher James Smith
Publisher and distributor of books on art, photography, decorative arts, fashion, gardening, design and architecture. Founded 1966.
Acorn Editions – see James Clarke & Co. Ltd
Airlife Publishing – see The Crowood Press
Akasha Publishing Ltd
20–22 Wenlock Road, London N1 7GU
tel 07939 927281
email info@akashapublishing.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/akashapublishing
Twitter @Akashic84
Director Segun Magbagbeola
Trade (fiction and non-fiction), African and Caribbean interest, fantasy/sci-fi, spirituality, metaphysical, mind, body& spirit, ancient and classical history, alternative history, mythology, children’s, Nuwaubian books, biographies and autobiographies. Currently accepting submissions. Founded 2012.
Ian Allan Publishing Ltd
Heritage House, 52–54 Hamm Moor Lane, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 2SF
tel (01932) 834950
email lewismasonic@gmail.com
website wwww.lewismasonic.co.uk
Managing Director Nick Lerwill, General Manager Martin Faulks
Lewis Masonic is the oldest Masonic imprint in the world. The company has been part of Ian Allan Publishing since 1973 and continues to produce Masonic books and rituals as well as the quarterly magazine The Square. Founded 1886.
J.A. Allen
The Crowood Press Ltd, The Stable Block, Crowood Lane, Ramsbury, Wilts. SN8 2HR
tel (01672) 520320
email enquiries@crowood.com
website www.crowood.com
Horse care and equestrianism including breeding, racing, polo, jumping, eventing, dressage, management, carriage driving, breeds, horse industry training, veterinary and farriery. Books usually commissioned but willing to consider any serious, specialist MSS on the horse and related subjects. Imprint of The Crowood Press (here). Founded 1926.
Allison & Busby Ltd
12 Fitzroy Mews, London W1T 6DW
tel 020-7580 1080
email susie@allisonandbusby.com
website www.allisonandbusby.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/allisonandbusbybooks
Twitter @allisonandbusby
Publishing Director Susie Dunlop, Publishing Manager Lesley Crooks, Head of Sales Daniel Scott
Fiction, general non-fiction, young adult and preschool. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1967.
Allyn & Bacon – see Pearson UK
Alma Books
3 Castle Yard, Richmond TW10 6TF
tel 020-8940 6917
website www.almabooks.com, www.almaclassics.com
Directors Alessandro Gallenzi, Elisabetta Minervini
Contemporary literary fiction, non-fiction, European classics, poetry, drama, art, literary, music and social criticism, biography and autobiography, essays, humanities and social sciences. No unsolicited MSS. Inquiry letters must include a sae. Series include: Alma Classics, Overture Opera Guides, Calder Publications. Around 40% English-language originals, 60% translations. Founded 2005.
The Alpha Press – see Sussex Academic Press
Amazon Publishing
1 Principal Place, Worship Street, London EC2A 2FA
tel 0843 504 0495
email amazonpublishing-pr@amazon.com
website www.amazon.com/l/16144524011
EU Publisher Dominic Myers
Amazon Publishing is the full-service publishing arm of Amazon. Imprints: AmazonEncore, AmazonCrossing, Montlake Romance, Thomas & Mercer, 47North, Montlake Romance, Grand Harbor Press, Little A, Jet City Comics, Two Lions, Skyscrape, Lake Union Publishing, StoryFront, Waterfall Press, Kindle Press. Also publishes ebooks via its Kindle Direct publishing platform. Currently not accepting unsolicited MSS. Amazon Media EU Sarl is Amazon Publishing’s EU entity. The address is: 31–33 Rives de Clausen, 2165 Luxembourg. Founded 2009.
Amber Books Ltd
United House, North Road, London N7 9DP
tel 020-7520 7600
email enquiries@amberbooks.co.uk
website www.amberbooks.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/amberbooks
Twitter @amberbooks
Managing Director Stasz Gnych, Rights Director Sara McKie, Publishing Manager Charles Catton, Head of Production Peter Thompson, Design Manager Mark Batley, Picture Manager Terry Forshaw
Illustrated non-fiction publisher for adults and children. Subjects include history, photography, music, gift books, military technology, military history, survival, natural history and family reference. Works include encyclopedias and highly illustrated reference series. Children’s titles created under Tiptoe Books imprint. Opportunities for freelancers. Founded 1989.
Amberley Publishing
The Hill, Stroud, Glos. GL5 4EP
tel (01453) 847800
email info@amberley-books.com
website www.amberley-books.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/amberleybooks
Twitter @amberleybooks
Chief Executive Nick Hayward
General history and local interest; specialisations include transport (railways, road transport, canals, maritime), industry, sport, biography and military history. Founded 2008.
Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales
Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NP
tel 029-2057 3235
email post@museumwales.ac.uk
website www.museumwales.ac.uk
Twitter @AmgueddfaBooks
Head of Publishing Mari Gordon
Books based on the collections and research of Amgueddfa Cymru for adults, schools and children, in both Welsh and English.
And Other Stories
Central Library, Surrey St, Sheffield S1 1XZ
email info@andotherstories.org
website www.andotherstories.org/about/contact-us
Facebook www.facebook.com/AndOtherStoriesBooks
Twitter @andothertweets
Publisher Stefan Tobler
Contemporary literary fiction and non-fiction from around the world. Has an open submissions policy, but has strict submissions guidelines. Please read carefully before submitting:
www.andotherstories.org/about/contact-us/. Submissions not complying with these guidelines will be disregarded. Founded 2011.
Andersen Press Ltd*
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA
tel 020-7840 8703 (editorial), 020–7840 8701 (general)
email anderseneditorial@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk
website www.andersenpress.co.uk
Managing Director Mark Hendle, Publisher Klaus Flugge, Directors Philip Durrance, Joëlle Flugge, Libby Hamilton (editorial picture books), Charlie Sheppard (editorial fiction), Sarah Pakenham (rights)
Children’s books: picture books, fiction for 5–8 and 9–12 years and young adult fiction. Will consider unsolicited MSS. Include sae and allow three months for response. For novels, send three sample chapters and a synopsis only. No poetry or short stories. Do not send MSS via email. Founded 1976.
The Angels’ Share – see Neil Wilson Publishing Ltd
Angry Robot Books
20 Fletcher Gate, Nottingham NG1 2FZ
tel 0115 933 8456
email incoming@angryrobots.com
website https://www.angryrobotbooks.com/
Facebook www.facebook.com/angryrobotbooks
Twitter @angryrobotbooks
Publisher Marc Gascoigne
Publishes modern adult science fiction, fantasy and everything in between. Part of Watkins Media (here). Founded 2009.
Anness Publishing
Head office 108 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3NA
email info@anness.com
Distributed by Marton Book Services, 160 Eastern Avenue, Milton Park, Oxford OX14 4SB
website www.annesspublishing.com
Managing Director Paul Anness, Publisher Joanna Lorenz
Practical illustrated books on lifestyle, cookery, crafts, reference, gardening, health and children’s non-fiction. Imprints include: Lorenz Books, Armadillo, Southwater, Peony Press, Hermes House and Practical Pictures (www.practicalpictures.com). Founded 1988.
Appletree Press Ltd†
164 Malone Road, Belfast BT9 5LL
tel 028-9024 3074
email reception@appletree.ie
website www.appletree.ie
Director John Murphy
Gift books, guidebooks, history, Irish interest, Scottish interest, photography, sport, travel. Founded 1974.
Arc Publications
Nanholme Mill, Shaw Wood Road, Todmorden, Lancs. OL14 6DA
tel (01706) 812338
email arc.publications@btconnect.com
website www.arcpublications.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/arcpublications
Twitter @arc_poetry
Directors Tony Ward (founder & managing editor), Angela Jarman (publisher & editor of Arc Music); Editors James Byrne (international), Jean Boase-Beier (translation), John W. Clarke (UK & Ireland), Ben Styles (digital editor)
Specialises in contemporary poetry and neglected work from the past: poetry from the UK and Ireland; world poetry in English; and bilingual translations mainly from the smaller languages (individual poets and anthologies). Imprints: Arc Publications and Arc Music. Refer to website for current publication list/catalogue and submissions policy. Email editors at: editorarcuk@btinternet.com. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1969.
Architectural Press – see Elsevier Ltd
Arena Publishing
6 Southgate Green, Bury St. Edmunds IP33 2BL
tel (01284) 754123
email arenabooks.bse@gmail.com
website www.arenabooks.co.uk
Director James Farrell
Publishers of quality fiction, travel, history and current affairs, also of specialised social science, politics, philosophy and academic dissertations suitable for transcribing into book format. Special interest in publishing books analysing the debt-fuelled financial crisis from a non-party standpoint. New authors welcome. IPG member.
The Armchair Traveller at the bookHaus Ltd
4 Cinnamon Row, Plantation Wharf, London SW11 3TW
tel 020-7838 9055
email info@hauspublishing.com
website www.hauspublishing.com
Publisher Harry Hill
Publishes travel literature, the Literary Traveller series and the Armchair Traveller’s Histories series.
Arrow Books Ltd – see Cornerstone
Ashgate Publishing Ltd – see Taylor & Francis Group
Ashmolean Museum Publications
Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2PH
tel (01865) 288070
email dec.mccarthy@ashmus.ox.ac.uk
website www.ashmolean.org
Contact Declan McCarthy
Publisher of exhibition catalogues, fine and applied art of Europe and Asia, archaeology, history, numismatics. Photographic archive and picture library. Museum founded 1683.
Atlantic Books*
Ormond House, 26–27 Boswell Street, London WC1N 3JZ
tel 020-7269 1610
email enquiries@atlantic-books.co.uk
website http://atlantic-books.co.uk/
Ceo & Publisher Will Atkinson
Literary fiction, thrillers, history, current affairs, politics, reference, biography and memoir. Strictly no unsolicited submissions or proposals. In 2009 Atlantic Books entered a partnership with Australian publisher Allen & Unwin. Founded 2000.
Atlantic Europe Publishing Co. Ltd
The Barn, Bottom Farm, Bottom Lane, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG8 0NR
tel (01491) 684028
email info@atlanticeurope.com
website www.atlanticeurope.com, www.curriculumvisions.com
Director Dr B.J. Knapp
Children’s primary school class books: science, geography, technology, mathematics, history, religious education. No MSS accepted by post; submit by email only, no attachments. Founded 1990.
Atrium – see Cork University Press
Attic Press – see Cork University Press
Aureus Publishing Ltd
Castle Court, Castle-upon-Alun, St Bride’s Major, Vale of Glamorgan CF32 0TN
tel (01656) 880033
email info@aureus.co.uk
website www.aureus.co.uk
Director Meuryn Hughes
Rock and pop, autobiography, biography, sport; also music. Founded 1993.
Aurora Metro
67 Grove Avenue, Twickenham TW1 4HX
tel 020-3261 0000
email info@aurorametro.com
website www.aurorametro.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/AuroraMetroBooks
Twitter @aurorametro
Managing Director Cheryl Robson
Adult fiction, young adult fiction, biography, drama (including plays for young people), non-fiction, theatre, cookery and translation. Submissions: send synopsis and three chapters as hard copy to: Submissions Editor, at address above or via email to submissions@aurorametro.com. Biennial Competition for women novelists (odd years): The Virginia Prize For Fiction. Supernova Books publishes non-fiction titles on the arts, culture and biography.
Authentic Media Ltd
PO Box 6326, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK1 9GG
tel (01908) 268500
email info@authenticmedia.co.uk
website www.authenticmedia.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/authenticmedia
Twitter @authenticmedia
General Manager Donna Harris
Biblical studies, Christian theology, ethics, history, mission, commentaries. Imprints: Paternoster, Authentic.
The Authority Guides
Unit 3 Spike Island, 133 Cumberland Road, Bristol BS1 6UX
tel (01789) 761345
email hello@authorityguides.co.uk
website http:authorityguides.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/groups/theauthorityclub/
Twitter @SRA_TAG
Director Sue Richardson
Pocket-sized business books for entrepreneurs and business professionals. Concise and practical, our titles range across business subjects from finance to leadership, sales and marketing to personal development. Submissions welcomed, please email for guidelines.
Avon – see HarperCollins Publishers
Award Publications Ltd
The Old Riding School, The Welbeck Estate, Worksop, Notts. S80 3LR
tel (01909) 478170
email info@awardpublications.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/awardpublications
Twitter @award_books
Children’s books: full-colour picture story books; early learning, information and activity books. No unsolicited material. Founded 1972.
Bernard Babani (publishing) Ltd
The Grampians, Shepherds Bush Road, London W6 7NF
tel 020-7603 2581/7296
email enquiries@babanibooks.com
website www.babanibooks.com
Director M.H. Babani
Practical handbooks on radio, electronics and computing. Founded 1942.
Bailliere Tindall – see Elsevier Ltd
Bantam Press – see Penguin Random House Children’s UK
Barrington Stoke*
18 Walker Street, Edinburgh EH3 7LP
tel 0131 225 4113
email info@barringtonstoke.co.uk
website www.barringtonstoke.co.uk
Chairperson Lucy Juckes
Short fiction for children, specially adapted and presented for reluctant, struggling and dyslexic readers, including picture books up to young adult fiction. No unsolicited submissions. Founded 1998.
Batsford – see Pavilion Books
6 Woodside, Churnet View Road, Oakamoor, Staffs. ST10 3AE
tel (01538) 703591
email info@BennionKearny.com
website www.BennionKearny.com
Publisher James Lumsden-Cook, Marketing Adam Walters
Specialises in non-fiction, with an emphasis on sport, biography, STM, computing and business. Founded 2008.
Berg Publishers – see Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Berlitz Publishing – see Insight Guides/Berlitz Publishing
BFI Publishing
Palgrave Macmillan, The Macmillan Building, 4 Crinan Street, London N1 9XW
tel 020-7833 4000
email bfipublishing@palgrave.com
website https://www.macmillanihe.com/page/bfi-publishing/
Head of Publishing Jenna Steventon
Film, TV and media studies; general, academic and educational resources on moving image culture. Founded 1982.
Birlinn Ltd
West Newington House, 10 Newington Road, Edinburgh EH9 1QS
tel 0131 668 4371
email info@birlinn.co.uk
website www.birlinn.co.uk
Directors Hugh Andrew, Neville Moir, Jan Rutherford, Andrew Simmons, Laura Poynton, Joanne Macleod
Based in Newington in Edinburgh and run by a small team. Publisher of the reissue of Neil Munro’s Para Handy which has been in print since 1992. Publishes both in the UK and internationally. Genres include Scottish history, local interest/history, Scottish humour, guides, military, adventure, history, archaeology, sport, general non-fiction. Founded 1992.
Birlinn
Scottish and general UK interest books, biography, history, military history, mapping, cookery and Scottish Gaelic.
BC Books
Children’s imprint providing quality illustrated books for young readers. Founded 2015.
Polygon
Imprint of classic and modern literary fiction and poetry. Authors include: Robin Jenkins, George Mackay Brown and Alexander McCall Smith. Publishes music and film titles including Stuart Cosgrove’s Young Soul Rebels. International authors include Jan-Philipp Sendker.
Arena Sport
Sport imprint. Subjects include football, rugby, golf, running and cycling.
John Donald
Academic books.
A&C Black – see Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Black Ace Books
PO Box 7547, Perth PH2 1AU
tel (01821) 642822
website www.blackace.co.uk
Publisher Hunter Steele
Fiction, Scottish and general; new editions of outstanding recent fiction. Some biography, history, psychology and philosophy. No submissions without first visiting website for latest list details and requirements. Imprints: Black Ace Books, Black Ace Paperbacks. Founded 1991.
Black & White Publishing Ltd*
Nautical House, 104 Commercial Street, Edinburgh EH6 6NF
tel 0131 625 4500
email mail@blackandwhitepublishing.com
website www.blackandwhitepublishing.com
Directors Campbell Brown (managing), Alison McBride (publishing)
Non-fiction: general, sport, cookery, biography, humour, crime. Fiction: women’s fiction, contemporary, historical, psychological thrillers, crime, young adult (Ink Road imprint). Also publisher of Itchy Coo, The Broons and Oor Wullie books. New submissions should be sent via the website: http://blackandwhitepublishing.com/submissions. Founded 1999.
Black Lace – see Virgin Books (in partnership with Virgin Group), here
Black Swan – see Transworld Publishers
Blackstaff Press Ltd†
Colourpoint House, Jubilee Business Park, 21 Jubilee Road, Newtownards, Co. Down BT23 4YH
tel 028-9182 6339 (within the UK), 048-9182 6339 (Republic of Ireland)
email info@blackstaffpress.com
website www.blackstaffpress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/Blackstaffpressni
Twitter @BlackstaffNI
Managing Editor Patsy Horton
Local interest titles, particularly memoir, history and humour. See website for submission guidelines before sending material. Acquired by Colourpoint Creative Ltd in 2017 (here) Founded 1971.
John Blake Publishing Ltd
3 Bramber Court, 2 Bramber Road, London W14 9PB
tel 020-7381 0666
email help@johnblakebooks.com
website www.johnblakebooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/johnblakebooks
Twitter @jblakebooks
Publishing Director Kelly Ellis
Incorporating Metro Books, Blake Publishing, Dino Books, Independent Music Press and Max Crime and Smith Gryphon Ltd. Popular non-fiction, including biographies, true crime, food and drink, humour, health and lifestyle. Imprints include Dino Books and Music Press Books. No unsolicited fiction. Acquired by Bonnier Publishing in 2016. Founded 1991.
Blink Publishing
107–109 The Plaza, 535 Kings Road, Chelsea, London SW10 0SZ
tel 020-3770 8888
email info@blinkpublishing.co.uk, submissions@blinkpublishing.co.uk
website www.blinkpublishing.co.uk
Publishing Director Matthew Phillips, Editorial Director Kelly Ellis, Editor Beth Eynon, Publicity Director Karen Browning
Blink is an imprint focussed on general non-fiction, popular culture, sport, business, humour, vloggers, true crime, biography and inspirational memoir. Imprint of Kings Road Publishing (here), which is part of Bonnier Publishing UK.
Lagom
Acquistions Director & Publisher Natalie Jerome, Senior Editor Oliver Holden-Rea Health and wellbeing, diet and fitness, cookery, lifestyle and memoir.
535
Senior Editor Joel Simons
Narrative non-fiction, popular science, quirky memoir, humour and entertaining reference.
Bloodaxe Books Ltd*
Eastburn, South Park, Hexham, Northumberland NE46 1BS
tel (01434) 611581
email editor@bloodaxebooks.com
website www.bloodaxebooks.com
Directors Neil Astley, Simon Thirsk
Poetry. Check submissions guide on website and send sample of up to a dozen poems with sae only if the submission fits the publisher’s guidelines. No email submissions or correspondence. Founded 1978.
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc*
50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP
tel 020-7631 5600
website www.bloomsbury.com (main), www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk (investor relations) Co-founder & Chief Executive Nigel Newton, Executive Directors Jonathan Glasspool, Richard Charkin, Group Finance Director Wendy Pallot, Nonexecutive Chairman Sir Richard Lambert, Independent Non-executive Directors John Warren, Jill Jones, Steven Hall, Group Company Secretary Michael Daykin, media enquiries: tel 020-7631 5670, email publicity@bloomsbury.com
A medium-sized independent book publishing house and digital content services provider with two worldwide publishing divisions: Consumer and Non-Consumer. It has a global footprint served from offices in the UK, the USA (see here), India and Australia (see here). Has acquired imprints dating back to 1807. Listed on the London Main Market stock exchange (code: BMY). MSS must normally be channelled through literary agents. Bloomsbury runs training for authors on getting published via Writers’ & Artists’ publications and Bloomsbury Institute events. Founded 1986.
Bloomsbury Consumer Division
Managing Director Emma Hopkin, Adult Editor-in-Chief Alexandra Pringle, Children’s Editor-in-Chief Rebecca McNally
Imprints include: Absolute Press, Bloomsbury Activity Books, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, Bloomsbury Circus, Bloomsbury India, Bloomsbury Press, Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury USA, Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books, Raven Books.
Bloomsbury Adult Trade Publishing
Adult Editor-in-Chief Alexandra Pringle, Publishing Director Alexis Kirschbaum, Publishing Director Michael Fishwick, Editorial Director Raven Books Alison Hennessey
Part of Bloomsbury Consumer Division,
Bloomsbury Adult Trade publishes a wide variety of fiction, non-fiction and cookery titles under the Absolute Press Bloomsbury, Bloomsbury Circus and Raven Books imprints. Known for literary fiction it publishes, amongst others, Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Gilbert, Khaled Hosseini, Madeleine Miller, Ann Patchett and in 2017 George Saunders won the Man Booker prize with Lincoln in the Bardo. The successful non-fiction list features authors such as Reni Eddo-Lodge, Peter Frankopan and Johann Hari. The cookery list features chefs such as Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall, Paul Hollywood and Tom Kerridge.
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Publishing Director & Editor-in-Chief Rebecca McNally, Publishing Director Non-fiction Sharon Hutton, Publishing Director Illustrated Books Emma Blackburn, Editorial Directors Ellen Holgate (fiction), Saskia Gwinn (non-fiction)
Part of Bloomsbury Consumer Division,
Bloomsbury Children’s Books is a global publisher for children of all ages up to 16 years including titles such as the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling, Holes by Louis Sachar and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Recent highlights include the bestselling Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, One by Sarah Crossan (winner of the Carnegie Medal), The Bombs That Brought Us Together by Brian Conaghan (winner of the Costa Children’s Book Award), You Can’t Take an Elephant on the Bus by Patricia Cleveland-Peck and David Tazzyman and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling and Jim Kay. Recent non-fiction highlights include Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World by Kate Pankhurst and My Epic Book of Epicness by Adam Frost, winner of Blue Peter’s Best Book with Facts award 2016. No complete MSS; send a synopsis with three chapters.
Bloomsbury Non-Consumer Division
website www.bloomsburyprofessional.com, www.bloomsburyacademic.com
Managing Director Non-Consumer Division Jonathan Glasspool, Executive Director (Special Interest) Richard Charkin
Imprints include: The Adlard Coles; Andrew Brodie; Arden Shakespeare; Bloomsbury Academic, Business, Berg Publishers, Caravel, Continuum, Education, Natural History, Professional, Reader, Shire Publications, Sigma, Sport and Visual Arts; Burns & Oates; Conway; Fairchild Books; Featherstone; Green Tree; Hart Publishing (here); Helm; Methuen Drama; Osprey Publishing; Osprey Games; Poyser; Reeds; T&T Clark; Wisden; and Bloomsbury Yearbooks. I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd (here) was acquired in May 2018.
Bloomsbury Education
Head of Education Rachel Lindley, Editorial Director Helen Diamond, Commissioning Editors Hannah Rolls (fiction & poetry), Hannah Marston (education)
Part of Bloomsbury Non-Consumer Division,
Bloomsbury publishes 75 titles a year for children, young people and those working with them. Titles for teachers and practitioners cover the areas of early years, primary and secondary education, and include both practical resources and professional development titles. Recent titles include Mark. Plan. Teach. by Ross Morrison McGill, Effective Transition into Year 1 by Alistair Bryce-Clegg and Will You Be My Friend? by Molly Potter. Educational fiction and poetry publications include Terry Deary’s Historical Tales, Joshua Seigal’s I Don’t Like Poetry and Classic Nursery Rhymes, with illustrations by Dorothy M. Wheeler. Imprints include Bloomsbury Education, A&C Black, Andrew Brodie, Featherstone Education and Herbert Press.
Digital Resources
Managing Director, Digital Resources Division Kathryn Earle
Digital Resources is part of Bloomsbury Non-Consumer Division and is developing new digital content services to expand Bloomsbury’s portfolio across the humanities and social sciences. Recent launches include Bloomsbury Design Library, Bloomsbury Food Library, Bloomsbury Cultural History, and the Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Philosophers.
Blue Guides Ltd
Winchester House, Dean Gate Avenue, Taunton TA1 2UH
tel 020-8144 3509
email editorial@blueguides.com
website www.blueguides.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/blueguides
Twitter @blueguides
Blue Guides and Blue Guide Travel Companions. Detailed guide books with a focus on history, art and architecture for the independent traveller.
Bluemoose Books
25 Sackville Street, Hebden Bridge HX7 7DJ
email kevin@bluemoosebooks.com
website www.bluemoosebooks.com
Twitter @ofmooseandmen
Publisher Kevin Duffy
Publisher of literary fiction. No children’s, young adult or poetry. Founded 2006.
Bodleian Library Publishing
Bodleian Library, Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BG
tel (01865) 283850
email publishing@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
website www.bodleianshop.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/bodleianlibraries
Twitter @BodPublishing
Head of Publishing Samuel Fanous
The Bodleian Library is the main library of the University of Oxford. The publishing programme creates gift, trade and scholarly books on a wide range of subjects drawn from or related to the Library’s rich collection of rare books, manuscripts, maps, postcards and other ephemera.
The Bodley Head – see Vintage
Bodley Head Children’s Books – see Penguin Random House Children’s UK
Bonnier Zaffre*
80–81 Wimpole Street, London W1G 9RE
tel 020-7490 3875
email info@bonnierzaffre.co.uk
website www.bonnierzaffre.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/BonnierZaffre
Twitter @BonnierZaffre
Ceo Mark Smith, Executive Director Kate Parkin (adult), Executive Director Jane Harris (children’s), Executive Director James Horobin (sales & marketing)
Publishes award-winning fiction for all ages, including crime, thrillers, women’s fiction, general fiction, children’s fiction and picture books and young adult. Imprints include: Zaffre Publishing, Twenty7 Books, Hot Key Books (here), Piccadilly Press (here) and Manilla Publishing. A division of Bonnier Publishing. Founded 2015.
The Book Guild Ltd
14 Priory Business Park, Wistow Road, Kibworth, Leics. LE8 0RX
tel 0800 999 2982
email info@bookguild.co.uk
website www.bookguild.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/thebookguild
Twitter @BookGuild
Directors Jeremy Thompson (managing), Jane Rowland (operations)
Offers traditional and partnership publishing arrangements, with all titles published being funded or co-funded by The Book Guild Ltd (does not offer self-publishing). MSS accepted in fiction, children’s and non-fiction genres, please see the website for details. The Book Guild is part of parent company Troubador Publishing Ltd (here).
Bookouture
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ
email pitch@bookouture.com
website www.bookouture.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/bookouture
Twitter @bookouture
Managing Director & Publisher Oliver Rhodes, Publishing Directors Claire Bord, Jenny Geras, Associate Publishers Natasha Harding, Keshini Naidoo, Lydia Vassar-Smith, Kathryn Taussig, Isobel Akenhead, Commissioning Editors Abigail Fenton, Jessie Botterill, Helen Jenner, Christina Demosthenous, Head of Talent Peta Nightingale
Bookouture is a digital imprint publishing commercial fiction. Welcomes submissions via the website: www.bookouture.com. Part of Hachette UK isince March 2017 (here). Founded 2012.
Booth-Clibborn Editions
Studio 83, 235 Earls Court Road, London SW5 9FE
tel 020-7565 0688
email info@booth-clibborn.com
website www.booth-clibborn.com
Illustrated books on art, popular culture, graphic design, photography. Founded 1974.
Bounty – see Octopus Publishing Group
Bowker
ProQuest/Dialog/Bowker, 3 Dorset Rise (5th Floor), London EC4Y 8EN
tel 020-7832 1700
email sales@bowker.co.uk
website www.bowker.com
Managing Director Doug McMillan
Publishes bibliographic information and management solutions designed to help publishers, booksellers and libraries better serve their customers. Creates products and services that make books easier for people to discover, evaluate, order and experience. Also generates research and resources for publishers, helping them understand and meet the interests of readers worldwide. Bowker, an affiliated business of ProQuest and the official ISBN agency for the United States has its headquarters in New Providence, New Jersey, with additional operations in the UK and Australia.
Boxtree – see Pan Macmillan
Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd
26 Parke Road, London SW13 9NG
email catheryn@marionboyars.com
website www.marionboyars.co.uk
Director Catheryn Kilgarriff
Literary fiction, film, cultural studies, jazz, cookery. Not currently accepting submissions. Founded 1975.
Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Bridge Farm Business Park, Top Street, Martlesham IP12 4RB
tel (01394) 610600
email editorial@boydell.co.uk
website www.boydellandbrewer.com
Medieval studies, early modern and modern history, maritime history, literature, archaeology, art history, music, Hispanic studies. No unsolicited MSS. See website for submission guidelines. Founded 1969.
James Currey
website www.jamescurrey.com
Academic studies of Africa and developing economies.
Bradt Travel Guides Ltd
IDC House, The Vale, Chalfont St Peter, Bucks. SL9 9RZ
tel (01753) 893444
email info@bradtguides.com
website www.bradtguides.com
Twitter @BradtGuides
Managing Director Adrian Phillips
Travel and wildlife guides with emphasis on unusual destinations and ethical/positive travel. Founded 1974.
Nicholas Brealey Publishing
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ
tel 020-3122 6000
email rights@nicholasbrealey.com
website www.nicholasbrealey.com
Directors Nick Davies (managing), Holly Bennion (editorial)
Publishes subjects related to coaching, crossing cultures and the big ideas in business. Also popular psychology, science and philosophy, and includes an expanding travel writing/adventure list. Founded 1992 in London; also has offices in Boston. Part of Hachette UK (here).
Brilliant Publications Limited*
Unit 10, Sparrow Hall Farm, Edlesborough, Dunstable LU6 2ES
tel (01525) 222292
email info@brilliantpublications.co.uk
website www.brilliantpublications.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/Brilliant-Publications-340005555138
Twitter @Brilliantpub, @BrillCreative
Managing Director Priscilla Hannaford
Brilliant Publications creates easy-to-use educational resources, featuring engaging approaches to learning, across a wide range of curriculum areas, including English, foreign languages, maths, art and design, thinking skills and PSHE. No children’s picture books, non-fiction books or one-off fiction books. See Guidelines for Authors on website before sending proposal. Founded 1993.
Bristol University Press/Policy Press
University of Bristol, 1–9 Old Park Hill, Clifton, Bristol BS2 8BB
tel 0117 954 5940
email pp-info@bristol.ac.uk
website www.policypress.co.uk, www.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/PolicyPress
Twitter @policypress, @BrisUniPress Ceo Alison Shaw, Journals Director Julia Mortimer, Sales & Marketing Director Jo Greig, Head of Commissioning Victoria Pittman
Social science. Bristol University Press specialising in politics and international relations, sociology, human geography, business & management, economics and law. Policy Press, specialising in social and public policy, criminology, social work and social welfare. Bristol University Press founded 2016, Policy Press founded 1996.
The British Library (Publications)*
Publishing Office, The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB
tel 020-7412 7535
email publishing_editorial@bl.uk
website www.bl.uk/aboutus/publishing
Publishes around 40 non-fiction books a year: arts, bibliography, music, maps, oriental, manuscript studies, history, literature, facsimiles, audio and multimedia. Founded 1979.
The British Museum Press
38 Russell Square, London WC1B 3QQ
tel 020-3073 4946
email publicity@britishmuseum.org
website www.britishmuseum.org/about_us/services/the_british_museum_press.aspx
Head of Business Planning Susan Walby
Award-winning illustrated books for general readers, families, academics and students, inspired by the famous collections of the British Museum. Titles range across the fine and decorative arts, history, archaeology and world cultures. Division of The British Museum Company Ltd. Founded 1973.
Andrew Brodie – see Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Brown, Son & Ferguson Ltd*
Unit 1, 426 Drumoyne Road, Glasgow G51 4DA
tel 0141 883 0141 (24 hours)
email info@skipper.co.uk
website www.skipper.co.uk
Editorial Director Richard B.P. Brown
Nautical books, plays. Founded 1860.
Bryntirion Press
Bryntirion, Bridgend CF31 4DX
tel (01656) 655886
email office@emw.org.uk
website www.emw.org.uk
Publications Officer Shâron Barnes
Formerly Evangelical Press of Wales. Theology and religion (in English and Welsh). Founded 1955.
Buster Books – see Michael O’Mara Books Ltd
Butterworth-Heinemann – see Elsevier Ltd
Butterworths – see LexisNexis
Calisi Press
100 Somerset Road, Folkestone CT19 4NW
tel (01303) 272216
email info@calisipress.com
website www.calisipress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/CalisiPress
Twitter @CalisiPress
Publisher Franca Simpson
Small independent publishing company specialising in the publication of works by Italian women writers. Founded 2014.
Cambridge University Press*
University Printing House, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8BS
tel (01223) 358331
email information@cambridge.org
website www.cambridge.org
Facebook www.facebook.com/CambridgeUniversityPress
Twitter @CambridgeUP
Chief Executive Peter Phillips; Managing Directors Mandy Hill (academic), Michael Peluse (ELT), Rod Smith (Cambridge Education)
Anthropology and archaeology, art history, astronomy, biological sciences, classical studies, computer science, dictionaries, earth sciences, economics, engineering, history, language and literature, law, mathematics, medical sciences, music, philosophy, physical sciences, politics, psychology, reference, technology, social sciences, theology, religion. ELT, educational (primary, secondary, tertiary), e-learning products, journals (humanities, social sciences, science, technical and medical). The Bible and Prayer Book. Founded 1534.
Campbell Books – see Pan Macmillan
Candy Jar Books
Mackintosh House, 136 Newport Road, Cardiff CF24 1DJ
tel 029-2115 7202
email shaun@candyjarbooks.co.uk
website www.candy-jar.co.uk/books
Facebook www.facebook.com/CandyJarLimited
Twitter @Candy_Jar
Head of Publishing Shaun Russell
Publishes science fiction, biography, general non-fiction, children’s, military history, fantasy. Publishes about 15 titles per year. Unsolicited material welcome; submissions form on website. No children’s picture books. Founded 2010.
Canongate Books Ltd*
14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE
tel 0131 557 5111
email support@canongate.co.uk
Alternative address Eardley House, 4 Uxbridge Street, London W8 7SY
website www.canongate.co.uk
Ceo Jamie Byng, Publishing Director Francis Bickmore, Rights Director Andrea Joyce, Editorial Director Simon Thorogood, Senior Commissioning Editor Hannah Knowles, Editor Jo Dingley
Adult general non-fiction and fiction: literary fiction, translated fiction, memoir, politics, popular science, humour, travel, popular culture, history and biography. The independent audio publisher CSA WORD was acquired by Canongate in 2010, with audio now published under the Canongate label. Founded 1973.
Canopus Publishing Ltd
15 Nelson Parade, Bedminster, Bristol BS3 4HY
tel 07970 153217
email robin@canopusbooks.com
website www.canopusbooks.com
Twitter @robin_rees
Directors Robin Rees, Sarah Tremlett
Packager of books on astronomy, aerospace, photography and rock music; publisher for the London Stereoscopic Company and Starmus. Founded 1999.
Canterbury Press – see Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd
Jonathan Cape – see Vintage
Capuchin Classics – see Stacey Publishing Ltd
Carcanet Press Ltd*
4th Floor, Alliance House, 30 Cross Street, Manchester M2 7AQ
tel 0161 834 8730
email info@carcanet.co.uk
website www.carcanet.co.uk
Managing Director Luke Allan
Poetry, Fyfield series, Oxford Poets, translations. Imprints include Anvil Press Poetry, Comma Press, Lintott Press, Northern House, Sheep Meadow Press. Founded 1969.
Carlton Publishing Group
20 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JW
tel 020-7612 0400
email enquiries@carltonbooks.co.uk
website www.carltonbooks.co.uk
Editorial Director Piers Murray Hill
No unsolicited MSS; synopses and ideas welcome, but no fiction or poetry. Founded 1992.
Carlton Books
Sport, music and film, history, puzzles, lifestyle, fashion, art, photography, popular culture, crime, science.
André Deutsch
Autobiography, biography, military history, history, current affairs.
Goodman
High-end illustrated books on popular culture and the arts.
Prion Books
Humour, nostalgia.
Caterpillar Books – see Little Tiger Group
Catholic Truth Society
42–46 Harleyford Road, London SE11 5AY
tel 020-7640 0042
email il.gregoire@ctsbooks.org
website www.ctsbooks.org, www.onefifties.org
Publisher Fergal Martin, Managing Editor Lisa Gregoire
General books of Roman Catholic and Christian interest, liturgical books, missals, bibles, prayer books, children’s books and booklets of doctrinal, historical, devotional or social interest. MSS of 11,000–13,600 words with up to six illustrations considered for publication as booklets. Founded 1868.
Cengage Learning*
Cheriton House, Andover SP10 5BE
tel (01264) 332424
email emea.editorial@cengage.com
website www.cengage.co.uk
Actively commissioning texts for further education and higher education courses in the following disciplines: IT, computer science and computer applications; accounting, finance and economics; marketing; international business; human resource management; operations management; strategic management; organisational behaviour; business information systems; quantitative methods; psychology; hairdressing and beauty therapy; childcare; catering and hospitality; motor vehicle maintenance. Submit proposal either by email or by post.
Century – see Cornerstone
Chapman Publishing
4 Broughton Place, Edinburgh EH1 3RX
tel 0131 557 2207
email chapman-pub@blueyonder.co.uk
website www.chapman-pub.co.uk
Editor Joy Hendry
Poetry and drama: Chapman New Writing Series. Also the Chapman Wild Women Series. Founded 1986.
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
CIPD Publishing, 151 The Broadway, London SW19 1JQ
tel 020-8612 6200
email publish@cipd.co.uk
website www.cipd.co.uk/bookstore
Head of Publishing Sinead Costello
People management, training and development.
Chatto & Windus – see Vintage
Chicken House
2 Palmer Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1DS
tel (01373) 454488
email hello@chickenhousebooks.com
website www.chickenhousebooks.com
Twitter @chickenhsebooks
Managing Director & Publisher Barry Cunningham, Deputy
Managing Director Rachel Hickman
Fiction for ages 7+ and young adult. No unsolicited MSS. Successes include James Dashner (the Maze Runner series), Cornelia Funke (Inkheart and the Dragon Rider series) and Kiran Millwood Hargrave ( The Girl of Ink & Stars). See website for details of Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition for unpublished writers. Part of Scholastic Ltd (here).
Child’s Play (International) Ltd
Ashworth Road, Bridgemead, Swindon, Wilts. SN5 7YD
tel (01793) 616286
email office@childs-play.com
website www.childs-play.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/ChildsPlayBooks
Twitter @ChildsPlayBooks
Chairman Adriana Twinn, Publisher Neil Burden
Children’s educational books: board, picture, activity and play books; fiction and non-fiction. Founded 1972.
Christian Education*
5/6 Imperial Court, 12 Sovereign Road, Birmingham B30 3FH
tel 0121 472 4242
email anstice.hughes@christianeducation.org.uk
website http://shop.christianeducation.org.uk/, www.retoday.org.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/RETodayServices
Twitter @IBRAbibleread
Incorporating RE Today Services and International Bible Reading Association. Publications and services for teachers and other professionals in religious education including REtoday magazine, curriculum booklets and classroom resources. Also publishes bible reading materials.
Churchill Livingstone – see Elsevier Ltd
Churchwarden Publications Ltd
PO Box 420, Warminster, Wilts. BA12 9XB
tel (01985) 840189
email enquiries@churchwardenbooks.co.uk
website www.churchwardenbooks.co.uk
Directors J.N.G. Stidolph, S.A. Stidolph
Publisher of The Churchwarden’s Yearbook. Care and administration of churches and parishes.
Cicerone Press
Juniper House, Murley Moss Business Village, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 7RL
tel (01539) 562069
email info@cicerone.co.uk
website www.cicerone.co.uk
Managing Director Jonathan Williams
Guidebooks: walking, trekking, mountaineering, climbing, cycling in Britain, Europe and worldwide.
Cico Books – see Ryland Peters & Small
Cisco Press – see Pearson UK
Claret Press
51 Iveley Road, London SW4 0EN
tel 020-722 0436
email contact@claretpress.com
website www.claretpress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/ClaretPublisher
Twitter @Claret_Press
Founder & Editor-in-Chief Katie Isbester
Claret Press is an indie boutique publishing house which selects on the basis of quality and read ability in the belief that those criteria create modern classics. Publishes quirky, tilt to young adult cross-over. Flexible about genre. Founded 2016.
James Clarke & Co. Ltd
PO Box 60, Cambridge CB1 2NT
tel (01223) 350865
email publishing@jamesclarke.co.uk
website www.jamesclarke.co
Facebook www.facebook.com/JamesClarkeandCo
Twitter @JamesClarkeLtd
Managing Director Adrian Brink
The company began by publishing the religious magazine Christian World. It now publishes academic, scholarly and reference works. Recent titles include The Human Icon: A Comparative Study of Hindu and Orthodox Christian Beliefs by Christine Mangala Frost, Divine Remaking: St Bonaventure and the Gospel of Luke by Douglas Dales and The Books of Homilies: A Critical Edition by Gerald Bray. Publishes books and ebooks on: theology, philosophy, history and biography, biblical studies and reference books including the Libraries Directory. Imprints: The Lutterworth Press, Acorn Editions, Patrick Hardy Books. Founded 1859.
Classical Comics
PO Box 177, Ludlow, Shrops. SY8 9DL
tel 0845 812 3000
email info@classicalcomics.com
website www.classicalcomics.com
Managing Director Gary Bryant
Graphic novel adaptations of classical literature.
Cló Iar-Chonnachta Teo†
Indreabhan, Co. Galway, H91 CHO1 Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)91 593307
email eolas@cic.ie
website http://www.cic.ie/
Director & Chairman Michéal Ó Conghaile, Director & Secretary Tadhg Ó Conghaile
Irish-language – novels, short stories, plays, poetry, songs, history; CDs (writers reading from their works in Irish and English). Promotes the translation of contemporary Irish fiction and poetry into other languages. Founded 1985.
Cloud Lodge Books Ltd
Niddry Lodge, 51 Holland Street, London W8 7JB
tel 020-7225 1623
email info@cloudlodgebooks.co.uk
website www.cloudlodgebooks.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/cloudlodgebooks
Twitter @CLBPressUK
Managing Director William Campos, Fiction Editor Oliver Walton, Science Fiction Editor Alexander Hernandez, Sales & Marketing David Wightman
London-based publisher of daring literary fiction, crime fiction and sci fi. Publishes up to four original titles per year, which are made available in print, digital and audio formats. Features writers (and characters) of every race, religion, nationality, gender and sexual orientation. In short, diversity is regarded as vitally important and a hallmark of all imprints. Founded 2016.
Co & Bear Productions
63 Edith Grove, London SW10 0LB
tel 020-7351 5545
email info@cobear.co.uk
website www.scriptumeditions.co.uk
Publisher Beatrice Vincenzini
High-quality illustrated books on lifestyle, photography and art. Imprints: Scriptum Editions, Cartago. Founded 1996.
Collins & Brown – see Pavilion Books
Collins Learning – see HarperCollins Publishers
Colourpoint Creative Limited†
Colourpoint House, Jubilee Business Park, 21 Jubilee Road, Newtownards, Co. Down BT23 4YH
tel 028-9182 6339 (within UK), 048-9182 6339 (Republic of Ireland)
email sales@colourpoint.co.uk
website www.colourpoint.co.uk
Twitter @colourpoint
Publisher Malcolm Johnston, Head of Educational Publishing Wesley Johnston, Marketing Jacky Hawkes
Irish, Ulster-Scots and general interest including local history; transport (covering the whole of the British Isles), railways, buses, road, aviation; educational textbooks and resources. Short queries by email. Full submission in writing including details of proposal, sample chapter/section, qualification/experience in the topic, full contact details and return postage. Imprints: Colourpoint Educational, Blackstaff Press Ltd (here). Founded 1993.
The Columba Press†
23 Merrion Square North, Dublin D02 XE02, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)16 874096
email info@columba.ie
website www.columba.ie
Facebook www.facebook.com/columbapress/
Twitter @columbapress
Publisher & Managing Director Garry O’Sullivan
Religion (Roman Catholic and Anglican) including pastoral handbooks, spirituality, theology, liturgy and prayer; counselling and self-help. Founded 1985.
Comma Press
Studio 510a, 5th Floor, Hope Mill, 113 Pollard Street, Manchester M4 7JA
email ra.page@commapress.co.uk
website http://commapress.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/Comma-Press/
Twitter @commapress
Founder & Ceo Ra Page
A not-for-profit publishing initiative dedicated to promoting new writing with an emphasis on the short story. In April 2012, Comma became one of the Art’s Council’s new National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs). For submissions please see ‘resources’ section of the website: http://commapress.co.uk/resources/submissions/.
Connections Book Publishing Ltd
St Chad’s House, 148 King’s Cross Road, London WC1X 9DH
tel 020-7837 1968
email info@eddisonbooks.com
website www.eddisonbooks.com
Director Stéphane Leduc
An imprint of Eddison Books Ltd. Illustrated nonfiction books, kits and gift titles: broad, popular list including mind, body & spirit; health; personal development; and parenting, childcare and brain-training.
Conran Octopus – see Octopus Publishing Group
Constable & Robinson Ltd – see Little, Brown Book Group
The Continuum International Publishing Group Plc – see Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Cork University Press†
Youngline Industrial Estate, Pouladuff Road, Togher, Cork T12 HT6V, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)21 490 2980
website www.corkuniversitypress.com
Publications Director Mike Collins
Irish literature, history, cultural studies, landscape studies, medieval studies, English literature, musicology, poetry, translations. Founded 1925.
Attic Press and Atrium
email corkuniversitypress@ucc.ie
Books by and about women in the areas of social and political comment, women’s studies. Cookery, biography and Irish cultural studies (trade).
Cornerstone
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA
tel 020-7840 8400
website www.penguin.co.uk
Managing Director Susan Sandon, Director of Publicity & Media Relations Charlotte Bush
Part of Penguin Random House UK (here). No unsolicited MSS accepted.
Arrow Books Ltd
tel 020-7840 8689
Publisher Selina Walker, Deputy Publisher Emily Griffin
Paperback fiction and non-fiction.
Century
tel 020-7840 8414
Publisher Selina Walker, Deputy Publisher Ben Brusey
Fiction, biography, autobiography, general nonfiction, true crime, humour.
Hutchinson
tel 020-7840 8733
Publisher Jason Arthur, Publishing Director Jocasta Hamilton
Fiction: upmarket and women’s fiction, adventure, crime, thrillers. Non-fiction: biography, memoirs, general history, politics, current affairs.
Random House Books
tel 020-7840 8451
Publishing Director Nigel Wilcockson
Non-fiction: social and cultural history, current affairs, popular culture and reference.
Random House Business Books
tel 020-7840 8451
Publishing Director Nigel Wilcockson
Business, finance and economics.
William Heinemann
tel 020-7840 8564
Publisher Jason Arthur, Editorial Director Tom Avery
Fiction and general non-fiction: literary fiction, fiction in translation, literary thrillers, narrative non-fiction, history, memoir, biography, popular science, current affairs.
Windmill Books
tel 020-7840 8265
website www.windmillbooks.co.uk
Publisher Jason Arthur
B-format paperback fiction and non-fiction.
Council for British Archaeology
Beatrice de Cardi House, 66 Bootham, York YO30 7BZ
tel (01904) 671417
email webenquiry@archaeologyuk.org
website www.archaeologyuk.org
Facebook www.facebook.com/Archaeologyuk
Twitter @archaeologyuk
Director Mike Heyworth
British archaeology – academic; practical handbooks; general interest archaeology. British Archaeology magazine. Founded 1944.
Country Books
Courtyard Cottage, Little Longstone, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1NN
tel (01629) 640670
email dickrichardson@country-books.co.uk
website www.countrybooks.biz, www.sussexbooks.co.uk
Incorporating Ashridge Press. Local history (new and facsimile reprints), family history, autobiography, general non-fiction, novels, customs and folklore. Books for the National Trust, Chatsworth House, Peak District NPA, Derbyshire County Council. Established 1995.
Countryside Books
2 Highfield Avenue, Newbury, Berks. RG14 5DS
tel (01635) 43816
website www.countrysidebooks.co.uk
Partners Nicholas Battle, Suzanne Battle
Publishes books of local or regional interest, usually on a county basis: walking, outdoor activities, also heritage, aviation, railways and architecture.
CRC Press – see Taylor & Francis Group
Crescent Moon Publishing
PO Box 393, Maidstone, Kent ME14 5XU
tel (01622) 729593
email cresmopub@yahoo.co.uk
website www.crmoon.com
Director Jeremy Robinson Editors C. Hughes, B.D. Barnacle
Literature, poetry, arts, cultural studies, media, cinema, feminism. Submit sample chapters or six poems plus sae, not complete MSS. Founded 1988.
Cressrelles Publishing Co. Ltd
10 Station Road Industrial Estate, Colwall, Malvern, Herefordshire WR13 6RN
tel (01684) 540154
email simon@cressrelles.co.uk
website www.cressrelles.co.uk
Directors Leslie Smith, Simon Smith
General publishing. Founded 1973.
J. Garnet Miller
Plays and theatre textbooks.
Kenyon-Deane
Plays and drama textbooks for amateur dramatic societies. Plays for women.
New Playwrights’ Network
Plays for amateur dramatic societies.
Croner-i Ltd
240 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8BF
tel 0844 561 8166
email client.experience@croneri.co.uk
website www.croneri.co.uk
Formerly Croner, CCH Group Ltd. Human Resources, health and safety, tax, audit and accountancy, education, healthcare, manufacturing and construction. Looseleaf, consultancy and online information services.
Crown House Publishing Ltd
Crown Buildings, Bancyfelin, Carmarthen SA33 5ND
tel (01267) 211345
email books@crownhouse.co.uk
website www.crownhouse.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/Crown-House-Publishing/
Twitter @CrownHousePub
Chairman Martin Roberts; Directors David Bowman (managing), Glenys Roberts, Karen Bowman
Award-winning education publisher with a large range of classroom resources and materials for professional teacher development. The list includes the Independent Thinking Press imprint, as well as books on health and wellbeing, NLP, hypnosis, counselling, psychotherapy and coaching. Founded 1998.
Independent Thinking Press
email books@independentthinkingpress.com
website www.independentthinkingpress.com
Publishes the thoughts and ideas of some of the UK’s leading educational innovators including world-class speakers, award-winning teachers, outstanding school leaders and classroom revolutionaries.
The Crowood Press
The Stable Block, Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wilts. SN8 2HR
tel (01672) 520320
email enquiries@crowood.com
website www.crowood.com
Directors John Dennis (chairman), Ken Hathaway (managing)
Sport, motoring, aviation, military, martial arts, walking, fishing, country sports, farming, natural history, gardening, DIY, crafts, railways, model-making, dogs, equestrian and theatre. Imprints include: Airlife Publishing (aviation, technical and general, military, military history), Robert Hale (general non-fiction), J. A. Allen (equestrian), N. A. G. Press (horology and gemmology) and Black Horse Westerns (fictions – westerns). Founded 1982.
39 Birdhurst Road, London SW18 1AR
tel 020-8871 0594
email hello@cruxpublishing.co.uk
website www.cruxpublishing.co.uk
Publisher Christopher Lascelles
Boutique publisher offering to produce, distribute and market selected high-quality, non-fiction titles. Operates an open submissions policy for new authors and digitally republishes backlist titles for existing authors. Works with individual authors to create and execute a unique marketing plan that drives sales. Founded December 2011.
Benjamin Cummings – see Pearson UK
James Currey – see Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Darf Publishers Ltd
277 West End Lane, London NW6 1QS
tel 020-7431 7009
email enquiry@darfpublishers.co.uk
website www.darfpublishers.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/DarfPublishers
Twitter @DarfPublishers
Contacts Ghassan Fergiani (director), Ghazi Gheblawi (editorial), Sherif Dhaimish (production)
An independent publisher based in London with diversity and inclusion at the heart of the company’s work since 1980. The focus is on publishing and reprinting historical, geographic and classical works in English about the Middle East, North Africa and the UK. Also focuses on contemporary works of fiction, non-fiction and children’s books from other languages into English, introducing new authors to the British market and the wider English speaking world. Recent published works from Arabic (Libya, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea), Italian, German with plans to widen to include writers from other European countries, South America, Asia and Africa. Founded 1981.
Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd
1 Spencer Court, 140–142 Wandsworth High Street, London SW18 4JJ
tel 020-8875 0155
email willp@darton-longman-todd.co.uk
website www.darton-longman-todd.co.uk
Editorial Director David Moloney
Spirituality, prayer and meditation; books for the heart, mind and soul; self-help and personal growth; biography; political, environmental and social issues. Founded 1959.
DB Publishing
29 Clarence Road, Nottingham NG9 5HY
tel (07914) 647382
email steve.caron@dbpublishing.co.uk
website www.dbpublishing.co.uk
Directors Steve Caron (managing), Jane Caron (finance)
An imprint of JMD Media Ltd. Primarily: football, sport, local history, heritage. Currently considering all topics including fiction. Unsolicited MSS welcome. Preliminary letter essential. Founded 2009.
Giles de la Mare Publishers Ltd
PO Box 25351, London NW5 1ZT
tel 020-7485 2533
email gilesdelamare@dial.pipex.com
website www.gilesdelamare.co.uk
Chairman Giles de la Mare
Non-fiction: art, architecture, biography, history, music, travel. Telephone before submitting MS. Founded 1995.
Dedalus Ltd
24 St Judith’s Lane, Sawtry, Cambs. PE28 5XE
tel (01487) 832382
email info@dedalusbooks.com
website www.dedalusbooks.com
Chairman Margaret Jull Costa, Publisher Eric Lane, Editorial Timothy Lane
Original fiction in English and in translation; 12–14 titles a year. Imprints include: Original English Language Fiction in Paperback, Dedalus European Classics, Dedalus Euro Shorts, Dedalus Europe Contemporary Fiction, Dedalus Africa, Dedalus Concept books. City Noir, Dark Masters Literary Biography. Founded 1983.
Richard Dennis Publications
The New Chapel, Shepton Beauchamp, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0JT
tel (01460) 240044
email books@richarddennispublications.com
website www.richarddennispublications.com
Books for collectors specialising in ceramics, glass, illustration, sculpture and facsimile editions of early catalogues.
André Deutsch – see Carlton Publishing Group
diehard
91–93 Main Street, Callander FK17 8BQ
tel (01877) 339449
website http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poetry/publishers/diehard-publishers
Director Sally Evans (editorial)
Scottish poetry. Founded 1993.
Digital Press – see Elsevier Ltd
Dino Books
3 Bramber Court, 2 Bramber Road, London W14 9PB
tel 020-7381 0666
email help@dinobooks.co.uk
website www.dinobooks.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/dinokidsbooks
Twitter @dinobooks
Popular children’s non-fiction.
10 Tennyson Close, Northampton NN15 7HJ
tel (01604) 244869
email ask.discovery@ntlworld.com
website www.dwgwalking.co.uk
Chairman Rosamund C. Brawn
Publishes ‘Walk!’ walking guidebooks to UK and European destinations; ‘Tour & Trail Super-Durable’ large-scale maps for outdoor adventures; ’Bus & Touring’ maps; and ‘Drive’ touring maps. Premium content provider to 3G phone/tablet gps apps for Digital Mapping and Hiking Adventures. Publishing in conventional book/map format along with digital platforms. Welcomes project proposals from technologically (gps) proficient walking writers. Founded 1994.
DK
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
tel 020-7139 2000
website www.dk.com
Ceo Ian Hudson
Illustrated non-fiction for adults and children: gardening, health and beauty, medical, travel, food and drink, history, science and nature, photography, reference, pregnancy and parenting, popular culture. DK is a company in the Penguin Random House division of Bertelsmann (here).
Prima Games
Publisher Mike Degler
Computer games strategy guides and collectors’ editions.
Travel
website www.traveldk.com
Publisher Georgina Dee
Travel guides, illustrated travel books, phrasebooks and digital products. Includes DK Eyewitness Travel.
Dodo Ink
email sam@dodoink.com
website www.dodoink.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/Dodo-Ink/
Twitter @DodoInk
Directors Sam Mills (managing), Thom Cuell (editorial), Alex Spears (marketing)
An independent press dedicated to publishing daring and difficult literary fiction. Publishes two to three novels a year. Authors include Seraphina Madsen, Monique Roffey and James Miller. No unsolicited MSS by post; see the website for submission guidelines. Founded 2015.
John Donald – see Birlinn Ltd
Dorling Kindersley – see DK
Doubleday Children’s Books – see Penguin Random House Children’s UK
Doubleday (UK) – see Penguin Random House Children’s UK
The Dovecote Press Ltd
Stanbridge, Wimborne Minster, Dorset BH21 4JD
tel (01258) 840549
email online@dovecotepress.com
website www.dovecotepress.com
Editorial Director David Burnett
Books of local interest: natural history, architecture, history. Founded 1974.
Dref Wen
28 Church Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff CF14 2EA
tel 029-2061 7860
website www.drefwen.com
Directors Roger Boore, Anne Boore, Gwilym Boore, Alun Boore, Rhys Boore
Welsh language publisher. Original Welsh language novels for children and adult learners. Original, adaptations and translations of foreign and English language full-colour picture story books for children. Educational material for primary/secondary schoolchildren in Wales and England. Founded 1970.
University College Dublin Press†
H103 Humanities Institute, Belfield, Dublin 4, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)17 164680,
email ucdpress@ucd.ie
website www.ucdpress.ie
Twitter @UCDPress
Executive Editor Noelle Moran
Humanities: Irish studies, history and politics, literary studies, social sciences, sociology. More recently expanded to include music and food science. Founded 1995.
Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd
30 Calvin Street, London E1 6NW
tel 020-7490 7300
email info@duckworth-publishers.co.uk
website www.ducknet.co.uk
Twitter @Duckbooks
Publisher Peter Mayer
General trade publishers. Non-fiction: popular science, history, humour, arts, social science, biography, current affairs, humanities, social sciences, language, mind, body & spirit, sport, travel and travel writing. Fiction: crime, thriller, historical, literary, general. Imprints: Duckworth, Duckworth Overlook, Nonesuch Press, Ardis. Founded 1898.
Hudson House, 8 Albany Street, Edinburgh EH1 3QB
tel 0131 473 2397
email mail@dunedinacademicpress.co.uk
website www.dunedinacademicpress.co.uk
Director Anthony Kinahan
Earth and environmental sciences, public health and social sciences (esp. children issues). See website for submission guidelines. Founded 2000.
Dynasty Press
36 Ravensdon Street, London SE11 4AR
tel 020-8675 3435
email david@dynastypresslondon.co.uk
website www.dynastypress.co.uk
Contact David Hornsby
A boutique publishing house specialising in works connected to royalty, dynasties and people of influence. Committed to the freedom of the press to allow authentic voices and important stories to be made available to the public. Usually publishes titles which reveal and analyse the lives of those placed in the upper echelons of society. Founded 2008.
Earthscan
8–12 Camden High Street, London NW1 0JH
tel 020-7387 8558
email earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk
website www.routledge.com/sustainability
Publishes under the Routledge imprint for Taylor & Francis Group (here). Academic and professional: sustainable development, climate and energy, natural resource management, cities and built environment, business and economics, design and technology.
Ebury Press – see Ebury Publishing
Ebury Publishing
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA
tel 020-7840 8400
website www.penguin.co.uk, www.penguinrandomhouse.co.uk
Directors Rebecca Smart (managing), Jake Lingwood (deputy managing), Sarah Bennie (publicity & media relations), Diana Riley (marketing)
Part of Penguin Random House UK (here).
Ebury Press Fiction
tel 020-7840 8400
Publishing Director Gillian Green
Commercial fiction, crime, thriller, romance, sci-fi, fantasy. Imprints: Del Rey, Rouge.
Ebury Press
tel 020-7840 8400
Deputy Publisher Andrew Goodfellow
General commercial non-fiction, autobiography, memoir, popular history, sport, travel writing, popular science, humour, film/TV tie-ins, music, popular reference, cookery, lifestyle.
Ebury Enterprises
tel 020-7840 8400
Publishing Director Carey Smith
Gift books, branded and bespoke books.
Rider
tel 020-7840 8400
Publishing Director Judith Kendra
Inspirational titles across the spectrum of psychology, philosophy, international affairs, biography, current affairs, history, travel and spirituality.
Vermilion
tel 020-7840 8400
Publishing Director Susanna Abbott
Personal development, health, diet, relationships, parenting.
Virgin Books (in partnership with Virgin Group)
tel 020-7840 8400
Publishing Director Joel Rickett
Business and smart thinking, health and popular culture: entertainment, showbiz, arts, film and TV, music, humour, biography and autobiography, popular reference, true crime, sport, travel, memoir, environment. Imprints: Black Lace, Nexus, WH Allen.
Eden – see Transworld Publishers
Edinburgh University Press*
The Tun – Holyrood Road, 12 Jackson’s Entry, Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
tel 0131 650 4218
email editorial@eup.ac.uk
website www.edinburghuniversitypress.com, www.euppublishing.com
Twitter @EdinburghUP
Chairman Ivon Asquith, Chief Executive Timothy Wright, Head of Editorial Nicola Ramsey, Head of Journals Sarah Edwards, Head of Sales & Marketing Anna Glazier
Academic publishers of scholarly books and journals: film, media and cultural studies, Islamic and Middle Eastern studies, history, law, linguistics, literary studies, philosophy, politics, Scottish studies, American studies, religious studies, classical and ancient history. Trade: literature and culture, Scottish history and politics.
The Educational Company of Ireland
Ballymount Road, Walkinstown, Dublin D12 R25C, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)14 500611
email info@edco.ie
website www.edco.ie
Ceo Martina Harford
Educational MSS on all subjects in English or Irish language. A member of the Smurfit Kappa Group plc. Founded 1910.
Educational Explorers (Publishers)
Unit 5, Feidr Castell Business Park, Fishguard SA65 9BB
tel (01348) 874890
website www.cuisenaire.co.uk
Directors J. Hollyfield, D.M. Gattegno
Educational. Recent successes include: mathematics: Numbers in Colour with Cuisenaire Rods; languages: The Silent Way; literacy, reading: Words in Colour; educational films. No longer accepting unsolicited MSS. Founded 1962.
Egmont UK Ltd*
First Floor, The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN
email info@egmont.co.uk
website www.egmont.co.uk
The UK’s largest specialist children’s publisher, publishing books from babies to teens, inspiring children to read. Publishes award-winning books, magazines, ebooks and apps. Egmont has a growing portfolio of digital publishing which includes: the first Flips books for Nintendo DS, apps for iPhone and iPad, ebooks and enhanced ebooks and online virtual worlds. Egmont UK is part of the Egmont Group and owned by the Egmont Foundation, a charitable trust dedicated to supporting children and young people. Founded 1878.
Egmont Press
email childrensreader@euk.egmont.com
Picture book and gift (ages 0+), fiction (ages 5+). Authors include Michael Morpurgo, Enid Blyton, Andy Stanton, Michael Grant, Lemony Snicket, Kristina Stephenson, Giles Andreae, Jan Fearnley and Lydia Monks. Submission details: visit website to see current policy.
Egmont Publishing Group
email charcterpr@euk.egmont.com
The UK’s leading licensed character publisher of books and magazines for children from birth to teen. Books portfolio includes Thomas the Tank Engine, Mr Men, Fireman Sam, Ben 10, Bob the Builder, Baby Jake and Everything’s Rosie and covers a wide range of formats from storybooks, annuals and novelty books to colouring, activity and sticker books. Magazines portfolio includes Thomas & Friends, Disney Princess, Toy Story, Barbie, Ben 10, Tinker Bell, Fireman Sam, We Love Pop and girls’ pre-teen magazine Go Girl and boys’ lifestyle title Toxic.
Eland Publishing Ltd
61 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QL
tel 020-7833 0762
email info@travelbooks.co.uk
website www.travelbooks.co.uk
Directors Rose Baring, John Hatt, Barnaby Rogerson
Has a backlist of 125 titles in classic travel literature. No unsolicited MSS. Email in first instance. Founded 1982.
11:9 – see Neil Wilson Publishing Ltd
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
The Lypiatts, 15 Lansdown Road, Cheltenham, Glos. GL50 2JA
tel (01242) 226934
email info@e-elgar.co.uk
website www.e-elgar.com
Managing Director Tim Williams
Economics, business, law, public and social policy. Founded 1986.
Elliott & Thompson
27 John Street, London WC1N 2BX
tel 020-7831 5013
email pippa@eandtbooks.com
website www.eandtbooks.com
Twitter @eandtbooks
Chairman Lorne Forsyth, Director Olivia Bays, Publisher Jennie Condell, Senior Editor Pippa Crane
History, biography, music, popular science, gift, sport, business, economics and adult fiction. Founded 2009.
Elsevier Ltd*
The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB
tel (01865) 843000
website www.elsevier.com
Twitter @ElsevierConnect
Ceo Ron Mobed
Academic and professional reference books; scientific, technical and medical products and services (books, journals, electronic information). No unsolicited MSS, but synopses and project proposals welcome. Imprints: Academic Press, Architectural Press, Bailliere Tindall, Butterworth-Heinemann, Churchill Livingstone, Digital Press, Elsevier, Elsevier Advanced Technology, Focal Press, Gulf Professional Press, JAI, Made Simple Books, Morgan Kauffman, Mosby, Newnes, North-Holland, Pergamon, Saunders, Woodhead Publishing. Division of RELX Corp., Amsterdam.
The Emma Press Ltd
Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham
email queries@theemmapress.com
website https://theemmapress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/TheEmmaPress
Twitter @TheEmmaPress
Directors Emma Wright (publishing), Rachel Piercey (editorial)
Won the Michael Marks Award for Poetry Pamphlet Publishers in 2016. Publishes themed poetry anthologies, single-author poetry pamphlets and prose pamphlets, including short stories, essays, guides and recipes. Does not consider unsolicited MSS but runs bi-monthly open calls for submissions of poetry for anthologies and biennial calls for poetry and prose pamphlets. Check website for details. Founded 2012.
Encyclopaedia Britannica (UK) Ltd
2nd Floor, Unity Wharf, 13 Mill Street, London SE1 2BH
tel 020-7500 7800
email enquiries@britannica.co.uk
website www.britannica.co.uk
Managing Director Ian Grant
Global digital educational publisher of instructional products used in schools, universities, homes, libraries and in the workplace.
Endeavour Media
85–7 Borough High Street, London SE1 1NH
email jasmin@endeavourmedia.com
website www.endeavourpress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/EndeavourPress
Twitter @EndeavourPress
Contacts Matthew, Lynn, Richard Foreman, James Faktor, Alice Rees, Amy Burgwin
Independent publisher of crime fiction, thrillers, historical fiction, history and popular women’s fiction.
Enitharmon Editions
10 Bury Place, London WC1A 2JL
tel 020-7430 0844
email info@enitharmon.co.uk
website www.enitharmon.co.uk
Directors Stephen Stuart-Smith, Isabel Brittain
Imprints: Enitharmon Editions: Artists’ books, Enitharmon Press: poetry, including fine editions. Some literary criticism, fiction, translations. prints. No unsolicited MSS. No freelance editors or proofreaders required. Founded 1967.
Everyman’s Library
50 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BD
tel 020-7493 4361
email books@everyman.uk.com, guides@everyman.uk.com
website www.everymanslibrary.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/everymanslibrary
Twitter @EverymansLib
Publisher David Campbell
Everyman’s Library (clothbound reprints of the classics); Everyman Pocket Classics; Everyman’s Library Children’s Classics; Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets; Everyman Guides; P.G. Wodehouse. No unsolicited submissions. Imprint of Alfred A. Knopf.
Everything With Words Ltd
16 Limekiln Place, London SE19 2RE
tel 020-8771 2974
email info@everythingwithwords.com
website www.everythingwithwords.com
Director Mikka Bott
Children’s fiction for ages 5 to young adult. Publishes innovative, quality fiction. No picture books. Founded 2016.
University of Exeter Press
Reed Hall, Streatham Drive, Exeter EX4 4QR
tel (01392) 263066
email uep@exeter.ac.uk
website www.exeterpress.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/UniversityofExeterPress
Twitter @UExeterPress
Publisher Simon Baker, Sales, Marketing & Distribution Helen Gannon
Academic and scholarly books on European literature, film history, performance studies, local history (Exeter and the South West). Imprints include: University of Exeter Press, Bristol Phoenix Press, The Exeter Press. Distributor in the UK, Europe and the Middle East for US and Canadian academic presses, including American Research Center in Egypt, American Schools of Oriental Research, Archaeological Institute of America, Greece and Cyprus Research Center, Eliot Werner Publications, Freelance Academy Press, Kelsey Museum Publications, Lockwood Press, Michigan Classical Press, Middle East Documentation Center, Truman State University Press, University of Arizona Egyptian Expedition, Yale Egyptological Institute. Distributor for Kapon Editions in UK, Europe and Middle East. Founded 1958.
Helen Exley
16 Chalk Hill, Watford, Herts. WD19 4BG
tel (01923) 474480
website www.helenexleygiftbooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/helenexleygifts
Twitter @helen_exley Ceo Helen Exley
Popular colour gift books for an international market. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1976.
Eye Books
29 Barrow Street, Much Wenlock, Shropshire TF13 6EN
tel 020-3239 3027
email dan@eye-books.com
website www.eye-books.com
Twitter @eyebooks Publisher Dan Hiscocks
Publishes across different imprints both fiction and non-fiction. Founded 1996.
Suite 333, 19–21 Crawford Street, London W1H 1PJ
tel 020-7289 0627
email info@eyewearpublishing.com
website www.eyewearpublishing.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/EyewearPublishing
Twitter @EyewearBooks
Director Todd Swift, Senior Editor Rosanna Hildyard, Managing Editor Alexandra Payne
Celebrates prose and poetry writing in English from the UK and overseas. Through the annual Melita Hume Poetry Prize, Beverly Prize and Sexton Prize, new poets are discovered, supported and developed. Founded 2012.
F&W Media International Ltd
Pynes Hill Court, Pynes Hill, Exeter EX2 5SP
tel (01392) 797680
website www.fwcommunity.com
Managing Director James Woollam
A community-focused, creator of content (for books, ebooks and digital downloads) and marketer of products and services for hobbyists and enthusiasts including crafts, art techniques, writing books, gardening, natural history, equestrian, DIY, military history, photography. Founded 1960.
F100 Group
34–42 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4LB
tel 020-7323 0323
email info@f1000.com
website http://f1000.com
Chairman Vitek Tracz
Life science publishing, electronic publishing and internet communities.
Faber and Faber Ltd*
Bloomsbury House, 74–77 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DA
tel 020-7927 3800
website www.faber.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/FaberandFaber
Twitter @FaberBooks
Chief Executive Stephen Page, Publisher Children’s Leah Thaxton, Faber Social Creative Director Lee Brackstone, Communications Director & Associate Publisher Rachel Alexander, Sales & Services Director Charlotte Robertson, Operations Director Nigel Marsh, Director of Faber Academy Ian Ellard, Faber Factory Director Simon Blacklock
High-quality general fiction and non-fiction, children’s fiction and non-fiction, drama, film, music, poetry. Unsolicited submissions accepted for poetry only. For information on poetry submission procedures, ring 020–7927 3800, or consult the website. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1929.
Fabian Society
61 Petty France, London SW1H 9EU
tel 020-7227 4900
email info@fabians.org.uk
website www.fabians.org.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/fabiansociety
Twitter @thefabians
General Secretary Andrew Harrop
Current affairs, political thought, economics, education, environment, foreign affairs, social policy. Also controls NCLC Publishing Society Ltd. Founded 1884.
Fairchild Books – see Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
CJ Fallon
Ground Floor, Block B, Liffey Valley Office Campus, Dublin D22 X0Y3, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)16 166400
email editorial@cjfallon.ie
website www.cjfallon.ie
Executive Directors Brian Gilsenan (managing), John Bodley (financial) Educational textbooks. Founded 1927.
Fat Fox Books
The Den, PO Box 579, Tonbridge TN9 9NG
tel (01580) 857249
email hello@fatfoxbooks.com
website http://fatfoxbooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/Fat-Fox/
Twitter @FatFoxBooks
Managing Director Holly Millbank
Independent publisher of children’s books for children 3–14 years. Founded 2014.
Featherstone Education – see Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
David Fickling Books
31 Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2NP
tel (01865) 339000
website www.davidficklingbooks.com
Publisher David Fickling
Independent publisher of picture books and novels for all ages, as well as graphic novels, with a focus on brilliant storytelling and world-class illustration. Founded 1999.
Fig Tree – see Penguin General
Findhorn Press Ltd
Delft Cottage, Dyke, Forres, Scotland IV36 2TF
tel (01309) 690582
email info@findhornpress.com
website www.findhornpress.com
Mind, body & spirit and healing. Founded 1971.
Fircone Books Ltd
The Holme, Church Road, Eardisley, Herefordshire HR3 6NJ
tel (01544) 327182
email info@firconebooks.com
website www.firconebooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/firconebooks
Twitter @firconebooks
Directors Richard Wheeler, Su Wheeler
Nostalgic illustrated children’s books, and illustrated books on church art and architecture. Welcomes submission of ideas: send synopsis first. Founded 2009.
Firefly Press Ltd*
25 Gabalfa Road, Llandaff North, Cardiff CF14 2JJ
tel 029-2021 8611
email fireflypress@yahoo.co.uk
website www.fireflypress.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/FireflyPress
Twitter @fireflypress
Publisher Penny Thomas, Editor Janet Thomas, Marketing Officer Megan Farr
Publishes quality fiction for ages 5 to 19. Founded 2013.
Fisherton Press
email general@fishertonpress.co.uk
website www.fishertonpress.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/FishertonPress
Twitter @fishertonpress
Director Ellie Levenson
A small independent publisher producing picture books for children under 7. Not currently accepting proposals but illustrators are welcome to send links to their portfolio.
Fitzrovia Press Ltd
10 Grafton Mews, London W1T 5JG
tel 020-7380 0749
email info@fitzroviapress.co.uk, pratima@fitzroviapress.co.uk
website www.fitzroviapress.com
Publisher Richard Prime
Fiction and non-fiction: Hinduism and creative writing grounded in Eastern philosophy that explores spirituality in the West. Submit outline plus sample chapter; no complete MSS. Founded 2008.
Flame Tree Publishing
6 Melbray Mews, Fulham, London SW6 3NS
tel 020-7751 9650
email info@flametreepublishing.com
website www.flametreepublishing.com
Ceo/Publisher Nick Wells
Culture, cookery and lifestyle. Currently not accepting unsolicited MSS. Founded 1992.
Fleming Publications
9/2 Fleming House, 134 Renfrew Street, Glasgow G3 6ST
tel 0141 328 1935
email info@flemingpublications.com
website www.flemingpublications.com
Managing Editor Etta Dunn
Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, history, biography, photography and self-help.
Floris Books*
2a Robertson Avenue, Edinburgh EH11 1PZ
tel 0131 337 2372
email floris@florisbooks.co.uk
website www.florisbooks.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/FlorisBooks
Twitter @FlorisBooks
Commissioning Editors Sally Polson, Eleanor Collins
Religion, science, philosophy, holistic health, organics, mind, body & spirit, Celtic studies, crafts, parenting; children’s books: board, picture books, activity books. Founded 1976.
Kelpies
website www.discoverkelpies.co.uk
Contemporary Scottish fiction – board books (for 1–3 years), picture books (for 3–6 years), young readers series (for 6–8 years) and novels (for 8–15 years). See website for submission details. Annual Kelpies Prize, see website.
Flyleaf Press
4 Spencer Villas, Glenageary, Co. Dublin A96 P2E9, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)12 854658
email books@flyleaf.ie
website www.flyleaf.ie
Managing Editor James Ryan
Irish family history. Founded 1988.
Folens Publishers
Hibernian Industrial Estate, Greenhills Road, Tallaght, Dublin D24 DH05, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)14 137200
website www.folens.ie
Facebook www.facebook.com/FolensIreland
Twitter @FolensIreland
Chairman David Moffitt
Educational (primary, secondary). Founded 1958.
Fonthill Media Ltd
Stroud House, Russell Street, Stroud, Glos. GL5 3AN
tel (01453) 750505
email office@fonthillmedia.com
website www.fonthillmedia.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/fonthillmedia
Twitter @fonthillmedia
Publisher & Ceo Alan Sutton
General history. Specialisations include biography, military history, aviation history, naval and maritime history, regional and local and history, transport (railway, canal, road) history, social history, sports history, ancient history and archaeology. Also publishes widely in the USA with American regional, local, military and transport history under the imprints of Fonthill, America Through Time and American History House. Founded 2011.
Peloton Grey Publishing, 5 Riverside Court, Lower Bristol Road, Bath BA2 3DZ
tel (01225) 469141
email contactus@footprintbooks.com
website www.footprinttravelguides.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/footprintbooks
Twitter @footprintbooks
Director John Sadler
Travel guides.
W. Foulsham & Co. Ltd
The Old Barrel Store, Brewery Courtyard, Draymans Lane, Marlow, Bucks. SL7 2FF
tel (01628) 400631
Managing & Editorial Director B.A.R. Belasco
Life issues, general know-how, CMS data, cookery, nutrition, health, therapies, travel guides, parenting, gardening, popular philsophy and practical psychology. Editorial submissions to Annemarie Howe: annemarie.howe@foulsham.com. Founded c. 1800.
Quantum
Mind, body & spirit, popular philosophy and practical psychology.
Four Courts Press
7 Malpas Street, Dublin D08 YD81, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)14 534668
email info@fourcourtspress.ie
website www.fourcourtspress.ie
Senior Editor Martin Fanning, Marketing & Sales Manager Anthony Tierney
Academic books in the humanities, especially history, Celtic and medieval studies, art, theology. Founded 1970.
4th Estate – see HarperCollins Publishers
Free Association Books
1 Angel Cottages, Milespit Hill, London NW7 1RD
email contact@freeassociationpublishing.com
website www.freeassociationpublishing.com
Twitter @Fab_Publishing
Director Trevor E. Brown, Publishing Director Alice Solomons Marketing Manager Lisa Findley
Social sciences, psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, counselling, cultural studies, social welfare, addiction studies, child and adolescent studies, mental health. No poetry or fiction. Founded 1984.
Freight Books
49 Virginia Street, Glasgow G1 1TS
tel 0141 5525 303
email info@freightbooks.co.uk
website www.freightbooks.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/FreightBooks
Twitter @freightbooks
Publisher Adrian Searle
Award-winning UK-based independent publisher with a focus on publishing high-quality fiction, though also publishes general illustrated and narrative non-fiction, poetry and humour. Founded 2011.
Samuel French Ltd*
24–32 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2HX
tel 020-7387 9373
email email@samuelfrench.co.uk
website www.samuelfrench.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/samuelfrenchuk
Twitter @samuelfrenchltd
Directors Douglas Schatz (managing), David Webster (operations)
Publisher of plays, performance licensing agent and online theatre bookshop. More information on the the submissions process can be found on the website. Founded 1830.
The Friday Project – see HarperCollins Publishers
Frontline – see Pen & Sword Books Ltd
FT Prentice Hall – see Pearson UK
Gaia Books – see Octopus Publishing Group
The Gallery Press
Loughcrew, Oldcastle, Co Meath A82 E670 Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)49 8541779
email gallery@indigo.ie
website www.gallerypress.com
Editor/Publisher Peter Fallon
Poetry and drama – by Irish authors only at this time. Founded 1970.
Galley Beggar Press
email info@galleybeggar.co.uk
website www.galleybeggar.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/Galley-Beggar-Press/
Twitter @GalleyBeggars
Co-directors Eloise Millar, Sam Jordison
Independent publisher based in Norwich. Looks for authors whose writing shows great ambition and literary merit in their chosen genre. Original publishers of Eimear McBride’s A Girl is a Half-formed Thing – winner of the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2014. When submitting a MS authors must provide proof that they have read another book that Galley Beggar Press has published. Prefers completed MS; email as PDF or Word document. One submission per author. Considers a wide range of genres including fiction, non-fiction, quality sci-fi, novels and short stories. No poetry or children’s. See website for detailed submission guidelines. Founded 2011.
59 Ebury Street, London SW1W 0NZ
tel 020-7259 9336
email info@gallicbooks.com
website http://belgraviabooks.com/gb/
Facebook www.facebook.com/gallicbooks
Twitter @gallicbooks
Managing Director Jane Aitken
French writing in translation. Only accepts submissions from French publishers or from agents representing French authors. Part of the Belgravia Books Collective. Founded 2007.
Garland Science – see Taylor & Francis Group
J. Garnet Miller – see Cressrelles Publishing Co. Ltd
Garnet Publishing Ltd
8 Southern Court, South Street, Reading RG1 4QS
tel (0118) 9597847
email info@garnetpublishing.co.uk
website www.garnetpublishing.co.uk
Publisher & Commissioning Editor Mitchell Albert
Comprises of three imprints. Founded 1991.
Garnet Publishing
website www.garnetpublishing.co.uk
Trade non-fiction pertaining to the Middle East (art and architecture, cookery, culture, current affairs, history, photography, political and social issues, religion, travel and general). Accepts unsolicited material.
Ithaca Press
website www.ithacapress.co.uk
Leading publisher of academic books with a focus on Middle Eastern studies. Accepts unsolicited material.
Periscope
website www.periscopebooks.co.uk
Literary fiction and trade non-fiction from around the world (biography, crime fiction, current affairs, historical fiction, literary translations, memoir, political and social issues, popular history, popular science, reportage, general literary fiction and general trade non-fiction). Accepts unsolicited material.
Geddes & Grosset
Academy Park, Gower Street (Building 4000), Glasgow G51 1PR
tel 0141 375 1998
email info@geddesandgrosset.co.uk
website www.geddesandgrosset.com
Publishers Ron Grosset, Liz Small
An imprint of The Gresham Publishing Company Ltd. Mass market reference Word Power – English language learning and health and wellbeing. Associated imprint: Waverley Books. Founded 1988.
Gibson Square
tel 020-7096 1100
email info@gibsonsquare.com
website www.gibsonsquare.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/gibson.square
Publisher Martin Rynja
Non-fiction: general non-fiction, biography, current affairs, philosophy, politics, cultural criticism, psychology, history, travel, art history. Some fiction. See website for guidelines or email to receive an automated response. Authors include Helena Frith Powell, Alexander Litvinenko, Melanie Phillips, Bernard-Henri Lévy, Diana Mitford, Anthony Grayling, John McCain. Founded 2001.
Gingko Library
4 Molasses Row, London SW11 3UX
tel 020-7823 2312
email gingko@gingkolibrary.com
website www.gingko.org.uk
Publisher Barbara Schwepcke
Gingko works with scholars of diverse backgrounds and research interests to increase understanding of the Middle East, West Asia and North Africa through conferences, public events and cultural programmes as well as publications.
Ginn – see Pearson UK
GL Assessment
9th Floor East, 389 Chiswick High Road, London W4 4AL
tel 020-8996 3333
email information@gl-assessment.co.uk
website www.gl-assessment.co.uk
Chairman Philip Walters
Testing and assessment services for education and health care, including literacy, numeracy, thinking skills, ability, learning support and online testing. Founded 1981.
Godsfield Press – see Octopus Publishing Group
Goldsmiths Press
Room 2, 33 Laurie Grove, New Cross, London SE14 6NW
tel 020-7919 7258
email goldsmithspress@gold.ac.uk
website https://www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-press/
Twitter @goldsmithspress
Director Sarah Kember
Goldsmiths Press is a new university press from Goldsmiths, University of London, which aims to revive and regenerate the traditions and values of university press publishing through the innovative use of print and digital media. Our publishing cuts across disciplinary boundaries and blur the distinction between practice and theory, experimentation and convention and between the academic, literary and artistic. The aim is to create a culture around academic knowledge practices that is more inventive and less constrained than it is now fostering a unique collaboration between academics, librarians and publishing professionals, under the direction of an academic researcher.
Gollancz – see The Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Gomer Press
33–35 Lammas Street, Carmarthen SA31 3AL
tel (01267) 221400
email meirion@gomer.co.uk
website www.gomer.co.uk, www.pontbooks.co.uk
Managing Director Jonathan Lewis, Editors Mari Emlyn, Beca Brown (adult Welsh), Dr Ashley Owen (adult English & children’s English), Nia Parry (children’s, Welsh & learners)
History, travel, photography, biography, art, poetry and fiction of relevance to Welsh culture, in English and in Welsh. Picture books, novels, stories, poetry and teaching resources for children. Preliminary enquiry essential. Welcomes submissions by email. Founded 1892.
Government Publications
Publications Division, Office of Public Works, 52 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin D02 DR67, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)16 476834
email publications@opw.ie
website www.opw.ie/en/governmentpublications
Irish government publications.
Gower – see Taylor & Francis Group
Granta Books
12 Addison Avenue, London W11 4QR
tel 020-7605 1360
website www.grantabooks.com
Twitter @GrantaBooks
Publishing Director Alex Bowler, Editorial Directors Bella Lacey, Laura Barber, Max Porter, Commissioning Editor Anne Meadows, Junior Editor Ka Bradley, Rights Director Angela Rose, Publicity Director Pru Rowlandson, Production Director Sarah Wasley
Literary fiction, memoir, nature writing, cultural criticism and travel. No submissions except via a reputable literary agent. An imprint of Granta Publications. Founded 1982.
Green Print – see Merlin Press Ltd
Gresham Books Ltd
The Carriage House, Ningwood Manor, Ningwood, Isle of Wight PO30 4NJ
tel (01983) 761389
email info@gresham-books.co.uk
website www.gresham-books.co.uk
Managing Director Nicholas Oulton
Hymn books, prayer books, service books, school histories and companions.
The Gresham Publishing Company Ltd
Ground floor, 4000 Academy Park, Gower Street, Glasgow G51 1PR
tel 0141 375 1996
email info@waverley-books.co.uk
website www.waverley-books.co.uk, www.geddesandgrosset.com
Facebook www.facebook.com//Waverley-Books/
Twitter @WaverleyBooks
Publishers Ron Grosset, Liz Small
Books for the general trade and Scottish interest books.
The Greystones Press
37 Lawton Avenue, Carterton, Oxon OX18 3JY
tel (01993) 841219
email editorial@greystonespress.com
website www.greystonespress.com
Directors Mary Hoffman, Stephen Barber
A small independent publishing company specializing in good adult and young adult fiction and adult non-fiction in areas of interest, like literature, art, history, music, myths and legends. Full submission guidelines are on the website. No middle grade or younger or illustrated books.
Grub Street Publishing
4 Rainham Close, London SW11 6SS
tel 020-7924 3966, 020-7738 1008
email post@grubstreet.co.uk
website www.grubstreet.co.uk
Principals John B. Davies, Anne Dolamore
Adult non-fiction: military, aviation history, cookery. Founded 1992.
Guild of Master Craftsman Publications Ltd
166 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1XU
tel (01273) 477374
email jonathanb@thegmcgroup.com
website www.gmcbooks.com
Twitter @GMCbooks
Joint Managing Directors Jennifer Phillips, Jonathan Phillips, Publisher Jonathan Bailey
A diverse publisher of leisure and hobby project books, with a focus on all types of woodworking; from carving and turning to routing. Craft subjects include needlecraft, paper crafts and jewellery-making. The books are aimed at craftspeople of all skill levels. Founded 1979.
email jason.hook@ammonitepress.com
website www.ammonitepress.com
Twitter @AmmonitePress
Publisher Jason Hook
Publishes highly illustrated non-fiction for the international market. Gift books featuring illustration, infographics and photography on pop culture, pop reference, biography and history. Practical photography titles written by professional photographers provide authoritative guides to technique and equipment.
Button Books
website www.buttonbooks.co.uk
A new imprint of GMC Publications publishing children’s books and producing stationery for children up to 11 years.
Guinness World Records
3rd Floor, 184–192 Drummond Street, London NW1 3HP
tel 020-7891 4567
website www.guinnessworldrecords.com
Guinness World Records, GWR Gamer’s Edition, TV and brand licensing, records processing. No unsolicited MSS. A Jim Pattison Group company. Founded 1954.
Gulf Professional Press – see Elsevier Ltd
Hachette Children’s Group*
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ
email editorial@hachettechildrens.co.uk
website www.hachettechildrens.co.uk
Ceo Hilary Murray Hill
Children’s non-fiction, reference, information, gift, fiction, picture, novelty and audiobooks. Unsolicited material is not considered other than by referral or recommendation. Formed by combining Watts Publishing with Hodder Children’s Books in 2005. Part of Hachette UK (see here).
Hodder Children’s Group
Facebook www.facebook.com/hodderchildrensbooks
Twitter @hodderchildrens
Publishing Director Anne McNeil
Fiction, picture books, novelty, general non-fiction and audiobooks.
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Facebook www.facebook.com/lbkidsuk
Twitter @lbkidsuk
Publisher Megan Tingley
Fiction, novelty, general non-fiction and audiobooks.
Orchard Books
Facebook www.facebook.com/orchardchildrensbooks
Twitter @orchardbooks
Publishing Director Megan Larkin
Fiction, picture and novelty books.
Orion Children’s Books
Facebook www.facebook.com/TheOrionStar
Twitter @the_orionstar
Fiction, picture books, novelty, general non-fiction and audiobooks.
Pat-a-Cake
New baby, preschool and early years imprint.
Quercus Children’s Books
Imprint poducing quality teen and young adult fiction.
Franklin Watts
Twitter @franklinwatts
Publishing Director Rachel Cooke
Non-fiction and information books.
Wayland
Twitter @waylandbooks
Editorial Director Debbie Foy
Non-fiction and information books.
Wren & Rook
Imprint publishing brave, diverse and imaginative books for children and young people.
Hachette UK*
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ
tel 020-3122 6000
website www.hachette.co.uk
Chief Executive David Shelley, Directors Jamie Hodder Williams (Ceo, Hodder & Stoughton, Headline, John Murray Press, Quercus and Director of Trade Publishing, Hachette UK), Jane Morpeth (Chairman, Headline), Alison Goff (Ceo, Octopus), Hilary Murray Hill (Ceo, Hachette Children’s Group), David Shelley (Ceo, Little, Brown Book Group and Orion Publishing Group), Lis Tribe (managing, Hodder Education)
Part of Hachette Livre SA since 2004. Hachette UK group companies: Hachette Children’s Group (here), Headline Publishing Group (here), Hodder Education Group (here), Hodder & Stoughton (here), John Murray Press (here), Little, Brown Book Group (here), Octopus Publishing Group (here), Orion Publishing Group (here), Quercus Publishing Plc (here), Hachette Ireland, Hachette Australia (here), Hachette New Zealand (here), Hachette Book Publishing India Private Ltd, Bookouture (here).
22 Golden Square, London W1F 9JW
tel 020-7437 9300
email books@halbanpublishers.com
website www.halbanpublishers.com
Twitter @HalbanPublisher
Directors Martine Halban, Peter Halban
General fiction and non-fiction; history and biography; Jewish subjects and Middle East. No unsolicited MSS considered; preliminary letter or email essential. Founded 1986.
Haldane Mason Ltd
North Barrow, Yeovil, Somerset BA22 7LY
tel (01963) 240844
email info@haldanemason.com
website www.haldanemason.com
Directors Sydney Francis, Ron Samuel
Illustrated non-fiction books and box sets, mainly for children. No unsolicited material. Imprints: Haldane Mason (adult), Red Kite Books (children’s). Founded 1995.
Robert Hale Ltd
The Crowood Press Ltd, The Stable Block, Crowood Lane, Ramsbury, Wilts. SN8 2HR
tel (01672) 520320
email enquiries@crowood.com
website www.crowood.com
Adult general non-fiction and fiction. Imprint of The Crowood Press (here). Founded 1936.
Halsgrove Publishing
Halsgrove House, Ryelands Business Park, Bagley Road, Wellington, Somerset TA21 9PZ
tel (01823) 653777
email sales@halsgrove.com
website www.halsgrove.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/Halsgrove-Publishing-120746011275852/
Twitter @Halsgrove
Managing Director Julian Davidson, Publisher Simon Butler
Regional books for local-interest readers in the UK. Also illustrated books on individual artists. Founded 1986.
Hamish Hamilton – see Penguin General
Hamlyn – see Octopus Publishing Group
Patrick Hardy Books – see The Lutterworth Press
Harlequin (UK) Ltd*
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, Westerhill Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow G64 2QT
tel 0844 844 1351
website www.millsandboon.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/millsandboon
Twitter @MillsandBoon
Managing Drector Tim Cooper
In 2014 Harlequin (UK) Ltd was acquired by HarperCollins Publishers. Founded 1908.
Mills & Boon Historical
Senior Editor L. Fildew
Historical romance fiction.
Mills & Boon Medical
Senior Editor S. Hodgson
Contemporary romance fiction.
Mills & Boon Cherish
Senior Editor Bryony Green
Commercial literary fiction.
Mira Books
Editorial Director Donna Condon
Women’s fiction.
Mills & Boon Modern Romance
Senior Editor Jo Grant
HarperCollins Publishers*
The News Building, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF
tel 020-8741 7070
Alternative address Westerhill Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow G64 2QT
tel 0141 772 3200
website www.harpercollins.co.uk
Ceo Charlie Redmayne
All fiction and trade non-fiction must be submitted through an agent. Owned by News Corporation. Founded 1817.
Avon
website http://corporate.harpercollins.co.uk/imprints/avon
Executive Publisher Kate Elton, Publishing Strategy Director Oliver Malcolm, Publishing Director Helen Huthwaite
General fiction, crime and thrillers, women’s fiction.
The Borough Press
Publisher Suzie Doore
Literary fiction.
William Collins
Executive Publisher David Roth-Ey, Publishing Director Arabella Pike, Associate Publisher Myles Archibald (natural history)
Collins Learning
Managing Director Colin Hughes
Core curriculum and revision resources: books, CD-Roms and online material for UK and international primary schools, secondary schools and colleges.
4th Estate
Executive Publisher David Roth-Ey
Fiction, literary fiction, current affairs, popular science, biography, humour, travel.
HarperCollins
Publishing Director David Brawn
Agatha Christie, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis.
HarperCollins Children’s Books
Publisher Ann-Janine Murtagh
Annuals, activity books, novelty books, preschool brands, picture books, pop-up books and book and CD sets. Fiction for 5–8 and 9–12 years, young adult fiction and series fiction; film/TV tie-ins. Publishes approx. 265 titles each year. Picture book authors include Oliver Jeffers, Judith Kerr and Emma Chichester Clark, and fiction by David Walliams, Michael Morpurgo, David Baddiel and Lauren Child. Books published under licence include Dr Seuss, Bing, Twirlywoos and Paddington Bear.
HarperElement
Publisher Ed Faulkner
Real-life stories by real people, focusing on inspirational memoir, true crime, animal stories and nostalgia.
HarperFiction
Executive Producer Kate Elton
General, historical fiction, crime and thrillers, women’s fiction.
HarperImpulse
Publisher Kimberley Young
Digital first-romance fiction.
Harper NonFiction
Executive Publisher Kate Elton
Autobiographies, entertainment, sport, cookery, lifestyle and culture.
Harper Thorsons
Editor Ed Faulkner
Health and wellbeing, pop-psych, mind, body & spirit, business and personal development.
HQ
Publisher Lisa Milton, Editorial Director, Fiction Manpreet Grewal
General, crime and thrillers, women’s fiction, historical, book club and young adult.
HQ Digital
Publisher Lisa Milton
Digital-first commercial fiction list, general, crime and thrillers, women’s fiction, psychological thrillers, saga.
Mills & Boon
Global Editorial Director Jo Grant
Romance.
Voyager
Publishing Director Natasha Bardon
Fantasy/sci-fi.
Hart Publishing*
Kemp House, Chawley Park, Cumnor Hill, Oxford OX2 9PH
tel (01865) 598648
email mail@hartpub.co.uk
website www.hartpublishing.co.uk
Publisher Sinéad Moloney
Legal academic texts for law students, scholars and practitioners. Will consider unsolicited MSS. Submission guidelines on the website. Books, ebooks and journals on all aspects of law (UK domestic, European and International). An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (here). Founded in 1996.
Harvill Secker – see Vintage
Haus Publishing Ltd
4 Cinnamon Row, Plantation Wharf, London SW11 3TW
tel 020-7838 9055
email info@hauspublishing.com
website http://hauspublishing.com/
Twitter @HausPublishing
Publisher Harry Hill
Publishes history, literary fiction, translated fiction, biography, memoir and current affairs. Founded
2003.
Hawthorn Press
1 Lansdown Lane, Stroud, Glos. GL5 1BJ
tel (01453) 757040
email info@hawthornpress.com
website www.hawthornpress.com
Director Martin Large, Accounts/Foreign Rights Farimah Englefield, Production & Administration Claire Percival, Marketing Meredith Debonaire
Publishes books and ebooks for a more creative, peaceful and sustainable world. Series include Early Years, Steiner/Waldorf Education, Crafts, Personal Development, Art and Science, Storytelling. Founded
1981.
Hay House Publishers
2nd Floor, Astley House, 33 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JQ
tel 020-3675 2450
email info@hayhouse.co.uk
website www.hayhouse.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/HayHouseUK
Twitter @HayHouseUK
Managing Director & Publisher Michelle Pilley, International Sales & Operations Director Diane Hill, Communications Director Jo Burgess, Commissioning Editor Amy Kiberd
Publishers of mind, body & spirit; self-help; personal development; health; spirituality and wellness. Head office in San Diego, California. Founded 1984; in UK 2003.
Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset BA22 7JJ
tel (01963) 440635
email lmcintyre@haynes.co.uk, srendle@haynes.co.uk, jfalconer@haynes.co.uk
website www.haynes.co.uk
Directors J.H. Haynes (founder director), Eddie Bell (chairman), J. Haynes (chief executive)
Practical manuals for the home: car, motorcycle, motorsport, military, aviation and leisure activities.
Haynes Motor Trade Division
email jaustin@haynes.co.uk
Car and motorcycle service and repair manuals and technical data books.
Head of Zeus
Clerkenwell House, 5–8 Hardwick Street, London EC1R 4RG
tel 020-7253 5557
email hello@headofzeus.com
website www.headofzeus.com
Facebook www.facebook.com//Head-of-Zeus-Books/
Twitter @HoZ_Books
Chairman Anthony Cheetham, Fiction
Publisher Laura Palmer, Non-fiction
Publishers Richard Milbank, Neil Belton, Digital
Publisher Nicolas Cheetham, Sales Director Dan Groenewald, Publicity Director Suzanne Sangster
General and literary fiction, genre fiction and non-fiction. UK and Commonwealth distributers for MysteriousPress.com, one of the world’s largest digital crime fiction lists. Founded 2012.
Zephyr
Publisher Fiona Kennedy Children’s imprint.
Headland Publications
Editorial office Tŷ Coch, Galltegfa, Llanfwrog, Ruthin, Denbighshire LL15 2AR
Alternative address 38 York Avenue, West Kirby, Wirral CH48 3JF
tel 0151 625 9128
email headlandpublications@hotmail.co.uk
website www.headlandpublications.co.uk
Editor Gladys Mary Coles
Poetry, anthologies of poetry and prose. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1970.
Headline Publishing Group
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ
tel 020-3122 7222
email enquiries@headline.co.uk
website www.headline.co.uk
Twitter @headlinepg
Chair Mari Evans
Commercial and literary fiction (hardback, paperback and ebook) and popular non-fiction including autobiography, biography, food and wine, gardening, history, popular science, sport, TV tie-ins. Publishes under Headline, Headline Review, Tinder Press, Headline Eternal. Part of Hachette UK (see here).
William Heinemann – see Cornerstone
Hermes House – see Anness Publishing
Nick Hern Books Ltd
The Glasshouse, 49A Goldhawk Road, London W12 8QP
tel 020-8749 4953
email info@nickhernbooks.co.uk
website www.nickhernbooks.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/NickHernBooks
Twitter @NickHernBooks
Publisher Nick Hern, Managing Director Matt Applewhite
Theatre and performing arts books, professionally produced plays, performing rights. Initial letter required. Founded 1988.
Hesperus Press Ltd
28 Mortimer Street, London W1W 7RD
tel 020-7436 0943
email info@hesperuspress.com
website www.hesperuspress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/hesperuspress
Twitter @HesperusPress
Under three imprints, publishes over 300 books. Hesperus Classics introduces older works of literature, Hesperus Nova showcases contemporary literature and Hesperus Minor publishes well-loved children’s books from the past. Founded 2002.
Hippopotamus Press
22 Whitewell Road, Frome, Somerset BA11 4EL
tel (01373) 466653
email rjhippopress@aol.com, mphippopress@aol.com
Editors Roland John, Mansell Pargitter, Foreign Editor (translations) Anna Martin
Poetry, essays, criticism. Submissions from new writers welcome. Founded 1974.
The History Press Ltd
The Mill, Brimscombe Port, Stroud, Glos. GL5 2QG
tel (01453) 883300
website www.thehistorypress.co.uk
Managing Director Gareth Swain, Publishing Director Laura Perehinec, Sales Director Jamie Kinnear, Rights Anette Fuhrmeister
The History Press
General, local, military and transport history: biographies and historical fiction.
Phillimore
British local history and genealogy.
Hodder & Stoughton
338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH
tel 020-7873 6000
website www.hodder.co.uk
Ceo Jamie Hodder-Williams, Managing Director Carolyn Mays, Deputy Managing Director Lisa Highton, Publishing Director Carole Welch, Nonfiction Publisher Drummond Moir, Non-fiction Publisher Rupert Lancaster, Hodder Lifestyle & Yellow Kite Publisher Liz Gough
Commercial and literary fiction; biography, autobiography, history, humour, mind, body & spirit, travel, lifestyle and cookery and other general interest non-fiction; audio. No unsolicited MSS or synopses. Publishes under Hodder & Stoughton, Sceptre, Mobius. Part of Hachette UK (see here).
Hodder Children’s Books – see Hachette Children’s Group
Hodder Education
338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH
tel 020-7873 6000
website www.hoddereducation.co.uk, www.galorepark.co.uk, www.risingstars-uk.com
Managing Director Lis Tribe
School and college publishing. Includes Rising Stars, RS Assessment, Hodder Education and Galore Park. Part of Hachette UK (see here).
Hodder Faith
338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH
tel 020-7873 6000
email faitheditorialenquiries@hodder.co.uk
website www.hodder.co.uk/hodder%20faith/index.page
Managing Director Jamie Hodder-Williams
Bibles, Christian books, biography/memoir. Publishes the following versions of the bible: New International Version (NIV), Today’s New International Version (TNIV) and New International Reader’s Version (NIrV). Part of Hachette UK (see here).
Hodder Gibson*
211 St Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5QY
tel 0141 222 1440
email hoddergibson@hodder.co.uk
website www.hoddergibson.co.uk
Managing Director Paul Cherry
Educational books specifically for Scotland. Part of Hachette UK (see here).
Holland House Books
47 Greenham Road, Newbury, Berks. RG14 7HY
email contact@hhousebooks.com
website www.hhousebooks.com
Senior Editor Robert Peett
Literary fiction and non-fiction, crime, historical and speculative fiction welcome. Happy to read traditional and experimental work. Also runs The Novella Project for new authors and interns, and the literary journal The Open Page. Submissions welcome from agents and authors, but please check website first.
Honno Ltd (Welsh Women’s Press)
Unit 14, Creative Units, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3GL
tel (01970) 623150
email post@honno.co.uk
website www.honno.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/honnopress
Twitter @honno
Editor Caroline Oakley
Literature written by women born or living in Wales or women with a significant Welsh connection. All subjects considered – fiction, non-fiction, autobiographies. No poetry or works for children. Honno is a community cooperative. Founded 1986.
Hopscotch
St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB
tel 020-7501 6736
email orders@hopscotchbooks.com
website www.hopscotchbooks.com
Associate Publisher Angela Morano Shaw
A division of MA Education. Teaching resources for primary school teachers. Founded 1997.
Practical Pre-School Books
Early years teacher resources.
Hot Key Books
80–81 Wimpole Street, London W1G 9RE
tel 020-7490 3875
email enquiries@hotkeybooks.com
website www.hotkeybooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/HotKeyBooks/
Twitter @HotKeyBooks
Editor-at-Large Emma Matthewson
Part of Bonnier Publishing, publishes books for ages 9–19. Send full MS and synopsis to enquiries@hotkeybooks.com. Only accepts electronic submissions. Founded 2012.
House of Lochar
Isle of Colonsay, Argyll PA61 7YR
tel (01951) 200323
email sales@houseoflochar.com
website www.houseoflochar.com
Scottish history, transport, Scottish literature. Founded 1995.
John Hunt Publishing Ltd
No. 3 East St, Alresford, Hants SO24 9EE
email office1@jhpbooks.net
website www.johnhuntpublishing.com
Director John Hunt
Publishes culture, politics, spirituality, Christianity, history and fiction titles for adults and children. See website for submission procedure, additional author services and trade representation. Imprints include: Zero Books for society, politics and culture; Iff Books for philosophy and popular science; Chronos Books for historical non-fiction; Circle Books for exploring Christian faith; Christian Alternative for liberal Christianity; Changemakers Books for transformation; Moon Books for paganism and shamanism; O Books for broader spirituality; 6th Books for parapsychology; Axis Mundi Books for esoteric thought and practice; Ayni Books for complementary health; Dodona Books for divination; Earth Books for environment; Soul Rocks Books for alternative spirituality; Psyche Books for mind and self; Roundfire Books for exciting, thought-provoking fiction; Cosmic Egg Books for fantasy; Top Hat Books for historical fiction; Our Street Books for children; Lodestone Books for young adults; Liberalis Books for education; and Compass Books for new writers. Founded 1989.
Hutchinson – see Cornerstone
Hutchinson Children’s Books – see Penguin Random House Children’s UK
Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd*
Third Floor, Invicta House, 108–114 Golden Lane, London EC1Y 0TG
tel 020-776 7551
website www.hymnsam.co.uk
Publishing Director Christine Smith
Theological books with special emphasis on text and reference books and contemporary theology for both students and clergy. Founded 1929.
Saint Andrew Press
Twitter @standrewpress
Publisher of the Church of Scotland.
Church House Publishing
Twitter @CHPublishingUK
Publisher of the Church of England – church resources, stationery and Common Worship.
Canterbury Press
Norwich Books and Music, 13A Hellesdon Park Road, Norwich NR6 5DR
tel (01603) 785925
website www.canterburypress.co.uk
Twitter @canterburypress
Hymnals, popular religious writing, spirituality and liturgy.
SCM Press
website www.scmpress.co.uk
Twitter @SCM_Press
Academic theology.
Icon Books Ltd
The Omnibus Business Centre, 39–41 North Road, London N7 9DP
tel 020-7697 9695
email info@iconbooks.com
website www.iconbooks.com
Facebook www.introducingbooks.com
Directors Peter Pugh (chairman), Philip Cotterell (managing), Duncan Heath (editorial), Andrew Furlow (sales & marketing), Claire Maxwell (publicity)
Popular, intelligent non-fiction: literature, history, philosophy, politics, psychology, sociology, cultural studies, science, current affairs, computers, women, anthropology, humour, music, cinema, linguistics, economics. Will consider unsolicited MSS (adult non-fiction only). Founded 1991.
ICSA Publishing
Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8EQ
tel 020-7612 7020
email info@icsa.org.uk
website www.icsa.org.uk/bookshop
Managing Director Susan Richards
Publishing company of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, specialising in information solutions for legal and regulatory compliance. Founded 1981.
Igloo Books Ltd
Cottage Farm, Mears Ashby Road, Sywell, Northants NN6 0BJ
tel (01604) 741116
email editorial@igloobooks.com
website www.igloobooks.com
Twitter @igloo_books
Children’s books: licensed books, novelty, board, picture, activity, audio, education, ebooks and apps. Adult books: cookery, lifestyle, gift, trivia and nonfiction. Not currently accepting submissions. Founded 2005.
Impress Books Ltd
Innovation Centre, Rennes Drive, University of Exeter, Devon EX4 4RN
tel (01392) 950910
email enquiries@impress-books.co.uk
website www.impress-books.co.uk
Commissioning Editor Rachel Singleton
Founded as an independent publishing house focusing on previously unpublished writers of non-fiction and fiction, and specialising in crime and historical fiction. Runs the Impress Prize for New Writers. Founded 2004.
Imprint Academic Ltd
PO Box 200, Exeter, Devon EX5 5HY
tel (01392) 851550
email graham@imprint.co.uk
website www.imprint.co.uk
Publisher Keith Sutherland, Managing Editor Graham Horswell
Books and journals in politics, society, philosophy and psychology for both academic and general readers. Book series include St Andrews Studies in Philosophy and Public Affairs, British Idealist Studies, Societas (essays in political and cultural criticism) and the Library of Scottish Philosophy. Unsolicited MSS, synopses and ideas welcome by email to the Managing Editor or with sae only. Founded 1980.
In Pinn – see Neil Wilson Publishing Ltd
Indigo Dreams Publishing Ltd
24 Forest Houses, Cookworthy Moor, Halwill, Beaworthy, Devon EX21 5UU
email publishing@indigodreams.co.uk
website www.indigodreams.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/indigodreamspublishing
Twitter @IndigoDreamsPub
Editors Ronnie Goodyer, Dawn Bauling
Winners of Ted Slade Award for Services to Poetry 2015. Publishes approx. 35 titles per year. Main subject areas: (poetry) anthologies, collections, pamphlets, competitions, one monthly poetry magazine, two quarterly poetry and prose magazines. New and experienced writers welcome. Also nonfiction for South-West England. Imprint: Tamar Books. Winners of the Most Innovative Publisher Award (Saboteur Awards for Literature) in 2017. Founded 2010.
Infinite Ideas
36 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LD
tel (01865) 514888
email info@infideas.com
website www.infideas.com
Managing Director Richard Burton
Publishes titles in lifestyle: 52 Brilliant Ideas series (health, fitness, relationships, leisure and lifestyle, sports, hobbies and games, careers, finance and personal development), Feel Good Factory series; Wine series (Classic Wine Library). Also business books: Infinite Success series (re-interpreted personal development and business classics). Submit business book proposals directly to richard@infideas.com. Founded 2003.
Insight Guides/Berlitz Publishing
1st Floor West, Magdalen House, 136 Tooley Street, London SE1 2TU
tel 020-7403 0284
website www.insightguides.com, www.berlitzpublishing.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/InsightGuides
Twitter @InsightGuides
Travel, language and related multimedia. Founded 1970.
Institute of Public Administration†
57–61 Lansdowne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin D04 TC62, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)12 403600
email information@ipa.ie
website www.ipa.ie
Publisher Richard Boyle
Government, economics, politics, law, public management, health, education, social policy and administrative history. Founded 1957.
InterVarsity Press
Norton Street, Nottingham NG7 3HR
tel 0115 978 1054
email ivp@ivpbooks.com
website www.ivpress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/intervarsitypress/
Twitter @thinkivp
A charitable literature ministry, supporting the mission and ministry of the local church. Imprint: Apollos. Founded 1947.
IOP Publishing
Temple Circus, Temple Way, Bristol BS1 6HG
tel 0117 929 7481
email custserv@iop.org
website http://ioppublishing.org/
Editor @IOPPublishing
The company is a subsidiary of the Institute of Physics. It provides a range of journals, ebooks, magazines, conference proceedings and websites for the scientific community. The book publishing arm of the company brings together innovative digital publishing with leading voices in scientific, technical, engineering and medical (STEM) research. Founded
1874.
Irish Academic Press Ltd†
Tuckmill House, 10 George’s Street, Newbridge, Co. Kildare W12 PX39, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)45 432497
email info@iap.ie
website www.irishacademicpress.ie
Publisher Conor Graham
General and academic publishing with a focus on modern Irish history, politics, literature, culture and arts. Imprints: Irish Academic Press, founded 1974: Merrion Press, founded 2012.
ISF Publishing
PO Box 71911, London NW2 9QA
email info@idriesshahfoundation.org
website www.idriesshahfoundation.org
Facebook www.facebook.com/idriesshah
Twitter @idriesshah
Dedicated to releasing new editions of the work of Idries Shah, who devoted his life to collecting, selecting and translating key works of Eastern Sufi classical literature, adapting them to the needs of the West and disseminating them in the Occident.
Ithaca Press – see Garnet Publishing Ltd
IWM (Imperial War Museums) Publishing
Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ
tel 020-7416 5000
email publishing@iwm.org.uk
website www.iwm.org.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/iwm.london
Twitter @I_W_M
IWM tells the stories of people who have lived, fought and died in conflicts involving Britain and the Commonwealth since 1914. IWM Publishing produces a range of books drawing on the expertise and archives of the museum. Books are produced both in-house and in partnership with other publishers.
Jacaranda Books Art Music Ltd
Unit 304, Metal Box Factory, 30 Great Guildford Street, London SE1 0HS
tel 020-7609 0891
email office@jacarandabooksartmusic.co.uk
website www.jacarandabooksartmusic.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/jacarandabooks
Twitter @jacarandabooks
Founder & Publisher Valerie Brandes, Publicity & Digital Manager Jazzmine Breary, Editor Laure Deprez, Commercial Director Cynthia Hamilton
Diversity-led independent publisher of literary and genre fiction and non-fiction. The company aims to directly address the ongoing lack of diversity in the industry, and has an interest in Caribbean, African and Diaspora writing. Titles include Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila, From Pasta to Pigfoot and Second Helpings by Frances Mensah Williams, Butterfly Fish and Speak Gigantular by Irenosen Okojie, Beyond the Pale by Emily Urquhart and The Elephant and the Bee by Jess de Boer. Founded 2012.
JAI – see Elsevier Ltd
Jane’s Information Group
163 Brighton Road, Coulsdon, Surrey CR5 2YH
tel 020-8700 3700
website www.janes.com
Professional business-to-business publishers in hardcopy and electronic multimedia: military, aviation, naval, defence, reference, police, geopolitical. Consumer books in association with HarperCollins Publishers (here).
Joffe Books
52 Lion Mills, Hackney Road, London E2 7ST
email office@joffebooks.com
website www.joffebooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/joffebooks
Twitter @joffebooks
Publisher Jasper Joffe
Independent publisher of digital and print fiction. Accepts submissions from authors and agents, please see website for guidelines. Bestselling authors include Joy Ellis, Taylor Adams and Helen Durrant. Focuses on high-quality crime thrillers and mysteries. Founded 2012.
Jordan Publishing Ltd
21 St Thomas Street, Bristol BS1 6JS
tel 0117 918 1492
website www.lexisnexis.co.uk/products/jordan-publishing.html
Founded as an independent legal publisher in the UK. Produces practical information, online and in print, for practising lawyers and other professionals. Publishes textbooks, looseleafs, journals, court reference works and news services and also supplies software to law firms in the form of digital service PracticePlus, which combines step-by-step workflows, practice notes, automated court forms and links to core reference works. The company works with partners in key areas, such as the APIL series of guides, and also publishes around 40 new books and editions annually across a wide range of practice areas. Now owned by LexusNexus (here)
Michael Joseph
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
tel 020-7010 3000
website www.penguinrandomhouse.co.uk/publishers/michael-joseph
Managing Director Louise Moore; Editors Louise Moore (general fiction for women, celebrity non-fiction), Maxine Hitchcock (general fiction for women, crime & thriller fiction, general fiction), Jessica Leeke (general fiction), Rowland White (crime, thriller & adventure fiction, commercial non-fiction, popular culture & military), Jillian Taylor (general fiction, historical fiction; general and historical non-fiction) Joel Richardson (crime and thriller fiction), Matilda McDonald (general fiction for women) Daniel Bunyard (commercial nonfiction, popular culture & military), Fenella Bates (commercial non-fiction, popular culture & health), Ione Walder (cookery), Fiona Crosby (general non-fiction)
Part of Penguin Random House UK (here).
Kenilworth Press – see Quiller Publishing Ltd
Kenyon-Deane – see Cressrelles Publishing Co.Ltd
Laurence King Publishing Ltd*
361–373 City Road, London EC1V 1LR
tel 020-7841 6900
email enquiries@laurenceking.com
website www.laurenceking.com
Directors Laurence King (managing), Jo Lightfoot (editorial), Maria Treacy-Lord (financial)
Formerly Calmann & King Ltd. Illustrated books on design, architecture, art, fashion and beauty, and photography for the professional, student and general market. Also publishes a children’s list and a gift line. Founded 1976.
Kingfisher – see Pan Macmillan
Kings Road Publishing
Suite 2.08 The Plaza, 535 Kings Road, London SW10 0SZ
tel 020-770 3888
email info@kingsroadpublishing.co.uk
website www.kingsroadpublishing.co.uk
Ceo Perminder Mann, Managing Director Ben Dunn, Acquistions Director & Publisher Natalie Jerome, UK Sales & Marketing Director Andrew Sauerwine, Head of Children’s Publishing Lisa Edwards
Part of Bonnier Publishing UK. The children imprints of Kings Road Publishing are Studio Press, Weldon Owen, which includes it’s new sub imprint 20 Watt, Templar Publishing (here), which contains Big Picture Press. They focus on illustrated non-fiction, picture books, novelty titles, activity books, fiction and family reference. Blink (here), including 535, Lagom and John Blake Publishing (here) are the adult non-fiction imprints. Totally Entwined Group is a leading ebook publisher, which includes Bound Publishing, Pride Publishing and Finch Books. Submissions to be sent to the address above indicating which imprint they are addressed to. Founded 2015.
Jessica Kingsley Publishers*
73 Collier Street, London N1 9BE
tel 020-7833 2307
email hello@jkp.com
website www.jkp.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/JessicaKingsleyPublishers
Twitter @jkpbooks
Managing Director Nick Davies
Books for professionals and general readers on autism and other special needs, social work, arts therapies, mental health, education, practical theology, dementia, parenting, gender, diversity and related issues. The Singing Dragon imprint includes books on Chinese medicine, aromatherapy and qigong. Purchased by Hachette 2017. Founded in 1987.
Charles Knight – see LexisNexis
Kogan Page Ltd*
2nd Floor, 45 Gee Street, London EC1V 3RS
tel 020-7278 0433
website www.koganpage.com
Chairman Phillip Kogan, Directors Helen Kogan (managing), Martin Klopstock (digital & operations), Mark Briars (finance), Rex Elston (sales), Alison Middle (marketing), Julia Swales (editorial)
Leading independent global publisher of specialist business books and content with over 900 titles in print. Key subject areas: finance, risk, information management, marketing, branding, human resources, coaching, logistics, supply chain, entrepreneurship and careers. Founded 1967.
Kube Publishing Ltd
Markfield Conference Centre, Ratby Lane, Markfield, Leics. LE67 9SY
tel (01530) 249230
email info@kubepublishing.com
website www.kubepublishing.com
Managing Director Haris Ahmad
Formerly the Islamic Foundation. Books on Islam and the Muslim world for adults and children.
Kyle Books
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y ODZ
tel 020-3122 6000
email general.enquiries@kylebooks.com
website www.kylebooks.co.uk
Twitter @Kyle_Books
Publisher Joanna Copestick
Food & drink, health, beauty, gardening, reference, style, design, mind, body & spirit. Acquired by Octopus Publishing Group in 2017 (here). Founded 1990.
Peter Lang Ltd
52 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LU
tel (01865) 514160
email oxford@peterlang.com
website www.peterlang.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/Peter-Lang-Oxford/
Twitter @PeterLangOxford
Ceo, Peter Lang Publishing Group Kelly Shergill, Publishing Director Lucy Melville, Senior Commissioning Editors Christabel Scaife, Laurel Plapp, Group Commercial Director Adam Gardner
Part of the international Peter Lang Publishing Group, the company publishes across the humanities and social sciences, producing texts in print and digital formats, as well as Open Access publications. All forms of scholarly research as well as textbooks, readers, student guides. Welcomes submissions from prospective authors. Blog: peterlangoxford.wordpress.com. Founded 2006.
Lawrence & Wishart Ltd
Central Books Building, Freshwater Road, Chadwell Heath RM8 1RX
tel 020-8597 0090
email lw@lwbooks.co.uk
website www.lwbooks.co.uk
Managing Editors Katharine Harris, Lynda Dyson, Kirsty Capes
Cultural studies, current affairs, history, socialism and Marxism, political philosophy, politics, popular culture. Founded 1936.
Legend Business Ltd
107–111 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2AB
tel 020-7936 9941
email info@legend-paperbooks.co.uk
website www.legendtimesgroup.com
Twitter @LegendBusinessB
Managing Director Tom Chalmers, Managing Director & Editor Jonathan Reuvid, Head of Publicity & Marketing Lucy Chamberlain, Sales Manager Allison Zink
A business book publisher with a wide-ranging and interactive list of business titles. Legend Business is also the publisher of the annual ‘Investor’s Guide to the United Kingdom’. Submissions can be sent to Tom Chalmers at submissions@legend-paperbooks.co.uk. Founded 2010.
Legend Press Ltd
107–111 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2AB
tel 020-7936 9941
email info@legend-paperbooks.co.uk
website www.legendtimesgroup.com
Twitter @legend_press
Managing Director Tom Chalmers, Commissioning Editor Lauren Parsons, Head of Publicity & Marketing Lucy Chamberlain, Sales Manager Allison Zink
Focused predominantly on publishing mainstream literary and commercial fiction. Submissions can be sent to submissions@legend-paperbooks.co.uk. Founded 2005.
Lewis Mason – see Ian Allan Publishing Ltd
LexisNexis
Lexis House, 30 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4HH
tel 0330 1611234
email customer.services@lexisnexis.co.uk
website www.lexisnexis.co.uk
Formerly LexisNexis Butterworths. Division of Reed Elsevier (UK) Ltd. Founded 1974.
Butterworths
Legal and tax and accountancy books, journals, looseleaf and electronic services.
Charles Knight
Looseleaf legal works and periodicals on local government law, construction law and technical subjects.
Tolley
Law, taxation, accountancy, business.
The Lilliput Press Ltd†
62–63 Sitric Road, Arbour Hill, Dublin D07 AE27, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)16 711647
email info@lilliputpress.ie
website www.lilliputpress.ie
Facebook www.facebook.com/Lilliput-Press
Twitter @LilliputPress
Managing Director Antony T. Farrell
General and Irish literature: essays, memoir, biography/autobiography, fiction, criticism; Irish history; philosophy; Joycean contemporary culture; nature and environment. Founded 1984.
Frances Lincoln
74–77 White Lion Street, London N1 9PF
tel 020-7284 9300
email reception@frances-lincoln.com
website www.quartoknows.com
Publisher Andrew Dunn
Imprint of The Quarto Group. Illustrated, international co-editions: gardening, architecture, environment, interiors, photography, art, walking and climbing, design and landscape, gift, children’s books. Founded 1977.
Lion Hudson Limited (Isle of Man)
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road, Oxford OX2 8DR
tel (01865) 302750
email info@lionhudson.com
website www.lionhudson.com
Managing Director Suzanne Wilson-Higgins
Books for children and adults. Christian spirituality, reference, biography, history, contemporary issues, inspiration and fiction from authors with a Christian world-view. Also specialises in children’s bibles and prayer collections, as well as picture storybooks and illustrated non-fiction. Adult submissions: via website, by email or hardcopy with sae if return required. Children’s submissions: hardcopy only with sae if return required. Founded 1971 as Lion Publishing; merged with Angus Hudson Ltd in 2003. Purchased by Lion Hudson Limited (Isle of Man), a newly incorporated company controlled by the AFD Group in 2017.
Lion Books
Christian books accessible to all readers: bible related information and reference, history, spirituality and prayer, issues, self-help.
Lion Fiction
Historical fiction, cosy crime, women’s fiction and some fantasy from authors with a Christian world-view.
Lion Children’s Books
Bible story retellings, prayer books, picture storybooks, illustrated non-fiction and information books on the Christian faith and world religions. Also specialises in gift books, occasion books and seasonal books for Christmas and Easter.
Candle Books
Bible story retellings, prayer books, bible related activity and novelty books, and other resources created in partnership with other publishers and packagers.
Monarch Books
Confessional Christian biography, issues concerning Christian faith and society, bible commentary, church resources and co-publishing with Christian events and organisations.
Little, Brown Book Group*
50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ
tel 020-3122 7000
email info@littlebrown.co.uk
website www.littlebrown.co.uk
Twitter @LittleBrownUK
Managing Director Charlie King, Coo Ben Groves-Raines
Hardback and paperback fiction and general non-fiction. No unsolicited MSS. Part of Hachette UK (see here). Founded 1988.
Abacus
Managing Director Richard Beswick
Trade paperbacks.
Atom
website www.atombooks.co.uk
Teen fiction with a fantastical edge.
Blackfriars
website www.blackfriarsbooks.com
Publisher Clare Smith
Digital imprint.
Constable & Robinson
Fiction, non-fiction, psychology, humour, brief histories and how-to books.
Corsair
Twitter @CorsairBooks
Publisher James Gurbutt
Pioneers of literary fiction from groundbreaking debuts to established authors. An imprint of @littlebrownuk.
Dialogue Books
Publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove
Publishes BAME, LGBTQI+, disability and working class communities across fiction, non-fiction, literary and commercial.
Fleet
Publisher Ursula Doyle
A new literary imprint, which publishes six to eight titles a year, both literary fiction and narrative non-fiction.
Hachette Digital
Publisher Sarah Shrubb, Head of Digital & Online Sales Ben Goddard
CDs, downloads and ebooks. See here.
Little, Brown
Managing Director Richard Beswick, Publishing Director Clare Smith
General books: politics, biography, crime fiction, general fiction.
Orbit
website www.orbitbooks.com
Publisher Tim Holman
Sci-fi and fantasy.
Piatkus Constable & Robinson
website www.piatkus.co.uk
Publishing Director Tim Whiting (non-fiction)
Fiction and general non-fiction.
Sphere
Publishing Director Lucy Malagoni
Hardbacks and paperbacks: original fiction and non-fiction.
Virago
website www.virago.co.uk
Publisher Sarah Savitt
Women’s literary fiction and non-fiction.
Little Books Ltd
63 Warwick Square, London SW1V 2AL
tel 020-7792 7929
email info@maxpress.co.uk
Contact Helen Nelson
History, biography, fiction and gift books. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 2003.
Little Tiger Group
1 Coda Studios, 189 Munster Road, London SW6 6AW
tel 020-7385 6333
website www.littletiger.co.uk
Ceo Monty Bhatia
Children’s picture books, novelty books, board books, pop-up books and activity books for preschool age to 7 years, and fiction for 6–12 years. See imprint websites for submissions guidelines. Imprints: Caterpillar Books (novelty), Little Tiger Press (picture books), Stripes (fiction), 360 Degrees (non-fiction). Founded 1987.
Caterpillar Books
email contact@littletiger.co.uk
website www.littletiger.co.uk/imprint/caterpillar-books
Publisher Thomas Truong, Editorial Director Pat Hegarty
Books for preschool children, including pop-ups, board books, cloth books and activity books. Founded 2003.
Little Tiger Press
email contact@littletiger.co.uk
website www.littletiger.co.uk
Publisher Jude Evans, Editorial Director Barry Timms
Children’s picture books, board books, novelty books and activity books for preschool–7 years. See website for submissions guidelines. Founded 1987.
Stripes
email contact@littletiger.co.uk
website www.littletiger.co.uk/imprint/stripes-publishing
Publisher Thomas Truong, Editorial Director Ruth Bennett, Commissioning Editor Katie Jennings
Fiction for children aged 6–12 years and young adult. Quality standalone titles and series publishing in all age groups. Will consider new material from authors and illustrators; see website for guidelines. Founded 2005.
360 Degrees
email contact@littletiger.co.uk
website www.littletiger.co.uk/special/360degrees/
Publisher Thomas Truong, Editorial Director Pat Hegarty
Non-fiction novelty for children aged 5–12 years. Founded 2015.
Liverpool University Press
4 Cambridge Street, Liverpool L69 7ZU
tel 0151 794 2233
email lup@liv.ac.uk
website www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
Twitter @LivUniPress
Managing Director Andrew Cond
LUP is the UK’s third oldest university press, with a distinguished history of publishing exceptional research since 1899, including the work of Nobel prize winners. Rapidly expanded in recent years and now publishes approximately 70 books a year and 25 journals, specialising in literature, modern languages, history and visual culture.
Logaston Press
The Holme, Church Road, Eardisley, Herefordshire HR3 6NJ
tel (01544) 327182
email info@logastonpress.co.uk
website www.logastonpress.co.uk
Twitter @LogastonPress
Proprietors Richard Wheeler, Su Wheeler
History, social history, archaeology and guides to rural West Midlands and Mid and South Wales. Welcomes submission of ideas: send synopsis first. Founded 1985.
LOM ART
16 Lion Yard, Tremadoc Road, London SW4 7NQ
tel 020-7720 8643
email enquiries@mombooks.com
website www.mombooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com//Lom, www.facebook.com/MichaelOMaraBooks
Twitter @OMaraBooks
Managing Director Lesley O’Mara, Publisher Philippa Wingate
Illustrated non-fiction for children and adults. Publishes approx. 10 titles a year. Bestsellers include Animorphia, How to Draw Animals for the Artistically Anxious, The Modern Art Activity Book and Making Winter, plus a range of artist-led drawing, colouring and picture book titles. Unable to guarantee a reply to every submission received, but the inclusion of a sae is necessary for submission to be returned. Imprint of Michael O’Mara Books Ltd (here)
Lonely Planet
240 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NW
tel 020-3771 5101
email go@lonelyplanet.co.uk
website www.lonelyplanet.com
A leading travel media company and travel guidebook brand. Over the past four decades, Lonely Planet has published 145 million guidebooks and features content on lonelyplanet.com, mobile, video and in 14 languages, nine international magazines, children’s, armchair and lifestyle books and ebooks. Founded 1973.
Longman – see Pearson UK
Lorenz Books – see Anness Publishing
Luath Press Ltd*
543/2 Castlehill, The Royal Mile, Edinburgh EH1 2ND
tel 0131 225 4326
email gavin.macdougall@luath.co.uk
website www.luath.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/LuathPress
Twitter @LuathPress
Director Gavin MacDougall
Publishes modern fiction, history, travel guides, art, poetry, and politics and more. Over 400 titles in print including recent Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller Poverty Safari: Understanding the Anger of Britain’s Underclass by Darren McGarvey. Award-winning and shortlisted titles include Angus Peter Campbell’s Memory and Straw, Ann Kelley’s The Bower Bird, Anne Pia’s Language of My Choosing and Robert Alan Jamieson’s Da Happie Laand. UK distributor BookSource. Founded 1981.
Luna Press Publishing*
149/4 Morrison Street, Edinburgh EH3 8AG
email lunapress@outlook.com
website www.lunapresspublishing.com
Directors Francesca T. Barbini (managing), Robert S Malan (editorial)
Fantasy, dark fantasy and science fiction (adult, young adult, teen) in fiction and academia. Publishes novels, illustrated novellas, graphic novels, parodies, academic papers, proceedings. See website for submission guidelines before submitting. Founded 2015.
Lund Humphries
Office 3, Book House, 261A City Road, London EC1V 1JX
email info@lundhumphries.com
website www.lundhumphries.com/
Facebook www.facebook.com/LHArtBooks
Twitter @LHArtBooks
Managing Director Lucy Myers
Independent publishing imprint of quality art and architecture books. Founded 1895.
The Lutterworth Press
PO Box 60, Cambridge CB1 2NT
tel (01223) 350865
email publishing@lutterworth.com
website www.lutterworth.com
website www.lutterworthpress.wordpress.com, www.facebook.com/JamesClarkeandCo
Twitter @LuttPress
Managing Director Adrian Brink
A long-established independent British publishing house trading since the late 18th century. Originally founded as the Religious Tract Society and publisher of The Boy’s Own Paper and The Girl’s Own Paper. Now a publisher of educational and adult non-fiction including books and ebooks on: history, biography, literature and criticism, science, philosophy, art and art history, biblical studies, theology, mission, religious studies and collecting. Recent titles include The Making of Swallows and Amazons (1974) by Sophie Neville, The Alfred Wallis Factor: Conflict in Post-War St Ives Art by David Wilkinson and The Angel Roofs of East Anglia: Unseen Masterpieces of the Middle Ages by Michael Rimmer. Imprints: James Clarke & Co, Acorn Editions, Patrick Hardy Books.
Mabecron Books ltd
3 Briston Orchard, St Mellion, Saltash, Cornwall Pl 12 6RQ
tel (01579) 350885
email ronjohns@mabecronbooks.co.uk
website www.mabecronbooks.co.uk
Twitter @mabecronbooks
Award-winning publishers. Producing beautiful children’s picture books and books with a Cornish or west country subject. Linked to Bookshops in Falmouth, St Ives, Dartmouth and Padstow.
McGraw-Hill Education*
8th Floor, 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH
tel (01628) 502500
email emea_online@mheducation.com
website www.mheducation.co.uk
Managing Director (EMEA) Lloyd Waterhouse (Interim)
Higher education: business, economics, computing, maths, humanities, social sciences, world languages. Professional: business, computing, science, technical, medical, general reference.
Open University Press
email enquiries@openup.co.uk
website www.mheducation.co.uk/openup-homepage
Social sciences.
Macmillan – see Pan Macmillan
Macmillan Education – see Pan Macmillan
Made Simple Books – see Elsevier Ltd
Management Books 2000 Ltd
36 Western Road, Oxford OX1 4LG
tel (01865) 600738
website www.mb2000.com
Directors N. Dale-Harris, R. Hartman
Practical books for working managers and business professionals: management, business and lifeskills, and sponsored titles. Unsolicited MSS, synopses and ideas for books welcome.
Manchester University Press
Floor J, Renold Building, Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA
tel 0161 275 2310
email mup@manchester.ac.uk
website www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
Chief Executive Simon Ross
Works of academic scholarship: social sciences, literary criticism, cultural studies, media studies, art history, design, architecture, history, politics, economics, international law, modern-language texts. Textbooks and monographs. Founded 1904.
Mandrake of Oxford
PO Box 250, Oxford OX1 1AP
tel (01865) 243671
email mandrake@mandrake.uk.net
website www.mandrake.uk.net
Director Mogg Morgan
Art, biography, classic crime studies, fiction, Indology, magic, witchcraft, philosophy, religion. Query letters only. Founded 1986.
18 Soho Square, London W1D 3QL
tel 020-7060 4142
email adam@mangobooks.com
website www.mangobooks.co.uk
Publishers of non-fiction books for lovers of crime, detection and mystery.
Mantra Lingua Ltd
Global House, 303 Ballards Lane, London N12 8NP
tel 020-8445 5123
email info@mantralingua.com
website http://uk.mantralingua.com/, www.discoverypen.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/Mantralingua
Twitter @mantralingua
Managing Directors R. Dutta, M. Chatterji
Publishes picture books and educational resources. The unique talking pen technology enables any book to be sound activated. All resources can be narrated in multiple languages and educational posters for schools and museums have audio visual features. Looking for illustrators, authors, translators and audio narrators. Museums and Heritage: looking for illustrators and trail writers. Looking for specialist audio recordings of birds, frogs and other animals from around the world, tel: 0845 600 1361. Founded
2002.
Kevin Mayhew Ltd
Buxhall, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 3BW
tel (01449) 737978
email info@kevinmayhew.com
website www.kevinmayhew.com
Directors Kevin Mayhew, Barbara Mayhew
Christianity: prayer and spirituality, pastoral care, preaching, liturgy worship, children’s, youth work, drama, instant art, educational. Music: hymns, organ and choral, contemporary worship, piano and instrumental, tutors. Greetings cards: images, spiritual texts, birthdays, Christian events, musicians, general occasions. Read submissions section on website before sending MSS/synopses. Founded 1976.
Mentor Books
43 Furze Road, Sandyford Industrial Estate, Dublin D18 PN30, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)12 952112
email admin@mentorbooks.ie
website www.mentorbooks.ie
Managing Director Daniel McCarthy
General: non-fiction, humour, biographies, politics, crime, history, guidebooks. Educational (secondary): languages, history, geography, business, maths, sciences. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1980.
Mercat Press – see Birlinn Ltd
The Mercier Press†
Unit 3B, Oak House, Bessboro Road, Blackrock, Cork T12 D6CH, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)21 4614700
email info@mercierpress.ie
website www.mercierpress.ie
Directors J.F. Spillane (chairman), M.P. Feehan (managing), D. Crowley
Irish literature, folklore, history, politics, humour, academic, current affairs, health, mind and spirit, general non-fiction, children’s. Founded 1944.
Merlin Press Ltd
Central Books Building, Freshwater Road, London RM8 1RX
tel 020-8590 9700, 020-8590 9700
email info@merlinpress.co.uk
website www.merlinpress.co.uk
Managing Director Anthony Zurbrugg
Radical history and social studies. Letters/synopses only.
Green Print
Green politics and the environment.
Merrell Publishers Ltd
70 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ
tel 020-7713 403799
email hm@merrellpublishers.com
website www.merrellpublishers.com
Publisher Hugh Merrell
High-quality illustrated books on all aspects of visual culture, including art, architecture, photography, garden design, interior design, product design and books specially developed for institutions, foundations, corporations and private collectors. Unsolicited carefully prepared proposals welcomed via email. All titles published by Merrell are sold and distributed worldwide through US and UK distributors and international stockholding agents.
Methuen & Co Ltd
Orchard House, Railway Street, Slingsby, York YO62 4AN (01653) 628152/628195
email editorial@methuen.co.uk, academic@methuen.co.uk
website www.methuen.co.uk
Managing Director Peter Tummons, Editorial Director Naomi Tummons, Sales Peter Newsom, Editor-at-Large Dr Jonathan Tummons, Accounts Frank Warn
Literary fiction and non-fiction: biography, autobiography, travel, history, sport, humour, film, children’s, performing arts. No unsolicited MSS.
Politico’s Publishing
Politics, current affairs, political biography and autobiography.
Metro Books – see John Blake Publishing Ltd
PO Box 6336, London N1 6PY
tel 020-8533 7777
email info@metropublications.com
website www.metropublications.com
Twitter @metrolondon
Produces well-researched and beautifully designed guide books on many aspects of London life.
Michelin Maps and Guides
Hannay House, 39 Clarendon Road, Watford, Herts. WD17 1JA
tel (01923) 205240
email travelpubsales@uk.michelin.com
website www.michelin.co.uk/travel
Tourist guides, maps and atlases, hotel and restaurant guides.
Milestone Publications
Forestside House, Broad Walk, Forestside, Rowlands Castle PO9 6EE
tel 023-9263 1888
email andrew@gosschinaclub.co.uk
website www.gosschinaclub.co.uk
Managing Director Andrew O.J. Pine, Publisher Nicholas J. Pine
Crested heraldic china, antique porcelain. Milestone Publications – publishing and bookselling division of Goss & Crested China Club. Founded 1967.
Miller’s – see Octopus Publishing Group
Mills & Boon Medical – see Harlequin (UK) Ltd
Mills & Boon Modern Romance – see Harlequin (UK) Ltd
Milo Books Ltd
14 Ash Grove, Wrea Green, Preston, Lancs. PR4 2NY
tel (01772) 672900
email info@milobooks.com
website www.milobooks.com
Publisher Peter Walsh
True crime, sport, current affairs. Founded 1997.
Mira Books – see Harlequin (UK) Ltd
Mirror Books
Trinity Mirror, One Canada Square, London E14 5AP
tel 20-7293 3700
email mirrorbooks@trinitymirror.com
website www.mirrorbooks.co.uk
Twitter @themirrorbooks
Executive Editor Jo Sollis, Publishing Director Paula Scott, Head of Syndication & Licensing Fergus McKenna
Part of Trinity Mirror, one of the UK’s leading media companies. The imprint focus is non-fiction real-life (memoir, crime and nostalgia) and popular fiction. Accepts submissions via email: submissions@mirrorbooks.co.uk. Founded 2016.
Mitchell Beazley – see Octopus Publishing Group
Mobius – see Hodder & Stoughton
Morgan Kauffman – see Elsevier Ltd
Morrigan Book Company
Killala, Co. Mayo, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)96 32555
email morriganbooks@gmail.com
website http://conankennedy.com/About.html
Publishers Gerry Kennedy, Hilary Kennedy
Non-fiction: general Irish interest, biography, history, local history, folklore and mythology. Founded 1979.
Mud Pie
43 Leckford Road, Oxford OX2 6HY
tel 07985 935320
email info@mudpiebooks.com
website www.mudpiebooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/Mud-Pie-Books-665982096919314
Twitter @mudpiebooks
Founder & Director Tony Morris
Buddhist books and books for Buddhists. An independent specialist online publisher, dedicated to showcasing the best in Buddhist writing. The company’s lead title, The Buddha, Geoff and Me, has sold over 100,000 copies worldwide. Founded 2016.
Murdoch Books
Ormond House, 26–27 Boswell Street, London WC1N 3JZ
tel 020-8785 5995
email info@murdochbooks.co.uk
website www.murdochbooks.co.uk
Non-fiction: homes and interiors, gardening, cookery, craft, DIY. Owned by Australian publisher
Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd.
John Murray Press
338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH
tel 020-7873 6000
website www.hodder.co.uk/john%20murray/index.page
Facebook www.facebook.com/johnmurraybooks
Twitter @johnmurrays
Publishing Director (fiction) Eleanor Birne, Publisher (non-fiction) Georgina Laycock, Editorial Director (fiction & non-fiction) Mark Richards
Quality literary fiction and non-fiction: business, travel, history, entertainment, reference, biography and memoir, real-life stories. No unsolicited MSS without preliminary letter. Part of Hachette UK (see here). Founded 1768.
72 Cromwell Avenue, London N6 5HQ
email team@muswell-press.co.uk
website www.muswell-press.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/MuswellPress/
Twitter @MuswellPress Directors Kate Beal, Sarah Beal
Muswell Press is a proudly independent publisher of great books, both fiction and non-fiction. The current directors bought Muswell Press in 2016, and have subsequently transformed the company with over 60 years publishing experience between them, at Bloomsbury, Faber, Walker Books, HarperCollins amongst others.
Myriad Editions
New Internationalist Publications, The Old Music Hall, 106–108 Cowley Rd, Oxford OX4 1JE
tel (01865) 403345
email info@myriadeditions.com
website www.myriadeditions.com
Twitter @MyriadEditions
Directors Candida Lacey (publishing), Corinne Pearlman (creative)
Independent publisher of literary fiction, crime written by women, graphic novels and feminist nonfiction. Merged with New Internationalist in 2017 as part of a joint plan to expand and embrace diversity. Founded 1993.
National Trust – see Pavilion Books
Natural History Museum Publishing
Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD
tel 020-7942 5336
email publishing@nhm.ac.uk
website www.nhm.ac.uk/publishing
Head of Publishing Colin Ziegler
Natural sciences, entomology, botany, geology, mineralogy, palaeontology, zoology, history of natural history. Founded 1881.
New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd
The Chandlery Unit 609, 50 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7QY
tel 020-3667 7619
email enquiries@nhpub.co.uk
website www.newhollandpublishers.com
Managing Director Fiona Schultz
Illustrated non-fiction books on natural history, sports and hobbies, animals and pets, travel pictorial, reference, gardening, health and fitness, practical art, DIY, food and drink, outdoor pursuits, craft, humour, gift books. New proposals accepted, send CV and synopsis and sample chapters in first instance; sae essential.
New Island Books†
16 Priory Office Park, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin A94 RH10, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)12 784225
email info@newisland.ie, editor@newisland.ie
website www.newisland.ie
Facebook www.facebook.com/NewIslandBooks
Twitter @NewIslandBooks
Director Edwin Higel, Editor Dan Bolger (commissioning)
Fiction, poetry, drama, humour, biography, current affairs. Submissions by email only to editor@newisland.ie. Send the first three chapters as a Word document, plus a short synopsis, and include details of any previous publications. Founded 1992.
New Playwrights’ Network
10 Station Road Industrial Estate, Colwall, Nr Malvern, Herefordshire WR13 6RN
tel (01684) 540154
email simon@cressrelles.co.uk
website www.cressrelles.co.uk
Publishing Director Leslie Smith
General plays for the amateur, one-act and full length.
New Riders – see Pearson UK
New Theatre Publications/The Playwrights’ Co-operative
2 Hereford Close, Woolston, Warrington, Cheshire WA1 4HR
tel 0845 331 3516, (01925) 485605
email info@plays4theatre.com
website www.plays4theatre.com
Director Alison Hornby
Plays for the professional and amateur stage. Submissions encouraged. Founded 1987.
Newnes – see Elsevier Ltd
Nexus – see Virgin Books (in partnership with Virgin Group), here
Nightingale Press
7 Green Park Station, Green Park Road, Bath BA1 1JB
tel (01225) 478444
email sales@manning-partnership.co.uk
website www.manning-partnership.co.uk
Directors Garry Manning (managing), Roger Hibbert (sales)
Humour, gift. Owned by Manning Partnership Ltd. Founded 1997.
Nobrow Books
27 Westgate Street, London E8 3RL
tel 020-7033 4430
email nobrowsubs@gmail.com
website http://nobrow.net/
Twitter @NobrowPress
Publishes picture books, illustrated fiction and non-fiction and graphic novels. Nobrow Books aims to combine good design and storytelling, quality production value and environmental consciousness. Founded 2008.
Flying Eye Books
email info@nobrow.net
website www.flyingeyebooks.com
Twitter @FlyingEyeBooks
Children’s imprint. Focuses on the craft of children’s storytelling and non-fiction. Founded 2013.
Nordisk Books Ltd
12 Dove Road, London N1 3GB
tel (07437) 202582
email info@nordiskbooks.com
website www.nordiskbooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/nordiskbooks
Twitter @nordiskbooks
Director Duncan J. Lewis
Modern and contemporary fiction from the Nordic countries. Publishing a wide range of exciting literary titles from across the Scandinavian peninsular and beyond. No crime. Founded 2016.
North-Holland – see Elsevier Ltd
Northcote House Publishers Ltd
The Paddocks, Brentor Road, Mary Tavy, Devon PL19 9PY
tel (01822) 810066
email northcotepublishers@gmail.com
website www.writersandtheirwork.co.uk
Directors B.R.W. Hulme, A.V. Hulme (secretary), Sarah Piper (sales & marketing)
Education and education management, educational dance and drama, literary criticism ( Writers and their Work). Founded 1985.
W.W. Norton & Company
15 Carlisle Street, London W1D 3BS
tel 020-7323 1579
email office@wwnorton.co.uk
website www.wwnorton.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/WW-Norton-UK/
Twitter @wwnortonuk
Managing Director Edward Crutchley
English and American literature, economics, music, psychology, science. Founded 1980.
Nourish Books
Unit 11, Shepperton House, 89 Shepperton Road, London N1 3DF
tel 020-3813 6940
email enquiries@watkinspublishing.com
website https://nourishbooks.com/
Facebook www.facebook.com/nourishbooks
Twitter @nourishbooks
Cookery, wellbeing and health. Part of Watkins Media (here).
NWP – see Neil Wilson Publishing Ltd
Oak Tree Press†
33 Rochestown Rise, Rochestown, Cork T12 EVT0, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)86 2441633, +353 (0)86 330 7694
email info@oaktreepress.com
website www.SuccessStore.com
Directors Brian O’Kane, Rita O’Kane
Business management, enterprise, accountancy and finance, law. Special emphasis on titles for small business owner/managers. Founded 1991.
Nubooks
Ebooks.
Oberon Books
521 Caledonian Road, London N7 9RH
tel 020-7607 3637
email info@oberonbooks.com
website www.oberonbooks.com
Managing Director Charles Glanville, Publisher James Hogan, Senior Editor George Spender
New and classic play texts, programme texts and general theatre, dance and performing arts books. Founded 1986.
The O’Brien Press Ltd†
12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar, Dublin D06 HD27, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)14 923333
email books@obrien.ie
website www.obrien.ie
Directors Michael O’Brien, Ivan O’Brien, Kunak McGann
Adult non-fiction: biography, politics, history, true crime, sport, humour, reference. Adult fiction, crime (Brandon). No poetry or academic. Children: fiction for all ages; illustrated fiction for ages 3+, 5+, 6+, 8+ years, novels (10+ and young adult): contemporary, historical, fantasy. Unsolicited MSS (sample chapters only), synopses and ideas for books welcome, submissions will not be returned. Founded 1974.
Octopus Publishing Group*
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ
tel 020-3122 6000
email info@octopusbooks.co.uk, publisher@octopusbooks.co.uk (submissions)
website www.octopusbooks.co.uk
Chief Executive Alison Goff, Deputy Ceo & Group
Sales & Marketing Director Andrew Welham
Part of Hachette UK (see here).
Publisher Kate Adams
Health and wellbeing.
Bounty
Publisher Lucy Pessell
Promotional/division of Octopus Publishing Group.
Cassell
Popular culture, music, reference.
Conran Octopus
Quality illustrated books, particularly lifestyle, cookery, gardening.
Gaia Books
The environment, natural living and health.
Godsfield Press
email publisher@godsfieldpress.com
Mind, body & spirit with an emphasis on practical application.
Hamlyn
Practical non-fiction, particularly cookery, health and diet, home and garden, sport, puzzles and reference.
Ilex Press
email info@octopusbooks.co.uk
Illustrated books on art, design, photography and popular culture.
Kyle Books
Quality cookery and lifestyle (here).
Miller’s
Antiques and collectables.
Mitchell Beazley
Quality illustrated books, particularly cookery, wine and gardening.
Philip’s
email publisher@philips-maps.co.uk
Atlases, maps and astronomy.
Spruce
Gift and humour.
Summersdale
Gift, humour, travel and health (here).
The Oleander Press
16 Orchard Street, Cambridge CB1 1JT
tel (01638) 500784
website www.oleanderpress.com
Managing Director Dr Jane Doyle
Travel, language, Libya, Arabia and Middle East, Cambridgeshire, history, reference, classics. MSS welcome with sae for reply. Founded 1960.
Michael O’Mara Books Ltd*
16 Lion Yard, Tremadoc Road, London SW4 7NQ
tel 020-7720 8643
email enquiries@mombooks.com, publicity@mombooks.com
website www.mombooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/MichaelOMaraBooks/
Twitter @OMaraBooks
Chairman Michael O’Mara, Managing Director Lesley O’Mara, Publisher Clare Tillyer, Senior Editorial Director Louise Dixon, Publishing Director (Buster Books) Philippa Wingate
General non-fiction: biography, humour, history. See website for submission guidelines. Founded 1985.
Buster Books
website www.busterbooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/BusterBooks
Twitter @BusterBooks
Activity, novelty, picture books, fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults.
LOM ART
Activity, arts & crafts, photography, reference, picture books for children (here).
Omnibus Press/Music Sales Ltd
14–15 Berners Street, London W1T 3LJ
tel 020-7612 7400
email omniinfo@musicsales.co.uk
website www.omnibuspress.com, www.musicroom.com/omnibus-press
Chief Editor David Barraclough
Rock music biographies, books about music. Founded 1976.
On Stream Publications Ltd
Currabaha, Cloghroe, Blarney, Co. Cork T23 EW08, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)21 4385798
email info@onstream.ie
website www.onstream.ie
Owner Rosalind Crowley
Cookery, wine, travel, human interest non-fiction, local history, academic and practical books. Founded 1986.
Oneworld Publications*
10 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3SR
tel 020-7307 8900
email info@oneworld-publications.com
website www.oneworld-publications.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/oneworldpublications
Twitter @OneworldNews
Director Juliet Mabey (publisher)
Fiction and general non-fiction: current affairs, politics, history, Middle East, business, popular science, philosophy, psychology, green issues, world religions and Islamic studies; literary fiction, plus fiction that sits at the intersection of the literary and commercial, showcasing strong voices and great stories; young adult to children’s fiction and upmarket crime/suspense novels, as well as fiction in translation. No unsolicited MSS; email or send proposal via website. Founded 1986.
51 Achilles Road, London NW6 1DZ
tel 020-7431 4391
email books@opengatepress.co.uk
Directors Jeannie Cohen, Elisabeth Petersdorff, Sandra Lovell
Incorporating Centaur Press, founded 1954. Psychoanalysis, philosophy, social sciences, religion, animal welfare, the environment. Founded 1988.
Open University Press – see McGraw-Hill
Education
Orbit – see Little, Brown Book Group
Orchard Books – see Hachette Children’s Group
Orenda Books
16 Carson Road, West Dulwich, London SE21 8HU
tel 020-8355 4643
email info@orendabooks.co.uk
website www.orendabooks.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/orendabooks
Twitter @OrendaBooks
Publisher Karen Sullivan, Editor West Camel
A new independent publisher specialising in literary fiction, with a heavy emphasis on crime thrillers, about half in translation. Founded 2014.
The Orion Publishing Group Ltd*
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ
tel 020-3122 6444
website www.orionbooks.co.uk
Directors Arnaud Nourry (chairman), David Shelley (chief executive), Katie Espiner (managing director)
No unsolicited MSS; approach in writing in first instance. Part of Hachette UK (see here). Founded 1992.
Gollancz
Contact Gillian Redfearn
Sci-fi, fantasy and horror.
Orion Fiction
Contact Harriet Bourton
Trade and mass market fiction.
Orion Spring
Contact Amanda Harris
Wellbeing, health and lifestyle non-fiction.
Seven Dials
Contact Amanda Harris
Trade and mass market: cookery, memoir and autobiography, gift and humour, personal development and parenting, lifestyle, diet and fitness.
Trapeze
Contact Anna Valentine
Trade and mass market fiction: reading group, crime and thriller, women’s fiction; trade and mass market non-fiction: memoir and autobiography, lifestyle, gift and humour, popular psychology and entertainment.
Weidenfeld & Nicolson Fiction
Contact Kirsty Dunseath
Literary fiction.
Weidenfeld & Nicolson Non-Fiction
Contact Alan Samson
Biography and autobiography, history, current affairs, popular science and sport.
Osprey Publishing Ltd
Kemp House, Chawley Park, Cumnor Hill, Oxford OX2 9PH
tel (01865) 727022
email info@ospreypublishing.com
website www.ospreypublishing.com
Publishes illustrated military history. Over 1,600 titles in print on a wide range of military history subjects from ancient times to the modern day. Founded 1968; acquired by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2014.
Oversteps Books Ltd
6 Halwell House, South Pool, Nr Kingsbridge, Devon TQ7 2RX
tel (01548) 531969
email alwynmarriage@overstepsbooks.com
website www.overstepsbooks.com
Director/Managing Editor Dr Alwyn Marriage
Poetry. Email six poems that have either won major competitions, or been published, giving details of the competitions or magazines in which they appeared, the dates or issue numbers and the email addresses of the editors. Founded 1992.
Peter Owen Publishers
Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL
tel 020-8350 1775
email aowen@peterowen.com
website www.peterowen.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/peter.owen.publishers
Twitter @PeterOwenPubs
Directors Peter L. Owen (managing), Antonia Owen (editorial)
Backlist includes ten Nobel Prize winners. Arts, belles lettres, biography and memoir, literary fiction, general non-fiction, history, theatre and entertainment. Do not send fiction without first emailing the Editorial Department even if an established novelist. No mass-market genre fiction, short stories or poetry; first novels almost never published. Merged with independent publisher Istros Books in August 2016 and formed a new imprint Istros Books. Founded 1951.
Oxford University Press*
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP
tel (01865) 556767
email enquiry@oup.com
website www.oup.com
Ceo Nigel Portwood, Group Finance Director Giles Spackman, Global Academic Business Managing Director David Clark, Managing Director, Oxford Education Kate Harris, ELT Division Managing Director Peter Marshall, Human Resources Director Paul Lomas, Academic Sales Director Alastair Lewis
Archaeology, architecture, art, belles lettres, bibles, bibliography, children’s books (fiction, non-fiction, picture), commerce, current affairs, dictionaries, drama, economics, educational (foundation, primary, secondary, technical, university), encyclopedias, ELT, electronic publishing, essays, foreign language learning, general history, hymn and service books, journals, law, medical, music, oriental, philosophy, political economy, prayer books, reference, science, sociology, theology and religion; educational software; Grove Dictionaries of Music & Art. Trade paperbacks published under the imprint of Oxford Paperbacks. Founded 1478.
P8tech
6 Woodside, Churnet View Road, Oakamoor, Staffs. ST10 3AE
tel (01538) 703591
email info@P8tech.com
website www.P8tech.com
Publisher James Lumsden-Cook
IT and computer-related titles, including books on video games and Artificial Intelligence. Specialises in Oracle and Java-related titles. Founded 2012.
Palgrave Macmillan – see Pan Macmillan
Pan Macmillan*
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
tel 020-7014 6000
email webqueries@macmillan.co.uk
website www.panmacmillan.com
Managing Director Anthony Forbes Watson, Sales and Brand Director Anna Bond, Publishers Jeremy Trevathan (adult), Robin Harvie (non-fiction), Paul Baggaley (Picador), Carole Tonkinson (Bluebird)
Novels, literary, crime, thrillers, romance, science fiction, fantasy and horror. Autobiography, biography, business, gift books, health and beauty, history, humour, natural history, travel, philosophy, politics, world affairs, theatre, film, gardening, cookery, popular reference. No unsolicited MSS except through Macmillan New Writing. Founded 1843.
Boxtree
Publisher Robin Harvie
Brand and media tie-in titles, including TV, film, music and internet, plus entertainment licences, pop culture, humour in hardback and paperback.
Bluebird
Publisher Carole Tonkinson
Pan Macmillan’s wellness and lifestyle imprint, publishing the very latest in diet, popular psychology, self-help as well as career and business, parenting and inspirational memoir.
Campbell Books (preschool)
Editorial Director Stephanie Barton
Early learning, pop-up, novelty, board books for the
preschool market.
Kingfisher
tel 020-7014 6000
Publisher Belinda Rasmussen
Non-fiction: imprint of Macmillan Children’s Books.
Macmillan
Adult Books Publisher Jeremy Trevathan, Picador Publisher Paul Baggaley, Non-fiction Publisher Robin Harvie, Bluebird Publisher Carole Tonkinson, Editorial Directors Georgina Morley (non-fiction), Kate Harvey
Hardback commercial fiction including genre fiction, romantic, crime and thrillers. Hardback serious and general non-fiction including autobiography, biography, economics, history, military history, philosophy, politics and world affairs, popular reference titles.
Macmillan Digital Audio
Digital & Communications Director Sara Lloyd Audio imprint for the entire Pan Macmillan list. See here.
Macmillan Education Ltd
email info@macmillan.com
website www.macmillaneducation.com
Chief Executive Simon Allen, Managing Director Helen Melia (Europe & Middle East), Publishing Directors Alison Hubert (Africa, Caribbean, Middle East, Asia), Kate Melliss (Spain), Sharon Jervis (Latin America), Sue Bale (dictionaries), Angela Lilley (international ELT)
ELT titles and school and college textbooks and materials in all subjects for the international education market in both book and electronic formats.
Macmillan Science and Education
The Macmillan Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London N1 9XW
tel 020-7833 4000
Mantle
Publisher Maria Rejt
Palgrave Macmillan
website www.palgrave.com
Monographs and journals in academic and professional subjects. Publishes in both hard copy and electronic formats.
Pan
Paperback imprint for Macmillan and Sidgwick & Jackson imprints. Founded 1947.
Picador
Publisher Paul Baggaley
Literary international fiction, non-fiction and poetry published in hardback and paperback. Founded 1972.
Sidgwick & Jackson
Publisher Robin Harvie
Hardback popular non-fiction including celebrity and show business to music and sport. Founded 1908.
Pandora Press – see Rivers Oram Press
Parthian Books
148 Keir Hardie, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP (01792) 606605
email info@parthianbooks.com
website www.parthianbooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/parthianbooks/
Twitter @parthianbooks
Publishing Editor Susie Wild
Independent publisher of poetry, Welsh literature and translations that reflect a diverse and contemporary Wales. Prizes won by authors include the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Betty Trask, the Wales Book of the Year, the Orange Futures Award, the Rhys Davies Prize, the Journey Prize, the Edge Hill Readers’ Award and the Stonewall Award. Currently accepting submissions. See website for guidelines on how to submit MSS. Founded 1993.
Patrician Press
51 Free Rodwell House, School Lane, Mistley CO11 1HW
tel 07968 288651
email patricia@patricianpress.com
website www.patricianpress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/patricianpress
Twitter @PatricianCom
Publisher Patricia Borlenghi
Paperback and digital publisher of fiction and poetry. Publisher of children’s books under the imprint Pudding Press. Founded 2012.
Pavilion Books*
43 Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3HZ
tel 020-7462 1500
email reception@pavilionbooks.com
website www.pavilionbooks.com
Chief Executive Polly Powell
Formerly Anova Books Group. Founded 2013.
Batsford
Publisher Tina Persaud
Chess, art techniques, film, fashion and costume, textile art, design, embroidery, heritage.
Collins & Brown
Publisher Katie Cowan
Lifestyle and interiors, cookery, gardening, photography, pet care, health and beauty, hobbies and crafts, including Good Housekeeping branded books.
National Trust Books
Senior Commissioning Editor Peter Taylor
Heritage, gardens, cookery.
Pavilion
Publisher Katie Cowan
Cookery, gardening, travel, wine, photography, art, popular culture, gift.
Portico
Publisher Tina Persaud
Humour, popular culture, quirky reference, sport.
Robson Books
General non-fiction, biography, music, humour, sport.
Salamander
Packager of made-to-order books on cookery, crafts, military, natural history, music, gardening, hobbies, transport, sports, popular reference.
Pavilion Children’s Books*
43 Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3HZ
tel 020-7462 1500
website www.pavilionbooks.com
Publisher Neil Dunnicliffe
Children’s books: from baby books to illustrated non-fiction and classics. Part of Pavilion Books Company Ltd. Submissions via an agent only.
Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd
Rayford House, School Road, Hove BN3 5HX
tel (01273) 434943
email info@pavpub.com
website www.pavpub.com
Ceo, OLM Group Peter O’Hara, Head of Publishing Relationships Graham Hoare
Part of OLM Group. Health and social care training resources, books and assessment tools in a variety of fields including learning disability, mental health, vulnerable adults, housing, drugs and alcohol, staff development, children, young and older people, and forensic services, aimed at front line workers, professionals and academics. Also, English language teaching books and resources aimed at newly-qualified and experienced teachers and teacher trainers in the ELT field. Founded 1987.
Peachpit Press – see Pearson UK
Pearson UK*
Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE
tel 0845 313 6666
website www.pearsoned.co.uk
President Rod Bristow
Allyn & Bacon
Higher education, humanities, social sciences.
BBC Active
Learning resources for children and adults.
Cisco Press
Cisco-systems authorised publisher. Material for networking students and professionals.
Benjamin Cummings
Higher education, science.
FT Prentice Hall
Business for higher education and professional.
Harcourt
Educational resources for teachers and learners at primary, secondary and vocational level. Provides a range of published resources, teachers’ support, and pupil and student material in all core subjects for all ages. Imprints: Ginn, Heinemann, Payne-Gallway, Raintree, Rigby.
Longman
Education for higher education, schools, ELT.
New Riders
Graphics and design.
Peachpit Press
Internet and general computing.
Penguin Longman
ELT.
Prentice Hall
Academic and reference textbooks.
QUE Publishing
Computing.
SAMS Publishing
Professional computing.
Wharton
Business.
York Notes
Literature guides for students.
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70 2AS
tel (01226) 734555, (01226) 734222
email editorialoffice@pen-and-sword.co.uk
website www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
Managing Director Charles Hewitt, Publishing Manager Henry Wilson, Commissioning Editors Jonathan Wright, Phil Sidnell, Rupert Harding, Claire Hopkins, Laura Hirst, Michael Leventhal, Julian Mannering, Rob Gardiner
Military history, aviation history, naval and maritime, general history, local history, family history, transport, social history, archaeology, health and lifestyle, natural history, gardening, space, science, sports. Imprints: Leo Cooper, Frontline Books, White Owl, Pen & Sword Aviation, Pen & Sword Naval & Maritime, Remember When, Frontline, Seaforth, Pen & Sword Digital, Pen & Sword Transport, Pen & Sword Discovery, Pen & Sword Social History, Pen & Sword Archaeology.
Penguin General*
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
tel 020-7010 3000
Managing Director Joanna Prior
No unsolicited MSS or synopses. Part of Penguin Random House UK (here).
Fig Tree
Publishing Director Juliet Annan
Fiction and general non-fiction.
Hamish Hamilton
Publishing Director Simon Prosser
Fiction, biography and memoirs, current affairs, history, literature, politics, travel.
Penguin Life
Publishing Director Emily Robertson
Health, lifestyle, wellbeing, trends.
Portfolio
Editorial Director Martina O’Sullivan
Business, management, technology and finance.
Viking
Publishing Director Venetia Butterfield
Fiction, biography and memoirs, current affairs, popular culture, sport, history, literature, politics, travel.
Penguin Longman – see Pearson UK
Penguin Random House Children’s UK*
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
tel 020-7139 3000
website www.penguin.co.uk
Managing Director Francesca Dow, Publishing Director (Puffin Fiction, Non-Fiction, Licensing, & Picture Books) Amanda Punter, Publisher (Puffin Fiction, Non-Fiction & Licensing) Ruth Knowles, Publisher (Puffin Fiction) Ben Horslen, Publisher (Puffin, Picture books & Partnerships) Lara Hancock, Publishing Director (Ladybird Trade, Licensing, & Education) Shannon Cullen, Publisher (Ladybird Education) Kate Heald, Head of Children’s Licensing (Penguin Ventures) Susan Bolsover, Art Director Anna Billson
Part of Penguin Random House UK (see below). Children’s paperback and hardback books: wide range of picture books, board books, gift books and novelties; fiction; non-fiction, popular culture, digital and audio. Preschool illustrated developmental books for 0–6 years; licensed brands; children’s classic publishing and merchandising properties. No unsolicited MSS or original artwork or text. Imprints: Ladybird, Puffin, Penguin, Bantam Press, Bodley Head Children’s Books, Jonathan Cape Children’s Books, Corgi Children’s Books, Doubleday Children’s Books, Hutchinson Children’s Books, Red Fox Children’s Books.
Penguin Random House UK*
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA
tel 020-7840 8400
website www.penguinrandomhouse.co.uk
Directors Markus Dohle (Ceo Penguin Random House), Tom Weldon (Ceo Penguin Random House UK), Mark Gardiner (UK Group Finance Director), Robert Waddington (UK Group Sales Director)
Penguin Random House UK publishing divisions: Penguin General (here), Cornerstone (here), Ebury Press (here), Michael Joseph (here), Penguin Random House Children’s UK (here), Transworld (here) and Vintage (here).
Percy Publishing
9 Warners Close, Woodford, Essex IG8 0TF
tel 020-8504 2570
email enquiries@percy-publishing.com
website www.percy-publishing.com
Twitter @percypublishing
Director Clifford Marker; Editors Mike Harrington, Clare Lewis, Harriot Hendington
Publisher of fiction of any genre. Publishes writers who do not normally come from a formerly trained writing background. Wiiner of Peoples Book Prize: Best Publisher 2016. Founded 2012.
Pergamon – see Elsevier (Clinical Solutions)
Persephone Books
59 Lamb’s Conduit Street, London WC1N 3NB
tel 020-7242 9292
email info@persephonebooks.co.uk
website www.persephonebooks.co.uk
Managing Director Nicola Beauman
Reprints of forgotten classics by 20th-century women writers with prefaces by contemporary writers. Founded 1999.
Phaidon Press Ltd
Regent’s Wharf, All Saints Street, London N1 9PA
tel 020-7843 1000
email enquiries@phaidon.com
website www.phaidon.com
Managing Director James Booth-Clibborn, Publishers Emilia Terragni, Deborah Aaronson
Visual arts, lifestyle, culture and food.
Philip’s – see Octopus Publishing Group
Phoenix Yard Books
18 Dean House Studios, 27 Greenwood Place, Kentish Town, London NW5 1LB
tel 020-7239 4968
email hello@phoenixyardbooks.com
website www.phoenixyardbooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/PhoenixYardBooks
Twitter @phoenixyardbks
Picturebooks, fiction and children’s colouring books. No longer accepts unsolicited MSS.
Piatkus – see Little, Brown Book Group
Piccadilly Press
5 Castle Road, London NW1 8PR
tel 020-7267 4492
email books@piccadillypress.co.uk
website www.piccadillypress.co.uk
Early picture books, parental advice, trade paperbacks, trade paperback children’s fiction, young adult non-fiction and young adult fiction. Founded 1983.
Pimlico – see Vintage
Pimpernel Press Ltd
22 Marylands Road, London W9 2DY
tel 020-7289 7100
email jo@pimpernelpress.com
website www.pimpernelpress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/Pimpernel-Press-Ltd-456736654504879
Twitter @PimpernelPress
Publisher Jo Christian, Commissioning Editor Anna Sanderson, Publicity Emma O’Bryen
Independent publisher of books on art, design, houses and gardens, and also paper books, in association with Sir John Soane’s Museum, the British Library, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum and Glasgow Museums. Founded 2015.
The Playwrights Publishing Company
70 Nottingham Road, Burton Joyce, Notts. NG14 5AL
email playwrightspublishingco@yahoo.com
website www.playwrightspublishing.com
Proprietors Liz Breeze, Tony Breeze
One-act and full-length drama published on the internet. Serious work and comedies, for mixed cast, all women or schools. Reading fee unless professionally produced or unwaged; sae required or email enquiry needed. Founded 1990.
Plexus Publishing Ltd
The Studio, Hillgate Place, 18–20 Balham Hill, London SW12 9ER
tel 020-8673 9230
email plexus@plexusuk.demon.co.uk
website www.plexusbooks.com
Editorial Director Sandra Wake
Film, music, biography, popular culture, fashion, gift. Imprint: Eel Pie. Founded 1973.
Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
tel 020-8348 2724
email pluto@plutobooks.com
website www.plutobooks.com
Editorial Director David Castle, Commissioning Editor David Shulman
Politics, anthropology, development, media, cultural, economics, history, Irish studies, Black studies, Islamic studies, Middle East, international relations.
Policy Press – see Bristol University Press/Policy Press
Policy Studies Institute (PSI)
35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS
tel 020-7911 7500
email psi-admin@psi.org.uk
website www.psi.org.uk
Twitter @PSI_London
Economic, cultural, social and environmental policy, political institutions, social sciences.
Politico’s Publishing – see Methuen & Co Ltd
Polity Press
65 Bridge Street, Cambridge CB2 1UR
tel (01223) 324315
website www.politybooks.com
Social and political theory, politics, sociology, history, media and cultural studies, philosophy, literary theory, feminism, human geography, anthropology. Founded 1983.
Polygon – see Birlinn Ltd
Pont Books – see Gomer Press
Poolbeg Press Ltd
123 Grange Hill, Baldoyle, Dublin D13 N529, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)18 063825
email info@poolbeg.com
website www.poolbeg.com
Directors Kieran Devlin, Barbara Delvin
Popular fiction, non-fiction, current affairs. Imprint: Poolbeg. Founded 1976.
Portfolio – see Penguin General
Portico – see Pavilion Books
Portland Press Ltd*
Charles Darwin House, 12 Roger Street, London WC1N 2JL
tel 020-7685 2410
email editorial@portlandpress.com
website www.portlandpresspublishing.com
Twitter @PPPublishing
Director of Publishing Niamh O’Connor
Owned by the Biochemical Society, the company is embedded in the global scientific community and dedicated to promoting and sharing research for the advancement of science. Founded 1990.
Portobello Books
12 Addison Avenue, London W11 4QR
tel 020-7605 1380
email mail@portobellobooks.com
website www.portobellobooks.com
Publishing Director Laura Barber, Editorial Directors Bella Lacey, Max Porter, Commissioning Editor Anne Meadows, Junior Editor Ka Bradley
Current affairs, polemic, cultural criticism, history, memoir, travel, fiction in translation. No submissions except via a reputable literary agent. An imprint of Granta Publications. Founded 2005.
Preface Publishing – see Cornerstone
Prestel Publishing Ltd
14–17 Wells Street, London W1T 3PD
tel 020-7323 5004
email editorial@prestel-uk.co.uk
website www.prestel.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/PrestelPublishing
Twitter @Prestel_UK
Managing Director Andrew Hansen
Including pop culture, major exhibition catalogues and artist retrospectives. Publishes in the following genres: art, architecture, photography, fashion, lifestyle, design and children’s books. Book submissions: submissions@prestel-uk.co.uk. Press enquiries: publicity@prestel-uk.co.uk. Founded 1924.
Princeton University Press – Europe*
6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxon OX20 1TR
tel (01993) 814500
email claire_williams@press.princeton.edu
website www.press.princeton.edu
Facebook www.facebook.com/PrincetonUniversityPress
Twitter @PrincetonUPress
Publisher for Social Sciences Sarah Caro, Editor for Humanities Ben Tate, Publisher for Sciences Ingrid Gnerlich
Academic publishing for the social sciences, humanities and sciences. The European office of Princeton University Press. Founded 1999.
Profile Books Ltd
3 Holford Yard, Bevin Way, London WC1X 9HD
tel 020-7841 6300
email info@profilebooks.com
website www.profilebooks.com
Managing Director Andrew Franklin, Publisher Mike Jones, Editorial Deputy Hannah Westland
General non-fiction: history, biography, current affairs, popular science, politics, business, management, humour. Also publishers of The Economist books. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1996.
Clerkenwell Press
email info@clerkenwellpress.co.uk
Publisher Geoffrey Mulligan
Literary fiction in English and translation. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 2011.
Serpent’s Tail
email info@serpentstail.com
website www.serpentstail.com
Publisher Hannah Westland
Fiction and non-fiction; literary and non-mainstream work and work in translation. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1986.
Tindal Street Press
email info@profilebooks.com
Literary fiction in English. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1998.
Psychology Press
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA
tel 020-7017 6000
website www.routledge.com/psychology
Psychology textbooks and monographs. Imprint of Taylor and Francis Group (here), an informa business.
Psychology Press
website www.routledge.com/psychology
Routledge
website www.routledgementalhealth.com
Puffin – see Penguin Random House Children’s UK
Pure Indigo Ltd
Publishing Department, 17 The Herons, Cottenham, Cambridge CB24 8XX
tel 07981 395258
email ashley.martin@pureindigo.co.uk
website www.pureindigo.co.uk/publishing
Commissioning Editor Ashley Martin
Adult books: submissions currently open for romance novels only. Children’s books: Pure Indigo Publishing develops innovative junior series fiction. All titles are available in both print and digital formats and are distributed internationally with select partners. The company also develops software products that complement the product range. The junior series fiction titles are developed in-house and on occasion authors and illustrators are commissioned to complete project-based work. For consideration for commissions visit the website. Not currently accepting submissions.
Pushkin Press
Unit 43 Pall Mall Deposit, 124–128 Barlby Road, London W10 6BL
tel 020-3735 9078
email books@pushkinpress.com
website www.pushkinpress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/PushkinPress
Twitter @pushkinpress
Publisher Adam Freudenheim
Having first rediscovered European classics of the 20th century, Pushkin now publishes novels, essays, memoirs, children’s books (Pushkin’s Children’s) and everything from timeless classics to the urgent and contemporary. Imprints: Pushkin Press, Pushkin Children’s Books, Pushkin Vertigo, ONE. Founded
1997.
Quadrille Publishing
5th and 6th Floors, Pentagon House, 52–54 Southwark Street, London SE1 1UN
tel 020-7601 7500
email enquiries@quadrille.co.uk
website www.quadrille.com
Directors Sarah Lavelle (editorial), Vincent Smith (production)
Imprint of Hardie Grant. Non-fiction lifestyle; cookery, food and drink, gift and humour, craft, health and beauty, gardening, interiors, mind, body & spirit. Founded 1994.
Quantum – see W. Foulsham & Co. Ltd
Quartet Books (The Women’s Press)
27 Goodge Street, London W1T 2LD
tel 020-7636 3992
email info@quartetbooks.co.uk
website www.quartetbooks.co.uk
Independent publisher with a tradition of pursuing an alternative to mainstream. Books by women in the areas of literary and crime fiction, biography and autobiography, health, culture, politics, handbooks, literary criticism, psychology and self-help, the arts. Accepting submissions; see website for guidelines. Founded 1978.
The Quarto Group, Inc.
The Old Brewery, 6 Blundell Street, London N7 9BH
tel 020-7700 9000, 020-7700 8066
email dan.rosenberg@quarto.com
website www.quarto.com
Chairman Timothy Chadwick, Ceo Marcus Leaver, Chief Financial Officer Mick Mousley, Director, Quarto International Co-editions Group David Breuer, President & Ceo, Quarto Publishing Group USA Ken Fund, Managing Director, Quarto Publishing Group UK David Inman
A global illustrated book publisher and distribution group. It is composed of three publishing divisions: Quarto International Co-editions Group; Quarto Publishing Group USA; and Quarto Publishing Group UK (below); plus Books & Gifts Direct (a direct seller of books and gifts in Australia and New Zealand) and Regent Publishing Services, a specialist print services company based in Hong Kong. Quarto International Co-editions Group creates illustrated books that are licensed and printed for third-party publishers for publication under their own imprints in over 30 languages around the world. The division includes: Quarto Publishing, Quarto Children’s Books, words & pictures, Qu:id, Quintessence, Quintet Publishing, QED, RotoVision, Marshall Editions, Marshall Editions Children’s Books, Harvard Common Press, Small World Creations, Fine Wine Editions, Apple Press, Global Book Publishing, Iqon Editions Ltd, Ivy Press and Quantum Publishing. Book categories: practical art and crafts, graphic arts, lifestyle, reference, food and drink, gardening, popular culture.
Quarto Group Publishing UK
74–77 White Lion Street, London N1 9PF
tel 020-7284 9300
website www.QuartoKnows.com
General adult non-fiction, illustrated and non-illustrated: history, sport, entertainment, biography, autobiography, military, gardening, architecture, environment, interiors, photography, art, walking and climbing, design and landscape, gift, interiors, food and drink, lifestyle and craft.
QUE Publishing – see Pearson UK
Quercus Publishing Plc
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ
website www.quercusbooks.co.uk
Managing Director Jon Butler
Fiction and non-fiction. Imprints include Quercus, Riverrun, Maclehose Press and Jo Fletcher Books. Founded 2005.
Quiller Publishing Ltd
Wykey House, Wykey, Shrewsbury SY4 1JA
tel (01939) 261616
email info@quillerbooks.com
website www.quillerpublishing.com
Managing Director Andrew Johnston
Quiller
High-quality hardback and paperback biographies, history, food and drink, art and photography, humour and gift books and specialist practical books on country pursuits including dog training, fishing, shooting, stalking, gamekeeping, deer, falconry, natural history and gardening.
Kenilworth Press
Equestrian (riding, training, dressage, eventing, show jumping, driving, polo). Publisher of BHS official publications and exclusive distributor for The Pony Club.
Quintet Publishing
Floor 4 Ovest House, 58 West Street, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 2RA
tel (01273) 727268
email mark.searle@quarto.com
website www.quartoknows.com/quintet-publishing
Illustrated books on creative tech, lifestyle, culture, craft and adult activity. Part of The Quarto Group, Inc. (here).
Ransom Publishing Ltd
Unit 7, Brocklands Farm, West Meon GU32 1JN
tel (01730) 829091
email ransom@ransom.co.uk
website www.ransom.co.uk
Directors Jenny Ertle (managing), Steve Rickard (creative)
Teen fiction, reading programmes and books for children and adults who are reluctant and struggling readers. Range covers high interest age/low reading age titles, quick reads, reading schemes and titles for young able readers. Series include Reading Stars, The Outer Reaches, Shades 2.0, Boffin Boy, PIG and Dark Man. Email for submission guidelines. Founded 1995.
Raven Books
Publishes fiction for children and young adults 8–18 years. Actively looking for strong new fiction, either from published authors or new authors.
Reaktion Books
Unit 32 Waterside, 44–48 Wharf Road, London N1 7UX
tel 020-7253 4965
email info@reaktionbooks.co.uk
website www.reaktionbooks.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/ReaktionBooks/
Twitter @reaktionbooks
Publisher Michael R. Leaman
An independent publisher of stimulating and beautifully designed non-fiction books. Reaktion publishes around 100 new titles each year in many fields including art, architecture, design and photography, popular science, food, history, nature, film, music, philosophy, economics and politics. Founded 1985.
Red Rattle Books
23 Thornfield Road, Thornton, Liverpool L23 9XY
tel 07505 700515
email editor@redrattlebooks.co.uk
website www.redrattlebooks.co.uk
Editor Howard Jackson, Manager Angela Keith,
Media Amy Jackson
An independent, family-run publishing company. Produces and promotes four to six books each year. Specialises in crime and horror. Accepts submissions from young writers and unpublished authors. Full MS or samples can be submitted at editor@redrattlebooks.co.uk. Titles accepted for publication are published in paperback and Kindle editions. Fees for MS are negotiated with authors or their agents. If MS not accepted, explanation given as to why not suitable and future advice offered. Founded 2012.
Repeater Books
email enquiries@watkinsmedia.org
website https://repeaterbooks.com/
Facebook www.facebook.com/repeaterbooks/
Twitter @RepeaterBooks Publisher Tariq Goddard
Publishes books expressing new and radical ideas: counter-culture fiction and non-fiction, politics and current affairs. Part of Watkins Media (here). Founded 2014.
Revenge Ink
6D Lowick Close, Hazel Grove, Stockport SK7 5ED
email amita@revengeink.com
website www.revengeink.com
Editor Gopal Mukerjee (with Amita Mukerjee)
Director Amita Mukerjee
Founded by siblings Gopal and Amita Mukerjee, the company publishes adult fiction (all kinds) and prefers unsolicited, first-time novelists or established writers seeking a new outlet for edgier material. Considers poetry if presented in an original, creative manner. Currently publishes approx. seven titles a year. Does not publish children’s fiction or non-fiction titles such as cookbooks, gardens and how-to books. The company is aiming to create a non-fiction imprint for new research in philosophy, history, critical theory and political analysis. Submission guidelines can be found on the website. By email, preferably, send short sample and query first. Founded 2007.
Rider – see Ebury Publishing
Rising Stars
PO Box 105, Rochester, Kent ME2 4BE
tel 0800 091 1602
email info@risingstars-uk.com
website www.risingstars-uk.com
Managing Director Andrea Carr
Educational publisher of books and software for primary school age children. Titles are linked to the National Curriculum Key Stages, QCA Schemes of Work, National Numeracy Framework or National Literacy Strategy. Approach by email with ideas for publishing. Acquired by Hodder Education in January 2015.
Rivers Oram Press
144 Hemingford Road, London N1 1DE
tel 020-7607 0823
email ro@riversoram.com
website www.riversoram.com
Directors Elizabeth Rivers Fidlon (managing), Anthony Harris
Non-fiction: social and political science, current affairs, social history, gender studies, sexual politics, cultural studies. Founded 1991.
Pandora Press
Feminist press. General non-fiction: biography, arts, media, health, current affairs, reference and sexual politics.
George Ronald
3 Rosecroft Lane, Oaklands, Welwyn, Herts. AL6 0UB
tel (01438) 716062
email sales@grbooks.com
website www.grbooks.com
Managers E. Leith, M. Hofman
Religion, specialising in the Bahá’í Faith. Founded 1939.
Roundhouse Group
Unit B, 18 Marine Gardens, Brighton BN2 1AH
tel (01273) 603717
email info@roundhousegroup.co.uk
website www.roundhousegroup.co.uk
Publisher Alan T. Goodworth
Non-fiction adult and children’s books. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1991.
Route
PO Box 167, Pontefract, West Yorkshire WF8 4WW
tel (01977) 793442
email info@route-online.com
website www.route-online.com
Twitter @Route_News
Contact Ian Daley, Isabel Galán
Memoir, cultural non-fiction and biography, with a strong interest in music books. Occasional fiction. Unsolicited MSS discouraged, book proposals in first instance.
Routledge – see Taylor & Francis Group
Rowman & Littlefield International*
Unit A Whitacre Mews, 26–34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB
tel 020-3111 1091
email info@rowmaninternational.com
website www.rowmaninternational.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/RowmanLittlefieldInternational
Twitter @rowmaninternat
Chief Executive Oliver Gadsby, Editorial Director, Linda Ganster
An independent academic publisher in philosophy, politics and international relations, cultural studies and economics, with a particular focus on the interdisciplinary nature of these subject areas.
Royal Collection Trust
Stable Yard House, St James’s Palace, London SW1A 1JR
tel 020-7024 5645
website www.royalcollection.org.uk
Commercial Publisher Jacky Colliss Harvey, Academic Publisher Kate Owen, Content Manager Elizabeth Silverton, Content Editor Rosie Bick, Academic Publishing Assistant Polly Atkinson, Publishing Assistant Tom Love
The publishing programme at Royal Collection Trust is centred on creating books, exhibition catalogues, guides and children’s books to celebrate the royal residences and works of art found within them. Also produces scholarly catalogues raisonnés, which demonstrate the highest standards of academic research. Worldwide distribution is offered by University of Chicago Press in the USA and Canada, and by Thames & Hudson Ltd throughout the rest of the world. Founded 1993.
Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)*
Midgate House, Midgate, Peterborough, Cambs. PE1 1TN
tel 0303 123 9999
email helpline@rnib.org.uk
website www.rnib.org.uk
Magazines, catalogues and books for blind and partially sighted people, to support daily living, leisure, learning and employment reading needs. Includes the charity’s flagship Talking Books service, providing more than 25,000 fiction and non-fiction titles to borrow free of charge for adults and children with sight loss, and commercial audio production services. Produced in braille, audio, large/legible print and email. Founded 1868.
Ruby Tuesday Books Ltd
6 Newlands Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN4 9AT
tel (01892) 557767
email shan@rubytuesdaybooks.com
website www.rubytuesdaybooks.com
Twitter @RubyTuesdaybk
Publisher & Author Ruth Owen, All Sales & Rights Shan White
Publisher of children’s books. Founded 2008.
Ryland Peters & Small
20–21 Jockey’s Fields, London WC1R 4BW
tel 020-7025 2200
email info@rps.co.uk
website www.rylandpeters.com
Managing Director David Peters
High-quality illustrated books on food and drink, home and garden, babies and children, gift books. Founded 1995.
Cico Books
tel 020-7025 2280
email mail@cicobooks.co.uk
website www.cicobooks.co.uk
Lifestyle and interiors, crafts and mind, body & spirit. Founded 1999.
Saffron Books
PO Box 13666, London SW14 8WF
tel 020-8392 1122
email saffronbooks@eapgroup.com
website www.saffronbooks.com, www.sajidrizvi.net
Twitter @saffronbooks, @Safnetoffers, @sajidrizvi
Founding Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Sajid Rizvi
Art criticism and art history, history, African and Asian architecture, African and Asian art and archaeology, Central Asian studies, Korean linguistics and new fiction series: Absolute Fiction. Founded
1989.
SAGE Publications Ltd*
1 Oliver’s Yard, 55 City Road, London EC1Y 1SP
tel 020-7324 8500
email info@sagepub.co.uk
website www.sagepublishing.com
Twitter @SAGE_News
Independent company that disseminates journals, books, and library products for the educational, scholarly and professional markets. Founded 1965.
St. David’s Press
PO Box 733, Cardiff CF14 7ZY
tel 029-2021 8187
email post@st-davids-press.wales
website www.st-davids-press.wales
Facebook www.facebook.com/StDavidsPress
Twitter @StDavidsPress
Sport and popular culture including: rugby, football, cricket, boxing, horse racing, walking, music. Also general Welsh and Celtic interest including the ‘Tidy Tales from Welsh History’ series. Distributed by Welsh Books Council (Wales), NBNi (UK & Europe), ISBS (North America). Founded 2002.
St Pauls, Westminster Cathedral, Morpeth Terrace, Victoria, London SW1P 1EP
tel 020-828 5582
email editor@stpauls.org.uk
website www.stpauls.org.uk
Theology, ethics, spirituality, biography, education, general books of Roman Catholic and Christian interest. Founded 1948.
Salariya Book Company Ltd
Book House, 25 Marlborough Place, Brighton BN1 1UB
tel (01273) 603306
email salariya@salariya.com
website www.salariya.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/theSalariya
Twitter @theSalariya
Managing Director David Salariya
Children’s art, picture books, fiction and non-fiction. Imprints: Book House, Scribblers, Scribo. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1989.
Salt Publishing
12 Norwich Road, Cromer, Norfolk NR27 0AX
tel (01263) 511011
email sales@saltpublishing.com
website www.saltpublishing.com
Twitter @saltpublishing
Publishing Director Christopher Hamilton-Emery, Jennifer Hamilton-Emery
Award-winning independent publisher of fiction. Home of the annual Best British Short Story anthology. Founded 1999.
SAMS Publishing – see Pearson UK
Sandstone Press Ltd*
Dochcarty Road, Dingwall, Scotland IV15 9UG
tel (01349) 865484
email info@sandstonepress.com
website www.sandstonepress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/SandstonePress
Twitter @sandstonepress
Directors Robert Davidson, Moira Forsyth, Iain Gordon
Publishers of quality fiction and non-fiction for adults. Literary fiction, women’s fiction, speculative fiction, crime novels and thrillers. Literary biography, memoir, outdoor and Scottish interest. We are also interested in history, music and popular science. Full submission guidelines are available at http://sandstonepress.com/contact/submissions. Founded 2002.
Saqi Books
26 Westbourne Grove, London W2 5RH
tel 020-7221 9347
email lynn@saqibooks.com
website www.saqibooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/SaqiBooks
Twitter @SaqiBooks
Publisher Lynn Gaspard, Editor & Marketing Manager Elizabeth Briggs, Editorial & Marketing Assistant Hassan Ali
An award-winning independent publishing house of quality trade and academic books on North Africa and the Middle East. Links with cutting edge and authoritative voices have led to a rigorous reassessment of Arab cultural heritage. Over the years the company expanded its list to include writers from all over the world and established two imprints: Telegram, releasing the best in international translation and home-grown literary fiction, and The Westbourne Press, releasing engaging and thought-provoking non-fiction from around the globe. Founded 1983.
Saunders – see Elsevier (Clinical Solutions)
Sawday’s
Merchants House, Wapping Road, Bristol BS1 4RW
tel 0117 204 7810
email specialplaces@sawdays.co.uk
website www.sawdays.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/sawdays
Twitter @sawdays
Founder Alastair Sawday, Managing Director Tom Sawday
Independent travel. Founded 1994.
Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd
10 Lion Yard, Tremadoc Road, London SW4 7NQ
tel 020-7808 1550
email jmckinley@scalapublishers.com
website www.scalapublishers.com
Twitter @ScalaPublishers
Managing Director Jenny McKinley
Publish high-quality books for the arts and heritage sector: guidebooks, collection highlights, exhibition catalogues, illustrated histories, etc. Offers all aspects of the publishing process: design, editing, production, marketing and distribution throughout the world as part of the Scala list.
Sceptre – see Hodder & Stoughton
Schofield & Sims Ltd*
Dogley Mill, Fenay Bridge, Huddersfield HD8 0NQ
tel (01484) 607080
email post@schofieldandsims.co.uk
website www.schofieldandsims.co.uk
Educational: nursery, infants, primary; posters. Founded 1901.
Euston House, 24 Eversholt Street, London NW1 1DB
tel 020-7756 7756
website www.scholastic.co.uk
Chairman M.R. Robinson, Co-Group Managing
Directors Catherine Bell, Steve Thompson
Children’s fiction, non-fiction and picture books, education resources for primary schools. Owned by Scholastic Inc. Founded 1964.
Chicken House
See here.
Scholastic Book Fairs
See here.
Scholastic Children’s Books
tel 020-7756 7761
email submissions@scholastic.co.uk
website www.scholastic.co.uk
Twitter @scholasticuk
UK Publisher Miriam Farbey, Editorial Director (non-fiction) Elizabeth Scoggins, Publisher (fiction & picture books) Samantha Smith, Editorial Director (picture, novelty, gift books) Pauliina Malinen-Teodoro, Antonia Pelari
Activity books, novelty books, picture books, fiction for 5–12 years, teenage fiction, series fiction and film/TV tie-ins. Imprints: Scholastic, Alison Green Books, Marion Lloyd Books, Klutz. No unsolicited MSS. Unsolicited illustrations are accepted, but do not send any original artwork as it will not be returned.
Scholastic Educational Resources
Book End, Range Road, Witney, Oxon OX29 0YD
tel (01993) 893456
Publishing Director Robin Hunt
Professional books, classroom materials and online resources for primary teachers.
Science Museum Group
Exhibition Road, London SW7 2DD
tel 0870 870 4771
website www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
Science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Museum guides.
SCM Press – see Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd
Scripture Union
207–209 Queensway, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Bucks. MK2 2EB
tel (01908) 856000
email info@scriptureunion.org.uk
website www.scriptureunion.org.uk
Director of Ministry Development (Publishing) Terry Clutterham
Christian books and bible reading materials for people of all ages; educational and worship resources for churches; children’s fiction and non-fiction; adult non-fiction. Founded 1867.
Search Press Ltd
Wellwood, North Farm Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 3DR
tel (01892) 510850
email searchpress@searchpress.com
website www.searchpress.com
Directors Martindela Bédoyière (managing), Caroline de la Bédoyière (rights), David Grant (sales & marketing), Katie French (editorial)
Arts, crafts, leisure. Founded 1970.
SelfMadeHero
139 Pancras Road, London NW1 1UN
tel 020-7383 5157
email info@selfmadehero.com
website www.selfmadehero.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/SelfMadeHero
Twitter @selfmadehero
Managing Director & Publisher Emma Hayley, Sales & Marketing Director Sam Humphrey, Press Officer Paul Smith, Foreign Rights, Editorial & Production Manager Guillaume Rater
The UK’s leading independent publisher of graphic novels and visual narratives. The list of award-winning fiction and non-iction graphic novels spans literary fiction, biography, classic adaptation, sci-fi, horror, crime and humour. Founded 2007.
September Publishing
161 Algernon Road, London SE13 7AP
tel 020-3637 0116
email info@septemberpublishing.org
website www.septemberpublishing.org
Facebook www.facebook.com/SeptemberPublishing
Twitter @septemberbook
Publisher Hannah MacDonald
Non-fiction publishers of illustrated and narrative adult books, including memoir and biography, travel, humour, art, politics. Founded 2013.
Seren
57 Nolton Street, Bridgend CF31 3AE
tel (01656) 663018
email seren@serenbooks.com
website www.serenbooks.com
Publisher Mick Felton
Poetry, fiction, literary criticism, biography, art – mostly with relevance to Wales. Founded 1981.
Severn House Publishers
Salatin House, 19 Cedar Road, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5DA
tel 020-8770 3930
email sales@severnhouse.com
website www.severnhouse.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/severnhouse
Twitter @severnhouse
Chairman Edwin Buckhalter, Publisher Kate Lyall Grant
Hardback, paperback, ebook and large print adult fiction for the library market: mysteries, thrillers, detective, horror, romance. No unsolicited MSS; submissions via literary agents. Imprints: Crème de la Crime. Founded 1974.
Shearsman Books
50 Westons Hill Drive, Emersons Green, Bristol BS16 7DF
tel 0117 957 2957
email editor@shearsman.com
website www.shearsman.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/Shearsman-Books/
Contact Tony Frazer
Contemporary poetry in English and in translation.
Sheldon Press – see Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
Sheldrake Press
188 Cavendish Road, London SW12 0DA
tel 020-8675 1767
email enquiries@sheldrakepress.co.uk
website www.sheldrakepress.co.uk
Twitter @SheldrakePress
Publisher J.S. Rigge
History and art, travel, architecture, cookery, music; humour; stationery. Founded 1979.
Shepheard-Walwyn (Publishers) Ltd
107 Parkway House, Sheen Lane, London SW14 8LS
tel 020-8241 5927
email books@shepheard-walwyn.co.uk
website www.shepheard-walwyn.co.uk, www.ethicaleconomics.org.uk
Directors A.R.A. Werner, A.L.R. Werner, Marketing
Manager Catherine Hodgkinson
Independent publishing company. History, biography, political economy, perennial philosophy; illustrated gift books; Scottish interest. Founded 1971.
Shire Publications
Kemp House, Chawley Park, Cumnor Hill, Oxford OX2 9PH
tel (01865) 811332
email shire.editor@ospreypublishing.com
website www.bloomsbury.com/uk/non-fiction/history/heritage
website www.bloomsbury.com/bloomsburybespoke/
Non-fiction publisher of history, heritage and nostalgia. Also provides publishing services to organisations such as museums, schools, universities and charities. Acquired by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc in 2014.
Short Books Ltd
Unit 316, ScreenWorks, 22 Highbury Grove, London N5 2ER
tel 020-7833 9429
email info@shortbooks.co.uk
website www.shortbooks.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/Short-Books/
Twitter @shortbooksuk
Editorial Directors Rebecca Nicolson, Aurea Carpenter
Non-fiction. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 2000.
Sidgwick & Jackson – see Pan Macmillan
Sigma Press
Stobart House, Pontyclerc, Penybanc Road, Ammanford, Carmarthenshire SA18 3HP
tel (01269) 593100
email info@sigmapress.co.uk
website www.sigmapress.co.uk
Directors Nigel Evans, Jane Evans
Leisure: country walking, cycling, regional heritage, ecology, folklore; biographies. Founded 1979.
Silvertail Books
email editor@silvertailbooks.com
website www.silvertailbooks.com
Twitter @silvertailbooks
Publisher Humfrey Hunter
New independent publisher which specialises in commercial fiction and non-fiction. They especially like publishing newsworthy non-fiction and fiction which tells captivating stories well, no matter when or where they’re set, or whether it is the author’s 1st or 51st novel. Pays high royalties on both ebook and print editions. No children’s books. Founded 2012.
Simon & Schuster UK Ltd*
222 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8HB
tel 020-7316 1900
email enquiries@simonandschuster.co.uk
website www.simonandschuster.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/simonschusterUK
Twitter @simonschusteruk
Directors Ian Chapman (Ceo), Suzanne Baboneau (managing, adult), Jo Dickinson (publishing, fiction & audio), Iain MacGregor (publishing, non-fiction), Alexandra Maramenides (managing, children’s), Jane Griffiths (children’s fiction), Helen Mackenzie Smith (children’s picture books), Jane Griffiths (children’s fiction)
Adult non-fiction (history, biography, current affairs, science, self-help, political, popular culture, sports books, memoirs and illustrated titles). Adult fiction (mass-market, literary fiction, historical fiction, commercial women’s fiction, general fiction). Children’s and young adult fiction, picture books, novelty, pop-up and licensed character. Simon & Schuster Audioworks Fiction, non-fiction and business. Founded 1986.
73 Collier Street, London N1 9BE
tel 020-7833 2307
email hello@singingdragon.com
website www.singingdragon.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/SingingDragon
Twitter @Singing_Dragon_
Director Nick Davies
An imprint of Jessica Kingsley Publishers (here). Authoritative books on complementary and alternative health, Tai Chi, Qigong and ancient wisdom traditions for health, wellbeing and professional and personal development. Includes comics and graphic novels on topics such as pain management and mental health. Founded 2008.
Siri Scientific Press
Arrow Mill, Queensway, Castleton, Rochdale OL11 2YW
tel 07770 796913
email books@siriscientificpress.co.uk
website www.siriscientificpress.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/Siri-Scientific-Press/
Publishing Consultant David Penney
Publisher of specialist natural history books including academic monographs, compiled edited volumes, photographic atlases, field guides and more general works. Specialise in works on entomology, arachnology and palaeontology, but will also consider other topics. Happy to hear directly from potential new authors. Founded 2008.
Smith Gryphon Ltd – see John Blake Publishing Ltd
Colin Smythe Ltd*
38 Mill Lane, Gerrards Cross, Bucks. SL9 8BA
tel (01753) 886000
email info@colinsmythe.co.uk
website www.colinsmythe.co.uk
Directors Colin Smythe (managing & editorial), Leslie Hayward, Ann Saddlemyer
Irish biography, phaleristics, heraldry, Irish literature and literary criticism, Irish history. Other imprints: Dolmen Press, Van Duren Publishers. Founded 1966.
Snowbooks Ltd
112 High Street, Thame, Oxon OX9 3DZ
website www.snowbooks.com
Directors Emma Barnes (managing), Rob Jones
Genre fiction: steampunk, fantasy, sci-fi and horror. General non-fiction. See website for submission guidelines. No postal submissions or calls please. Founded 2004.
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
36 Causton Street, London SW1P 4ST
tel 020-7592 3900
email spck@spck.org.uk
website www.spckpublishing.co.uk
Director of Publishing Sam Richardson
Founded 1698.
IVP
Theology and academic, commentaries, biblical studies, contemporary culture.
Marylebone House
Commercial and literary fiction.
Sheldon Press
Popular medicine, health, self-help, psychology.
SPCK
Theology, bibles, history, contemporary culture, children’s picture books and fiction, biography, liturgy, prayer, spirituality, biblical studies, educational resources, social and ethical issues, mission, gospel and culture.
Society of Genealogists Enterprises Ltd
14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7BA
tel 020-7251 8799
email sales@sog.org.uk
website www.sog.org.uk
Chief Executive June Perrin
Local and family history books, software and magazines plus extensive library facilities.
Somerville Press Ltd
Dromore, Bantry, Co. Cork P75 NY22, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)28 32873
email somervillepress@eircom.net
website www.somervillepress.com
Directors Andrew Russell, Jane Russell
Irish interest: fiction and non-fiction. Founded 2008.
Southwater – see Anness Publishing
Souvenir Press Ltd
43 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3PD
tel 020-7580 9307/8
email souvenirpress@souvenirpress.co.uk
website http://souvenirpress.co.uk/
Managing Director Ernest Hecht OBE
Archaeology, biography and memoirs, educational (secondary, technical), general, humour, practical handbooks, psychiatry, psychology, sociology, sports, games and hobbies, travel, supernatural, parapsychology, illustrated books. No unsolicited fiction or children’s books; initial enquiry by letter essential for non-fiction. Founded 1951.
SPCK – see Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
2nd Floor, 5 Thomas More Square, London E1W 1WY
tel 0845 450 6414
email info@speechmark.net
website www.routledge.com/collections/11164
Education, health, social care. A division of Electric Word. Founded 1990.
Sphere – see Little, Brown Book Group
Spon – see Taylor & Francis Group
SportBooks Ltd
9 St Aubyns Place, York YO24 1EQ
tel (01904) 613475
email info@sportsbooks.ltd.uk
website www.sportsbooks.ltd.uk
Directors Randall Northam, Veronica Northam
Sport. Imprints: SportsBooks, BMM. Not currently accepting submissions. Founded 1995.
Springer-Verlag London Ltd*
236 Gray’s Inn Road, Floor 6, London WC1X 8HB
tel 020-3192 2000
website www.springer.com/gb
General Manager Beverley Ford
Medicine, computing, engineering, mathematics, chemistry, biosciences. Founded 1972.
Spruce – see Octopus Publishing Group
Stacey Publishing Ltd
14 Great College Street, London SW1P 3RX
tel 020-7221 7166
email info@stacey-international.co.uk
website www.stacey-international.co.uk
Founder Tom Stacey
Topical issues for Independent Minds series, encyclopaedic books on regions and countries, Islamic and Arab subjects, world affairs, children’s books, art, travel, belles lettres, biography. Imprints: Capuchin Classics, Gorilla Guides. Founded 1974.
Capuchin Classics
email info@capuchin-classics.co.uk
website www.capuchin-classics.co.uk
Enduring literary fiction, mostly 19th and 20th century. Founded 2008.
Stainer & Bell Ltd
PO Box 110, Victoria House, 23 Gruneisen Road, London N3 1DZ
tel 020-8343 3303
email post@stainer.co.uk
website www.stainer.co.uk
Directors Keith Wakefield (joint managing), Carol Wakefield (joint managing & secretary)
Books on music, religious communication. Founded 1907.
Stenlake Publishing Ltd
54–58 Mill Square, Catrine, Ayrshire KA5 6RD
tel (01290) 552233
email sales@stenlake.co.uk
website www.stenlake.co.uk
Managing Director Richard Stenlake
Local history, Scottish language and literature especially Robert Burns, studio pottery, bee keeping, railways, transport, aviation, canals and mining covering Wales, Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Republic of Ireland and Zambia. Founded 1987.
Alloway Publishing
website www.allowaypublishing.co.uk
Oakwood Press
Specialising in railway and transport books. Founded 1931.
Stonewood Press
tel 0845 4564 838
email stonewoodpress@gmail.com
website www.stonewoodpress.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/stonewoodpress
Twitter @stonewoodpress
Publisher & Production Editor Martin Parker
Stonewood Press is a small independent publisher dedicated to promoting new writing with an emphasis on contemporary short stories and poetry. Stonewood aims to publish challenging and high-quality writing in English without the pressures associated with mainstream publishing. Please see our website for up-to-date submission guidelines and submission window. Founded 2011.
Stripes – see Little Tiger Group
Summersdale Publishers Ltd
46 West Street, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1RP
tel (01243) 771107
email submissions@summersdale.com
website www.summersdale.com
Editorial Director Claire Plimmer
Popular non-fiction, humour and gift books, travel writing and health and wellbeing. See website for guidelines. Acquired by Octopus in 2017 (here). Founded 1990.
Sunflower Books
PO Box 36160, London SW7 3WS
tel 020-7589 2377
email info@sunflowerbooks.co.uk
website www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk
Director P.A. Underwood
Travel guidebooks.
Sussex Academic Press
PO Box 139, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN24 9BP
tel (01323) 479220
email edit@sussex-academic.com
website www.sussex-academic.com
Editorial Director Anthony Grahame Founded 1994.
The Alpha Press
International relations, Middle Eastern studies, cultural studies, theatre, philosophy, literary criticism, biography, history with a special emphasis on Spanish history, first nations studies, Latin American studies, theology and religion, Jewish and Israel studies (history, Holocaust, culture, biography), Asian studies, art history.
Sweet & Maxwell
Thomson Reuters, PO Box 123, Hebden Bridge HX7 9BF
tel 020-7393 7000
website www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk
Law. Part of Thomson Reuters Ltd. Founded 1799; incorporated 1889.
Sweet Cherry Publishing
Unit 36, Vulcan Business Complex, Vulcan Road, Leicester LE5 3EF
tel 0116 253 6796
email info@sweetcherrypublishing.com
website www.sweetcherrypublishing.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/sweetcherrypublishing
Twitter @sweetcherrypub
Director A. Thadha
Children’s series fiction specialist. Children’s picture books, novelty books, gift books, board books, educational books and fiction series for all ages. Also welcomes young adult novels especially trilogies or longer series. Likes to publish a set of books as a box set or in a slipcase. See website for submission guidelines. Founded 2011.
Tango Books Ltd
PO Box 32595, London W4 5YD
tel 020-8996 9970
email sales@tangobooks.co.uk
website www.tangobooks.co.uk
Directors Sheri Safran, David Fielder
Children’s fiction and non-fiction novelty books, including pop-up, touch-and-feel and cloth books. No unsolicited MSS.
Tarquin Publications
Suite 74, 17 Holywell Hill, St Albans AL1 1DT
tel (01727) 833866
email info@tarquinbooks.com
website www.tarquinbooks.com
Director Andrew Griffin
Mathematics and mathematical models, puzzles, codes and logic; paper cutting, paper engineering and pop-up books for intelligent children. No unsolicited MSS; send suggestion or synopsis in first instance. Founded 1970.
Taschen UK Ltd
5th Floor, 1 Heathcock Court, 415 Strand, London WC2R 0NS
tel 020-7845 8585
email contact-uk@taschen.com
website www.taschen.com
Publishers of art, anthropology and aphrodisia. Founded 1980.
Tate Enterprises Ltd
The Lodge, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
tel 020-7887 8869
email submissions@tate.org.uk
website www.tate.org.uk/publishing
Publishing & Commercial Director John Stachiewicz,
Merchandise Director Rosey Blackmore, Sales &
Marketing Manager Maxx Lundie, Marketing &
Publicity Coordinator Lucy MacDonald
Publishers for Tate in London, Liverpool and St Ives. Exhibition catalogues, art books, children’s books and merchandise. Also product development, picture library and licensing.
I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd*
6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU
tel 020-7243 1225
website www.ibtauris.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/ibtauris
Twitter @ibtauris
Chairman/Publisher Iradj Bagherzade,
Managing Director Jonathan McDonnell
History, biography, politics, international relations, current affairs, Middle East, religion, cultural and media studies, film, art, archaeology, travel guides. Acquired by Bloomsbury Publishing (here) in 2018. Founded 1983.
Tauris Parke Paperbacks
Non-fiction trade paperbacks: biography, history, travel.
Taylor & Francis Group*
2 and 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
tel 020-7017 6000
email enquiries@taylorandfrancis.com
website http://taylorandfrancis.com/, www.informa.com
Ceo Annie Callanan, Managing Director (Taylor & Francis Books) Jeremy North
Academic and reference books.
Ashgate Publishing
Art history, music, history, social work, politics and lterary studies.
CRC Press
website www.crcpress.com
Science: physics, mathematics, chemistry, electronics, natural history, pharmacology and drug metabolism, toxicology, technology, history of science, ergonomics, production engineering, remote sensing, geographic information systems, engineering.
Focal Press
Animation, audio, film, gaming, music technology, photography and theatre.
Garland Science
website www.garlandscience.com
Bioscience textbooks and scholarly works.
Gower
Specialist business and management books and resources.
Psychology Press
See here.
Routledge
website www.routledge.com
Addiction, anthropology, archaeology, Asian studies, business, classical studies, counselling, criminology, development and environment, dictionaries, economics, education, geography, health, history, Japanese studies, library science, language, linguistics, literary criticism, media and culture, nursing, performance studies, philosophy, politics, psychiatry, psychology, reference, social administration, social studies/sociology, women’s studies, law. Directories, international relations, reference, yearbooks. Imprint of Routledge (here).
Spon
website www.sponpress.com
Architecture, civil engineering, construction, leisure and recreation management, sports science.
Templar Publishing
Suite 2.08 The Plaza, 535 Kings Road, London SW10 0SZ
tel 020-3770 8888
email social@bonnierpublishing.co.uk
website www.templarco.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/templarpublishing
Twitter @templarbooks
Templar Publishing is a leading UK children’s publisher. Templar is part of the Bonnier Group and was acquired by Bonnier Publishing in 2008. Founded 1978.
Thames & Hudson Ltd*
181A High Holborn, London WC1V 7QX
tel 020-7845 5000
email sales@thameshudson.co.uk
website www.thamesandhudson.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/thamesandhudson
Twitter @thamesandhudson
Chairman T. Evans, Deputy Chairman S. Reisz-Neurath, Ceo R. Grisebach; Directors S. Thompson (publishing), L. Dietrich (international editorial), W. Balliet (US publishing)
Illustrated non-fiction for an international audience (adults and children), specialising in art and art history, photography, design, travel, history, archaeology, architecture, fashion and contemporary media.
Think Books
Think Publishing Ltd, 25 Chapel Street, London NW1 5DH
tel 020-3771 7200
website www.thinkpublishing.co.uk
Chairman Ian McAuliffe, Chief Executive Tilly McAuliffe
Specialises in books on the outdoors, gardening and wildlife. Publishes with the Wildlife Trusts, the Royal Horticultural Society and the Campaign to Protect Rural England and others. Founded 2005.
Thistle Publishing
36 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BU
tel 020-7222 7574
email david@thistlepublishing.co.uk
website www.thistlepublishing.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/ThistlePublishing
Twitter @ThistleBooks
Publishers David Haviland, Andrew Lownie
Winner of the People’s Book Prize 2017. Trade publisher of quality fiction and non-fiction. Accepts unsolicited submissions, please send three chapters and a synopsis by email. Authors include Theo Aronson, Chloe Banks, Charles Beauclerk, Guy Bellamy, Nicholas Best, Joyce Cary, Andrew Crofts, Michael Curtin, Martin Dillon, Patrick Dillon, J. D. Dixon, Piu Eatwell, Duncan Falconer, Richard Falkirk, Anhua Gao, Michael Hartland, Kris Hollington, Lawrence James, Harry Keeble, Norma Major, David McGrath, Richard Mullen, Katharine Quarmby, Siân Rees, Rosalind Russell, Desmond Seward, David Stafford, Peter Thorold, and M.J. Trow.
Thomson Reuters – Round Hall*
13 Exchange Place, Dublin 1, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)16 009355
website www.roundhall.ie
Directors (Ireland) S. Flynn, J. Lanigan, M. McCann
Law. Part of Thomson Reuters.
Three Hares Publishing
2 Dukes Avenue, London N10 2PT
tel 020-8245 8989
email submissions@threeharespublishing.com
website www.threeharespublishing.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/threeharespublishing
Twitter @threeharesbooks
Publisher Yasmin Standen
Submissions are open and will consider fiction/non-fiction, novels, children’s books, young adult and short stories. No picture books. Publishes a number of established authors and first-time authors. Interested in discovering new talent. Visit website for submission guidelines – email submissions only. Founded 2014.
Time Out – see Ebury Publishing
Tindal Street Press – see Profile Books Ltd
Tiny Owl Publishing Ltd
1 Repton House, Charlwood Street, London SW1V 2LD
email info@tinyowl.co.uk
website www.tinyowl.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/tinyowlpublishing
Twitter @TinyOwl_Books
Co-founder Delaram Ghanimifard
An independent leading publisher of global children’s literature. Publishes high-quality picture books for children 3–11 years. Aims to promote diversity and human rights values.
Titan Books
144 Southwark Street, London SE1 0UP
tel 020-7620 0200
website www.titanbooks.com
Divisional Head Laura Price
Publisher of original fiction under the genres science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime and young adult crossover. Licensed fiction and non-fiction covering TV, film and gaming, including licensed works for Mass Effect, Star Trek, Alien, Planet of the Apes, Assassin’s Creed and DC Universe. Graphic novel collections include The Simpsons and Modesty Blaise. No children’s proposals. All fiction submissions must come from an agent. Division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd. Founded 1981.
Tolley – see LexisNexis
Top That! Publishing plc
Marine House, Tide Mill Way, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 1AP
tel (01394) 386651
email customerservice@topthatpublishing.com
website www.topthatpublishing.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/topthatpublishing
Twitter @TopThatPub
Chairman Barrie Henderson, Managing Director David Henderson
Children’s activity books, novelty books, picture books, reference, character, gift books, early learning books, apps and digital animations. Imprint: Top That Publishing. Founded 1999.
Transworld Publishers
61–63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA
tel 020-8579 2652
Publisher Bill Scott-Kerr
Part of Penguin Random House UK (here). No unsolicited MSS accepted.
Bantam Press
Publishing Director Doug Young
General non-fiction: business, crime, health and diet, history, humour, military, music, paranormal, self-help, science, travel and adventure, biography, autobiography.
Black Swan
Publisher Bill Scott-Kerr
Paperback quality fiction and non-fiction.
Doubleday (UK)
Publishing Director Marianne Velmans
Literary fiction and non-fiction.
Eden and Expert, Doubleday
Publishing Director Susanna Wadeson
General non-fiction and fiction.
Transworld Crime & Thrillers, Commercial Fiction
Fiction Publisher Sarah Adams
Transworld Commercial Fiction
Publishing Director Frankie Gray
Transworld Ireland
Editorial Director Fiona Murphy
Trentham Books
20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL
tel 020-7911 5383 (production), 020-7911-5538 (editorial)
email trenthambooks@ioe.ac.uk
website www.ucl-ioe-press.com
Imprint of the UCL Institute of Education Press. Education (including specialist fields – social justice and inclusion, race and racism, gender studies and intersectionality, equal opportunities, refugee education), language and literacy, early years, social policy and sociology of education. Does not publish books for parents or children, or fiction, biography, textbooks, reminiscences and poetry.
Troika
Troika Books Ltd, Well House, Green Lane, Ardleigh, Colchester, Essex CO7 7PD
tel (01206) 233333
email martin@troikabooks.com
website www.troikabooks.com
Publisher Martin West, Rights Petula Chaplin,
Publicity & Marketing Andrea Reece, Sales & Marketing Roy Johnson
Publishes picture books, poetry and fiction for all ages, with an emphasis on quality and accessibility. Though a determinedly small list, it publishes some big name authors including prize-winners Michelle Magorian, Bernard Ashley, Pippa Goodhart together with new authors Savita Kalhan and Miriam Halahmy. Our poetry list includes Zaro Weil, Brian Moses, John Foster, Hilda Offen and Neal Zetter. Founded 2012.
Troubador Publishing Ltd
9 Priory Business Park, Wistow Road, Kibworth, Leics. LE8 0RX
tel 0116 279 2299
email books@troubador.co.uk
website www.troubador.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/matadorbooks
Twitter @matadorbooks
Directors Jeremy Thompson (managing), Jane Rowland (operations)
Troubador runs several subsidiaries in the author services sector, and is organiser of the annual Self-Publishing Conference. Subsidiaries include the Matador self-publishing imprint; The Book Guild Ltd partnership/mainstream imprint; and Indie-Go services for independent authors. Founded 1996.
TSO (The Stationery Office)
St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich NR3 1PD
tel (01603) 696876
email customer.services@tso.co.uk
website www.tso.co.uk
Publishing and information management services: business, directories, pharmaceutical, professional, reference, Learning to Drive.
Two Rivers Press Ltd
7 Denmark Road, Reading, Berks. RG1 5PA
tel 0118 987 1452
email tworiverspress@gmail.com
website www.tworiverspress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/tworiverspress
Twitter @TwoRiversPress
Managing Publisher Sally Mortimore, Sales Barbara Morris, Poetry Editor Peter Robinson, Local Interest Editor Adam Sowan, Design & Illustration Nadja Guggi, Sally Castle, Martin Andrews, Marketing & Website Karen Mosman
Champions Reading and surrounding area’s heritage and culture through contemporary and classic poetry, biography, art and local interest books. Launching an international Botanical Art Portfolios series in 2019. Founded 1994.
Ulric Publishing
35 Sandford Ave, Church Stretton, Shrops. SY6 6BH
tel (01694) 781354
email enquiries@ulricpublishing.com
website www.ulricpublishing.com
Directors Ulric Woodhams, Elizabeth Oakes
Non-fiction military and motoring history. Licensing, bespoke bindings and publishing services. No unsolicited MSS. Visitors by appointment. Founded 1992.
Ulverscroft Group Ltd
The Green, Bradgate Road, Anstey, Leicester LE7 7FU
tel 0116 236 4325
email m.merrill@ulverscroft.co.uk
website www.ulverscroft.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/ulverscroft
Twitter @UlverscroftUK
Offers a wide variety of large print titles in hardback and paperback format as well as abridged and unabridged audiobooks on CD, MP3 CD and digital download, many of which are written by the world’s favourite authors and includes award-winning titles. Acquired Oakill Publishing and its range of unabridge audiobooks April 2018. Founded 1964.
Unbound
Unit 18, Waterside, 44–48 Wharf Road, London N1 7UX
tel 020-7253 4230
email hello@unbound.co.uk
website https://unbound.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/unbound
Twitter @unbounders
The world’s first crowdfunding publisher and winner of the Bookseller Book of the Year Award 2015, Unbound is home to the Sunday Times bestselling Letters of Note and the Man Booker prize longlisted The Wake. Considers submissions from literary agents and direct from writers. Includes an audio and podcasting arm Unbound Audio. Writers should submit projects using the website submission page: unbound.co.uk/authors. Founded 2011.
Unicorn Publishing Group LLP
101 Wardour Street, London W1F 0UG
tel 07836 633377
email ian@unicornpublishing.org
website www.unicornpublishing.org
Directors Lord Strathcarron, Lucy Duckworth, Simon Perks, Ryan Gearing
Leading independent publisher with three distinct imprints: Unicorn, specialising in the visual arts and cultural history; Uniform, specialising in military history; and Universe, specialising in historical fiction. Unicorn Sales & Distribution is UPG’s and its client publishers’ marketing arm, with worldwide sales and distribution operations. UPG has corporate and marketing offices in London and Chicago and its design studio in Lewes, Sussex. Founded 1985.
Merlin Unwin Books Ltd
Palmers House, 7 Corve Street, Ludlow, Shrops. SY8 1DB
tel (01584) 877456
email books@merlinunwin.co.uk
website www.merlinunwin.co.uk
Chairman Merlin Unwin, Managing Director Karen McCall
Countryside books. Founded 1990.
Usborne House, 83–85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT
tel 020-7430 2800
email mail@usborne.co.uk
website www.usborne.com
Directors Peter Usborne, Jenny Tyler (editorial), Robert Jones, Andrea Parsons
Children’s books: reference, practical, craft, natural history, science, languages, history, geography, preschool, fiction. Founded 1973.
Vallentine Mitchell
Catalyst House, 720 Centennial Court, Centennial Park, Elstree WD6 3SY
tel 020-8736 4596
email info@vmbooks.com (general), editor@vmbooks.com (submissions)
website www.vmbooks.com
Directors Stewart Cass, A.E. Cass, H.J. Cass
International publisher of books of Jewish interest, both for the scholar and general reader. Subjects published include Jewish history, culture and heritage, modern Jewish thought, Holocuast studies, Middle East studies, biography and reference.
Valley Press
Woodend, The Crescent, Scarborough YO11 2PW
tel (01723) 332077
email office@valleypressuk.com
website www.valleypressuk.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/valleypress
Twitter @valleypress
Publisher Jamie McGarry, Executive Assistant Laura McGarry, Assistant Publisher Jo Haywood, Submissions Coordinator Tess Dennison, Project Manager (Events/Education) Vanessa Simmons, Production Editor Sasha Hawkes
Publishes poetry (collections, pamphlets and anthologies); fiction (novels and short stories); graphic novels; and non-fiction (memoirs, travel writing, journalism, music, art and more). Founded 2008. Open submissions.
Veritas Publications
Veritas House, 7–8 Lower Abbey Street, Dublin D01 W2C2, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)18 788177
email publications@veritas.ie
website www.veritas.ie
Liturgical and Church resources, religious school books for primary and post-primary levels, biographies, academic studies, and general books on religious, moral and social issues.
Vermilion – see Ebury Publishing
Verso Ltd
6 Meard Street, London W1V 0EG
tel 020-7437 3546
email enquiries@verso.co.uk
website www.verso.com
Directors Jacob Stevens (managing), Rowan Wilson (sales & marketing), Robin Blackburn, Tariq Ali
Current affairs, politics, sociology, economics, history, philosophy, cultural studies. Founded 1970.
Viking – see Penguin General
Vintage
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA
tel 020-7840 8400
website www.penguin.co.uk/vintage
Managing Director Richard Cable, Deputy Managing Director Faye Brewster, Publishing Directorko Rachel Cugnoni, Communications Director Christian Lewis, Head of Publicity Bethan Jones, Head of Marketing Chloe Healy
Part of Penguin Random House UK (here). Quality fiction and non-fiction. No unsolicited MSS.
The Bodley Head
tel 020-7840 8707
Publishing Director Stuart Williams, Editorial Director Will Hammond, Editor Anna-Sophia Watts
Non-fiction: history, current affairs, politics, science, biography, economics.
Jonathan Cape
tel 020-7840 8608
Publishing Director Michal Shavit, Associate Publisher Dan Franklin, Associate Publisher Robin Robertson, Deputy Publishing Director Bea Hemming, Senior Editor Ana Fletcher
Biography and memoirs, current affairs, drama, fiction, history, poetry, travel, politics, graphic novels, photography.
Chatto & Windus/Hogarth
tel 020-7840 8745
Publishing Director Clara Farmer, Deputy Publishing Director Becky Hardie, Editorial Director Poppy Hampson, Editor Charlotte Humphery, Assistant Editor Greg Clowes
Belles lettres, biography and memoirs, current affairs, fiction, history, poetry, politics, philosophy, translations, travel. No unsolicited MSS.
Harvill Secker
tel 020-7840 8893
Publishing Director Liz Foley, Deputy Publishing Director Kate Harvey, Editorial Director (crime) Jade Chandler, Editor Ellie Steel, Assistant Editor Mikaela Pedlow
English literature, crime fiction and world literature in translation. Non-fiction (history, current affairs, literary essays, music). No unsolicited MSS.
Pimlico
tel 020-7840 8836
Publishing Director Rachel Cugnoni
History, biography, literature. Exclusively in paperback. No unsolicited MSS.
tel 020-7840 8541
Publishing Director Clara Farmer, Editorial Director Rowan Yapp, Editor Susannah Otter, Assistant Editor Harriet Dobson
Eclectic, idiosyncratic and commercial non-fiction including humour, illustrated and gift books, food, nature, memoir, travel, parenting. Unsolicited MSS with sae.
Yellow Jersey Press
tel 020-7840 8407
Editorial Director Tim Broughton, Editor Frances Jessop
Sport and leisure activities. No unsolicited MSS.
Virgin Books – see Ebury Publishing
Virtue Books Ltd
Edward House, Tenter Street, Rotherham S60 1LB
tel (01709) 365005
email info@virtue.co.uk
website www.virtue.co.uk
Directors Peter E. Russum, Margaret H. Russum
Books for the professional chef: catering and drink.
The Vital Spark – see Neil Wilson Publishing Ltd
Voyager – see HarperCollins Publishers
University of Wales Press
10 Columbus Walk, Brigantine Place, Cardiff CF10 4UP
tel 029-2049 6899
email enquiries@press.wales.ac.uk
website www.uwp.co.uk
Director Natalie Williams
Academic, educational and professional publisher (Welsh and English). Specialises in the humanities and social sciences across a broad range of subjects: European studies, political philosophy, literature, history, Celtic and Welsh studies. Founded 1922.
Walker Books Ltd*
87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ
tel 020-7793 0909
website www.walker.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/walkerbooks
Twitter @walkerbooksuk
Directors Karen Lotz, Ian Mablin (non-executive), Roger Alexander (non-executive), Angela Van Den Belt, Jane Winterbotham, Alan Lee, Mike McGrath, John Mendelson, Hilary Berkman
Children’s: activity books, novelty books, picture books, fiction for 5–8 and 9–12 years, young adult fiction, series fiction, film/TV tie-ins, plays, poetry, digital and audio. Imprints: Walker Books, Walker Studio and Walker Entertainment. Founded 1980.
Ward Lock Educational Co. Ltd
BIC Ling Kee House, 1 Christopher Road, East Grinstead, West Sussex RH19 3BT
tel (01342) 318980
email wle@lingkee.com
website http://wle.lingkee.com/wle/
Director Wai Kwok Allen Au
Primary and secondary pupil materials, Kent Mathematics Project: KMP BASIC and KMP Main series covering Reception to GCSE, Reading Workshops, Take Part series and Take Part starters, teachers’ books, music books, Target series for the National Curriculum: Target Science and Target Geography, religious education. Founded 1952.
Watkins Media
Unit 11, Shepperton House, 89 Shepperton Road, London N1 3DF
tel 020-813 6940
email enquiries@watkinsmedia.org
website www.watkinsmedia.org
Owner Etan Ilfeld, Watkins Publisher Jo Lal, Angry Robot Publisher Marc Gascoigne, Repeater Publisher Tariq Goddard
Media company that incorporates magazine publishing and retail activities as well as book publishing. Imprints: Watkins Publishing (personal development – here), Angry Robot (sci-fi and fantasy – here), Nourish Books (health and wellbeing, food and drink – here), Repeater (counter-culture fiction and non-fiction, including politics and current affairs – here) and Watkins Publishing (self-help, personal development, mind, body & spirit – below). Founded 1893.
Watkins Publishing
Unit 11, Shepperton House, 89 Shepperton Road, London N1 3DF
tel 020-3813-6940
email enquiries@watkinspublishing.com
website https://www.watkinspublishing.com/
Facebook www.facebook.com/WatkinsPublishing
Twitter @WatkinsWisdom
Editor Publisher Jo Lal
Publishes personal development and mind, body & spirit books. Works in partnership with outstanding authors and aims to produce authoritative, innovative titles, both illustrated and non-illustrated. Part of Watkins Media (above).
Franklin Watts – see Hachette Children’s Group
Wayland – see Hachette Children’s Group
Josef Weinberger Plays Ltd
12–14 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JJ
tel 020-7580 2827
email general.info@jwmail.co.uk
website www.josef-weinberger.com
Chairman John Schofield
Stage plays only, in both acting and trade editions. Preliminary letter essential.
PO Box 733, Cardiff CF14 7ZY
tel 029-2021 8187
email post@welsh-academic-press.wales
website www.welsh-academic-press.wales
Facebook www.facebook.com/WelshAcademicPress
Twitter @WelshAcadPress
History, political studies, education, Medieval Welsh and Celtic studies, Scandinavian and Baltic studies. Distributed by: Welsh Books Council (Wales), NBNi (UK & Europe), ISBS (North America). Founded 1994.
Whittet Books Ltd
1 St John’s Lane, Stansted, Essex CM24 8JU
tel (01279) 815871
email mail@whittetbooks.com
website www.whittetbooks.com
Director George J. Papa, Publisher Shirley Greenall
Natural history, wildlife, countryside, poultry, livestock, horses, donkeys. Publishing proposals considered for the above lists. Please send outline, preferably by email. Founded 1976.
Wide Eyed Editions
74–77 White Lion Street, London N1 9PF
tel 020-7284 9300
website https://www.quartoknows.com/Wide-Eyed-Editions
Imprint of the Quarto Group. Wide Eyed Editions creates original non-fiction for children and families and believes that books should encourage curiosity about the world, inspiring readers to set out on their own journey of discovery. Founded 2014.
John Wiley & Sons Ltd
The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8SQ
tel (01243) 779777
email customer@wiley.co.uk
Alternative address 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ
tel (01865) 776868
website www.wiley.com
Ceo Brian A Napack
Wiley’s core businesses publish scientific, technical, medical and scholarly journals, encyclopedias, books and online products and services; professional/trade books, subscription products, training materials, and online applications and websites; and educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Global headquarters in Hoboken, New Jersey, with operations in the USA, Europe, Asia, Canada and Australia.
Neil Wilson Publishing Ltd
226 King Street, Castle Douglas DG7 1DS
tel (01556) 504119
email info@nwp.co.uk
website www.nwp.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/Neil-Wilson-Publishing-170187613028330/
Twitter @NWPbooks
Managing Director Neil Wilson
Independent publisher of print and ebooks covering a broad range of mostly Scottish interests. Submissions by email only. Include covering letter, author CV, synopsis and sample chapter. Genres published include whisky, food, the great outdoors, history and culture, true crime and humour. Imprints: 11:9, Angels’ Share, In Pinn, NWP and Vital Spark.
Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd
6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU
tel 020-7243 1225
email cmartelli@philip-wilson.co.uk
website www.philip-wilson.co.uk
Managing Director Jonathan McDonnell, Senior
Commissioning Editor Anne Jackson
Fine and applied art, architecture, photography, collecting, museums. A subsidiary of I. B. Tauris & Co Ltd. Founded 1975.
Windmill Books – see Cornerstone
Wooden Books
Signature, 20 Castlegate, York YO1 9RP
email info@woodenbooks.com
Alternative address Central Books, 99 Wallis Road, London E9 5LN
website www.woodenbooks.com
Magic, mathematics, ancient sciences, esoteric. Quality b&w illustrators may submit samples. Founded 1996.
words & pictures
The Old Brewery, 6 Blundell Street, London N7 9BH
tel 020-7800 8043
website https://www.quartoknows.com/words-pictures
Publisher Zeta Jones
Imprint of Quarto Publishing for young children. The imprint has three main focuses: imagination, innovation and inspiration. Always on the lookout for authors and artists with creative ideas that enhance and broaden the children’s publishing list. See the submission guidelines: https://www.quartoknows.com/Corporate/Submission-Guidelines/.
Y Lolfa Cyf
Talybont, Ceredigion SY24 5HE
tel (01970) 832304
email ylolfa@ylolfa.com
website www.ylolfa.com
Director Garmon Gruffudd, Editor Lefi Gruffudd
Welsh language and English books of Welsh/Celtic interest, biographies and sport. Founded 1967.
47 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP
tel 020-7079 4900
website www.yalebooks.co.uk
Managing Director Heather McCallum, Editorial Director for Art & Architecture Mark Eastment, Editorial Director for Trade & Academic Julian Loose
Art, architecture, history, economics, political science, religion, history of science, biography, current affairs and music. Founded 1961.
Yellow Jersey Press – see Vintage
Zambezi Publishing Ltd
22 Second Avenue, Camels Head, Plymouth PL2 2EQ
tel (01752) 367300
email info@zampub.com
website www.zampub.com
Contact Sasha Fenton, Jan Budkowski
Mind, body & spirit. Founded 1998.
Zed Books Ltd
2.8 The Foundry, 17 Oval Way London SE11 5RR
tel 020-752 5828 (general)
email info@zedbooks.net
website www.zedbooks.net
Facebook www.facebook.com/ZedBooks
Twitter @ZedBooks
Editorial Directors Ken Barlow, Kim Walker, Kika Sroka-Miller, Dominic Fagan
Social sciences on international issues; gender, sexuality studies and queer identities, politics, economics, development, environmental, sociology, cities and architecture, culture and media, current affairs, history, human rights, philospohy, race and indigenous politics; area studies (Africa, Americas, Asia, and the Middle East). Founded 1976.
ZigZag Education
Unit 3, Greenway Business Centre, Doncaster Road, Bristol BS10 5PY
tel 0117 950 3199
email submissions@publishmenow.co.uk
website www.zigzageducation.co.uk, www.publishmenow.co.uk
Development Director John-Lloyd Hagger, Strategy Director Mike Stephens
Secondary school teaching resources: English, maths, ICT, geography, history, science, business, politics, P.E., media studies. Founded 1998.
CROWDFUNDED PUBLISHING
Crowdfunding, the raising of small investments from a wide pool of individuals to fund a project, is becoming a popular and viable option for writers wishing to publish their work.
Indiegogo
website www.indiegogo.com
Acts as a ‘launchpad’ for creative ideas.
Kickstarter
website www.kickstarter.com
Helps artists, musicians, film-makers, designers find resources and support needed for a project.
Publishizer
website https://publishizer.com/
Books only. Authors submit a proposal and launch a pre-orders campaign. Publishers receive proposals based on targets. If a publisher signals interest, an exchange is initiated between author and publisher. Alternatively approach a crowdfunding publisher to help raise finances with you. The publisher will critically assess your work before presenting it for funding opportunities and will publish and distribute the book. Some publishers seek investment from readers across their operation and not for a specific title.
Eyewear Publishing
website http://stores.eyewearpublishing.com/
Invites readers to be come ‘micropatrons’. See Eyewear Publishing Ltd (here).
Inkshares
website www.inkshares.com
See Inkshares (here).
Unbound
website https://unbound.com
See Unbound (here).
Listings are given for book publishers in Australia (below), Canada (here), New Zealand (here), South Africa (here) and the USA (here).
AUSTRALIA
*Member of the Australian Publishers Association
Access Press
PO Box 2300, Geraldton, WA 6530
tel +61 (0)408 943299
Managing Editor Jenny Walsh
Australiana, biography, non-fiction. Commissioned works and privately financed books published and distributed. Founded 1974.
ACER Press*
19 Prospect Hill Road, Private Bag 55, Camberwell, VIC 3124
tel +61 (0)3 9277 5555
email proposals@acer.edu.au
website www.acer.edu.au
Publisher of the Australian Council for Educational Research. Produces a range of books and assessments including professional resources for teachers, psychologists and special needs professionals.
Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd*
83 Alexander Street, Crows Nest, NSW 2065 Postal address PO Box 8500, St Leonards, NSW 1590
tel +61 (0)2 8425 0100
email info@allenandunwin.com
website www.allenandunwin.com
Chairman Patrick Gallagher, Ceo Robert Gorman, Publishing Director Tom Gilliatt
General trade, including fiction and children’s books, academic, especially social science and history. Founded 1990.
Bloomsbury Publishing Pty Ltd*
Level 4, 387 George Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
tel +61 (0)2 8820 4900
email au@bloomsbury.com
website www.bloomsbury.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/bloomsburypublishingaustralia
Twitter @BloomsburySyd
Managing Director Kate Cubitt
Supports the worldwide publishing activities of Bloomsbury Publishing: caters for the Australia and New Zealand territories. See Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (here).
Bonnier Publishing Australia*
Level 6, 534 Church Street, Richmond, VIC 3121
tel +61 (0)3 9421 3800
email info@bonnierpublishing.com.au
website www.bonnierpublishing.com.au
Facebook www.facebook.com/bonnierpublishingau
Twitter @bonnierpubau
Ceo Tash Besliev, Directors Niki Horin (Five Mile), Kay Scarlett (Echo)
Bonnier Publishing Australia is based in Melbourne. The company represents UK sister-company imprints across the ANZ markets, as well as creating local publishing under Five Mile, a 25-year old children’s imprint, and Echo, a fresh voice in Australian adult publishing. Bonnier Publishing Australia is a division of international publishing group, Bonnier Publishing.
Cambridge University Press*
477 Williamstown Road, Private Bag 31, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207
tel +61 (0)3 8671 1400
email educationmarketing@cambridge.edu.au
website www.cambridge.edu.au/education
Executive Director Mark O’Neil
Academic, educational, reference, ESL.
Cengage Learning Australia*
Level 7, 80 Dorcas Street, South Melbourne, VIC 3205
tel +61 (0)3 9685 4111
website www.cengage.com.au
Educational books.
Dominie Pty Ltd
Drama (Plays & Musicals), 8 Cross Street, Brookvale, NSW 2100
tel +61 (0)2 9938 8686
email drama@dominie.com.au
website www.dominie.com.au/drama
Australian representatives of publishers of plays and agents for the collection of royalties for Hanbury Plays, The Society of Authors, Nick Hern Books, Pioneer Drama, IT&M and Dominie Musicals.
ELK Publishing
PO Box 2828, Toowoomba, QLD 4350
tel +61 (0)4 2811 7828
email contactus@elk-publishing.com
website www.elk-publishing.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/elkpublishing
Twitter @elkpublish
Founder & Ceo Selina Kucks, Correspondance Officer May Briggs
An Australian grown, independent publishing house of children’s and educational literature. Established in Korea, the company is now based in Australia. ELK Publishing creates children’s and educational books; provides opportunities for unknown artists and illustrators to collaborate with in-house authors; offers internships to university students who are presently engaged in literary scholarship; supports ‘Author In School’ visits to educational institutions; produces corporate book gifting; provides book review services; and offers opportunities for authors/writers wanting to break into the literary industry. ELK Publishing is looking to provide future opportunities for new writers to join the in-house team. Founded 2009.
Elsevier Australia*
Tower 1, Level 12, 475 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, NSW 2067
tel +61 (0)2 9422 8500
email customerserviceau@elsevier.com
website www.elsevierhealth.com.au
Managing Director Rob Kolkman
Science, medical and technical books. Imprints: Academic Press, Butterworth-Heinemann, Churchill Livingstone, Endeavour, Excerpta Medica, Focal Press, The Lancet, MacLennan and Petty, MD Consult, Morgan Kauffman, Mosby, Saunders, Science Direct, Syngress. Founded 1972.
Hachette Australia Pty Ltd*
Level 17, 207 Kent Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
tel +61 (0)2 8248 0800
email auspub@hachette.com.au
website www.hachette.com.au
Publishing Director Fiona Hazard, Head of Editorial & Production Anne Macpherson, Head of Non Fiction Vanessa Radnidge, Head of Fiction Rebecca Saunders General, children’s.
Accepts MSS via website: www.hachette.com.au/manuscriptsubmissions.
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd Group*
Postal address PO Box A565, Sydney South, NSW 1235
tel +61 (0)2 9952 5000
website www.harpercollins.com.au
Children’s Publishing Director Cristina Cappelluto, Head of HarperCollins Fiction Catherine Milne, Head of HarperCollins Non-fiction Helen Littleton
Literary fiction and non-fiction, popular fiction, children’s, reference, biography, autobiography, current affairs, sport, lifestyle, health/self-help, humour, true crime, travel, Australiana, history, business, gift, religion.
Lawbook Co.
Level 5, 16 Harris Street, Pyrmont, NSW 2009
tel +61 (0)2 8587 7980
website www.thomsonreuters.com.au
Ceo Tony Kinnear
Law. Part of Thomson Reuters.
LexisNexis Butterworths Australia*
Tower 2, 475–495 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, NSW 2067
tel +61 (0)2 9422 2174
Postal address Level 9, Locked Bag 2222, Chatswood Delivery Centre, Chatswood, NSW 2067
website www.lexisnexis.com.au
Accounting, business, legal, tax and commercial.
Lonely Planet*
The Maltstore Level 3, 551 Swanston Street, Carlton, VIC 3053
email go@lonelyplanet.co.uk
Postal address Locked Bag 1, Footscray, Victoria 3011
tel +61 (0)3 8379 8000
website www.lonelyplanet.com
A travel media company, Lonely Planet is the largest travel publisher in the world with 500 titles, content published in 13 languages and products in over 150 countries. The company’s ecosystem also includes mobile apps, magazines, an ebook portfolio, a website and a dedicated traveller community. Offices in the US, Australia, the UK and Ireland, India and China. Founded 1973.
McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd*
Level 2, 82 Waterloo Rd North Ryde, NSW 2113
Postal address Private Bag 2233, Business Centre, North Ryde, NSW 1670
tel +61 (0)2 9900 1888
email cservice_sydney@mheducation.com
website www.mheducation.com.au
Educational publisher: higher education, primary education and professional (including medical, general and reference). Division of the McGraw-Hill Companies. Founded 1964.
Melbourne University Publishing*
Level 1, 715 Swanston Street, Carlton, VIC 3053
tel +61 (0)3 9035 3333
email mup-contact@unimelb.edu.au
website www.mup.com.au
Ceo & Publisher Louise Adler
Trade, academic, current affairs and politics; non-fiction. Imprints: Miegunyah Press, Melbourne University Press, MUP Academic, Meanjin journal. Founded 1922.
Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd*
Level 25, 1 Market Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
tel +61 (0)2 9285 9100
email pan.reception@macmillan.com.au
website www.panmacmillan.com.au
Directors Cate Paterson (publishing), Katie Crawford (sales), Tracey Cheetham (publicity & marketing)
Commercial and literary fiction; children’s fiction, non-fiction and character products; non-fiction; sport.
Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd*
Sydney office Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney, NSW 2060
tel +61 (0)2 9954 9966
email information@penguinrandomhouse.com.au
Melbourne office 707 Collins Street, Melbourne, VIC 3008
website www.penguinrandomhouse.com.au
Ceo Julie Burland, Group Publishing Director Nikki Christer, Publishing Director, Penguin Young Readers Laura Harris, Publicity & Communications Director Karen Reid
General fiction and non-fiction; children’s, illustrated. MS submissions for non-fiction accepted, unbound in hard copy addressed to Submissions Editor. Fiction submissions are only accepted from previously published authors, or authors represented by an agent or accompanied by a report from an accredited assessment service. Imprints: Arrow, Bantam, Ebury, Hamish Hamilton, Knopf, Lantern, Michael Joseph, Penguin, Viking, Vintage and William Heinemann. Subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG.
University of Queensland Press*
PO Box 6042, St Lucia, QLD 4067
tel +61 (0)7 3365 7244
email uqp@uqp.uq.edu.au
website www.uqp.com.au
Non-fiction and academic in the fields of Australian history, Australian biography, Australian politics and current affairs, Australian social and cultural issues, and Australian indigenous issues. Australian fiction (adult, young adult and children’s). Via agents only. Founded 1948.
Scholastic Australia Pty Ltd*
76–80 Railway Crescent, Lisarow, Gostord, NSW 2250
tel +61 (0)2 4328 3555
website www.scholastic.com.au
Chairman Andrew Berkhut
Children’s fiction and non-fiction. Founded 1968.
Simon & Schuster (Australia) Pty Ltd*
Office address Suite 19A, Level 1, Building C, 450 Miller Street, Cammeray, NSW 2062
Postal address PO Box 448, Cammeray, NSW 2062
tel +61 (0)2 9983 6600
email cservice@simonandschuster.com.au
website www.simonandschuster.com.au
Facebook www.facebook.com/SimonSchusterAU
Twitter @simonschusterAU
Managing Director Dan Ruffino
Part of the CBS Corporation, the company publishes and distributes in Australia and New Zealand the following: fiction, non-fiction and children’s books. Imprints include: Atria, Free Press, Gallery, Howard, Pocket, Scribner, Simon & Schuster and Touchstone. Also acts as the local sales and distribution partner for 4 Ingredients, Watkins Books, Fox Chapel Publishing, Smith Street Books, Cider Mill Press, Regan Arts, Restless Books, Ventura Press, Viz Media, Insight Editions, Manuscript Publishing, Elliott & Thompson and Gallup Press. Founded 1987.
Spinifex Press*
504 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne, VIC 3051
email women@spinifexpress.com.au
Postal address PO Box 5270, North Geelong, VIC 3215
website www.spinifexpress.com.au
Managing Directors Susan Hawthorne, Renate Klein
Feminism and women’s studies, art, astronomy, occult, education, gay and lesbian, health and nutrition, technology, travel, ebooks. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1991.
UNSW Press*
University of New South Wales, UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052
tel +61 (0)2 8936 0100
email enquiries@newsouthpublishing.com
website www.unswpress.com
Ceo Kathy Bail, Publishing Director Phillipa McGuinness
Academic and general non-fiction. Politics, history, society and culture, popular science, environmental studies, Aboriginal studies. Includes imprints UNSW Press and New South. Founded 1962.
UWA Publishing*
UWA Publishing, University of Western Australia, M419, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009
tel +61 (0)8 6488 3670
email admin-uwap@uwa.edu.au
website www.uwap.uwa.edu.au
Director Terri-ann White
Fiction, general non-fiction, natural history, contemporary issues. Founded 1935.
John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd*
42 McDougall Street, Milton, QLD 4064
tel +61 (0)7 3859 9755
website www.wiley.com.au
Educational, technical, atlases, professional, reference, trade journals. Imprints: John Wiley& Sons, Jacaranda, Wrightbooks, Wiley-Blackwell, Frommer’s, Jossey-Bass. Founded 1954.
Wombat Books*
PO Box 1519, Capalaba, QLD 4157
tel +61 (0)7 3245 1938
email info@wombatbooks.com.au
website www.wombatbooks.com.au
Facebook www.facebook.com/wombatbooks
Publisher Rochelle Manners, Editor & Publicity Coordinator Emily Lighezzolo
An independent publisher of children’s picture books and books for early readers. Always on the lookout for the next story to be shared. Young adult and adult imprint: Rhiza Press. Founded 2009.
CANADA
*Member of the Canadian Publishers’ Council
†Member of the Association of Canadian Publishers
Annick Press Ltd†
15 Patricia Avenue, Toronto, ON M2M 1H9
tel + 1 416-221-4802
email annickpress@annickpress.com
website www.annickpress.com
Owner/Director Rick Wilks, Office Manager Elaine Burns
Preschool to young adult fiction and non-fiction. Publishes approx. 24 titles each year. Recent successes include: (fiction) Blue Gold and War Brothers (novel and graphic novel); (non-fiction) Before the World Was Ready, Bones Never Lie and The Bite of the Mango; (picture books) The Man With the Violin. To send MS or illustration submission, please visit website and view submission guidelines. Founded
1975.
The Charlton Press
991 Victoria Street North, Kitchener, ON N2B 3C7
tel + 1 416-962-2665
email chpress@charltonpress.com
website www.charltonpress.com
Collectables, Numismatics, Sportscard price catalogues. Founded 1952.
Douglas & McIntyre (2013) Ltd†
4437 Rondeview Road, PO Box 219, Madeira Park, BC V0N 2H0
tel +1 604-883-2730
email info@douglas-mcintyre.com
website www.douglas-mcintyre.com
Publisher Howard White
General list: Canadian biography, art and architecture, natural history, history, native studies, Canadian fiction. Unsolicited MSS accepted. Founded 1971.
Dundurn Press†
500–3 Church Street, Toronto, ON M5E 1M2
tel + 1 416-214-5544
email submissions@dundurn.com
Publisher Kirk Howard
Canadian history, fiction, non-fiction and young adult fiction, mystery fiction, popular non-fiction, theatre, drama, translations. Founded 1972.
ECW Press Ltd†
665 Gerrard Street E, Toronto, ON M4M 1Y2
tel +1 416-694-3348
email info@ecwpress.com
website www.ecwpress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/ecwpress
Twitter @ecwpress
Publishers David Caron, Jack David
Popular culture, TV and film, sports, humour, general trade books, biographies, memoir, popular science, guidebooks. Founded 1979.
Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd
195 Allstate Parkway, Markham, ON L3R 4T8
tel +1 800-387-9776
email godwit@fitzhenry.ca
website www.fitzhenry.ca
Publisher Sharon Fitzhenry
Trade, educational, children’s books. Founded 1966.
Harlequin Enterprises Ltd*
PO Box 603, Fort Erie, ON L2A 5X3
tel +1 888-432-4879
email customer_ecare@harlequin.ca
website www.harlequin.com/shop/index.html
Publisher Craig Swinwood
Fiction for women, romance, inspirational fiction, African–American fiction, action adventure, mystery. Visit SoYouThinkYouCanWrite.com for the latest writing submissions and contests. Imprints include: Harlequin Blaze, Harlequin Desire, Harlequin Heartwarming, Harlequin Historical, Harlequin Intrigue, Harlequin Kimani Romance, Harlequin Medical Romance, Harlequin Nocturne, Harlequin Presents, Harlequin Romance, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Harlequin Special Edition, Harlequin Special Releases, Harlequin Superromance, Harlequin Western Romance, Love Inspired, Love Inspired Special Releases, Love Inspired Historical, Love Inspired Suspense. Founded 1949.
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd*
2 Bloor Street East, 20th Floor, Toronto, ON M4W 1A8
tel +1 416-975-9334
email hccanada@harpercollins.com
website www.harpercollins.ca
President & Publisher Michael Morrison
Literary fiction and non-fiction, history, politics, biography, spiritual and children’s books. Founded 1989.
Kids Can Press Ltd†
25 Dockside Drive, Toronto, ON M5A 0B5
tel +1 416-479-7000
email customerservice@kidscan.com
website www.kidscanpress.com/canada
Editorial Director Yvette Ghione
Juvenile/young adult books. Founded 1973.
Knopf Canada – see Penguin Random House Canada Ltd
111 Gordon Baker Road, Suite 900, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1
tel +1 800-668-6481
email info@lexisnexis.ca
website www.lexisnexis.ca
Law and accountancy. Division of Reed Elsevier plc.
Lone Pine Publishing
87 East Pender, Vancouver, BC V6A 1S9
tel +1 780-433-9333
email info@lonepinepublishing.com
website www.lonepinepublishing.com
President Shane Kennedy
Natural history, outdoor recreation and wildlife guidebooks, self-help, gardening, popular history. Founded 1980.
McGill-Queen’s University Press†
1010 Sherbrooke Street West, Suite 1720, Montreal, QC H3A 2R7
tel + 1 514-398-3750
email info.mqup@mcgill.ca
Alternative address Queen’s University, Douglas Library Building, 93 University Avenue, Kingston, Ontario K7L 5C4
tel +1 613-533-2155
email kingstonmqup@queensu.ca
website www.mqup.mcgill.ca
Academic, non-fiction, poetry. Founded 1969.
McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd*
300 Water Street, Whitby, ON L1N 9B6
tel +1 905-430-5000
website www.mheducation.ca
Educational and trade books.
Nelson Education*
1120 Birchmount Road, Scarborough, ON M1K 5G4
tel + 1 416-752-9448
website www.nelson.com
President Greg Nordal
Educational publishing: school (K–12), college and university, career education, measurement and guidance, professional and reference, ESL titles. Division of Thomson Canada Ltd. Founded 1914.
NeWest Press†
201 8540, 109 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 1E6
tel +1 780-432-9427
email info@newestpress.com
website www.newestpress.com
President Doug Barbour
Fiction, drama, poetry and non-fiction. Founded 1977.
Oberon Press
205–145 Spruce Street, Ottawa, ON K1R 6P1
tel +1 613-238-3275
email oberon@sympatico.ca
website www.oberonpress.ca
General fiction, short stories, poetry, some biographies, art and children’s. Only publishes Canadian writers.
Oxford University Press, Canada*
8 Sampson Mews, Suite 204, Don Mills, ON M3C 0H5
tel +1 416-441-2941
website www.oup.com
General Manager Geoff Forguson
Educational and academic.
Pearson Canada*
26 Prince Andrew Place, Toronto, ON M3C 2T8
tel +1 416-447-5101
website www.pearsoned.ca
President Dan Lee
Academic, technical, educational, children’s and adult, trade.
Penguin Random House Canada Ltd*
320 Front Street, Suite 1400, Toronto, ON M5V 3B6
tel +1 416-364-4449
website www.penguinrandomhouse.ca
President & Ceo R. Bradley Martin, President & Publisher PRHC Kristin Cochrane
Literary fiction, commercial fiction, memoir, non-fiction (history, business, current events, sports), adult and children’s. No unsolicited MSS; submissions via an agent only. Imprints: Anchor Canada, Allen Lane Canada, Appetite by Random House, Bond Street Books, Doubleday Canada, Emblem, Hamish Hamilton Canada, Knopf Canada, McClelland & Stewart, Penguin Canada, Penguin Teen, Portfolio Canada, Puffin Canada, Random House Canada, Seal Books, Signal, Tundra Books, Viking Canada, Vintage Canada. Subsidiary of Penguin Random House. Formed on I July 2013 as part of the worldwide merger of Penguin and Random House.
Pippin Publishing Corporation
PO Box 242, Don Mills, ON M3C 2S2
tel +1 416-510-2918
email arayner@utphighereducation.com
website www.utppublishing.com
ESL/EFL, teacher reference, adult basic education, school texts (all subjects), general trade (non-fiction) – acquired by University of Toronto Press in 2014 (here).
Ronsdale Press†
3350 West 21st Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6S 1G7
tel +1 604-738-4688
email ronsdale@shaw.ca
website www.ronsdalepress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/ronsdalepress
Twitter @ronsdalepress
Director Ronald B. Hatch
Ronsdale is a Canadian publisher based in Vancouver with some 270 books in print. Founded 1988.
Thompson Educational Publishing†
20 Ripley Avenue, Toronto, ON M6S 3N9
tel + 1 416-766-2763
email info@thompsonbooks.com
website www.thompsonbooks.com
Social sciences. Founded 1989.
University of Toronto Press
10 St Mary Street, Suite 700, Toronto, ON M4Y 2W8
tel + 1 416-978-2239
email publishing@utpress.utoronto.ca
website www.utpress.utoronto.ca
President Meric Gertler
Publishers of academic books, ESL/EFL, teacher reference, adult basic education and school texts. Founded 1901.
Tundra Books
320 Front Street West, Suite 1400, Toronto, ON M5V 3B6
tel + 1 416-;364-4449
email tundra@mcclelland.com
website www.penguinrandomhouse.ca
Facebook www.facebook.com/tundrabooks
Twitter @TundraBooks
Publisher Tara Walker
Publisher of high-quality children’s picture books and novels, renowned for its innovations. Publishes books for children to teens. Imprints: Jordan Fenn, Publisher of Fenn/Tundra (sport-themed children’s books). A division of Penguin Random House Canada Ltd. Founded 1967.
NEW ZEALAND
*Member of the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ)
Auckland University Press*
University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142
tel +64 (0)9 373 7528
email press@auckland.ac.nz
website www.press.auckland.ac.nz
Director Sam Elworthy
Archaeology, architecture, art, biography, business, health, New Zealand history, Maori and Pacific studies, poetry, politics and law, science and natural history, social sciences. Founded 1966.
David Bateman Ltd
30 Tarndale Grove, Albany, Auckland 0632
tel +64 (0)9 415 7664
email bateman@bateman.co.nz
website www.batemanpublishing.co.nz
Facebook www.facebook.com/batemanpublishing
General trade non-fiction publisher focusing on craft, natural history, gardening, health, sport, cookery, history, travel, motoring, maritime history, business, art, lifestyle for the international market. Founded 1979.
The Caxton Press
32 Lodestar Ave, Wigram, PO Box 36 411, Christchurch 8042
tel +64 (0)3 366 8516
email peter@caxton.co.nz
website www.caxton.co.nz
Managing Director Bridget Batchelor
Local history, tourist pictorial, Celtic spirituality, parent guides, book designers and printers. Founded 1935.
Cengage Learning New Zealand*
Unit 4B, Rosedale Office Park, 331 Rosedale Road, Albany, North Shore 0632
Postal address PO Box 33376, Takapuna, North Shore 0740
tel +64 (0)9 415 6850
Publishing Editor Jenny Thomas
Educational books.
Dunmore Publishing Ltd
PO Box 28387, Auckland 1541
tel +64 (0)9 521 3121
email books@dunmore.co.nz
website www.dunmore.co.nz
Education secondary/tertiary texts and other, New Zealand society, history, health, economics, politics, general non-fiction. Founded 1970.
Edify Ltd*
Level 1, 39 Woodside Avenue, Northcote, Auckland 0627
tel +64 (0)9 972 9428
email gethelp@edify.co.nz
website www.edify.co.nz
Ceo Adrian Keane
Edify is a publishing, sales and marketing business providing its partners with opportunities for their products and solutions in the New Zealand educational market. Exclusive representatives of Pearson and the New Zealand based educational publisher, Sunshine Books.
Hachette New Zealand Ltd*
PO Box 3255, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140
tel +64 (0)9 379 1480
email contact@hachette.co.nz
website www.hachette.co.nz
Facebook www.facebook.com/HachetteNZ
Managing Director Melanee Winder
International fiction and non-fiction, including cooking and children’s.
Halcyon Publishing Ltd
PO Box 1064, Cambridge 3450
tel +64 (0)9 489 5337
email info@halcyonpublishing.co.nz
website www.halcyonpublishing.com
Managing Director/Publisher Graham Gurr
Hunting, shooting, fishing, outdoor interests. Founded 1982.
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Ltd*
Unit D, 63 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632
tel +64 (0)9 443 9400
email publicity@harpercollins.co.nz
Postal address PO Box 1, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140
website www.harpercollins.co.nz
General literature, non-fiction, reference, children’s. HarperCollins New Zealand does not accept proposals or MSS for consideration, except via the Wednesday Post portal on its website.
Learning Media Ltd
Level 4, Willeston House, 22–28 Willeston Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6021
tel +64 (0)4 472 5522
email info@learningmedia.co.nz
Postal address PO Box 90712, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142
An award-winning publisher, designer and developer of books, educational resources and interactive programmes for New Zealand and international markets. Texts published in English, Maori and five Pacific languages. Founded 1993.
LexisNexis NZ Ltd
Level 1, 138 The Terrace, Wellington 6011
tel 0800 800 986
email customer.service@lexisnexis.co.nz
Postal address PO Box 472, Wellington 6140
website www.lexisnexis.co.nz
Publisher Christopher Murray
Law, business, academic.
McGraw-Hill Book Company New Zealand Ltd
Level 8, 56–60 Cawley Street, Ellerslie, Auckland 1005 Postal address Private Bag 11904, Ellerslie, Auckland 1005
tel +64 (0)9 526 6200
website www.mcgraw-hill.com.au
Educational publisher: higher education, primary and secondary education (grades K–12) and professional (including medical, general and reference). Division of the McGraw-Hill Companies. Founded 1974.
New Zealand Council for Educational Research
Box 3237, Education House, 178–182 Willis Street, Wellington 6011
tel +64 (0)4 384 7939
email info@nzcer.org.nz
website www.nzcer.org.nz
Publishing Manager David Ellis
Education, including educational policy and practice, early childhood education, educational achievement tests, Maori education, schooling for the future, curriculum and assessment. Founded 1934.
Otago University Press*
University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, Otago 9054
tel +64 (0)3 479 8807
email university.press@otago.ac.nz
website www.otago.ac.nz/press
Publisher Rachel Scott
New Zealand and Pacific history, social and cultural studies, biography/memoir, poetry as well as a wide range of scholarly to general books. Also publishes New Zealand’s longest-running literary journal, Landfall. Founded 1958.
Penguin Random House New Zealand Ltd*
Private Bag 102902, North Shore, Auckland 0745
tel +64 (0)9 442 7400
email publishing@penguinrandomhouse.co.nz
website www.penguinrandomhouse.co.nz
Facebook www.facebook.com/PenguinRandomNZ
Publishing Director Debra Millar, Managing Director Margaret Thompson
Adult and children’s fiction and non-fiction. Imprints: Penguin, Vintage, Black Swan, Godwit, Viking, Puffin Books. Part of Penguin Random House. Founded 1973.
RSVP Publishing Company
PO Box 93, Oneroa, Waiheke Island, Auckland 1081
tel +64 (0)9 372 5047
email ccpalmer@iconz.co.nz
Managing Director & Publisher Chris Palmer
Fiction, metaphysical, children’s. Founded 1990.
Victoria University Press*
Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140
tel +64 (0)4 463 6580
email victoria-press@vuw.ac.nz
website http://vup.victoria.ac.nz/
Publisher Fergus Barrowman, Editors Kyleigh Hodgson, Ashleigh Young, Holly Hunter
Academic, scholarly books on New Zealand history, sociology, law; Maori language; fiction, plays, poetry. Founded 1974.
201A Rosetta Road, Raumati 5032
tel +64 (0)4 902 8240
email vikings@paradise.net.nz
website https://vikingsevenseas.co.nz/
Managing Director M.B. Riley
Natural history books on New Zealand only.
SOUTH AFRICA
*Member of the Publishers’ Association of South Africa
Ad Donker – see Jonathan Ball Publishers (Pty)Ltd
Jonathan Ball Publishers (Pty) Ltd*
PO Box 33977, Jeppestown 2043
tel +27 (0)11 601 8000
email services@jonathanball.co.za
Postal address PO Box 33977, Jeppestown 2043
website www.jonathanball.co.za
Publishing Director Jeremy Boraine
Specialises in South African history, politics and current affairs and also publishes some fiction. Also acts as agents for British and American publishers, marketing and distributing books on their behalf in southern Africa. Founded 1977.
Ad Donker
Africana, literature, history, academic.
Jonathan Ball
General publications, current affairs, politics, business history, business, reference.
Delta Books
General South African trade non-fiction.
Sunbird Publishers
Illustrated wildlife, tourism, maps, travel.
Burnet Media
PO Box 53557, Kenilworth, Cape Town 7745
email info@burnetmedia.co.za
website www.burnetmedia.co.za
Facebook www.facebook.com/TwoDogsMercury
Twitter @TwoDogs_Mercury
Publishing Manager Tim Richman
Independent publisher of the Two Dogs and Mercury imprints. Two Dogs: innovative and irreverent nonfiction focusing on contemporary and lifestyle subject matter for the South African market. Numerous local bestsellers. Founded 2006. Imprint: Mercury – publishes interesting, accessible and engaging nonfiction with broader subject matter for both the South African and international markets. Publishes a growing number of internationally-renowned titles. Founded 2010.
Cambridge University Press*
Lower Ground Floor, Nautica Building, The Water Club, Beach Road, Granger Bay, Cape Town 8005
tel +27 (0)21) 412 7800
email capetown@cambridge.org
website www.cup.co.za
Publishing Director Johan Traut
Textbooks and literature for sub-Sahara African countries, as well as primary reading materials in 28 African languages.
Delta Books – see Jonathan Ball Publishers (Pty) Ltd
Galago Publishing (Pty) Ltd
PO Box 1645, Alberton 1450
tel +27 (0)11 824 2029
email lemur@mweb.co.za
website www.galago.co.za
Managing Director Fran Stiff
Southern African interest: military, political, hunting. Founded 1980.
Jacklin Enterprises (Pty) Ltd
PO Box 521, Parklands 2121
tel +27 (0)11 265 4200
website www.jacklin.co.za
Managing Director M.A.C. Jacklin
Children’s fiction and non-fiction; Afrikaans large print books. Subjects include aviation, natural history, romance, general science, technology and transportation. Imprints: Mike Jacklin, Kennis Onbeperk, Daan Retief.
Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd*
1st Floor, Sunclare Building, 21 Dreyer Street, Claremont 7708
tel +27 (0)21 659 2300
email orders@juta.co.za
website www.juta.co.za
Acting Ceo Megan Marinus
Academic, education, agencies, learning, law and health. Publishers of print and digital print solutions. Founded 1853.
University of KwaZulu-Natal Press*
Private Bag X01, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal 3209
tel +27 (0)33 260 5226
email books@ukzn.ac.za
website www.ukznpress.co.za, http://ukznpress.bookslive.co.za/
Facebook www.facebook.com/UKZNPress
Twitter @UKZNPress
Publisher Debra Primo
Southern African social, political and economic history, sociology, politics and political science, current affairs, literary criticism, gender studies, education, biography. Founded 1948.
Macmillan Education South Africa
4th Floor, Building G, Hertford Office Park, 90 Bekker Road, Vorna Valley, Midrand 1685
tel +27 (0)11 731 3300
Postal address Private Bag X19, Northlands 2116
website www.macmillan.co.za
Managing Director Preggy Naidoo
Educational titles for the RSA market.
NB Publishers (Pty) Ltd*
PO Box 879, Cape Town 8000
tel +27 (0)21 406 3033
email nb@nb.co.za
website www.nb.co.za
General: Afrikaans fiction, politics, children’s and youth literature in all the country’s languages, nonfiction. Imprints: Tafelberg, Human & Rousseau, Queillerie, Pharos, Kwela, Best Books and Lux Verbi. Founded 1950.
New Africa Books (Pty) Ltd
2nd Floor, 6 Spin Street, Cape Town 8001
tel +27 (0)21 467 5860
email info@newafricabooks.co.za
Postal address PostNet, Suite 144, Private Bag X9190, Cape Town 8000
New Africa Books, incorporating David Philip Publishers, is an independent publishing house. Currently publishes literary, educational and nonfiction books for adults, children and young adults in all South African languages. Formed as a result of the merger of David Philip Publishers (founded 1971), Spearhead Press (founded 2000) and New Africa Educational Publishing.
David Philip
Academic, history, social sciences, politics, biography, reference, education.
Spearhead
Current affairs, also business, self-improvement, health, natural history, travel.
Oxford University Press Southern Africa*
Vasco Boulevard, N1 City, Goodwood, Cape Town 7460
tel +27 (0)21 596 2300
email oxford.za@oup.com
Postal address PO Box 12119, N1 City, Cape Town 7463
website www.oxford.co.za
Managing Director Steve Cilliers
Oxford is one of the leading educational publishers in South Africa, producing a wide range of quality educational material in print and digital format. The range includes books from Grade R to Grade 12, as well as higher education textbooks, school literature, dictionaries and atlases. Committed to transforming lives through education by providing superior quality learning material and support.
Pan Macmillan SA (Pty) Ltd*
2nd Floor, 1 Jameson Avenue, Melrose Estate, 2196
tel +27 (0)11 731 3440
email roshni@panmacmillan.co.za
Postal address Private Bag X19, Northlands, Johannesburg 2116
website www.panmacmillan.co.za
Managing Director Terry Morris, Marketing & Sales Manager Gillian Spain, Children’s Books Strategist Lara Cohen
Imprints: Boxtree, Campbell, Farrar Straus & Giroux, Forge, Franklin Watts, Gateway, Gill & Macmillan, Giraffe Books, Griffin, Guinness, Hachette Children’s Books, Henry Holt, Hodder Wayland, Macmillan, Macmillan Children’s Books, Mattel, Palgrave, Pan Macmillan, Pan Macmillan Australia, Picador, Picador Africa, Priddy Books, Quadrille, Ravan Press, Rodale, Sidgewick & Jackson, SMP, Tor and Walker Books. Publishes titles in autobiography, biography, business, children’s books, cookery and wine, crafts and hobbies, crime, environment, fiction (popular and literary), humour, inspiration, literature, business, reference, sport and stationery.
Pearson South Africa*
4th Floor, Auto Atlantic, Corner Hertzog Boulevard and Herengracht, Cape Town 8001
tel +27 (0)21 532 6000
email pearsonza.enquiries@pearson.com
website www.za.pearson.com
Learning Resources Director (Schools) Jacques Zakarian
Educational and general publishers. Heinemann and Maskew Miller Longman are part of Pearson South Africa.
Penguin Random House (Pty) Ltd*
The Estuaries, No 4, Oxbow Crescent, Century Avenue, Century City 7441
email info@penguinrandomhouse.co.za
Postal address PO Box 1144, Cape Town 8000
tel +27 (0)21 460 5400
website www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za
Managing Director Steve Connolly
Imprints: Penguin Random House, Struik Lifestyle, Struik Nature, Struik Travel & Heritage, Zebra Press, Penguin Non-Fiction, Penguin Fiction, Umuzi. Genres include general illustrated non-fiction; lifestyle; natural history; South African politics; sport; business; memoirs; contemporary fiction; literary fiction; local fiction; Afrikaans; children’s books. Part of Penguin Random House.
Shuter and Shooter Publishers (Pty) Ltd*
110 CB Downes Road, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal 3201
tel +27 (0)33 846 8700
email sales@shuters.com
Postal address PO Box 61, Mkondeni, KwaZulu-Natal 3212
website www.shuters.co.za
Chief Execute Officer P.B. Chetty
Core curriculum-based textbooks for use at foundation, intermediate, senior and FET phases. Supplementary readers in various languages; dictionaries; reading development kits, charts. Literature titles in English, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Ndebele, isiZulu and Siswati. Founded 1925.
Sunbird Publishers – see Jonathan Ball Publishers (Pty) Ltd
Unisa Press*
University of South Africa, PO Box 392, Unisa, Mackleneuk, Pretoria 0003
tel +27 (0) 12 429 3448
email unisa-press@unisa.ac.za
website www.unisa.ac.za/press
Commissioning Editor Hetta Pieterse
All academic disciplines, African history, sustainable development, economics, the arts and the humanities generally. Imprint: UNISA. Email for MS submissions: boshosm@unisa.ac.za. Founded 1957.
Van Schaik Publishers*
PO Box 12681, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028
tel +27 (0)12 342 2765
email vanschaik@vanschaiknet.com
website www.vanschaiknet.com
General Manager Leanne Martini
Texts for the tertiary and private FET markets in South Africa. Founded 1915.
Wits University Press*
Private Bag 3, Wits 2050
tel +27 (0)11 717 8700/1
email veronica.klipp@wits.ac.za
Postal address PO Wits, Johannesburg 2050
website www.witspress.co.za
Publisher Veronica Klipp
Publishes well-researched, innovative books for both academic and general readers in the following areas: art and heritage, popular science, history and politics, biography, literary studies, women’s writing and select textbooks.
Zebra Press – see Penguin Random House (Pty) Ltd
USA
*Member of the Association of American Publishers Inc.
Abbeville Press, Inc.
116 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10013
tel +1 646-375-2136
website www.abbeville.com
Publisher & President Robert Abrams
Fine art and illustrated books. Founded 1977.
ABC-ClIO
130 Cremona Drive, Ste C, Santa Barbara, CA 93117
tel +1 805-968-1911
website www.abc-clio.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/ABCCLIO
Twitter @ABC_CLIO
Academic resources for secondary and middle schools, colleges and universities, libraries and professionals (librarians, media specialists, teachers). Founded 1955.
Abingdon Press
2222 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard, PO Box 280988, Nashville, TN 37228
tel +1 800-251-3320
website www.abingdonpress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/abingdonpress
Twitter @AbingdonPress
President & Publisher Neil Alexander
General interest, professional, academic and reference, non-fiction and fiction, youth and children’s non-fiction and Vatican Bible School; primarily directed to the religious market. Imprint of United Methodist Publishing House with tradition of crossing denominational boundaries.
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
195 Broadway, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10007
tel +1 212-206-7715
email abrams@abramsbooks.com
website www.abramsbooks.com
Art and architecture, photography, natural sciences, performing arts, children’s books. No fiction. Founded 1949.
Akashic Books Ltd
232 Third Street, Suite A115, Brooklyn, NY 11215
tel +1 718-643-9193
email info@akashicbooks.com
website www.akashicbooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/AkashicBooks
Twitter @AkashicBooks
Contacts Ibrahim Ahmad (editorial director), Johanna Ingalls (managing editor)
A Brooklyn-based independent company dedicated to publishing urban literary fiction and political non-fiction by authors who are either ignored by the mainstream, or who have no interest in working within the ever-consolidating ranks of the major corporate publishers.
The University of Alabama Press
Box 870380, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0380
tel + 1 205-348-5180
website www.uapress.ua.edu
Editor-in-Chief Daniel Waterman
American and Southern history, African–American studies, religion, rhetoric and communication, Judaic studies, literary criticism, anthropology and archaeology. Founded 1945.
Amistad – see HarperCollins Publishers
Applause Theatre and Cinema Book Publishers
19 West 21st Street, Suite 201, New York, NY 10010
tel + 1 212-575-9265
email info@halleonardbooks.com
website www.applausepub.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/ApplauseBooks/
Twitter @ApplauseBooks
Publisher Michael Messina
Performing arts. Founded 1980.
Arcade Publishing
11th Floor, 307 West 36th Street, New York, NY 10018
tel + 1 212-643-6816
website www.arcadepub.com
Executive Editor Cal Barksdale
General trade, including adult hardback and paperbacks. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1988. Imprint of Skyhorse Publishing since 2010.
ArcheBooks Publishing, Inc.
6081 Silver King Boulevard, Suite 903, Cape Coral, FL 33914
tel + 1 239-542-7595 (toll free)
email info@archebooks.com
website www.archebooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/archebooks
Twitter @archebooks
Publisher Robert E. Gelinas
Fiction and non-fiction (history and true crime). Send submissions via a literary agent. Founded 2003.
The University of Arkansas Press
McIlroy House, 105 N. McIlroy Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72701
tel +1 800-626-0090
email info@uapress.com
website www.uapress.com
Editor-in-Chief David Scott Cunningham
History, humanities, Middle Eastern studies, African–American studies, food studies, poetry. Founded 1980.
Atlantic Monthly Press – see Grove Atlantic, Inc
Avery – see Penguin Publishing Group
Avon – see HarperCollins Publishers
Back Bay Books – see Little, Brown & Company
Baker’s Plays
7611 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90046
tel +1 323-876-0579
email info@bakersplays.com
website www.samuelfrench.com
UK Agent Samuel French Ltd
Plays and books on the theatre. Also agents for plays. Division of Samuel French, Inc. Founded 1845.
Barefoot Books
2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140
tel +1 617-576-0660
email help@barefootbooks.com
website www.barefootbooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/barefootbooks
Twitter @BarefootBooks
Ceo Nancy Traversy, Group Operations Director Karen Janson, Senior Director of Product Stefanie Paige Wieder
Children’s picture books, activity decks and board books: diverse, inclusive and global stories that build social-emotional and literacy skills. See website for submission guidelines. Founded 1993.
Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.
250 Wireless Boulevard, Hauppauge, NY 11788
tel +1 800-645-3476
email barrons@barronseduc.com
website www.barronseduc.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/Barrons-Educational-Series-Inc-118498041501781/
Twitter @BarronsEduc
Chairman & Ceo Manuel H. Barron, President & Publisher Ellen Sibley
Test preparation, juvenile, cookbooks, mind, body & spirit, crafts, business, pets, gardening, family and health, art, study guides, school guides. Founded 1941.
Basic Books
250 West 57th Street, Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
tel +1 212 340-8101
email basic.books@perseusbooks.com
website www.basicbooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/BasicBooks
Twitter @BasicBooks
A member of the Perseus Books Group. Publishes books in history, science, sociology, psychology, politics and current affairs. Also publishes new works in African and African–American studies. Basic Books is an imprint of Perseus Books, a Hachette Book Group company (here). Founded 1952.
Beacon Press*
24 Farnsworth, Boston, MA 02110
tel + 1 617-742-2110
website www.beacon.org
Director Helene Atwan
General non-fiction in fields of religion, ethics, philosophy, current affairs, gender studies, environmental concerns, African–American studies, anthropology and women’s studies, nature. Founded 1854.
Bella Books
PO Box 10543, Tallahassee, FL 32302
tel +1 800-729-4992
email info@bellabooks.com
website www.bellabooks.com
Lesbian fiction: mystery, romance, sci-fi. Founded 1973.
Berkley Books – see Penguin Publishing Group
Bloomsbury Publishing USA*
1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018
tel + 1 212-419-5300
email ChildrensPublicityUSA@bloomsbury.com
website www.bloomsbury.com/us
Vice President & Publishing Director Cindy Loh (consumer publishing)
Supports the worldwide publishing activities of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc: caters for the US market. For submission guidelines see: www.bloomsbury.com/us/authors/submissions/.
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
648 South Cambridge Road, Building A, Johnsonville, NY 12094
email service@boldstrokesbooks.com
website www.boldstrokesbooks.com
Facebook vwww.facebook.com/BoldStrokesBooks/
Twitter @boldstrokebooks
Publisher Len Barot
Offers a diverse collection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer general and genre fiction. Fiction includes romance, mystery/intrigue, crime, erotica, speculative fiction (sci fi/fantasy/horror), general fiction, and, through the Soliloquy imprint, young adult fiction. Since its inception in 2004, the company’s mission has remained unchanged to bring quality queer fiction to readers worldwide and to support an international group of authors in developing their craft and reaching an ever-growing community of readers via print, digital and audio formats. Over 1,000 titles in print. For submission instructions see website.
R.R. Bowker
630 Central Avenue, New Providence, NJ 07974
tel +1 908-286-1090
website www.bowker.com
Bibliographies and reference tools for the book trade and literary and library worlds, available in hardcopy, on microfiche, online and CD-Rom. Reference books for music, art, business, the computer industry, cable industry and information industry. Division of Cambridge Information Group.
Boyds Mills Press
815 Church Street, Honesdale, PA 18431
website www.boydsmillspress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/BoydsMillsPressBooks
Twitter @boydsmillspress
Fiction, non-fiction, and poetry trade books for children and young adults. Founded 1991.
Burford Books, Inc.
101 E State Street, #301, Ithaca, NY 14850
tel +1 607-319-4373
email pburford@burfordbooks.com
website www.burfordbooks.com
President Peter Burford
Outdoor activities: golf, sports, fitness, nature, travel. Founded 1997.
Cambridge University Press*
1 Liberty Plaza, Floor 20, New York, NY 10006
tel +1 212-337-5000
email customer_service@cambridge.org
website www.cambridge.org/us
Academic and professional; Cambridge Learning (ELT, primary and secondary education).
Candlewick Press
99 Dover Street, Somerville, MA 02144
tel +1 617-661-3330
email bigbear@candlewick.com
website www.candlewick.com
President & Publisher Karen Lotz, Creative Director & Associate Publisher Chris Paul, Executive Editorial Director & Associate Publisher Liz Bicknell, Editorial Director & Director of Editorial Operations Mary Lee Donovan
Books for babies through teens: board books, picture books, novels, non-fiction, novelty books. Submit material through a literary agent. Subsidiary of Walker Books Ltd, UK. Founded 1991.
Candlewick Entertainment
Group Editorial Director Joan Powers
Media-related children’s books, including film/TV tie-ins.
Group Editorial Director Karen Lotz, Group Art Director Chris Paul
Books for book-lovers of all ages.
Center Street
Hachette Book Group USA, 12 Cadillac Drive, Suite 480, Brentwood, TN 37027
email centerstreetpub@hbgusa.com
website www.centerstreet.com
Books with traditional values for readers in the US heartland. Imprint of Hachette Book Group (here). Founded 2005.
University of Chicago Press*
1427 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
tel +1 773-702-7700
website www.press.uchicago.edu
Scholarly books and monographs (humanities, social sciences and sciences); general trade books; reference books; and 70 scholarly journals.
Chronicle Books*
680 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
tel + 1 415-537-4200
email hello@chroniclebooks.com
website www.chroniclebooks.com, www.chroniclebooks.com/titles/kids-teens
Facebook www.facebook.com/ChronicleBooks
Twitter @ChronicleBooks
Chairman & Ceo Nion McEvoy, Publisher Christine Carswell
Publishes award-winning, innovative books. Recognized as one of the 50 best small companies to work for in the US. Publishing list includes illustrated books and gift products in design, art, architecture, photography, food, lifestyle, pop culture and children’s titles. Founded 1967.
Coffee House Press
79 13th Avenue NE, Suite 110, Minneapolis, MN 55413
tel + 1 612-338-0125
website www.coffeehousepress.org
Managing Director Caroline Casey, Publisher Chris Fischbach
Literary fiction, essays and poetry; collectors’ editions. Founded 1984.
Columbia University Press*
61 West 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023
tel + 1 212-459-0600
email jc373@columbia.edu,es3387@columbia.edu
website www.cup.columbia.edu
Twitter @ColumbiaUP
Associate Provost & Director Jennifer Crewe, Editorial Director Eric Schwartz
General interest, scholarly, and textbooks in the humanities, social sciences, sciences and professions; reference works in print and electronic formats. Subjects include Asian studies, business, earth science and sustainability, economics, English and comparative literature, film and media studies, global and American history, international relations, journalism, life science, Middle Eastern studies, neuroscience, palaeontology, philosophy, political science and international relations, religion, sociology and social work. Publishes Asian and Russian literature in translation. Founded 1893.
For MSS submission information see http://cup.columbia.edu/manuscript-submissions.
Concordia Publishing House
3558 South Jefferson Avenue, St Louis, MO 63118
tel +1 314-268-1000
website www.cph.org
President & Ceo Bruce G. Kintz
Religious books, Lutheran perspective. Few freelance MSS accepted; query first. Founded 1869.
Contemporary Books
130 East Randolph Street, Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60601
tel +1 800-621-1918
website www.mheducation.com/prek-12/segment/adulted.html
Non-fiction. Imprints: Contemporary Books, Lowell House, Passport Books, VGM Career Books. Division of the McGraw-Hill companies.
The Continuum International Publishing Group, Inc. – see Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Cooper Square Publishing
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
tel +1 301-459-3366
Part of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group (here). Founded 1949.
Luna Rising
Northland Publishing’s bilingual (Spanish–English) imprint.
Northland Publishing
American Southwest themes including home design, cooking and travel. Founded 1958.
NorthWord Books for Young Readers
11571 K–Tel Drive, Minnetonka, MN 55343
tel +1 800-462-6420
email rrinehart@rowman.com
Picture books and non-fiction nature and wildlife books in interactive and fun-to-read formats. Not accepting MSS at present. Founded 1989.
Rising Moon
email editorial@northlandbooks.com
Illustrated, entertaining and thought-provoking picture books for children, including Spanish–English bilingual titles. Founded 1998.
Two-Can Publishing
Non-fiction books and multimedia products for children 2–12 years to entertain and educate. Not accepting MSS at present.
Cornell University Press
Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
tel +1 607-277-2338
email cupressinfo@cornell.edu
website www.cornellpress.cornell.edu
Director Dean J. Smith
Including LR Press and Comstock Publishing Associates. Scholarly books. Founded 1869.
The Countryman Press
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
tel + 1 212-354-5500
email countrymanpress@wwnorton.com
website www.countrymanpress.com
Editorial Director Ann Treistman
Cooking and lifestyle, outdoor recreation guides for anglers, hikers, cyclists, canoeists and kayakers, US travel guides, New England non-fiction, how-to books, country living books, books on nature and the environment, classic reprints and general non-fiction. No unsolicited MSS. Division of W.W. Norton & Co., Inc. Founded 1973.
Crown Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
tel +1 212-572-2537
website http://crownpublishing.com/
President & Publisher Maya Mavjee
One of four adult books divisions at Penguin Random House, the Crown Publishing Group publishes literary and commercial fiction; narrative non-fiction across genres such as history, science, politics, current affairs, biography, memoir, religion and business; as well as in the preeminent culinary and lifestyle illustrated published program in the United States. Imprints: Amphoto Books, Broadway Books, Clarkson Potter, Convergent Books, Crown, Crown Archetype, Crown Forum, Currency, Harmony Books, Hogarth, Hogarth Shakespeare, SJP for Hogarth, Rodale Books, Ten Speed Press, Three Rivers Press, Tim Duggan Books, WaterBrook Multnomah and Watson-Guptill. A division of Penguin Random House (here).
DAW Books, Inc.
375 Hudson Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10014
tel + 1 212-366-2096
email daw@penguinrandomhouse.com
website www.dawbooks.com
Publishers Elizabeth R. Wollheim, Sheila E. Gilbert
Sci-fi, fantasy, horror and paranormal: originals and reprints. Founded 1971.
Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010
tel +1 212-388-0100
email enquiries@tor.com
website www.torforgeblog.com
Fiction: general, historical, western, suspense, mystery, horror, science fiction, fantasy, humour, juvenile, classics (English language); non-fiction: adult and juvenile. Imprints: Tor, Forge, Orb, Starscope, Tor Teen. Founded 1980.
Dover Publications, Inc.
31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, NY 11501
tel +1 516-294-7000
website http://store.doverpublications.com/
Art, architecture, antiques, crafts, juvenile, food, history, folklore, literary classics, mystery, language, music, mathematics and science, nature, design and ready-to-use art. Founded 1941.
Dutton – see Penguin Publishing Group
Elsevier (Clinical Solutions)
1600 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19103-2398
tel +1 215-239-3900
website www.elsevierhealth.co.uk, www.elsevier.com/clinical-solutions
President Dr. John Danaher
Medical books, journals and electrical healthcare solutions. No unsolicited MSS but synopses and project proposals welcome. Imprints: Bailliere Tindall, Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier, Mosby, Pergamon, Saunders.
Faber and Faber, Inc. – see Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC
Family Tree – see Writer’s Digest Books
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC
175 Varick Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10014
tel +1 212-741-6900
website www.fsgbooks.com, www.fsgoriginals.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/fsgoriginals
Twitter @FSOriginals
President & Publisher Jonathan Galassi
Sarah Crichton Books
Publishes a wide variety of literary and commercial fiction and non-fiction.
Faber and Faber, Inc.
175 Varick Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10014
tel +1 212-741-6900
website http://us.macmillan.com/publishers/farrar-straus-giroux
Publisher Mitzi Angel
Fiction, general non-fiction, drama, poetry, film, music.
FSG Originals
website www.fsgoriginals.com
Original fiction that does not fit into any obvious category.
Hill and Wang
General non-fiction, history, public affairs, graphic novels. Founded 1956.
North Point Press
Literary non-fiction, with an emphasis on natural history, ecology, yoga, food writing and cultural criticism.
Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
website http://books.scientificamerican.com/fsg/
Publishes non-fiction science books for the general reader.
Fonthill Media LLC
12 Sires Street, Charleston, SC 29403
tel +1 843-203-3432
email info@fonthillmedia.com
website www.fonthillmedia.com
Publisher & President (Charleston SC Office) Alan Sutton
General history. Specialisations include biography, military history, aviation history, naval and maritime history, regional and local history, transport history, social history, sports history, ancient history and archaeology. US imprints: Fonthill, America Through Time and American History House. Founded 2012.
Samuel French, Inc.
235 Park Avenue South, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10003
tel + 1 212 206 8990
email info@samuelfrench.com
website www.samuelfrench.com
Play publishers and authors’ representatives (dramatic).
Fulcrum Publishing
4690 Table Mountain Drive, Suite 100, Golden, CO 80403
tel +1 303-277-1623
website www.fulcrum-books.com
Publishes a wide variety of educational non-fiction texts and children’s books, also books and support materials for teachers, librarians, parents and elementary through middle schoolchildren. Subjects include: science and nature, literature and storytelling, history, multicultural studies and Native American and Hispanic cultures.
Getty Publications*
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 500, Los Angeles, CA 90049
tel +1 310-440-6536
email booknews@getty.edu
website www.getty.edu
Art, art history, architecture, classical art and archaeology, conservation. Founded 1983.
David R. Godine, Publisher, Inc.
15 Court Square, Suite 320, Boston, MA 02108
tel +1 617-451-9600
website www.godine.com
President David R. Godine
Fiction, photography, poetry, art, biography, children’s, essays, history, typography, architecture, nature and gardening, music, cooking, words and writing and mysteries. No unsolicited MSS. Founded 1970.
Grand Central Publishing*
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
tel +1 212-364-0600
email grandcentralpublishing@hbgusa.com
website www.grandcentralpublishing.com
Previously Warner Books, Inc. Fiction and non-fiction. Imprints: Aspect, Business Plus (business), Forever (romance), Vision (blockbuster fiction), Wellness Central (health and wellbeing), 5 Spot (women’s fiction and non-fiction), Twelve, Springboard Press. Division of Hachette Book Group (here). Founded 1970.
Grosset & Dunlap – see Penguin Young Readers
Grove Atlantic, Inc*
154 West 14th Street, 12 Floor, New York, NY 10011
tel +1 212-614-7850
website www.groveatlantic.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/groveatlantic
Twitter @groveatlantic
Associate Publisher Judy Hottensen, Vice-President & Editorial Director Elisabeth Schmitz
Fiction, biography, autobiography, history, current affairs, social science, belles lettres, natural history. No unsolicited MSS. Imprints: Atlantic Monthly Press, Black Cat, Mysterious Press, Grove Press. Founded 1952.
Hachette Book Group*
1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104
tel +1 212-364-1100
website www.hachettebookgroup.com
Divisions: Center Street (see here), Grand Central Publishing (see here); Hachette Audio; Hachette Nashville; Hachette Books; Little, Brown and Company (here); Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Orbit, Perseus Books. Imprints: Grand Central: Business Plus, Forever, Forever Yours, Grand Central Life & Style, Twelve, Vision. Hachette Nashville: Center Street, FaithWords, Hachette Books: Little, Brown and Company: Back Bay Books, Mulholland Books. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers: LB Kids, Poppy Orbit: Orbit, Redhook. Perseus Books: Avalon Travel, Basic Books, Black Dog & Leventhal. Civitas, Da Capo, Nation Books, Running Press, PublicAffairs, Seal Press.
Orbit
website www.orbitbooks.net
Sci-fi and fantasy.
Harcourt Trade Publishers – see Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
HarperCollins Publishers*
195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007
tel + 1 212-207-700
website http://corporate.harpercollins.com/us
President & Ceo Brian Murray
Fiction, history, biography, poetry, science, travel, cookbooks, juvenile, educational, business, technical and religious. Founded 1817.
HarperCollins General Books Group
President & Publisher Michael Morrison
Imprints: Amistad, Anthony Bourdain Books, Avon, Avon Impulse, Avon Inspire, Avon Read, Broadside Books, Custom House, Dey Street, Ecco Books, Harper Books, Harper Business, Harper Design, Harper Luxe, Harper Paperbacks, Harper Perennial, Haper Voyager, Harper Wave, HarperAudio, HarperCollins 360, HarperElixir, HarperLegend, HarperOne, William Morrow, William Morrow Paperbacks, Witness.
HarperAudio
A stunning array of bestselling children’s books and young adult favorites in audio.
HarperFestival
Books, novelties, and merchandise for the very young: children 0–8 years.
HarperCollins Children’s Books
Respected worldwide for publishing quality books for children and home to many classics of children’s literature.
Harvard University Press*
79 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
tel + 1 617-495-2600
email contact_hup@harvard.edu
website www.hup.harvard.edu
Director George Andreou, Editor-in-Chief Susan Boehmer
History, philosophy, literary criticism, politics, economics, sociology, music, science, classics, social sciences, behavioural sciences, law.
Hill and Wang – see Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC
Hippocrene Books, Inc.
171 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
tel +1 718-454-2366
email info@hippocrenebooks.com
website www.hippocrenebooks.com
International cookbooks, foreign language dictionaries, travel, military history, Polonia, general trade. Founded 1971.
Holiday House, Inc.
425 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017
tel +1 212-688-0085
email info@holidayhouse.com
website www.holidayhouse.com
General children’s books. Send entire MS. Only responds to projects of interest. Founded 1935.
Henry Holt and Company LLC
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
tel +1 646-307-5238
website http://us.macmillan.com/henryholt
History, sports, politics, biography, memoir, novels. Imprints: Henry Holt, Metropolitan Books, Times Books, Holt Paperbacks. Founded 1866.
The Johns Hopkins University Press*
2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218–4319
tel +1 410-516-6900
email tcl@press.jhu.edu
website www.press.jhu.edu
History, literary criticism, classics, politics, environmental studies, biology, medical genetics, consumer health, religion, physics, astronomy, mathematics, education. Founded 1878.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt*
222 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116
tel +1 617-351-5000
website www.hmhco.com
Educational content and solutions for K-12 teachers and students of all ages; also reference, and fiction and non-fiction for adults and young readers. Founded 1832.
University of Illinois Press*
1325 South Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820
tel +1 217-333-0950
email uipress@uillinois.edu
website www.press.illinois.edu
Director Laurie Matheson
American studies (history, music, literature, religion), working-class and ethnic studies, communications, regional studies, architecture, philosophy, women’s studies, film, sports history, folklore, food studies. Founded 1918.
Office of Scholarly Publishing, Herman B Wells Library 350, 1320 East 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405–3907
tel + 1 812-855-8817
email iupress@indiana.edu
website www.iupress.indiana.edu
Director Gary Dunham
Specialises in the humanities and social sciences: African, African–American, Asian, cultural, Jewish and Holocaust, Middle East, Russian and East European, and women’s and gender studies; anthropology, film, history, bioethics, music, palaeontology, philanthropy, philosophy and religion. Imprint: Quarry Books (regional publishing). Founded 1950.
Infobase Publishing
132 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001
tel +1 800-322-8755
website http://www.infobase.com/about/
Editorial Director Laurie E. Likoff
General reference books and services for colleges, libraries, schools and general public. Founded 1940.
Inkshares
114 Linden Street, Oakland, CA 94601
email hello@inkshares.com
website www.inkshares.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/inkshares
Twitter @Inkshares
Co-founder & Ceo Adam Gomolin, Co-founder & Cpo Thad Woodman, Co-founder Larry Levitsky
A book publisher that has readers, not agents or editors, decide what is published. Publishes books that successfully hit a pre-order threshold on the company’s platform, or win a contest run in partnership with an imprint on the platform. The process is as follows: authors pitch, readers pre-order, and the company publishes. Any author can submit a proposal for a book. Once the project goes live, readers support the project by pre-ordering copies of the book. Once the 750 pre-order goal is hit, the work is published: authors are assigned an editor, a designer and the company deals with printing, distribution, marketing and publicity once the MS is finished.
University Press of Kansas
2502 Westbrooke Circle, Lawrence, KS 66045–4444
tel +1 785-864-4154
email upress@ku.edu
website www.kansaspress.ku.edu
Interim Director & Business Manager Conrad Roberts,
Editor-in-Chief Joyce Harrison, Acquisitions Editors Kim Hogeland, David Congdon
American history (political, social, cultural, environmental), military history, American political thought, American presidency studies, law and constitutional history, political science. Founded 1946.
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
tel +1 212-782-9000
website http://knopfdoubleday.com/
Chairman & Editor-in-Chief Sonny Mehta, President Tony Chirico
Alfred A. Knopf was founded in 1915 and has long been known as a publisher of distinguished hardback fiction and non-fiction. Imprints: Alfred A. Knopf, Anchor Books, Doubleday, Everyman’s Library, Nan A. Talese, Pantheon Books, Schocken Books and Vintage Books.
Krause Publications
700 East State Street, Iola, WI 54990–0001
tel +1 800-258-0929
website www.krausebooks.com
Antiques and collectables: coins, stamps, automobiles, toys, trains, firearms, comics, records; sewing, ceramics, outdoors, hunting. Imprint of F&W Publications, Inc. Founded 1952.
Little, Brown & Company
1290 Ave of the Americas, New York, NY 10104
tel +1 212-364-1100
email lbpublicity.Generic@hbgusa.com
website www.littlebrown.com
General literature, fiction, non-fiction, biography, history, trade paperbacks, children’s. Founded 1837.
Back Bay Books
Fiction and non-fiction. Founded 1993.
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
website www.lb-kids.com, www.lb-teens.com
Publisher Megan Tingley, Creative Director Gail Doobinin
Picture books, board books, chapter books, novelty books and general non-fiction and novels for middle-grade and young adult readers.
Llewellyn Worldwide
2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125
tel +1 651-291-1970
email publicity@llewellyn.com
website www.llewellyn.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/LlewellynBooks
Twitter @llewellynbooks
Publisher Bill Krause
For over a century Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd has been a publisher of new age and mind, body & spirit books, including self-help, holistic health, astrology, tarot, paranormal and alternative spirituality titles. Founded 1901.
Lonely Planet
230 Franklin Road, Building 2B, Franklin, TN 37064
email go@lonelyplanet.co.uk
website www.lonelyplanet.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/lonelyplanet
Twitter @lonelyplanet
Lonely Planet is an international travel publisher, printing over 120 million books in 11 different languages. Along with guidebooks and ebooks to almost every destination on the planet. Also produces a range of gift and reference titles, a website, a magazine and a range of digital travel products and apps.
The Lyons Press
246 Goose Lane, Guilford, CT 06437
tel +1 203-458-4500
website www.lyonspress.com, swww.globepequot.com
Editor Contact Stephanie Scott
Fishing, hunting, sports, outdoor skills, horses, history, military history, reference, true crime, entertainment, and non-fiction. An imprint of Globe Pequot Press. Founded 1978.
McGraw-Hill Professional*
2 Penn Plaza, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10121
tel + 1 212-904-2000
website www.mhprofessional.com
McGraw-Hill Business
Management, investing, leadership, personal finance.
McGraw-Hill Consumer
Non-fiction: from health, self-help and parenting, to sports, outdoor and boating books. Publishing partnerships include Harvard Medical School and Standard & Poor’s.
McGraw-Hill Education
Test-prep, study guides, language instruction, dictionaries.
McGraw-Hill Medical
Harrison’s and reference for practitioners and medical students.
McGraw-Hill Technical
Science, engineering, computing, construction references.
Macmillan Publishers, Inc.*
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
tel +1 646-307-5151
email press.inquiries@macmillanusa.com
website http://us.macmillan.com
Imprints: Bedford/St Martins; Farrar, Straus & Giroux; Farrar, Straus & Giroux BYR; Feiwel & Friends; 01 First Second; Henry Holt and Company; Henry Holt BYR; Macmillan Audio; Picador; Square Fish; St Martin’s Press; Tor/Forge (see Tom Doherty Associates, LLC here); W.H. Freeman; and Worth.
McPherson & Company
PO Box 1126, Kingston, NY 12402
tel +1 845-331-5807
email bmcphersonco@gmail.com
website www.mcphersonco.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/McPherson-and-Company/
Twitter @bookmaverick Publisher Bruce R. McPherson
Literary fiction; non-fiction: art criticism, writings by artists, film-making; occasional general titles (e.g. anthropology). No poetry. No unsolicited MSS; query first. Distributed in UK by Central Books, London. Imprints: Documentext, Treacle Press, Saroff Books. Founded 1974.
The University of Massachusetts Press*
671 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003
tel +1 413-545-2217
email info@umpress.umass.edu
website www.umass.edu/umpress
Director Mary Dougherty, Executive Editor Matt Becker
Scholarly books and works of general interest: American studies and history, Black and ethnic studies, women’s studies, cultural criticism, architecture and environmental design, literary criticism, poetry, fiction, philosophy, political science, sociology, books of regional interest. Founded 1964.
The University of Michigan Press*
839 Greene Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104–3209
tel +1 734-764-4388
email um.press@umich.edu
website www.press.umich.edu/
Director Charles Watkinson
Scholarly and general interest works in literary and cultural theory, classics, history, theatre, women’s studies, political science, law, American history, American studies, anthropology, economics, jazz; textbooks in English as a second language; regional trade titles. Founded 1930.
Microsoft Press
One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052–6399
tel +1 425-882-8080
email 4bkideas@microsoft.com
website https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/learning/microsoft-press-books.aspx
Publisher Ben Ryan
Computer books. Division of Microsoft Corp. Founded 1983.
Milkweed Editions*
1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55415
tel + 1 612-332-3192
email editor@milkweed.org
website www.milkweed.org
Editor Abby Travis
Fiction, poetry, essays, the natural world, children’s novels (8–14 years). Founded 1979.
University of Missouri Press
113 Heinkel Building, 201 South 7th Street, Columbia, MO 65211
tel +1 573-882-7641
email upress@missouri.edu
website http://upress.missouri.edu
Facebook www.facebook.com/University-of-Missouri-Press/
Twitter @umissouripress
Editor-in-Chief Andrew Davidson
American and European history; African–American studies; U.S. military history; women’s studies; sports history; American and British literary criticism; journalism; political science; regional studies. Founded 1958.
The MIT Press
One Rogers Street, Cambridge, MA 02142–1209
tel +1 617-253-5646
website https://mitpress.mit.edu
Director Amy Brand
Architecture, art and design, cognitive sciences, neuroscience, linguistics, computer science and artificial intelligence, economics and finance, philosophy, environment and ecology, new media, information science, game studies, bioethics, communications, education, engineering, physical science, mathematics. Founded 1962.
William Morrow – see HarperCollins Publishers
Thomas Nelson Publisher
PO Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214
tel + 1 800-251-4000
email publicity@thomasnelson.com
website www.thomasnelson.com
Ceo Mark Schoenwald
Acquired by HarperCollins in 2012. Bibles, religious, non-fiction and fiction general trade books for adults and children. Founded 1798.
University of New Mexico Press
1717 Roma NE, MSC05 3185, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
tel +1 505-277-3495
email custserv@unm.edu
website www.unmpress.com
Interim Director Richard Schuetz, Managing Editor James Ayers
Western history, anthropology and archaeology, Latin American studies, photography, multicultural literature, fiction, poetry. Founded 1929.
The University of North Carolina Press*
116 South Boundary Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
tel +1 919-966-3561
website www.uncpress.unc.edu
Editorial Director Mark Simpson-Vos
American history, American studies, Southern studies, European history, women’s studies, Latin American studies, political science, anthropology and folklore, classics, regional trade. Founded 1922.
North Light Books – see Writer’s Digest Books
North Point Press – see Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC
Northland Publishing – see Cooper Square Publishing
NorthWord Books for Young Readers – see Cooper Square Publishing
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.*
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
tel +1 212-354-5500
website www.wwnorton.com
Vice President & Editor-in-Chief John Glusman
Literary fiction and narrative non-fiction, history, politics, science, biography, music and memoir.
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069–8216
tel +1 405-325-2000
website www.oupress.com
Director B. Byron Price, Editor-in-Chief Adam C. Kane
American West, American Indians, classics, political science. Founded 1928.
OR Books
137 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10011
tel +1 212 514 6485
email info@orbooks.com
website www.orbooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/orbooks/
Twitter @orbooks
Co-founders John Oakes, Colin Robinson
OR Books publishes by printing on demand, selling directly to the customer, and focusing on creative promotion through traditional media and the Internet. Publishes non-fiction: literature, history and politics, activism, society, the Internet and the Middle East. Founded 2009.
Orbit – see Hachette Book Group
The Overlook Press
141 Wooster Street #4B, New York, NY 10012
tel +1 212-673-2210
website www.overlookpress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/overlookpress
Twitter @overlookpress
President & Publisher Peter Mayer
Non-fiction, fiction, children’s books (Freddy the Pig series). Imprints: Ardis Publishing, Duckworth. Founded 1971.
Oxford University Press*
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
tel + 1 212-726-6000
website https://global.oup.com/academic
Ceo Nigel Portwood
Academic and trade, bibles; ELT and ESL; dictionaries; higher education and science, technology, medicine and scholarly; law, medicine and music; journals; online; reference. Publishes globally for a range of audiences, across a multitude of cultures, education systems and languages. Currently publishes more than 6,000 titles a year worldwide, in a variety of formats. Many of these titles are created specifically for local markets and are published by regional publishing branches.
Paragon House Publishers
3600 Labore Road, Suite 1, St. Paul, Minnesota, MN 55110–4144
tel +1 651-644-3087
email paragon@ParagonHouse.com
website www.ParagonHouse.com
President Gordon L. Anderson
Textbooks and general interest in philosophy, religion, social sciences and non-fiction.
Pelican Publishing Company
1000 Burmaster Street, Gretna, LA 70053
tel +1 504-368-1175
email editorial@pelicanpub.com
website www.pelicanpub.com
Publisher & President Kathleen Calhoun Nettleton
Art and architecture, cookbooks, biography, history, business, children’s, motivational, political science, social commentary, holiday. Founded 1926.
Penguin Publishing Group*
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
tel + 1 212-366-2000
website www.penguin.com
President Allison Dobson
The Penguin Publishing Group is a leading adult trade book division with a wide range of imprints. Imprints: Avery, Berkley, Dutton, Pamela Dorman Books, Penguin Books, Penguin Press, Plume, Portfolio, Putnam, TarcherPerigee, Riverhead, Sentinel and Viking.
Penguin Random House*
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
tel +1 212-782-9000
website www.penguinrandomhouse.com
Ceo Madeline McIntosh
With 250 independent imprints and brands on five continents, more than 15,000 new titles and close to 800 million print, audio and ebooks sold annually, Penguin Random House is the world’s leading trade book publisher. The company, which employs about 12,500 people globally, was formed on July 1, 2013 by Bertelsmann and Pearson, who own 75% and 25%, respectively. Like its predecessor companies, Penguin Random House is committed to publishing adult and children’s fiction and non-fiction print editions, and is a pioneer in digital publishing. Its book brands include storied imprints such as Doubleday, Viking and Alfred A. Knopf (US); Ebury, Hamish Hamilton and Jonathan Cape (UK); Plaza & Janés and Alfaguara (Spain); and Sudamericana (Argentina); as well as the international imprint DK. See Crown Publishing Group (here), Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group (here). Penguin Publishing Group (above), Random House Publishing Group (here), Penguin Young Readers (below) and Random House Children’s Books (here).
Penguin Young Readers*
345 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
tel +1 212-366-2000
website www.penguin.com/children
President Jen Loja
Penguin Young Readers is one of the leading children’s book publishers in the US. The company owns a wide range of imprints and trademarks including Dial Books, Dutton, Grosset & Dunlap, Kathy Dawson Books, Nancy Paulsen Books, Penguin Workshop, Philomel, Puffin, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Viking, Razorbill, Speak and Frederick Warne. Penguin Young Readers is also the proud publisher of perennial brand franchises such as the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, Peter Rabbit, Spot, the Classic Winnie the Pooh, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Madeline, Mad Libs, the Rangers Apprentice, Skippyjon Jones, Who Was? and Flower Fairies among many others. Penguin Young Readers is a division of Penguin Group LLC, a Penguin Random House company.
University of Pennsylvania Press
3905 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104–4112
tel +1 215-898-6261
email custserv@pobox.upenn.edu
website www.pennpress.org
Director Eric Halpern
American and European history, anthropology, architecture, cultural studies, ancient studies, human rights, literature, medieval and early modern studies, Jewish studies, religious studies, current affairs, politics and public policy, urban studies and Pennsylvania regional studies. Founded 1890.
Pennsylvania State University Press*
820 North University Drive, USB1, Suite C, University Park, PA 16802
tel + 1 814-865-1329
email info@psupress.org
website www.psupress.org
Director Patrick Alexander
Art history, literary criticism, religious studies, philosophy, political science, sociology, history, Latin American studies and medieval studies. Founded 1956.
The Permanent Press
4170 Noyac Road, Sag Harbor, NY 11963
tel + 1 631-725-1101
website www.thepermanentpress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/ThePermanentPress
Twitter @TPermanentPress
Directors Martin Shepard, Judith Shepard, Chris Knopf
Literary fiction. Imprint: Second Chance Press. Founded 1978.
Philomel – see Penguin Young Readers
Plume – see Penguin Publishing Group
Popular Woodworking – see Writer’s Digest Books
Portfolio – see Penguin Publishing Group
Potomac Books, Inc.
c/o Longleaf Services, Inc, 116 S Boundary St, Chapel Hill NC 27514
tel +1 800-848-6224
email customerservice@longleafservices.org
website http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/potomac/
National and international affairs, history (military and diplomatic); reference, biography. Purchased by the University of Nebraska Press in 2013. Founded 1984.
Princeton University Press*
Princeton, NJ 08540
tel +1 609-258-4900
Postal address 41 William Street, Princeton, NJ 08540
website www.press.princeton.edu
Director Christie Henry, Editor-in-Chief Al Bertrand
Scholarly and scientific books on all subjects. Founded 1905.
Puffin Books – see Penguin Young Readers
Quarto Publishing Group USA
401 Second Avenue North, Suite 301, Minneapolis, MN 55401
website www.quarto.com
Creates and publishes illustrated books in North America and sells co-editions of them internationally. Subject categories include home improvement, gardening, practical arts and crafts, Licensed children’s books, transport, graphic arts, food and drink, sports, military history, Americana, health and body, lifestyle, pets and music. The division comprises of 15 imprints; Book Sales, Cool Springs Press, Creative Publishing International, Fair Winds Press, Motorbooks, Quarry Books, QDS, Quiver, Race Point Publishing, Rock Point, Rockport Publishers, Voyageur Press, Walter Foster Publishing, Walter Foster, Jr. and Zenith Press. Details of the imprints can be found on the website. Founded 2004.
Rand McNally
PO Box 7600, Chicago, IL 60680
tel +1 847-329-8100
website www.randmcnally.com
Maps, guides, atlases, educational publications, globes and children’s geographical titles and atlases in print and electronic formats.
Random House Children’s Books*
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
tel +1 212-782-9000
website www.randomhousekids.com, www.randomhouse.com/teachers
President & Publisher Barbara Marcus
Random House Children’s Books (RHCB) is the world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Creating books for preschool children through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels and non-fiction, RHCB brings together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters and multimillion-copy series. Imprints: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, Crown Books for Young Readers, Delacorte Press, Doubleday Books for Young Readers, Random House Books for Young Readers, Rodale Kids, Little Golden Books, Make Me A World, Schwartz & Wade Books, Wendy Lamb Books, Ember, Dragonfly, Yearling Books, Laurel-Leaf, Princeton Review and Sylvan Learning. Part of Penguin Random House (here).
Random House Publishing Group*
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
tel +1 212-782-9000
website www.randomhousebooks.com
President & Publisher Gina Centrello
The Random House Publishing Group was formed upon the unification of the Random House Trade Group and the Ballantine Books Group in 2003. In 2008, the group added imprints from the Bantam Dell, Spiegel & Grau and Dial Press divisions, creating a creative powerhouse which publishes many of the best authors in both literary and commercial genres. Imprints: Ballantine Books, Bantam Books, Delacorte Press, Dell, Del Rey, The Dial Press, Modern Library, Random House, and Spiegel & Grau. Part of Penguin Random House (here).
Razorbill – see Penguin Young Readers
Rising Moon – see Cooper Square Publishing
Rizzoli International Publications, Inc.
300 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010
tel + 1 212-387-3400
email publicity@rizzoliusa.com
website www.rizzoliusa.com
Publisher Charles Miers
Art, architecture, photography, fashion, gardening, design, gift books, cookbooks. Founded 1976.
Rodale Book Group
733 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
tel + 1 212-573-0300
website www.rodale.com
Ceo Maria Rodale
General health, women’s health, men’s health, senior health, alternative health, fitness, healthy cooking, gardening, pets, spirituality/inspiration, trade health, biography, memoir, current affairs, science, parenting, organics, lifestyle, self-help, how-to, home arts. Founded 1932.
Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
tel + 1 212-216-7800
website www.routledge.com
Music, history, psychology and psychiatry, politics, business studies, philosophy, education, sociology, urban studies, religion, film, media, literary and cultural studies, reference, English language, linguistics, communication studies, journalism. Editorial office in the UK. Subsidiary of Taylor & Francis, LLC. Imprint: Routledge. Founded 1834.
Rowman & Littlefield
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
tel +1 301-459-3366
email customercare@rowman.com
website www.rowman.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/rowmanuk
Twitter @rowmanuk
President & Ceo James E. Lyons
Rowman & Littlefield is an independent publisher specialising in academic publishing in the humanities and social sciences, government and official data and educational publishing.
Running Press Book Publishers
2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103
tel +1 215-567-5080
email perseus.promos@perseusbooks.com
website www.runningpress.com
Publisher Chris Navratil
General non-fiction, TV, film, humor, history, children’s fiction and non-fiction, food and wine, pop culture, lifestyle, illustrated gift books. Imprints: Running Press, Running Press Miniature Editions, Running Press Kids, Running Press Adults. Member of the Perseus Books Group. Founded 1972.
Rutgers University Press
106 Somerset Street, Third Floor, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
tel +1 800-848-6224
website www.rutgersuniversitypress.org
Director Micah Kleit, Editorial Director Kimberly Guinta
Women’s studies, anthropology, film and media studies, sociology, public health, cultural studies, clinical health, medicine, history of medicine, Asian–American studies, African–American studies, American studies, Jewish studies, regional titles. Founded 1936.
St Martin’s Press, Inc.*
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
tel +1 212-677-7456
website http://us.macmillan.com/smp
Trade, reference, college. No unsolicited MSS. Imprints: Griffin, Minotaur, St. Martin’s Press, Thomas Dunne Books, Castle Point Books, Wednesday Books and All Point Books. Founded 1952.
Scholastic, Inc.*
557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012
tel +1 212-343-6100
email news@scholastic.com
website www.scholastic.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/scholastic
Twitter @scholastic
Scholastic is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and a leader in education technology and children’s media. Divisions: Scholastic Trade Publishing, Scholastic Book Clubs, Scholastic Book Fairs, Scholastic Education, Scholastic International, Media, Licensing and Advertising. Imprints include: Arthur A. Levine Books, Cartwheel Books, Chicken House, David Fickling Books, Graphix, Orchard Books, Point, PUSH, Scholastic en español, Scholastic Focus, Scholastic Licensed Publishing, Scholastic Nonfiction, Scholastic Paperbacks, Scholastic Press, Scholastic Reference and The Blue Sky Press. In addition, Scholastic Trade Books includes Klutz, a highly innovative publisher and creator of “books plus” for children. Founded 1920.
Sentinel – see Penguin Publishing Group
15200 NBN Way, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214
tel + 1 800-462-6420
email customercare@nbnbooks.com
website www.rowman.com
President James E. Lyons
Sailing, nautical, travel. Founded 1940.
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division*
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
tel +1 212-698-7200
website www.simonandschuster.com/kids
President & Publisher Jon Anderson
Preschool to young adult, fiction and non-fiction, trade, library and mass market. Imprints: Aladdin Paperbacks, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Beach Lane Books, Little Simon, Margaret K. McElderry Books, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Simon Pulse, Salaam Reads, Simon Spotlight, Paula Wiseman Books. More detail of some of the imprints are given below. Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Founded 1924.
Simon & Schuster, Inc*
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
tel +1 212-698-7000
website www.simonandschuster.com
President & Ceo Carolyn K. Reidy
General fiction and non-fiction. No unsolicited MSS. Imprints: 37 Ink, Adams Media, Aladdin, Atria Books, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Beach Lane Books, Beyond Words, Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, Emily Bestler Books, Enliven, Folger Shakespeare Library, Free Press, Gallery Books, Gallery 13, Howard Books, Jeter Publishing, Little Simon, Marble Arch Press, Margaret K. McElderry, Paula Wiseman Books, Pocket Books, Pocket Star, Saga Press, Salaam Reads, Scout Press, Scribner, Simon & Schuster, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Simon Pulse, Simon Spotlight, Star Trek®, Strebor Books, Threshold Editions, Touchstone, Washington Square Press. Founded 1924.
Soho Press, Inc.
853 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
tel + 1 212-260-1900
email soho@sohopress.com
website www.sohopress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/SohoPress
Twitter @soho_press
Publisher Bronwen Hruska
Literary fiction, commercial fiction, mystery, memoir. Founded 1986.
Sourcebooks Inc.
1935 Brookdale Road, Suite 139, Naperville, IL 60563
tel +1 630-961-3900
website www.sourcebooks.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/sourcebooks
Twitter @Sourcebooks
Publisher & Ceo Dominique Raccah, Vice President & Editorial Director Todd Stocke, Assistant Publisher Kay Mitchell
A leading independent publisher with a wide variety of genres including fiction, romance, children’s, young adult, gift/calendars and college-bound. Ecommerce businesses include Put Me In the Story, the #1 personalized books platform. Founded 1987.
Stanford University Press*
500 Broadway, Redwood City, CA 94063
tel +1 650-723-9434
email information@www.sup.org
website www.sup.org
Scholarly (humanities and social sciences), professional (business, law, economics and management science), high-level textbooks. 1893.
Ten Speed Press
1745 Broadway, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10019
tel +1 510-559-1600
website http://crownpublishing.com/imprint/ten-speed-press/
President Phil Wood, Publisher Lorena Jones
Career/business, cooking, practical non-fiction, health, women’s interest, self-help, children’s. Imprints: Celestial Arts, Crossing Press, Tricycle Press. Founded 1971.
University of Tennessee Press
110 Conference Center Building, Knoxville, TN 37996
tel +1 865-974-3321
website www.utpress.org
Director Scot Danforth
American studies: African–American studies, Appalachian studies, history, religion, literature, historical archaeology, folklore, vernacular architecture, material culture. New series, Legacies of War and America’s Baptists. Founded 1940.
University of Texas Press*
3001 Lake Austin Blvd, 2,200 Stop E4800, Austin, TX 78703–4206
tel +1 512-471-7233
email info@utpress.utexas.edu
website www.utexaspress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/utexaspress
Director David Hamrick
A book and journal publisher – a focal point where the life experiences, insights and specialised knowledge of writers converge to be disseminated in both print and digital format. Founded 1950.
Tuttle Publishing/Periplus Editions
Airport Business Park, 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759
tel +1 802-773-8930
email info@tuttlepublishing.com
website http://www.tuttlepublishing.com/
Ceo Eric Oey, Publishing Director Ed Walters
Asian art, culture, cooking, gardening, Eastern philosophy, martial arts, health. Founded 1948.
Two-Can Publishing – see Cooper Square Publishing
Viking Press – see Penguin Publishing Group
Walker & Co.
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
tel +1 212-674-5151
website www.walkerbooks.com, www.bloomsburykids.com
General. Walker Books and Walker Books for Young Readers are imprints of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (here).
University of Washington Press
4333 Brooklyn Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98105 Postal address Box 359570, Seattle, WA 98195–9570
tel +1 206-543-4050
website www.washington.edu/uwpress
Director Nicole Mitchell
American studies; anthropology; art history and visual culture; Asian American studies; Asian studies; critical ethnic studies; environmental history; Jewish studies; Native American and Indigenous studies; nature and environment; Scandinavian studies; sustainable design; women’s, gender, and sexuality studies; and Western and Pacific Northwest history. The press also publishes a broad range of books about the Pacific Northwest for general readers, often in partnership with regional museums, cultural organizations, and local tribes. Founded 1920.
WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group
10807 New Allegiance Drive Suite 500, Colorado Springs, CO 80921
tel +1 719-590-4999
email info@waterbrookmultnomah.com
website www.waterbrookmultnomah.com
Vice President & Publisher Alexander Field
Fiction and non-fiction with a Christian perspective. No unsolicited MSS. Subsidiary of Penguin Random House (here). Founded 1996.
Watson-Guptill Publications
c/o Penguin Random House, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
tel +1 212-782-9000, +1 212-572-6066
website http://crownpublishing.com/imprint/watson-guptill/
Art, crafts, how-to, comic/cartooning, photography, performing arts, architecture and interior design, graphic design, music, writing, reference. Imprints: Amphoto Books, Watson-Guptill. Founded 1937.
Westminster John Knox Press*
100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202–1396
tel +1 502-569-8400
website www.wjkbooks.com
President & Publisher Marc Lewis
Scholarly reference and general books with a religious/spiritual angle. Division of Presbyterian Publishing Corp.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.*
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030
tel +1 201-748-6000
email info@wiley.com
website www.wiley.com
President & Ceo Brian A. Napack
Specialises in scientific, technical, medical and scholarly journals; encyclopedias, books and online products and services; professional/trade books, subscription products, training materials and online applications and websites; and educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Founded 1807.
Workman Publishing Company*
225 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014
tel +1 212-254-5900
email info@workman.com
website www.workman.com
Editor-in-Chief Susan Bolotin
Non-fiction including parenting. Founded 1968.
Writer’s Digest Books
10151 Carver Road, Suite 200, Cincinnati, OH 45242
tel +1 513-531-2690
email writersdigest@fwmedia.com
website www.writersdigest.com
Market directories, books and magazine for writers, photographers and songwriters. Imprint of F&W Media Inc. Founded 1920.
Family Tree
Genealogy.
Fine art, decorative art, crafts, graphic arts instruction books.
Popular Woodworking
How-to in home building, remodelling, woodworking, home organisation.
Yale University Press*
PO Box 209040, New Haven, CT 06520-9040
tel +1 203-432-0960
UK office 47 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP
website www.yale.edu/yup
Scholarly, trade books and art books.
Yen Press*
Hachette Book Group, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104
email yenpress@hbgusa.com
website www.yenpress.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/yenpress
Twitter @yenpress
Graphic novels and manga in all formats for all ages. Currently not seeking original project pitches from writers who are not already working with an illustrator. For submission guidelines see under Contact on website. Division of Hachette Book Group (here). Founded 2006.
Many of the audio publishers listed below are also publishers of print books. As the audio market grows and evolves in line with listeners’ preferences, new entrants are offering a range of digital streaming solutions, often on a monthly subscription basis.
Audible
email bizdev_uk@audible.co.uk
website www.audible.co.uk
Twitter @audibleuk
Producer and seller of digital audio entertainment, including fiction and non-fiction audiobooks for adults and children. Publishers keen to enquire about business opportunities with Audible can email on the address above, or find out more about turning print books into audiobooks at www.acx.com. Founded 1995; acquired by Amazon 2008.
website www.audiobooks.com
Twitter @audiobooks_com
Subscription audio book service, offering a wide range fiction and non-fiction genres, as well as some children’s titles.
BookBeat
email info@bookbeat.com
website www.bookbeat.com/uk
Twitter @BookBeatUK
Digital streaming service for adult and children’s audiobooks across a variety of fiction and non-fiction genres. Monthly subscription model. Owned by Bonnier. Founded 2017.
Canongate Audio Books
14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE
tel 0131 557 5111
email support@canongate.co.uk
website www.canongate.co.uk
Audio Director Jamie Byng, Audio and Online Manager Jo Lord
Classic literature including the works of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, D.H. Lawrence and P.G. Wodehouse; also current literary authors, such as Yann Martel and Nick Cave. Publishes approx. 25 titles per year and has 150 titles available, including many short stories. Founded 1991 as CSA Word; acquired by Canongate 2010.
Cló Iar-Chonnacht Teo
Indreabhán, Conamara, Co. Galway, Republic of Ireland
tel +353 (0)91 593307
email eolas@cic.ie
website www.cic.ie
Ceo Micheál Ó Conghaile, General Manager Deirdre O’Toole
Irish-language novels, short stories, plays, poetry, songs; CDs (writers reading from their works), downloads and bilingual books. Promotes the translation of contemporary Irish poetry and fiction into other languages. Founded 1985.
Creative Content Ltd
Roxburghe House, 273–287 Regent Street, London W1B 2HA
tel 07771 766838
email ali@creativecontentdigital.com
website www.creativecontentdigital.com
Publisher Ali Muirden, Editorial Director Lorelei King
Publishes audio digital downloads and ebooks in the business, language improvement, self-improvement, lifestyle, crime fiction, sci-fi, short stories and young adult genres. Founded 2008.
Hachette Audio
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y 0DZ
email louise.newton@littlebrown.co.uk
email sarah.shrubb@littlebrown.co.uk
website www.littlebrown.co.uk
Audio Publisher Sarah Shrubb
Audiobook list that focuses on unabridged titles from Little, Brown’s bestselling authors such as Iain Banks, J.K. Rowling, Sarah Waters, Donna Tartt and Mark Billingham, as well as classics including Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and Hans Fallada’s Alone in Berlin. Publishes approx. 200 audiobooks per year. Founded 2003.
HarperCollins Publishers
The News Building, 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
tel 020-8285 4658
website www.harpercollins.co.uk
Twitter @HarperCollinsUK
Audio Director Rachel Mallender, Senior Audio Editor and Producer Tanya Hougham, Senior Audio Editor Fionnuala Barrett, Editor Jack Chalmers, Audio Assistant Catriona Morrison
Publishers of award-winning fiction and non-fiction audiobooks for adults and children. An imprint of HarperCollins. Founded 1990.
Hodder & Stoughton Audiobooks
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ
tel 020-7873 6000
email dominic.gribben@hodder.co.uk
website www.hodder.co.uk
Publisher Dominic Gribben
Fiction and non-fiction audiobooks from within the Hodder group. Authors include Stephen King, John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, Graham Norton, Miranda Hart and Sir Alex Ferguson.
W. F. Howes Ltd
Unit 5, St George’s House, Rearsby Business Park, Gaddesby Lane, Rearsby, Leicester LE7 4YH
tel (01664) 423000
email info@wfhowes.co.uk
website www.wfhowes.co.uk
Audiobook and large-print publisher; also digital services provider. Releases c. 60 new and unabridged audiobooks monthly. Works with a range of large UK publishers, including Penguin Random House and HarperCollins. Founded 1999; acquired by RBmedia 2017.
Isis/Soundings
Isis Publishing Ltd, 7 Centremead, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0ES
tel (01865) 250333
website www.isis-publishing.co.uk
Twitter @Isisaudio
Chief Executive Michele Petty
Complete and unabridged audiobooks: fiction, non-fiction, autobiography, biography, crime, thrillers, family sagas, mysteries, romances.
Kobo
website www.kobo.com/gb/en
Twitter @kobo
Audiobook streaming service, for a monthly fee. Offers fiction, non-fiction, adult, children’s and YA titles.
Library Magna Books Ltd
Magna House, Long Preston, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 4ND
tel (01729) 840225
email helen.bibby@magnaprint.co.uk
website www.ulverscroft.co.uk
Managing Director Michele Petty
Publisher of large print and unabridged audio. Supplies libraries worldwide with some of the best-known authors in library lending. Publishes a range of fiction and non-fiction titles and specialises in family sagas. Part of the Ulverscroft Group. Founded 1973.
Macmillan Digital Audio
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
tel 020-7014 6000
email audiobooks@macmillan.co.uk
website www.panmacmillan.com
Publishing Director for Audio Rebecca Lloyd
Adult fiction, non-fiction and autobiography, and children’s. Founded 1995.
Naxos AudioBooks
5 Wyllyotts Place, Potters Bar, Herts. EN6 2JD
tel (01707) 653326
email info@naxosaudiobooks.com
website www.naxosaudiobooks.com
Managing Director Anthony Anderson
Classic literature, modern fiction, non-fiction, drama and poetry on CD. Also junior classics and classical music. Founded 1994.
The Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ
tel 020-3122 6876
email salesinformation@orionbooks.co.uk
website https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/
Senior Audio Manager Paul Stark
Adult fiction and non-fiction. Founded 1998.
Penguin Random House UK Audio
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA
tel 020-7840 8400
website www.penguinrandomhouse.co.uk
Managing Director Hannah Telfer
Includes classic and contemporary fiction and non-fiction, autobiography, poetry and drama. Authors include Jo Nesbø, Lee Child, Kathy Reichs, Nick Hornby, Claire Tomalin, Zadie Smith and Paula Hawkins.
Simon & Schuster Audio
Simon & Schuster UK, 1st Floor, 222 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8HB
tel 020-7316 1900
email enquiries@simonandschuster.co.uk
website www.simonandschuster.co.uk/audio
Publisher Jo Dickinson
Fiction and non-fiction audiobooks. Fiction authors include Philippa Gregory, Milly Johnson and Chris Carter. Non-fiction authors include Rhonda Byrne, Bruce Springsteen, Walter Isaacson and David Grann. Founded 1997.
SmartPass Ltd
15 Park Road, Rottingdean, Brighton, BN2 7HL
tel (01273) 306203
email info@smartpass.co.uk
website www.smartpass.co.uk
Unabridged plays, poetry and dramatisations of novels as guided full-cast dramas for individual study and classroom use. Shakespeare Appreciated: full-cast unabridged plays with an explanatory commentary. SP Audiobooks: full-cast unabridged dramas of classic and cult texts.
The Green, Bradgate Road, Anstey, Leicester LE7 7FU
tel 0116 236 4325
email m.merrill@ulverscroft.co.uk
website www.ulverscroft.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/ulverscroft
Twitter @UlverscroftUK
Offers a wide variety of large print titles in hardback and paperback format as well as abridged and unabridged audiobooks on CD, MP3 CD and digital download, many of which are written by the world’s favourite authors and includes award-winning titles. Acquired Oakill Publishing and its range of unabridge audiobooks April 2018. Founded 1964.
Many illustrated books are created by book packagers, whose particular skills are in the areas of book design and graphic content. In-house desk editors and art editors match up the expertise of specialist writers, artists and photographers who usually work on a freelance basis.
Aladdin Books Ltd
PO Box 53987, London SW15 2SF
tel 020-3174 3090
email sales@aladdinbooks.co.uk
website www.aladdinbooks.co.uk
Full design and book packaging facility specialising in children’s non-fiction and reference. Founded 1980.
Nicola Baxter Ltd
16 Cathedral Street, Norwich NR1 1LX
tel (01603) 766585, 07778 285555
email nb@nicolabaxter.co.uk
website www.nicolabaxter.co.uk
Director Nicola Baxter
Full packaging service for children’s books in both traditional and digital formats. Happy to take projects from concept to finished work or supply bespoke authorial, editorial, design, project management or commissioning services. Produces both fiction and non-fiction titles in a wide range of formats, for babies to young adults and experienced in novelty books and licensed publishing. Founded 1990.
Bender Richardson White
PO Box 266, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB9 5NX
tel (01895) 832444
email brw@brw.co.uk
website www.brw.co.uk
Directors Lionel Bender (editorial), Kim Richardson (sales & production), Ben White (design)
Specialises in children’s and young people’s natural history, science and family information. Opportunities for freelancers. Founded 1990.
Breslich & Foss Ltd
2A Union Court, 20–22 Union Road, London SW4 6JP
tel 020-7819 3990
email sales@breslichfoss.co.uk
website www.breslichfoss.co.uk
Directors Paula G. Breslich, K.B. Dunning
Books produced from MS to bound copy stage from in-house ideas. Specialising in crafts. Founded 1978.
Brown Bear Books Ltd
1st Floor, 9–17 St Albans Place, London N1 0NX
tel 020-7424 5640
website www.windmillbooks.co.uk
Children’s Publisher Anne O’Daly
Specialises in high-quality illustrated reference books and multi-volume sets for trade and educational markets. Opportunities for freelancers. Imprint of Windmill Books (here).
John Brown Group – Children’s Division
8 Baldwin Street, London EC1V 9NU
tel 020-7565 3000
email andrew.hirsch@johnbrownmedia.com
website www.johnbrownmedia.com
Directors Andrew Hirsch (operations), Sara Lynn (creative)
Creative development and packaging of children’s products including books, magazines, teachers’ resource packs, partworks, CDs and websites.
Cambridge Publishing Management Ltd
Unit 2, Burr Elm Court, Main Street, Caldecote, Cambs. CB23 7NU
tel (01954) 214000
email j.dobbyne@cambridgepm.co.uk
website www.cambridgepm.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/cambridgepm
Twitter @CambridgePM
Managing Director Jackie Dobbyne, Editorial Manager Katie Silvester
Provides a streamlined route to publication for publishers, non-profits, charitable foundations and corporate clients. Offers complete project management from author commissioning and management through design, editorial and production to the supply of print-ready or digital files. The company’s core activities are conducted inhouse. Manages titles in a number of subject areas, from art and business to education and policy reports. Uses an extensive network of trusted freelance specialists who enable the company to provide quality content while the project managers fulfil the pivotal role of ensuring publications are delivered on time, within budget and to clients’ exact specification. Founded 1999.
Chase My Snail
19 Darnell House, Royal Hill, London SE10 8SU
tel 0785 267 5689, +27 (0)82 822 8221 (South Africa)
email headsnail@chasemysnail.com
website www.chasemysnail.com
Publishing Director Daniel Ford
Produces top-quality books, especially non-fiction sports, fitness and travel publications, for the co-edition market. Handles writing, editing, proofing and design to take the book through from concept to final files. Has a wide range of book ideas already developed for publishers looking to extend their lists. Operates in London and Johannesburg.
Creative Plus Publishing Ltd
2nd Floor, 151 High Street, Billericay, Essex CM12 9AB
tel (01277) 633005
email enquiries@creative-plus.co.uk
website www.creative-plus.co.uk
Facebook www.facebook.com/CreativePlusPublishingLtd
Publishing Director Claire Coakley
Provides all editorial and design from concept to final files for books, partworks and magazines. Specialises in female interest, children’s, gardening, illustrated non-fiction and instructional video production. Opportunities for freelancers. Founded 1989.
Diagram Visual Information Ltd
34 Elaine Grove, London NW5 4QH
tel 020-7485 5941
email info@diagramgroup.com
website www.diagramgroup.com
Directors Jane Johnson, Patricia Robertson
Research, writing, design and illustration of reference books, supplied as disks. Founded 1967.
Eddison Books Ltd
St Chad’s House, 148 King’s Cross Road, London WC1X 9DH
tel 020-7837 1968
email info@eddisonbooks.com
website www.eddisonbooks.com
Director Stéphane Leduc
Illustrated non-fiction books, kits and gift titles for the international co-edition market. Broad, popular list including mind, body & spirit; health; personal development; and parenting, childcare and brain-training.
Edition
PO Box 1, Moffat, Dumfriesshire DG10 9SU
tel (01683) 220808
email jh@cameronbooks.co.uk
Director Jill Hollis
Illustrated non-fiction. Design, editing, typesetting and production from concept to finished book for galleries, museums, institutions and other publishers. Founded 1976.
Elwin Street Productions Ltd
14 Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0DP
tel 020-7253 3044
email silvia@elwinstreet.com
website www.elwinstreet.com
Director Silvia Langford, Rights Director Elena
Battista, Production Manager Marion Storz
Trade imprint: Modern Books. Illustrated co-edition publisher of adult non-fiction: reference, visual arts, popular sciences, lifestyle, gastronomy, health and nutrition, parenting, gift and humour.
Global Blended Learning Ltd
Singleton Court, Wonastow Road, Monmouth NP25 5JA
tel (01993) 706273
email info@hlstudios.eu.com
website www.globalblendedlearning.com
Primary, secondary academic education (geography, science, modern languages) and co-editions (travel guides, gardening, cookery). Multimedia (CD-Rom programming and animations). Opportunities for freelancers. Founded 1985.
Graham-Cameron Publishing & Illustration
59 Hertford Road, Brighton BN1 7GG
tel (01273) 385890
email enquiry@gciforillustration.com
Alternative address The Art House, Uplands Park, Sheringham, Norfolk NR26 8NE
tel (01263) 821333
website www.gciforillustration.com
Partners Helen Graham-Cameron, Duncan Graham-Cameron
Educational and children’s books; information publications; sponsored publications. Illustration agency with 37 artists. Do not send unsolicited MSS. Founded 1985.
Hart McLeod Ltd
14A Greenside, Waterbeach, Cambridge CB25 9HP
tel (01223) 861495
email jo@hartmcleod.co.uk
website www.hartmcleod.co.uk
Director Joanne Barker
Primarily educational and general non-fiction with particular expertise in illustrated books, school texts, ELT and electronic and audio content. Opportunities for freelances and work experience. Founded 1985.
Heart of Albion
2 Cross Hill Close, Wymeswold, Loughborough LE12 6UJ
tel (01509) 881342
email albion@indigogroup.co.uk
website www.hoap.co.uk
Director Bob Trubshaw
Not currently seeking submissions. Founded 1989.
Ivy Press Ltd
Ovest House, 58 West Street, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 2RA
tel (01273) 487440
email applications@ivy-group.co.uk
website www.ivypress.co.uk
Twitter @QuartoExplores
International Publisher Simon Gwynn
Publishers of illustrated trade books on art, science, popular culture, design, children’s non-fiction, natural history and Conscious Living. Opportunities for authors and freelancers. Part of the Quarto Group (here). Founded 1996.
Lexus Ltd
47 Brook Street, Glasgow G40 2QW
tel 0141 556 0440
email peterterrell@lexusforlanguages.co.uk
website www.lexusforlanguages.co.uk
Director P.M. Terrell
Publisher of language books, especially language learning material and phrasebooks: Lexus Travelmate series (15 titles) and Chinese Classroom series (two textbooks and CD-Rom with speech recognition); Insider China; UK4U (written in Chinese). Also dual language books: Cross Over into Gaelic series (Maggie Midge, Scottish Folk Tales); Scottish Folk Tales in English and French; ScotlandSpeak, a wordbook for Scotland. For children: dual language books for young children, Mess on the Floor, with audio app (French, German, Spanish and Scottish Gaelic); Gaelic Gold, a learner’s dictionary/phrasebook; What’s in a Scottish Placename? Founded 1980.
Little People Books
The Home of BookBod, Knighton, Radnorshire LD7 1UP
tel (01547) 520925
email littlepeoplebooks@thehobb.tv
website www.littlepeoplebooks.co.uk
Directors Grant Jessé (production & managing), Helen Wallis (rights & finance)
Packager of audio, children’s educational and textbooks, digital publications. Parent company: Grant Jessé UK.
Market House Books Ltd
Suite B, Elsinore House, 43 Buckingham Street, Aylesbury, Bucks. HP20 2NQ
tel (01296) 484911
email books@mhbref.com
website www.markethousebooks.com
Twitter @markethousebook
Directors Jonathan Law (editorial), Anne Kerr (production)
Book packagers with experience in producing reference books from small pocket dictionaries to large multi-volume colour encyclopedias and from specialist academic reference books to popular books for crossword enthusiasts. Deals with publishers worldwide. Services offered include: start-to-finish project management; commissioning of writers and editors; writing and rewriting; editing and copy-editing; proofreading; checking of final pages; keyboarding; typesetting; page design and make-up; text conversion; data manipulation; database management. Founded 1970.
Orpheus Books Ltd
6 Church Green, Witney, Oxon OX28 4AW
tel (01993) 774949
email info@orpheusbooks.com
website www.orpheusbooks.com, www.Q-files.com
Executive Directors Nicholas Harris, Sarah Hartley
Children’s illustrated non-fiction/reference books and ebooks. Orpheus Books are the creators of Q-files.com, the free online children’s encyclopedia. Founded 1993.
Salamander – see Pavilion Books
Toucan Books Ltd
The Old Fire Station, 140 Tabernacle Street, London EC2A 4SD
tel 020-7250 3388
website www.toucanbooks.co.uk
Directors Robert Sackville West, Ellen Dupont
International co-editions; editorial, design and production services. Founded 1985.
Windmill Books Ltd
Unit 1/D, Leroy House, 436 Essex Road, London N1 3QP
tel 020-3176 8603
website www.windmillbooks.co.uk
Children’s Publisher Anne O’Daly
Publisher and packager of books and partworks for trade, promotional and international publishers. Opportunities for freelancers. Imprint: Brown Bear Books Ltd (here).
Working Partners Ltd
9 Kingsway, 4th Floor, London WC2B 6XF
tel 020-7841 3939
email enquiries@workingpartnersltd.co.uk
website www.workingpartnersltd.co.uk
Managing Director Chris Snowdon, Operations Director Charles Nettleton
Children’s and young adult fiction series. Genres include: animal fiction, fantasy, horror, historical, detective, magical, adventure. No unsolicited MSS or illustrations. Pays advance and royalty; retains copyright on all works. Selects writers from unpaid writing samples based on specific brief. Looking to add writers to database: to register: www.workingpartnersltd.co.uk/apply/. Founded 1995.
Working Partners Two
Managing Director Charles Nettleton Adult fiction. Aims to create novels across most adult genres for UK, USA and international houses. See above for submission guidelines. Founded 2006.
Manfield Park, Cranleigh, Surrey GU6 8NU
tel (01483) 267888
email enquiries@bakerbooks.co.uk
website www.bakerbooks.co.uk
International school book club for children aged 3–16. Operates in international and English-medium schools.
Bibliophile
31 Riverside, 55 Trinity Buoy Wharf, London E14 0FP
tel 020-7474 2474
email orders@bibliophilebooks.com
website www.bibliophilebooks.com
Proprietor Annie Quigley
Promotes value-for-money reading. Upmarket literature and classical music on CD available from mail order catalogue (10 p.a.). Over 3,000 titles covering art and fiction as well as travel, history and children’s books. Founded 1978.
The Book People Ltd
Park Menai, Bangor LL57 4FB
tel 0845 602 4040
email marketing@thebookpeople.co.uk
website www.thebookpeople.co.uk
Popular general fiction and non-fiction, including children’s and travel. Monthly.
The Folio Society
Clove Building, 4 Maguire Street, London SE1 2NQ
tel 020-7400 4222
website www.foliosociety.com
Twitter @foliosociety
Publishers of illustrated fiction, non-fiction and poetry books. Founded 1947.
Letterbox Library
Unit 151, Stratford Workshops, Burford Road, London E15 2SP
tel 020-8534 7502
email info@letterboxlibrary.com
website www.letterboxlibrary.com
Twitter @LetterboxLib
Booksellers, specialising in children’s books that celebrate inclusion, equality and diversity.
The Poetry Book Society
c/o Inpress Ltd, Churchill House, 12 Mosley Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1DE
tel 0191 230 8100
email pbs@inpressbooks.co.uk
website www.poetrybooks.co.uk
Twitter @PoetryBookSoc
Runs a quarterly poetry book club, with poet selectors choosing the best new collection of the quarter. Also operates online poetry bookshop, and publishes the Bulletin quarterly review of new poetry (available to full members). See also here.
Red House
PO Box 142, Bangor LL57 4FBZ
tel 0845 606 4280
email enquiries@redhouse.co.uk
website www.redhouse.co.uk
A member of The Book People family. Aims to help parents to select the right books for their children at affordable prices. Founded 1979.
Scholastic Book Fairs
Westfield Road, Southam, Warks. CV47 0RA
tel 0800 212281
email info@scholastic.co.uk
website https://bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/
Twitter @scholasticuk
Sells directly to children, parents and teachers through 25,000 week-long events held in schools throughout the UK. See Scholastic Ltd.
For the love of language and books
David Lodge notes how, through all the changes and challenges in the today’s fast-moving world, aspiring writers must love and treasure the incomparable medium of the English language and all its potential.
I am 83 years old at the time of writing this. I was about 16 when I conceived the ambition to be a writer, and 25 when my first novel was published in 1960. It was a very different world for aspiring writers from the one that they inhabit now. There were no personal computers with word-processing software that makes revision physically effortless; there was no internet, no Amazon for self-publishing and no Google for looking up things without moving from your desk; there were no creative writing courses in universities, very few literary prizes, and not very many literary agents. I did not think of acquiring an agent until after I had published my second novel. As I lived in London, I submitted the typescript of my first novel to publishers by hand to save the cost of postage, and the third one I tried accepted it. I got their addresses from the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook.
The WAYB is just about the only thing that is common to that world and the world of the writer today. Unlike many once-respected reference books which have succumbed to competition from the internet, the WAYB remains an indispensable companion for anyone seriously committed to the profession of author, whether full-time or part-time; and as always it is particularly valued by those who are setting out hopefully on that vocational path. The current edition is twice as thick as the first one I bought in the early 1950s. There are far more publishers, agencies and media in existence than there were then; and more ways in which a writer’s words can be communicated to readers, many of which exploit the enormous reach and flexibility of the internet. The modern WAYB not only lists the institutions, organizations, companies, etc that operate between writers and the public; it gives practical advice on how to approach them and present work in an appropriate form.
But while there are far more opportunities for writers today than there were when I wrote my first novel, there are also many more people keen to take advantage of them. The struggle to succeed in any particular field, be it prose fiction or non-fiction or poetry or drama or any other form, is intense – much more so, I think, than it was when I started out. The digitalisation of information has made the production and circulation of writing easier and cheaper than ever before, but has also made it more competitive and less remunerative for most authors.
A writer must love the kind of writing that they pursue – and that can only come from immersion in the work of other writers, the great and the good of the past and present – in order to persist in the perennial task of finding something original and interesting to say, often in the face of rejection and indifference. Fortunately there are enough examples of writers who have achieved that to give every aspiring writer hope.
When I am asked for advice on how to write well I say, ‘Try to read your own work as if you didn’t write it – as if you are a reader coming to it for the first time.’ Sometimes it helps to read it aloud. It always helps to put it aside for a while and come back to it with a fresh eye and an alert inner ear. Then you notice the clichés, ambiguities, intrusive sound patterns, unmotivated repetitions of words, and similar flaws that will irritate your reader – sometimes only subliminally, but they disturb the illusion you are creating, or the continuity of a story you are telling, or of an argument you are presenting.
Basically, you must love your medium, language, and specifically the English language, some variety of which is the first or adopted language of most users of this book. Modern English is incomparable in the range of its vocabulary and the flexibility of its syntax. Historically it evolved from a fusion of Anglo-Saxon, Latin, French and other Romance languages, and incorporated words derived from many other languages. This mix created many synonyms, or near synonyms, which have different tonal effects. The grammar of English also allows for a great variety of rhythm, in prose as well as verse, and a wide range of choice between rhetorical elaboration and colloquial simplicity. With a small adjustment, the same word can often act as a noun, a verb, an adjective or adverb, without the addition of other words. It is impossible to exaggerate what an expressive advantage this protean medium is to a writer. And if you are successful in getting your work published, you have a potential global audience whose first or second language is English.
David Lodge, CBE, FRSL is an award-winning novelist, playwright and screenwriter, and the author of many works of literary criticism. A graduate and Honorary Fellow of University College London, he is Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of Birmingham. David’s first published novel was The Picturegoers (McGibbon & Kee 1960) and subsequent novels include Out of the Shelter (Macmillan 1970), his trilogy of campus novels, Changing Places (1975), Small World (1984) and Nice Work (1988), Therapy (1995), Thinks... (2001) and Author, Author: A Novel (2004), all published by Secker & Warburg. How Far Can You Go? won the Whitbread Book of the Year 1980 and Small World and Nice Work were both shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction. David has adapted his own and other writers’ novels for television, and his stage plays include The Writing Game and Home Truths. His latest novels are Deaf Sentence (Harvill Secker 2008), based on his own experience of deafness and A Man of Parts (H.G. Wells) (2011), and Quite a Good Time To Be Born: A Memoir 1935–75 was published in 2015. A sequel, Writer’s Luck: A Memoir 1976-1991, was published in 2018.
Stronger together: writers united
Novelist Maggie Gee encourages writers to get together to cultivate writing friendships and to make full use of the wide range of advice and support writers’ organisations have to offer.
Do you remember the YouGov research (February 2015) that found being an author was the most desired ‘job’ in Britain? Apparently more than 60% of Brits think they would like it. YouGov, slightly oddly, concluded that the ‘aura of prestige’ around the ‘quiet, intellectual life’ was what attracted people. I wonder if the real reason that being an author is so popular is because people think authors just stay at home – enjoying a sort of perpetual sickie that protects them from public transport, bosses and colleagues, while their million-pound royalties gracefully accrete of their own accord?
It’s not like that any more. Vanishingly rare are the authors who do nothing but write books in solitary studies, self-basting in a silent aura of prestige. Now more than ever authors need meeting-places, networks, publicity, legal and financial support, friends and colleagues, critics and fans, and – far too often – day-jobs. The most recent research commissioned by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS, see here), the highly effective organisation that protects writers’ rights and collects, on our behalf, money due from the copying or broadcasting of our work all over the world, tells us that writers’ incomes have shrunk by around a third since 2005, and the proportion of full-time professional writers has gone down from 40% to 11%. In that landscape, we need writers’ organisations to watch our back. New writers should join ALCS and register for Public Lending Right (PLR, see here), the organisation that ensures the government pays authors money every time their books are taken out from libraries.
And don’t forget to make good writing friendships. I discovered the importance of this very early on. I had, it’s true, been writing poetry and novels in solitary bedsits throughout my twenties. Those hours of lonely application doubtless gave me technique, but they didn’t give me a publisher; there were no creative writing MAs back then and I didn’t know any writers. But out of the blue I got a letter from a small publisher saying they were starting ‘a small, serious fiction list’ (this would not happen today) and asking if I had a novel in a bottom drawer which they could look at ‘with a view to finding the statue in the stone.’
I sent off my manuscript. Six months later, I got a letter offering publication and a £500 advance. I still vividly remember drinking to the future that had so suddenly arrived, in the open air as the evening sky deepened to indigo over Turnham Green.
If this sounds too good to be true, it was. Not long after the joyous bottle of wine on the grass another letter came from the publisher asking if I would ‘support’ them in their ‘desire to continue publishing serious fiction’ by forgoing my advance. I was outraged, not least by that weaselling choice of words. I was working double shifts as a receptionist in a hotel to pay the rent and I could barely support myself – how could I support a publisher? Soon I was trying not to cry with frustration as I constantly ran out of coins in a faulty public phone box, explaining to writer Robert Hewison of the Writers’ Guild (WGGB, see here) what had happened. To his credit, even though I was not a member, he gave me good advice, and he also told me to join a union. I had got my first taste of a central truth about this business: writing may happen alone but, to get that writing safely out into the world, we need other people.
What else did I learn from that first novel? Put not your faith in princes or publishers, put your faith in publicity and good pals. When a writer-journalist friend of mine, Anthony Holden, loved the novel and arranged for a full-page excerpt to be published in The Times, my publisher suddenly contacted me to say they would pay me the money after all.
Though publishers and writers both break them, contracts are vital. The percentage share that authors get of electronic and translation rights for example, or of copies sold at a discount, are vital to our livelihood. It’s all in the small print, and a novice eye can’t spot problems. New writers, especially if they don’t have an agent, should join one of the writers’ trades unions when they are offered their first contract. Both the Society of Authors (SoA, see here) and the Writers’ Guild (the latter typically for film and theatre writers) offer members a free contract-vetting service. Over my 40-year career the Society of Authors has been there for me in a few tight corners: when I couldn’t use a computer for six months because of RSI, they gave me a £3,000 Francis Head bequest; when one of my publishers broke a contract, they supported my agent in extracting a payment.
After I had published a few novels I was asked to do a stint with other writers on the Society of Authors’ management committee. Every month we heard riveting stories about the disputes between writers and publishers that the Society was trying to sort out. Sometimes the writers had behaved abominably (which was shocking but thrilling), but it seemed to me that, more often, the publishers were trying to get away with murder and the legal weight of the Society was needed to restrain them.
I subesquently served for six years on the Public Lending Right Committee, seven years on the Council of the Royal Society of Literature, four of those as its first woman Chair, and in 2015 I was elected to the Board of ALCS. It’s easier for writers to trust organisations run by writers. Novelists Maureen Duffy and Brigid Brophy were the driving force behind the Writers’ Action Group (WAG) who set up ALCS and Public Lending Right. ALCS has distributed over £400 million to authors since it began collecting money for rights which authors simply don’t have time to collect themselves; it has approximately 90,000 members. My PLR payments, despite ongoing cuts to libraries, have over the decades paid for new computers, research trips and, in the early days, the rent. PLR Registrar Jim Parker has helped other countries set up their own PLR schemes, too, for authors’ causes are international. ALCS has founded not only the Parliamentary Writers’ Group, where writers lobby ministers, MPs and lords about forthcoming legislation, but also the International Authors’ Forum (IAF) which has 52 member organisations from 28 countries and makes sure writers’ voices are heard when copyright law is being discussed at the United Nations.
Not everyone is an activist. The Society of Authors has an extensive programme of social events, some in London, some nationwide. Meeting other writers does matter. Despite Samuel Beckett’s reputation for proud and lonely artistic innovation, in Paris as a young man he cultivated James Joyce and had a wide range of literary and artistic contacts. Of course publishers want authors to be active and popular on Facebook and Twitter, but virtual friends will never be quite as warm as the ones you meet in the flesh. Plus, using your legs is a good way of avoiding the health hazards of sitting still all day writing and tweeting. Instead, look out for tweets about events and launches and, if the event is public, turn up – in most cities there will be something literary going on, and by getting out there you will be showing interest in other people’s work, which may even be returned. Literary salons offer a mix of music, readings and drinks. The longest-lasting and most diverse of these is probably Book Slam (www.bookslam.com), started by the author Patrick Neate. The Royal Society of Literature holds regular talks, readings and workshops at Somerset House.
One of the best ways of making writer allies near the beginning of a career is to attend a creative writing group or course (see Writers’ retreats and creative writing courses, here). I have taught creative writing in too many places to mention over the years, for ground-breaking organisations like Arvon with its week-long stays for groups of 16 in stunning countryside, from Devon to Moniack Mhor in Scotland, and for London’s Spread the Word, with its innovative programme, affordable prices and urban edge. More recently I’ve taught on the Faber ‘Writing a Novel’ course, which takes groups of up to 14 through six months of development as novelists in leafy Bloomsbury. Arriving very nervous at the beginning, they are soon meeting up after class every week for shrieks of laughter in the pub.
Currently I am a professor on one of the country’s most high-profile Creative Writing MAs, at Bath Spa University, from which novelists like Nathan Filer, Tessa Hadley and Samantha Harvey have graduated, and where, after becoming successful novelists, they now teach part-time. The groups there are small – usually only eight. Regularly reading and commenting on each other’s work, these writers start to love each other’s projects, and afterwards, when one gets published, the whole group receives a boost. Agents and publishers come and visit. Despite the hard work and occasional blips (for writers are sensitive, sometimes prickly, creatures) all the courses I remember teaching on have been happy places with a huge amount of laughter.
Alas, in the end socialising is not writing – talking is not writing. Complaining to a sympathetic ear about not writing is definitely not writing. The more you get hooked in to the communal aspect of the writers’ life, the more fiercely you will have to protect your ability to write the book you want in your own way. Even if there are only eight writers in your group, you can’t respond to all their differing comments. What will really help is finding the voice or couple of voices that you trust, probably the ones that correspond to the small internal voice that already knows what is good and bad about your book. Those particular readers are gold dust, yet still you have to make the final decisions yourself.
Writers in groups often find it hard when the regular sessions finish. Frequently their writing stalls for a bit. Writers have to be able to work the central magic by themselves at some point. They have to find a space far enough away from the social, active, competitive world to dream up an alternative one and polish it to an obsessive sheen.
Then, when the story is almost ready to go, other people come in again: a good first reader who you will probably have found and grown to trust already; a good agent; and a good publisher. Then good bookshops to sell your work in; no writer I have ever known has managed to build an actual ‘relationship’ with Amazon. If you see a book of yours in a bookshop, booksellers are often delighted if you introduce yourself and offer to sign it. Good luck.
Maggie Gee, OBE’S most recent novel, Virginia Woolf in Manhattan (Telegram 2014) is a comedy that brings Virginia Woolf back to life in the 21st century in New York and Istanbul. She has written a memoir, My Animal Life (Telegram 2010); a collection of short stories, The Blue (2006); and 12 acclaimed novels, including The White Family (Saqi Books 2002), shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and two comedies about the UK and Uganda, My Cleaner and My Driver (Telegram 2009). She was the first female Chair of the Royal Society of Literature (2004–8) and is currently one of its Vice-Presidents. An international conference about her work was held at St Andrew’s University, Scotland, in 2012. She is Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University and a non-executive Director of ALCS. Follow her on Twitter @maggiegeewriter.
Managing a successful writing career
Tony Bradman shares the five guiding principles that have helped him successfully sustain the writing career he has always wanted and worked to achieve, stressing the importance of bolstering talent with market knowledge, all-round professionalism and some much-needed resilience.
I was probably about 15 when I decided I wanted to be a writer. Like most writers, I had become an obsessive bookworm at an early age and, after years of spending all my pocket money on books as well as borrowing them from the local library, I had begun to think it would be marvellous to write some of my own. Imagine having your name on the cover of a book you had written yourself! I couldn’t think of anything more amazing, and from that moment on I never seriously considered any other kind of career.
Of course, I had a sneaking feeling it might not be all that easy to get published. But I was convinced I would manage it and that, once I’d written a few books, everything would fall into place. As I explained to my girlfriend at university (‘She Who Is Now My Wife’), apparently there were these payments called royalties. Each book I published would keep earning money, so that after a while we could just sit back and watch the cash roll in.
I wasn’t entirely stupid. I did realise that my writing (which mostly consisted of a few notebooks crammed with unfinished and very mediocre poems) might not be all that attractive to publishers – not yet, anyway. So I applied for jobs in journalism, with the idea that my employer would help me improve my writing and pay me into the bargain – I never doubted that I had talent. The plan seemed to work, too. I was employed by several magazines, and after a while I even began to do a bit of freelancing on the side.
Eventually I found myself working for Parents, a magazine about young family life. By then I was a parent myself, and I was surprised the magazine didn’t review children’s books, even though we were sent lots of review copies. I therefore persuaded the editor to let me write about them, and I started a regular column. Pretty soon I got to know the publicity people at most of the children’s book publishers, and I also began to meet editors at book launches and other events. By then I was starting to think that I wanted to write for children myself, so when an editor asked me if I had any ideas for a children’s book I seized the opportunity and sent her some rhymes I’d written for my daughters.
Those rhymes became the basis for my first picture book, and the rest, as they say, is history. More commissions followed, and my books sold well in the UK and abroad (this was the mid-1980s, the heyday of ‘co-editions’ in children’s books). The royalties really did flow, and before long I was able to give up my job and become a full-time freelance. That was over 30 years ago, and I’ve managed to make a pretty good living as a writer ever since. It turned out not to be quite as easy as I had expected – far from it, in fact. But it can be done, and I offer you here the five principles on which I’ve based my career.
1. Cultivate your talent
I believe there is such a thing as talent. Some people are just better at certain things; you can see that in any artistic pursuit – writing, music, art, acting. And, to be brutal, if you haven’t got talent then you’re unlikely ever to achieve a career as a professional in any of those fields. Yes, I know from time to time we all read books, or watch plays or TV shows or films, that appear to have been written by someone with no talent whatsoever. But trust me, it would be very hard to sustain a long-term career without any talent at all.
So let’s assume you have talent. The question is, what kind of talent do you have? I could have spent years trying to write poetry for grown-ups and not got anywhere at all. In my mid-20s I began to realise I wasn’t ever going to be the next Seamus Heaney or Ted Hughes, but by then I’d also started to get interested in children’s books. I wrote verse for my daughters, then picture book texts (which often depend on a poet-like ability to use language creatively). After that I steadily moved up the age range with my children, and discovered I had a talent for writing well-plotted stories that kept readers gripped.
I didn’t leave it there though. I thought about what I was doing and tried to build on the things that worked, my aim being simply to get better. Back in the 1980s there weren’t anywhere near as many creative writing courses, but there were plenty of books about the art and craft of writing, and I read as many as I could. I listened to my editors too, and tried to learn from them, and from anyone else who might give me insight into what makes good writing. I edited anthologies of short stories, which meant I often had to tell writers exactly why I didn’t think their stories worked – and that was invaluable experience.
I believe this approach is the foundation of any writing career. Understanding your talent will help to make you a good writer. But you can always make yourself into a better one.
2. Know the market
This is the section of my piece that will be anathema to the purists, those who believe that writing shouldn’t ever be about ‘satisfying the needs of the market’. Some people believe that great writers simply write what they need to and that it will find its own way to a readership or an audience. Well, good luck with that if you want to make a living as a writer. Of course, your 1,000-page surrealist fantasy written without using the letter ‘e’ might well become a runaway bestseller and make you a fortune. But what if it doesn’t?
I think it’s perfectly possible to combine Art and Commerce as a writer; satisfying the needs of the market doesn’t mean ‘selling out’. If you want a good example, what about the greatest writer of all time – Shakespeare himself? It’s clear from his plays that he wrote very consciously for ‘the market’ in theatre as it was then. But he also managed to produce the most sublime literary art. Awareness of what the market is interested in can often be very stimulating creatively – it may well give you plenty of ideas on what to write.
So how do you study the market? That’s easy and fun. Simply read widely, or watch plays, films and TV shows in the areas you find interesting. Find out as much about them as possible – who’s hot in your chosen field, and what’s doing well. The more you know, the better. Networking is part of this, especially if you see it as something that will help you learn about the business of being a writer. Go on courses, join writing groups; editors and agents sometimes give talks at these, and they’re the people you want to meet. Keep it up after you get published – opportunities will usually arise from the contacts you make. You will also be a better prospect for agents and editors if they feel you know the market.
3. Be professional (part one)
... or to put it another way, ‘Don’t Be Desperate or Grateful’. Begging for a commission won’t get you anywhere and, if you are offered an opportunity, there’s no need to be thankful. You should always be professional – and that means thinking of what you’re doing as a job, the way you earn your living. It’s the person who is commissioning you or buying your work who should be grateful. Your editor almost certainly has a target, a number of books to publish in a year, and you’re the means of getting that done. You are the solution.
Being professional also means making sure you always keep up a high standard as far as your performance is concerned. You should follow the brief, hit the word count, and deliver a clean manuscript, that’s as good as you can make it, by the deadline you’ve been given. If you can’t deliver on time for whatever reason (it had better be a good one!), you should let your editor know, and agree a revised delivery date. If you’re asked to do edits or revisions (and they’re an essential part of being a writer), you should take it as positive criticism that aims to help make your writing better. If you disagree, say so – but be courteous.
The purpose is to present yourself as someone who is good to work with, ‘a safe pair of hands’ who can be trusted. With that kind of reputation, you will always get work.
4. Be professional (part two)
Being professional also means taking care of business, and that’s something you should make a priority. The hard truth is that few writers earn a great deal from their writing, but if you want to make sure you can make a living, then you need to think about money. I’ve always thought of myself as the owner of a small business, so right from the beginning I took on an accountant, made sure I kept scrupulous records, and paid my taxes.
I’ve also always tried to think strategically in the way that good businesses have to. I keep track of what I’m earning and think about cashflow, as well as what I’m likely to earn over the next year (for a freelance it’s hard to look much further than that). I then make judgements about what kind of work I’m going to do: if it’s looking like a good year, I might think about doing something more speculative, may be that story I’ve always wanted to write ...; if it’s not looking good, then I start trying to drum up new commissions before I run out of money. I do a variety of things too – books, editing, reviews, bits of consultancy and teaching, school visits and festivals – the ‘Many-Eggs-In-Many-Baskets’ approach.
Having an agent helps, and the commission is tax-deductible. If your books are likely to be in libraries, you should sign up for Public Lending Right (PLR; see here), which will pay you for loans of your books. You should also become a member of the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS; see here), which collects money for secondary uses of our work such as photocopying, foreign PLR, cable re-transmission and so on. It all adds up, and even a small payment can come at a very useful time. You should also join a union, such as the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB; here), or the Society of Authors (here). They’re great sources of support, information and networking for writers – you’ll find details of all these organisations elsewhere in this excellent book – itself an essential tool for the professional.
5. Be resilient
Last but not least – you should bear in mind that there will be times when everything goes wrong. Books will be rejected or sell poorly, commissions will be hard to come by, favourite editors will move on, your particular area of experience will become unfashionable, royalties that once seemed secure will dry up. I’ve been through all of those things, and I’ve had my share of struggles with the usual demons we writers have to deal with – self-doubt, worry, periods of real stress.
But I kept going, through the bad times and the good, and I have my natural resilience (my ‘bounce-back-ability’) to thank for that. I might get knocked down, but I get up again, and if you don’t think you can manage that, well, the life of a professional writer isn’t for you. But if you do, and you’re prepared to work hard, and have some talent to offer, you’ll be fine.
I wish you the best of luck.
Tony Bradman has written for children of all ages, from babies to teenagers. He has edited many anthologies of short stories and poetry, and reviews children’s fiction for the Guardian. He is also chair of ALCS and the Siobhan Down Trust.
See also...
• Public Lending Right, here
• Stronger together: writers united, here
• Developing talent: support and opportunities for writers, here
• Society of Authors, here
• WGGB (Writers Guild of Great Britain), here
• Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society, here
First chapters: how to grab your reader’s attention
Emma Flint lists the important considerations for a writer embarking on a new book and pinpoints some key elements that make for success when composing that all-important first chapter.
The first chapter of your book is your one chance to hook your reader. If you don’t draw your reader in and make them want to continue, it doesn’t matter how thrilling the climax in chapter eight is or how thought-provoking the ending is. If your first chapter doesn’t work, your reader won’t make it past chapter one.
On the plus side, no other part of your book can provide you with the kind of pay-off that a good first chapter can. A good first chapter can get the attention of a reader. Or an agent. Or a publisher.
Viewpoint
There are a number of decisions that you need to make in your first chapter. Firstly, from whose point of view are you telling the story? What kind of voice will work best for the story you’re telling?
One of the most common mistakes novelists make is to have too many viewpoints and too many narrators. Keep it as simple as you can and never include more than one narrator if it’s not absolutely essential to the plot.
You should never write your opening from a particular viewpoint and then abandon that voice. Don’t allow your readers to invest emotionally in a character, and then neglect that character or kill them off early in the story – it will annoy and alienate your audience.
Setting
Your novel will almost certainly have more than one setting. However, in your first chapter you need only set up the rough location and the rough period for the opening of your main character’s narrative.
Avoid trying to set up an opening scene in too much depth. Two pages of description about landscape or weather before you’ve begun the actual story is unlikely to draw a reader in. Conversely, if you can relate the setting of your novel to your characters, you give your reader a reason to care about the history of a building or the colours of a landscape before you start describing it in detail. Sarah Waters does this beautifully: look at how she introduces setting through character.
Character
In your opening chapter, your main character has one job and one job only: to make your reader care about their story.
Your readers don’t need to like your main character. In the first chapter, they don’t need to know everything about her, or understand her childhood. You need to give the reader just enough so that they care about her, about the situation she’s in, and about what she wants.
And in order to show these things, you need to work out what you want your reader to learn about that character. If you’re writing a murder mystery in which your main character poisons his wife, your reader probably needs to know in the first chapter that the character is having an affair, or that he’s desperate for his wife’s money.
The easiest way to bore your reader is to tell them about your main character, while the most effective way to show your readers something about your characters is through dialogue. Dialogue tells you about a person’s background – where they’re from, sometimes what kind of education they’ve had, often how old they are. It tells you their beliefs, their prejudices, and how they see the world.
What’s the starting point of your story?
Broadly speaking, there are four ways in which you can open a novel:
• Start with a prologue – an episode that is not part of chapter one, but that relates somehow to your main story. It might not include the main character, or it might include the main character at a time outside of the central narrative – for example, when she’s a child, or when he’s looking back on the events of the novel from years later.
• Put your main character in a scene, doing something interesting related to the main story. It’s almost always more effective to start your story with action rather than description. That action doesn’t have to be dramatic – it can be as gentle as someone taking a bath or buying coffee. But what it must not be is a description of a character doing nothing – staring out of the window, reflecting on their broken marriage, fantasising. If it wouldn’t be interesting to watch a character doing it at the beginning of a film, don’t put it in the opening of your novel.
• Begin in the middle. Start at a point deep in the story and show a dramatic event; then, at the end of the scene, jump back to an earlier, quieter part of the narrative. To create this effect, you need to bring the reader into the scene late. Bring them in moments before the flight takes off, seconds before the gun is fired.
If you choose to use this method, you need to be aware of two things: firstly, this type of opening is used so often in mysteries and thrillers that it’s in danger of becoming a bit of a cliché. Yours must be both original and surprising. Secondly, it can sacrifice suspense for that whole portion of the story until the narrative catches up with the first moment. If you open with your main character fleeing from a guy with a gun, how nervous will the reader be in chapter four when that same character is at risk of drowning? They already know that she survives, at least until she encounters the gunman. The risk is that this kind of opening can deflate any later tension you want to set up.
• Use a framing device, where your story is bookended at the front and back (and sometimes in a few instances in the middle) by a story that is outside the main story.
Think of Alice in Wonderland, where the main narrative is bookended by dreams. Or Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which uses multiple framed narratives.
If you’re writing a story that’s very removed from the real life of your reader – perhaps set in a fantasy world – a framing device can be used to show someone like your reader coming in to hear the main story. Show the reader a character like them getting involved, and that way you make it easier for them to follow you as well.
In deciding how to open your novel, you need to work out what information is relevant to your story. Your characters have pasts and futures (unless you plan to kill them off). The setting of your novel also has a past and a future. So, in a sense, every writer jumps into their story midway through.
Create immediacy
One way to plunge your reader into the story is to add detail that makes your writing realistic and credible. If you’re writing an historical novel, do your research. If you’re writing about a location that you’re familiar with, show the reader that you know it well. But be careful to use that detail sparingly, rather than piling it on to show off your knowledge.
Another way is to create tension – and the easiest way to do this – is to set up conflict in the first chapter. Conflict feeds readers. It creates drama.
To generate conflict, you need a mini-plot. A fight scene is an example of conflict. But a fight scene alone isn’t enough if the reader doesn’t know who the characters are. They’re not yet invested in them. A fight scene between two brothers is better. It ups the stakes a little. But a fight scene between two brothers, one of whom suspects the other of killing their mother, is better still. Now you have a story.
It’s no accident that many great novels have first chapters that could stand as short stories. Every chapter should have its own mini-plot and its own mini-narrative arc, and this element is most important in chapter one.
Move the reader on
As you will know from your own reading, the more of a book you read and enjoy, the more you’ll want to read; if you read the first page and liked it, you will read the second. If you read ten pages, you’re likely to read twenty.
One of the functions of your first chapter is to get your reader on to the second. As a writer, you’re like the witch in Hansel and Gretel ... you’re giving the reader breadcrumbs to follow. If they pick up one – in the form of a well-crafted line, or a believable character, or a moment of suspense – they’ll be looking for the next one.
At the opening of your novel, those breadcrumbs need to be close together – because your reader isn’t yet engaged. Following the fairy tale metaphor, they’re still looking back at the edge of the forest. You need to entice them in.
And your first breadcrumb comes in the form of your first line.
First lines
A great first line is like a welcome marriage proposal: it makes the reader commit.
A first line needs to do one or more of several things:
1. It needs to be well-written, and memorable, and confident. There’s no room in a first line for flabby language or clumsy wording.
– Take Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: ‘It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.’
2. The first line needs to give an indication of the story to come. It is a promise, or a question, or an unproven idea, which will be explored in the novel itself.
– Think of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.’
– or Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’.
3. A first line needs to say something interesting; it can show the reader a shattered status quo or subvert their expectations.
– Perhaps the best-known example of this is the opening line of George Orwell’s 1984: ‘It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.’
– The most effective examples of this type of opening line are often the shortest. Take Iain Banks’ opening of The Crow Road: ‘It was the day my grandmother exploded.’
– or the opening line of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie: ‘All children, except one, grow up.’
Ask yourself what questions you are raising in your opening sentence and paragraph, and whether they are interesting or memorable enough to draw readers in.
And two final and key points about opening chapters:
Firstly, your reader needs to understand from the first chapter what your book is about, and why you’ve written it. They need to feel the interest or the motivation or the passion that made you want to write it.
Secondly, your first chapter must be interesting. The absolute worst thing you can do is bore your reader. So be brave. Be bold. Open your book in a way that commands attention and engages curiosity.
Emma Flint graduated from the University of St Andrews with an MA in English Language and Literature and completed a novel-writing course at the Faber Academy. Her debut Little Deaths, a crime novel set in 1960s New York and based on a real-life murder, was published to wide acclaim in January 2017 and was longlisted for the Bailey’s Women Prize for Fiction, for the Desmond Elliott Prize, and for the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger Award. Emma is working on her second novel, also based on a real-life murder, and set in London during the 1920s.
The path to a bestseller – Clare Mackintosh
Clare Mackintosh describes the vision, determination and hard work that propelled her along the road to becoming a bestselling author, and the passion and commitment needed to achieve that goal.
In 2011 I made one of the biggest decisions I’ve ever made. I was a police inspector with 12 years’ service, a secure job, good pension, and a promising future ahead of me; and I gave it all up to write. There were other reasons, too – I wanted to see more of my family – but this creative driver was a huge factor. The mantra ‘don’t give up the day job’ is a sound one for those who genuinely lack the skills or the talent to pursue their dreams, and it’s a wise one for those who rely on said job to pay the bills. Few are those with the independent means to do exactly what they want. For me, giving up the day job was exactly the impetus I needed to make freelance life work. I had been the biggest wage-earner and, although our childcare costs dropped dramatically, I had no choice but to continue bringing home the bacon. I was determined I would achieve this by writing, but sensible enough to understand that I would need to interpret this loosely. I pitched opinion pieces, securing a commission from Writers’ Forum and a column in Cotswold Life. I wrote for the Guardian and for any editor who liked my ideas enough to pay me for them. I wrote blogs for businesses in which I had no interest; social media content for companies about which I knew nothing. I wrote headlines, greetings cards, articles, columns and captions. Hundreds, thousands, millions of words. And every one taught me a little bit more about writing for a living – about deadlines, about working to brief, about budgeting, marketing, selling myself, believing in myself. The modern author is so much more than just a writer, and all these skills are important.
This period in my life lasted two years. Two years in which I was, variously, either ‘paying the bills’ or ‘building a platform’, depending on my frame of mind at the time. Building a platform, because my ultimate goal wasn’t to be a journalist – although I loved the articles I was writing; and it wasn’t to be a copywriter – although I was grateful for the work I had. I wanted to be an author. A novelist. I wanted a traditional publishing deal, with a ‘Big Five’ publisher and a literary agent who would help me build – and sustain – a career as a writer. I wanted to write a bestseller. It was a big goal; I was open to the idea that I might need to compromise, but at the same time fully committed to working towards it. It happened to other people. Why not me?
I had already dipped a toe into the literary world. Many of the words I had written had been on my own blog, one that had achieved a degree of success in terms of reach. A regular reader had put me touch with a literary agent, who asked to see the novel I was working on at the time – a light-hearted romantic comedy. The agent liked it, spending considerable time over the next year helping me work on a rewrite. Ultimately this proved a false start; I wasn’t offered representation, and the novel, whilst funny, wasn’t groundbreaking. ‘Do you want this book to forever be your debut novel?’, the agent asked me. ‘Because you only get one shot at that first impression.’ Wise advice. Was it my best work? It wasn’t. Was I even especially proud of it? I wasn’t. It was back to the drawing board.
I started writing I Let You Go without any understanding of the genre in which I was writing. Not comedy this time, that was sure, but was it a crime novel? Was it a thriller? I didn’t know. I wrote a first draft, then floundered. What now? A chance encounter with a new acquaintance provided the answer. She loved the sound of my book – could she send it to a literary agent friend of hers? She had barely finished speaking before my manuscript was in her inbox.
This new friend and I agreed that she would submit the manuscript anonymously, to an agent whose name I wouldn’t know. The goal was to seek objective feedback, with no associated embarrassment if I decided to submit to the same agent in the future. I agreed, but between you and me ... I didn’t stick to the plan. After all, what former detective in my shoes wouldn’t have felt the urge to do a little snooping? I pieced together the facts. Female. A long-time friend. A shared holiday in France. A forthcoming trip to New York. With Morse-like tenacity I narrowed down potential agents to a shortlist I ruthlessly stalked on Twitter. Finally, I pinned it down to just one agent: Sheila Crowley at Curtis Brown. I was heady with excitement. Of all the agencies in the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook, Curtis Brown was my number one; of all the agents, Sheila was top of my list. And now she was reading my manuscript.
A week later, in December 2012, she rang and introduced herself. She liked the book. It needed work – a lot of work – but she liked it. I embarked on a rewrite and four months later Sheila decided we’d put it out on submission. ‘Quietly,’ I remember her saying, ‘just to test the waters.’ I dreamed of going to auction, of six-figure deals fêted in the Bookseller. I prayed for editors fighting over my manuscript. It didn’t happen. What happened was a lot of lukewarm feedback.’ It doesn’t leap out at me as one I can see how to publish,’ one editor said. ‘Neither the writing or the hook is quite strong enough to make it stand out,’ said another. I tried to be objective, but each rejection was a blow.
In retrospect, I should have shrugged off those comments far more quickly than I did. If I’ve learned one thing over the last few years, it’s the importance of passion in the publishing industry. The passion of an author, in writing a story that demands to be told. The passion of the agent, in pitching the story to an editor. The passion of an editor, not only in committing to the book, but in creating enthusiasm among the rest of a publishing house. This strength of feeling becomes inevitably diluted as it passes along the publishing chain; from editor to sales team, from sales reps to book buyers, from book buyers to store managers, from store managers to members of staff. Imagine how much passion a commissioning editor has to have, to ensure that – dozens of people down the chain – a member of staff in a chain of bookshops will hand-sell your book in such an enthusiastic way the customer cannot bring themselves to leave without buying it. In retrospect, I wouldn’t have wanted any of those lukewarm editors to buy my book. I needed passion.
I found it in June 2013, in the form of Lucy Malagoni from Sphere, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, whose enthusiasm and vision for I Let You Go was evident from our first meeting. We accepted an offer, and then the hard work really started. I don’t think I had any real understanding of editing until that point. I imagined some stylistic guidance, some typo correction, perhaps a little character enhancement. Nothing had prepared me for structural editing of such magnitude that each set of notes would plunge me into dark despair for at least 24 hours. I rewrote I Let You Go eight times in total, and would have lost all enthusiasm for it had I not been able to see that each draft – each painful, hideous, dragged-from-me draft – was producing a significantly better book. Tighter. Stronger. More suspenseful. Each draft added another layer and stripped out sub-plots that didn’t work. Each draft taught me something new.
It was around this time that I looked at the goals I had set myself. I was (although it still feels odd to call myself one) a novelist. I had a publishing deal with a ‘Big Five’ house, and representation from a superb agent. Had I written a bestseller? I didn’t think so. I revised my goals. I decided I wanted my first book to sell sufficient copies to keep my publishers happy. To ensure that bookshops were happy to stock my second book. I decided I would be a ‘slow burn’ author, hoping that each book would sell more than the last. With this in mind, I set myself a private goal of 50,000 sales. It seemed an extraordinary number, one that would take more than friends and family buying duty copies, so occasionally I told myself I’d be happy with 30,000. Or 15,000. By the time the ebook of I Let You Go came out, in November 2014, I had convinced myself I’d be happy if we sold 10,000 copies.
We sold 10,000 copies. In fact, despite very little publicity in the first few months (the marketing push being planned for the paperback) the book sold well. Word-of-mouth should never be underestimated, and the buzz on social media grew daily. Wisely, given I had little control over them, I stopped giving myself sales targets and started focusing on writing another book, wishing I was one of those authors with half a dozen unpublished manuscripts in their bottom drawers. 2015 was extraordinary. There’s really no other way to describe it, and several years on it still feels faintly unreal. I Let You Go sold a million copies. It was picked as a Richard & Judy Book Club read (and won the readers’ vote), and was discussed on ITV’s ‘Loose Women’. It became 2015’s fastest selling debut from a new crime writer, with translation rights now sold to almost 40 territories. It hit the number one spot on Amazon UK for books and Kindle, and spent 12 weeks in the Sunday Times top ten. It turned out I had written a bestseller, after all.
Over the last five years I have worked, and continue to work, extremely hard. If you’ve ever envisaged life as an author to consist of wafting around in a smoking jacket, eating chocolates and occasionally scribbling creative brilliance in a Moleskine notebook, I assure you that the reality is very different (although no less enjoyable, and often featuring no less chocolate).
My advice? Think big. Set goals. Work hard. Talk about what you’re doing. It’s tempting to keep writing as a private activity, to avoid interminable questions from well-meaning relatives about whether you’ve finished it, and when can they read it, and are you going to be the next J.K. Rowling? But if you never tell anyone you’re writing a book, you’ll never benefit from that serendipitous moment when the person you do tell informs you that their neighbour’s cousin’s teacher’s daughter is a literary agent, and would love to see your manuscript.
There’s another reason to be out and proud about your writing, and it has to do with self-belief. If no one else knows that you’re writing a book, then I would argue that it’s hard to take it seriously yourself. Remember that passion I mentioned earlier? It starts with you. Believe in who you are and what you’re doing, and others will believe in you too.
Tell people you’re a writer. Because you are.
Clare Mackintosh spent 12 years in the police force, including time on CID and as a public order commander. She left the police in 2011 to work as a freelance journalist and social media consultant, and now writes full time. Her psychological thrillers, I Let You Go (Sphere 2015) and I See You (Sphere 2016) were both Sunday Times bestsellers. Her latest novel, Let Me Lie, was published in March 2018, also by Sphere. Visit Clare’s website www.claremackintosh.com or find her at www.facebook.com/ClareMackWrites and on Twitter @claremackint0sh.
Rachel Joyce advocates that you take yourself seriously as a writer, so that others will too. It’s important to ‘know your stuff’ and allow your writing to find its place in the world.
When I was 14, I finished my first novel. Sisters was short, I admit – possibly no more than 500 words. It was written in couplet form and was autobiographical. During the course of this tale, the older sister (me) did everything to save her two younger sisters (mine) from unhappiness, general uncleanliness and also TB (we had just made a family visit to Haworth). For lots of reasons, it was important for me to tell that story. But here is the thing – as soon as I finished my book, I wanted more. Even then. I wanted it published. I tell you this in a light-hearted way but you have to understand that, when I wrote it, it was not light-hearted. That story was a part of me. It marked who I was – and I wanted people to know that.
I find it hard to explain why it isn’t enough for me to write a story and keep it to myself; why I must take it into the world; why I need ... what? What is it I need? The approval of others? The affirmation? The challenge? The sharing? More and more, I feel that writing is about saying, ‘This is how the world seems to me’ – followed by a question mark. Writing is a deeply solitary process but it is also, I think, the most generous piece of reaching out. I write in order to understand.
But back to Sisters. I didn’t mention to anyone I had written a book. I didn’t dare. I was a quiet child. I wanted people to know who I was, but I didn’t seem to be very good at showing it, at least not in a day-to-day way. I decided to give myself a pseudonym as a writer: Mary Thorntons. Mary because I thought it sounded intellectual and Thorntons because I made a mistake (I misremembered Thornfield from Jane Eyre). I had a hunch Mary Thorntons sounded altogether more writerly than Rachel Joyce.
So I had my BOOK. I had my WRITER’S NAME. What next? I went to my local library in West Norwood because that was where we always went for information. I headed for the reference section (I knew it well) and, with a beating heart, I found a heavy manual called the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook. We are talking 1976. I sat alone, where no one could see me, and I opened it.
All I can tell you is that it was like discovering a friend – someone who took my writing seriously and who had practical knowledge in spadefuls. It provided a bridge between my story and the professional world of publishing. I couldn’t believe that everything I needed to know was in one book. I wrote down the names and addresses of publishers who were interested in rhyming books (there weren’t many). I noted the word count they expected (short) and the kind of accompanying letter. I also discovered that it was important to include my name and address (Mary Thorntons, West Norwood).
Now, over 40 years later, I have done at last what I wasn’t able or ready to achieve when I was 14. Over the years, I have written in different media: short stories and novels, for radio and television. And here too is a new edition of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook – the 112th to be exact. The book you are holding will give you all the up-to-date information it offered me when I was 14, but it also offers far more. Along with clear detailing of all the contacts you can possibly need, it now provides advice from many well-respected voices in the publishing industry about editing, how to pitch your book, writing for the theatre, copyright law, finance, how to attract the attention of an agent, self-publishing (to name just a few of the topics). If you take your writing at all seriously, and that part of you that wants your writing not only to be finished but to find its place in the world, then ... well done, you have come to the right place. There may be a lot of information to be found if you trawl the internet, but here it is all under one roof. Think of yourself as being in the best writers’ Christmas market. It is all here.
People ask me sometimes for my advice to a new writer. I say the obvious things: ‘Keep going’ and ‘Don’t let go until you really believe you have scraped right down to the bare bones of the truth’. But it might be better to say, ‘Take yourself seriously’. If you don’t take yourself seriously as a writer then how can you expect anyone else to? Nurture the part of yourself that needs to write. Listen to how it works, what it needs, its ups and downs. Don’t think of it as short term. It is a part of you, in the same way that your thoughts are part of you and so is your blood. And when your writing is done, be practical. Know your stuff about the world you are entering. Know where to place what you have done.
Read this book very carefully. Treasure it. Keep it beside you. It is your friend.
Rachel Joyce is the author of the Sunday Times and international bestsellers The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Doubleday 2012), Perfect (Doubleday 2013) and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy (Doubleday 2014). Her fourth novel, The Music Shop was released in 2017 (Doubleday). The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and has been translated into 34 languages. Rachel was awarded the Specsavers National Book Awards ‘New Writer of the Year’ in December 2012 and shortlisted for the ‘Writer of the Year’ 2014. She is also the author of the short story, A Faraway Smell of Lemon, and the short story collection A Snow Garden & Other Stories (Doubleday 2015). Rachel moved to writing after a 20-year career in theatre and television, performing leading roles for the RSC, the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Court, and Cheek by Jowl. She has written over 20 original afternoon plays for BBC Radio 4 and major adaptations for the Classic Series and Woman’s Hour, including The Professor, Villette, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Shirley and Jane Eyre (2016). See more at www.penguin.co.uk/authors/rachel-joyce/1069732.
Tania Hershman shares her passion for short stories. She introduces the multitude of different forms a short story can take and how to go about writing your own. She also outlines the possibilities for seeing your own short stories published.
The first short stories I read, as a child, were Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected, which are horrifyingly wonderful. I couldn’t believe so much could happen in only a few pages. Thus my interest in the short story was piqued. Later on, in my late twenties, I read Ali Smith’s Other Stories and Other Stories, and was similarly astonished. This is also a short story? A short story can also be so quiet, intimate and just as powerful? And with that, my love for the form was sealed. Having wanted to be a writer from a very early age, I decided to set out to learn how to write short stories.
Short story writers
Some of my favourite short story writers are: Donald Barthelme, Richard Brautigan, Roald Dahl, Anthony Doerr, Janice Galloway, A.L. Kennedy, Ian McEwan, Lorrie Moore, Flannery O’Connor, Grace Paley, George Saunders, Ali Smith, Jeanette Turner Hospital and Tobias Woolf.
What is a short story?
In one respect there is a simple answer: a short story is short, and it’s a story. What is short? As short as you like, down to five or six words even, some would say. And at the other end of the scale, the short story butts up against the novella at around 20,000 words, or roughly 100 pages. So, there’s a lot of space inside the word ‘short’. The question of what constitutes a story is more difficult. Beginning, middle and end? The more we try to define, the less clear it becomes, so let’s say we know a complete story when we read one, as opposed to an excerpt from something else.
It’s easier to say what a short story is not: it’s not a mini-novel; it’s not a poem without line breaks. However, it can sometimes seem like either of these. What it comes down to is that the short story is its own thing, a unique creature. Great short stories are great not despite their length but because of it. Great short story writers understand the rhythms of brevity, and that what is left out of a short story is just as important as the words it contains. Readers of short stories are required to fill in the gaps themselves, to do a little work, and being involved in the story rather than just watching it unfold makes reading them very rewarding.
Tips for writing short stories
1. There is no one way to write, there are no rules, everyone does it differently. Pick and choose from other people’s writing tips or make up your own rules, and find the way that works best for you.
2. Pin a note above your writing desk that says, No one is ever going to read this’ so that you can write freely without any inhibitions!
3. When you write, don’t forget that once you’ve got your first draft down, everything is up for grabs, you can change anything: characters, setting, plot, structure, voice, style, beginning, middle, end. Nothing is sacred.
4. Don’t try and write for a particular market or competition; write the kinds of things you love to read. Surprise yourself, delight yourself, tell yourself stories.
5. Don’t be afraid to take risks, to stray away from the known into chaos, to get away from labels and boxes. Feel free to make your writing messy, raw and original rather than neat, safe and familiar.
There are as many types of short story as there are great short stories. They can be any genre at all – science fiction, historical fiction, mystery, crime, paranormal romance, humour, lit fic, chick lit, magical realism, surrealism – or any combination of these. There are no restrictions on content, style or voice. They can be told in the first person, third person, or even the second person (‘You wake up in the morning...’) or the first person plural (‘When we wake up it is still dark...’). Short stories can be ‘experimental’ – for example, they might take the form of a list or a recipe, or even a PowerPoint presentation. It is often easier to ask a reader to suspend disbelief and enter into an entirely bizarre world for only a few pages rather than something much longer.
There is a plethora of writing workshops and courses (see here) on offer, and undergraduate and postgraduate courses in creative writing (see here). The short story world is buzzing with activity.
How to write a short story
There is no right or wrong way to write a short story. Some writers ‘splurge’ a first draft onto the page and then spend time revising the story. Others write the first paragraph and can’t move on until they know what happens next, and generally this is how I write, revising as I go. The American writer Lorrie Moore says she writes the beginning of a short story, then the end, then the middle. A new story comes to me as a first line which demands to be written down. Other writers see an image or hear a voice. Something which took me a long time to internalise is that nothing is sacred in your first draft – not the characters, the plot, the location, the tense (past, present, future), or who is telling the story (main character, narrator...). Anything can be changed, cut entirely or moved around. Where you start writing may not be – and is often not – where the story should actually start. You don’t have to start with a blank page: you could grab the nearest book, open it at random, pick a sentence and use that as your first line. Or go to YouTube, pick a video and use it as inspiration. A method that works for me is to compile a set of six prompt phrases taken from six different poems by various authors and write for a fixed amount of time, incorporating these phrases in my story.
Where you finish writing is often not where the story should end. Most of us have a tendency to overwrite endings, trying to tie up all the loose ends, but a good ending is vital. It’s not possible to have a fantastic short story with a weak ending, one that stops abruptly so you turn the page and are surprised to find it has finished, or one that peters out, or an ending that goes on and on and doesn’t know when to stop. I was told early on that the ending of a short story should be surprising yet inevitable. This is easier said than done. Ending a short story well comes with practice; it’s an instinct you develop from reading many short stories as well as writing.
Publishing short stories
It is an excellent time to be a short story writer as the short story is getting a lot of attention – the Bookseller reported in January 2018 that ‘short story anthologies are enjoying a boom in sales, rising by almost 50% in value, to reach their highest level in seven years’. Canadian short story writer Alice Munro won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature; Lydia Davis, American writer of short and very short stories, won the 2013 Man Booker International Prize; and American short story writer George Saunders won the inaugural 2014 Folio Prize for Literature, which is open to all works of fiction.
Some of my favourite literary magazines are listed here; they all accept short stories.
A3 Review
http://www.writingmaps.com/collections/the-a3-review
A magazine that behaves like a map, with prose and poetry drawn from monthly contests.
Bare Fiction
Flash fiction, short stories, poetry, plays and more in a large print mag, plus annual contests.
Cease, Cows
Exploring the contemporary and the strange, flash fiction and prose poetry, online.
Conjunctions
Innovative writing across fiction, non-fiction and poetry, in print and online.
Gorse
A print journal published in Dublin, featuring original fiction, long form narrative essays, poetry and interviews.
Gutter
See here.
Interzone
See here.
LabLit
‘The culture of science in fiction and fact.’
The Letters Page
A fabulous, correspondence-themed literary journal.
Litro
See here.
Memorious
A journal of new verse and fiction.
PANK Magazine
Emerging and experimental poetry and prose.
Riptide
Short stories with an undercurrent.
SHORT Fiction
www.shortfictionjournal.co.uk Beautifully illustrated annual journal focusing on short stories.
Southword
www.munsterlit.ie/Southword/issues_index.html New writing from Ireland.
Stinging Fly
A beautifully printed magazine showcasing new Irish and international writing with a particular interest in short stories.
Subtropics
http://subtropics.english.ufl.edu
The literary magazine from the University of Florida.
Synaesthesia Magazine
www.synaesthesiamagazine.com Themed online magazine of art, fiction, poetry and non-fiction articles and interviews. Showcasing weird, unusual, thought-provoking and occasionally bizarre fiction and poetry.
Visual Verse
An online anthology of art and poetry, short fiction and non-fiction, between 50 and 500 words.
Wigleaf
Features stories under 1,000 words.
There are many places where you can submit your work. When you have a short story ready to send out, a good place to start is with a literary magazine. There are now thousands of literary magazines being published worldwide, both online and in print – and sometimes as audio magazines. The literary magazine is not – as its name might imply – just for ‘literary fiction’ (another term that is easier to define by what it’s not) but covers all genres. A literary journal may ask for stories that are only in a particular genre or on a particular theme, or under a certain length, or it may be open to all. Online databases of writers’ markets such as Duotrope.com (a small annual fee is charged) allow you to search according to various parameters.
Always read a magazine before submitting anything. Each literary magazine has submission guidelines that should be followed to the letter. One way editors cut down on reading the hundreds of submissions they receive is to discard those that fail to stick to their guidelines – for example, if a story is double the permitted length, or if a science fiction story is sent to a magazine that only wants realist fiction. The majority of literary magazines and competitions stipulate that short stories must not have been previously published, and putting them online where anyone can read them – for example on your blog – counts as ‘previously published’. The majority of literary magazines don’t charge a fee to submit work but neither do they pay contributors, other than with a copy of the issue in which they are published (if it is a print journal). Although you won’t make a living from publishing in literary magazines, it’s wonderful to see your name in print (or pixels) and to have your story where it will find readers. It also helps to build your reputation as a writer.
Anthologies are another place where short stories are published. A publisher (mostly small independent presses) will issue a ‘Call for Submissions’, which is sometimes on a theme or it may be an open call. These can be found on publishers’ websites, or via resources such as Duotrope.com and Places for Writers (www.placesforwriters.com). Authors with stories accepted usually receive one or two copies of the anthology and there is sometimes a small payment to the contributors.
BBC Radio 4 has two short story slots, the 15-minute Afternoon Reading on Fridays and the Short Reading on Sunday evenings (see Stories on radio here), and the BBC pays well for short stories. Look out for the Opening Lines competition, which is for writers new to radio (see box below), and for published writers there’s also the annual BBC National Short Story Award (see here).
Small presses that publish short story collections
Black Inc Books Rose Metal Press
www.blackincbooks.com.au http://rosemetalpress.com
Black Lawrence Press Route
Cinnamon Press Seren Books
Comma Press Small Beer Press
Dzanc Books Stinging Fly Press
FC2
Rose Metal Press
Route
Seren Books
Small Beer Press
Stinging Fly Press
There are an increasing number of competitions for short stories. Usually an entry fee is payable, but always check into a competition’s reputation before sending off your money and story. Look for competition listings in reputable magazines such as Mslexia and other sources (see box below). If something sounds too good to be true, it may well be! While prizes can be up to £1,000 for the winning story – occasionally more – there can, of course, only be one winner. But competitions sometimes offer cash prizes – and publication – to finalists as well, and to be included in a competition anthology such as those published by the Bristol Short Story Prize (www.bristolprize.co.uk), the The White Review Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers (www.thewhitereview.org/prize/white-review-short-story-prize-2018), or the Bridport Prize (see here) is a very prestigious accomplishment. (See also Prizes and awards here for other short story competitions.) Competitions often make public not just the winners but also the longlisted and shortlisted stories, and to see your story on one of these lists is a great confidence boost – no, you didn’t win, but your story rose close to the top out of hundreds, perhaps thousands of entries.
Another place where you can submit your stories is one of the growing number of ‘live lit’ events, where, if your story is accepted, you will either be invited to the venue to read it or it will be read by an actor (see box here).
Be ready for rejection
It isn’t wise to begin submitting anything until you are ready to receive a rejection. There is never a time in the life of a writer when rejection doesn’t feature. It just gets easier to deal with as you understand that it is not a rejection of you personally and that there are many reasons why an editor may not pick your story. For example, perhaps it doesn’t fit with his or her vision for that particular issue of the magazine; or may be it was a topic that she personally doesn’t like to read about; or it could be that you haven’t got the ending right yet (sometimes editors can give marvellous feedback in rejection letters and I have found this very useful). Similarly, not getting anywhere in a competition doesn’t necessarily mean the story isn’t good. Competitions, too, are judged by human beings, with their own likes and dislikes.
Short story competitions and contests
COMPETITION LISTINGS CRWROPPS list on Yahoo
BBC
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/B/info2QXsYTZYWZ40CTc8lbH0FdV/how-to-enter
Mslexia
See here.
Poets and Writers’ Magazine Tools for Writers
Places for Writers
ShortStops
CRWROPPS list on Yahoo
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/CRWROPPSB/info
CHAPBOOK CONTESTS
Black River Chapbook Contest
http://blacklawrence.homestead.com/BRCCContestPage.html
The Diagram Chapbook Contest Places for Writers
http://thediagram.com/contest.html
Gertrude Press Chapbook Competition ShortStops
I didn’t submit anything for publication during my first seven years of writing short stories. Instead, I went to workshops (the Arvon Foundation, now Arvon, see here; and the Iowa Summer Writing Festival in the USA, www.iowasummerwritingfestival.org) and was learning how to write and how to read as a writer. There is no rush: don’t risk being put off entirely by receiving a rejection too soon.
Publishing a short story collection
A short story collection may be planned, perhaps with a theme linking the stories (although this is not necessary), or just something that happens when you realise you have enough stories for a book (roughly 30,000 words). If you decide you have a collection, there are several ways to look for a book deal. The traditional route is through a literary agent, although they commonly respond that it is very hard to sell a short story collection without the promise of a novel. Sending your manuscript straight to one of the large publishing houses will probably elicit a similar response. The main publishers of short story collections today are the small, independent presses, often operating on a not-for-profit basis. You can submit to them directly, without an agent. They usually ask for three stories, and then the full manuscript if they are interested. You don’t need to submit only to UK-based independent publishers – try further afield too.
Short story festivals and live events
SHORT STORY FESTIVALS
See also Literature festivals here.
Cork International Short Story Festival (Ireland, September)
See here.
Flash Fiction Festival
https://www.flashfictionfestival.com
Kikinda Short Story Festival (Serbia, July)
National Short Story Day
www.nationalshortstoryday.co.uk
National Short Story Week
See here.
Small Wonder: The Short Story Festival
See here.
LIVE SHORT STORY EVENTS
Bad Language
Manchester. Promoting new writing in Manchester: a night of spoken word, prose and poetry.
Berko Speakeasy
Berkhamsted. ‘A cabaret of short stories.’
Fictions of Every Kind
http://sjbradleybooks.blogspot.co.uk
Leeds. DIY writers’ social night organised by writer S.J. Bradley.
Inky Fingers
http://inkyfingersedinburgh.wordpress.com
Edinburgh. A series of events for people who love words.
Liars League
http://liarsleague.typepad.com
London. A monthly live fiction night, where professional actors read new short stories by writers from around the world.
Rattle Tales
Brighton. A night of interactive storytelling run by local writers.
Short Stories Aloud
http://shortstops.info/short-stories-aloud-live
email sarahefranklin@gmail.com
Contact Sarah Franklin
Oxford. Short stories read aloud by actors.
Story Fridays
www.awordinyourear.org.uk/story-fridays
Bath. Writer-performers read stories inspired by a theme.
Unsung Stories Live
http://www.unsungstories.co.uk
A regular London event featuring readings of science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy and horror stories.
The Word Factory
London. ‘A series of intimate short story salons bringing brilliant writers and readers together.’
Alternatively, you could enter your collection into a contest which has publication as the first prize. A number of American university presses run such contests, and the concept is spreading. There are also ‘chapbook’ contests (see box here): a chapbook used to refer to slim, often hand-bound, poetry collections, but the term is also now applied to short story collections. The small presses that publish short story chapbooks often invest a great deal in presentation, hand-stitching the covers and experimenting with different formats.
Both my collections are published by very dynamic small presses, which invest a great deal of love and care into each book they produce. Being published by a small press may not carry the prestige of a ‘big name’ publishing house, and authors will often have to do a great deal of the book promotion themselves and are unlikely to receive an advance on sales. However, these presses pride themselves on their investment and individual attention to every book and author they publish, and small press published books do win major literary prizes. For example, Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Great by Deborah Kay Davies (Parthian Books 2009) won the Wales Book of the Year.
Self-publishing, both in print and as an ebook is becoming increasingly popular, especially with short story writers as their chances of being published by a large publishing house are slim. However, this costs money and the writer is responsible for every element of the publishing process, including marketing and promotion. If you decide to head down this path, hire an editor to edit your stories first. For further information on self-publishing see articles in the Digital and self-publishing section starting here.
A passionate affair
I love short stories. This is a passionate affair that I hope will never end. I read upwards of 1,000 short stories a year – some because I am paid to (as a judge of short story contests, as a mentor, and as an editor) but mostly for pleasure – and I frequently find new favourite authors. I am continuously astonished at what writers can do with the short story form, reinventing it time and time again, making it their own. My greatest advice? Read. Read as many short stories as you can to inspire your own writing, to show you possibilities of what a short story can be – and then you can reinvent it for yourself. Good luck!
Tania Hershman is the author of three story collections, My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions (Tangent Books 2012), The White Road and Other Stories (Salt 2008) and Some Of Us Glow More Than Others (Unthank Books 2017), a poetry collection, Terms and Conditions (Nine Arches Press 2017) and a poetry chapbook, Nothing Here Is Wild, Everything Is Open (Southword 2016). She is co-author of Writing Short Stories: A Writers’ & Artists’ Companion (Bloomsbury 2014) and co-editor of I Am Because You Are, an anthology of short stories inspired by Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. Tania is founder and curator of ShortStops (www.shortstops.info), celebrating short story activity across the UK and Ireland. Her website is www.taniahershman.com.
See also...
• The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Short Story Competition, page ix
Graphic novels: how to get published
With more graphic novels and comic books being made into films and shortlisted for book prizes, publisher Emma Hayley suggests that there has never been a more exciting time for writers and artists to get their ‘GN’ published.
When Mary and Bryan Talbot’s graphic novel Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes (Jonathan Cape 2012) was named winner of the biography section in the 2012 Costa Book Awards, it was the first time a graphic novel had won this prestigious literary prize. While others have won major literary awards in the past – Chris Ware won the Guardian First Book Award in 2001 for Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (Jonathan Cape 2000), and Art Spiegel-man won the Pulitzer in 1992 for Maus (Penguin 1986/91) – the Costa jury’s award marked a renewed enthusiasm for the medium, as well as its acceptance by the broader literary establishment.
Essential books about graphic novels
•Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art (William Morrow Paperbacks 1994)
•Scott McCloud, Reinventing Comics (William Morrow Paperbacks 2000)
•Scott McCloud, Making Comics (William Morrow Paperbacks 2006)
•Will Eisner, Comics and Sequential Art (WW Norton 2008)
•Will Eisner, Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narraitve (WW Norton 2008)
•Michael Dooley and Stephen Heller, Education of a Comics Artist (Allworth Press 2005)
•Alan Moore, Writing for Comics (Avatar Press 2003)
•Paul Gravett, 1001 Comics You Must Read Before you Die (Cassell 2011)
•Paul Gravett, Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life (Collins Design 2005)
Journalists are dedicating more space to graphic novel reviews, and high-street retailers are devoting more space on their bookshelves to a wider range of graphic novels than ever before. The growth of the graphic novel and comic book market is clear: in the UK it grew from £2m in 2002 to £16m in 2012. That’s a staggering 700% increase over 10 years. This isn’t the first time that the market has enjoyed a growth, but it is the first time that such a consistent period of growth has been seen since its peak in the mid-80s with the birth of such classics as Watchmen, Maus and The Dark Knight Returns.
What is a graphic novel?
The term ‘graphic novel’ was coined in 1964 by American comics reviewer and publisher Richard Kyle, but comics in book form have been around at least since the early 19th century. Not everyone agrees on the definition of a graphic novel: it is generally agreed, however, that it must contain sequential artwork, the narrative of which need not necessarily include words.
The word ‘novel’ is potentially misleading, since it elsewhere exclusively suggests a work of fiction. It is important to remember, however, that the medium of the graphic novel contains many different genres – including reportage, biography and history, as well as the more traditional forms of sci-fi, horror and romance. Essentially, the difference between a graphic novel and a comic is its length: while a comic may contain 24 or 32 pages, a graphic novel will be long enough to warrant a spine. But while a six-issue comic series might be collected into a graphic novel, there are many graphic novels that were only ever conceived as integral, ‘long-form’ works.
Essential books about graphic novels
Despite some creators still disliking it (preferring to call their work a ‘comic book’, plain and simple), the term ‘graphic novel’ has gone a long way to overcoming preconceptions and prejudice. The usual stereotypical associations of ‘comics’ with children, geeks, male teenagers or middle-aged nerds (think ‘Comic Book Guy’ in The Simpsons) have to a large degree been replaced by the notion that this unique medium can be a sophisticated form of literature appealing to a broad range of readers.
Getting noticed
The best way to start getting your work noticed is to self-publish short comics. There is no stigma associated with self-publishing in the graphic novel world; in fact there is a long tradition of self-publishing which is actively encouraged. Write or draw your comic, print off some copies, hire yourself a table at a comic ‘con’ (convention) (see box) and sell it. If you’ve had an idea, executed it well and sold it, not only will you feel an enormous sense of accomplishment, but you will also have demonstrated your commitment – and this will not go unnoticed by a potential future publisher.
Taking part in a comic con is in any case a great way of meeting people in the industry, from fellow creators and enthusiasts to editors and publishers. Some publishers who exhibit at comic cons will be willing to do ‘portfolio reviews’, reading and appraising your work – it’s a great chance to get your face, name and work in front of a publisher. If you catch them on their stand at a busy time, then at least drop off your pitch (see Your pitch below) and give them your card.
Festivals and comic conventions
UK
There are numerous comic cons in the UK. Here are some of the bigger ones:
LICAF: The Lakes International Comic Art Festival
(Kendal, The Lake District) www.comicartfestival.com
Thought Bubble
(Leeds)
http://thoughtbubblefestival.com
MCM Expo
(London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow) Check this website for a complete list: www.mcmcomiccon.co.uk
EUROPE
You’ll find comic cons happening throughout Europe including in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Barcelona, Erlanger, Lucca and Holland. Be sure not to miss:
Angouleme International Comics Festival
Book accommodation early to avoid disappointment.
NORTH AMERICA
North America boasts a huge number of comic cons of differing sizes. The big ones include:
Comic-Con International
(San Diego)
New York Comic Con
Smaller cons include: APE: Alternative Press Expo
(San Jose)
SPX: Small Press Expo
(Bethesda)
MoCCA festival: Museum of Comic and Cartoon
Art
(New York)
www.societyillustrators.org/mocca-arts-festival
TCAF: Toronto Comic Arts Festival
Social media. A good presence on social media can be a prerequisite for some publishers. Make sure you are on the latest social media networks, whether that’s Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, etc, and be prepared to build your fan base. One way would be to ask fellow creators to start following you and getting them to endorse or ‘like’ your work and ideas. Word of mouth is a powerful way to get attention.
Prizes and awards. Another way of enhancing your profile (and broadening your experience of working to a brief) is to enter as many competitions as you can, of which there are an increasing number. The two main awards are the Observer/Cape/Comica graphic short story prize and Myriad’s First Graphic Novel competition. If your artistic style is more manga-oriented, the Japanese Embassy’s annual ‘Manga Jiman’ contest may be for you. This is a great way of getting your work seen by a wider public, and even if you don’t win, your ambition will be noticed by industry professionals.
Know your publisher
Before pitching to a publisher, make sure you’ve studied their catalogue or website thoroughly. If they don’t publish superhero books, don’t send them a superhero pitch. Look at the different series they publish, look at the page count (‘extent’) and size of their books, and try to conform as much as possible with their formats. Check to see if they have any submission guidelines on their website (they usually will) and supply your pitch in accordance with these.
Covering letter. Make sure that you spell the name of your publisher correctly. This may seem basic advice, but you’d be surprised at the number of people who send their covering letters in a rush and make rudimentary errors. Don’t let that be you: you may fall at the first hurdle. Spend time on composing your covering letter – it doesn’t need to be very long (publishers are busy people), but it does need to introduce you and your work as concisely and effectively as possible. Also ensure that you are addressing your letter to the right person, by finding out the name of the commissioning editor or publishing director.
Your pitch
Getting your pitch to stand out from the rest is one of the most important things you can do. Plan your approach well. One excellent way is to get endorsements for your pitch from those already in the industry, such as other well-known creators. A sentence or two is all that’s needed. This shows good marketing skills and gives your project weight. Bribes such as chocolate coins or cookies have been known to send waves of excitement and appreciation through a publisher’s office – this may not guarantee your work gets published, but it does get it noticed! The most important way to stand out from the crowd, however, is to make sure that the presentation of your submission is of the highest possible quality.
Usually a publisher will want to see a number of pages of sequential art (I would recommend at least eight pages), together with a ‘synopsis’ (brief summary of the whole book). A whole script isn’t necessary at pitch stage. In fact, to begin with, less is definitely more. Make sure that those pages are of the highest standard possible. If you are a novice letterer, it’s worth persuading a more experienced letterer to do it for you; if you’re not brilliant at creating speech bubbles, ask someone else to help. Make sure that you don’t let your good idea slip under the radar because of a sub-standard presentation.
Agents
Unlike most authors of prose fiction, creators of graphic novels don’t need an agent. The graphic novel world is still small enough for you personally to get to know the editors and publishers who make the decisions. However, if you’re trying to get your work published in the US, and you don’t have the necessary contacts, then an agent could be a useful way in. Many creators are very good at creating, but not so good at selling themselves. If that’s you, then perhaps finding an agent is a good option – though of course they don’t work for free.
Sequential art courses
Royal Drawing School
http://royaldrawingschool.org/courses/public-courses/drawing-the-graphic-novel-1
Staffordshire University
www.staffs.ac.uk/course/cartoon-comic-arts-ba
University of the Arts London
www.arts.ac.uk/chelsea/courses/short-courses/search-by-subject/illustration/comic-book-art
Glyndwr University
www.glyndwr.ac.uk/en/Undergraduatecourses/DesignIllustrationGraphicNovelsandChildrensPublishing
University of Exeter
https://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/english/modules/eas3166/description
Building your library
• Art Spiegelman, The Complete MAUS (Penguin 2003)
• Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen, International Edition (DC Comics 2014)
• Marjane Satrapi, The Complete Persepolis (Random House 2007)
• Frank Miller, Batman Dark Knight Returns (DC Comics 2006)
• Frank Miller, Sin City series (DC Comics 2010 onwards)
• Neil Gaiman, Sandman series (DC Comics 2010 onwards)
• Chris Ware, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (Jonathan Cape 2001)
• Chris Ware, Building Stories (Jonathan Cape 2012)
• Craig Thompson, Blankets (Top Shelf 2003)
• Charles Burns, Black Hole (Jonathan Cape 2005)
• David B., Epileptic (Jonathan Cape 2006)
• Bryan Lee O’Malley, Seconds (SelfMadeHero 2014)
• Glyn Dillon, The Nao of Brown (SelfMadeHero 2012)
• Scott McCloud, The Sculptor (SelfMadeHero 2015)
• Posy Simmonds, Tamara Drewe (Jonathan Cape 2009)
• Daniel Clowes, Ghost World (Jonathan Cape 2000)
• Will Eisner, A Contract with God (WW Norton 2007)
• Joe Sacco, Palestine (Jonathan Cape 2003)
• Adrian Tomine, Shortcomings (Faber & Faber 2012)
• Alison Bechdel, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (Jonathan Cape 2006)
Creator meet-ups
Collaborations
Some publishers will still accept pitches from a writer without an artist already attached, and vice versa. Increasingly, though, publishers prefer the pitch to be submitted by an established artist-and-writer team, while others prefer to work with a single creator who does both the writing and the artwork. If you’re a writer or an artist looking for a collaborator, then there are a number of ‘meet-ups’ where you can find fellow creators.
Get qualified
A huge number of creators with a background in filmscript or play writing imagine they can easily turn their hand to writing a graphic novel, but it’s a different medium and it has different rules. True, if you are used to thinking in visual terms you’ll have a head start, but there are unique storytelling techniques you should learn and absorb before taking the plunge. Here there is a list of practical books that might be of help to you (see Building your library). On the other hand, if you’ve never written any kind of script in any medium before, then you should look at the various courses on offer.
Go for it!
If you’re passionate about your project, the best thing you can do is believe in yourself and go for it. If it doesn’t work out at first, don’t be hard on yourself. One of my heroes is the film-maker and comic book writer Alejandro Jodorowsky, whose recent documentary about his doomed attempt to film the sci-fi film Dune in the 1970s stands as a triumphant testament to the fact that something that might be deemed a failure can, in so many other ways, prove to be a success. Good luck!
Emma Hayley founded London-based publishing house SelfMadeHero in 2007 after spotting a gap in the UK market for high quality graphic novels for adults. Before launching her own company, she worked as a journalist, a film PR and as an editorial director for several small publishers. She was named UK Young Publishing Entrepreneur of the Year, as part of the British Book Industry Awards 2008. See www.selfmadehero.com/about.php.
The ‘how to’ of writing how-to books
Author Kate Harrison had published 12 novels when she made the unexpected move of writing a diet book. Here she talks through the six things you need to know to write a how-to book.
Becoming a how-to author was not part of my plan – and as for being a diet guru, my lifelong battle with the scales meant I was surely never going to be a position to tell others how to eat. Yet here I am, the author of four books on the intermittent fasting approach to weight loss: the first, The 5:2 Diet Book, was turned down by my own publisher, but I published it myself and it became a bestseller, shifted more copies than my (still successful) novels and, at the last count, has been translated into 16 languages. And I’m two stone lighter than I was before this whole new world opened up ...
Maybe dieting isn’t your area of expertise, but all of us have some specialist knowledge. Whether you’re the go-to person for assembling flat-pack furniture, organising kids’ birthday parties or training wilful puppies, there are readers out there who’d love to know how.
But how can you turn your skills into book sales? Here’s the ‘how to’ of how-to books:
1. Know your stuff
What do you know more about than the average Joe or Joanna? Do your friends regularly ask you for help with something? Do you have a job or a hobby that gives you expertise?
Understanding a subject inside out is the key to a great how-to book. But that doesn’t mean you need academic qualifications. Decades of experience in a practical skill will give you the understanding – and the short cuts and tips – that readers may prefer.
My experience: I’d spent years of my life losing and regaining weight on different regimes, yet when I tried intermittent fasting after watching the BBC’s ‘Horizon’, I immediately sensed this could be different for me. There wasn’t much practical information around, so I tried different approaches, and set up a Facebook group to share tips with friends. I was both an expert in dieting – including emotional factors and the reasons for failure – and a natural sceptic because, as a journalist, I was trained to question everything.
2. Know your readership
Often, the readership of a how-to book will be people like you, but the you before you went on the journey that equips you to write the book. Or they might be people you already teach in your day job or as a volunteer.
Whether you’re a craftsperson with tricks that have taken you decades to learn, or a therapist who wants to help people in print as well as face to face, you need to understand the readers who might buy your book, so you can get the tone right. My experience: I knew my ideal reader was me, six months earlier. But I did understand that, while I was fascinated by the science of fasting, not all readers would share my interest. So when I planned the book I aimed for the middle ground, interspersing real-life experiences, with more complex biology. I included a glossary, and lots of hyperlinks – particularly useful in an ebook – so that readers could easily read the research for themselves.
3. Know the question your book will answer
All how-to books answer a question or solve a problem. It’s worth spending time thinking through what that question or need is, to help refine what your book will offer. One practical way to do this is to use Google or Amazon search functions. When you type in the beginning of a phrase, search engines predict what the rest of your phrase might be, based on millions of previous searches. It can be hilarious, but useful too.
For example, type ‘DIY’ into the Amazon books search bar, and you’ll see: projects, for women, complete manual ... Or type ‘vegan eating’ on Google and you’ll see other people have searched for ‘meal plan’ or ‘breakfast’. Do this around lots of possible combinations and write down key words.
Once you understand what people want to know, you can structure your book around telling them, dealing with one key point or area per chapter. Use the key words in the title of the book itself: it makes it easier for readers to find your book!
Some questions or needs are very niche, which is not a problem if you’re writing an ebook. Because the costs of producing the book are low, you can create shorter books – at lower prices – that address single issues and work well at the shorter length. Or bring different questions on one topic together in a ‘complete’ guide.
One important point: if you’re writing about health, or potentially risky activities, include clear and appropriate warnings to ensure you’re not putting readers in danger. If you have any doubt at all, look at the warnings in books on similar topics, or take professional advice. The last thing you want is to be sued!
My experience: ‘How can I lose weight and keep it off?’ is a need shared by millions of people worldwide. Discovering what worked for me was a life-changer, and I focused on explaining why the approach was different, and on practical ways to fit it into your life.
4. Know your unique story/point of view
Stories aren’t just for children. We learn the three-act structure of stories – beginning, middle, end – from movies, books and even jokes. Structuring your non-fiction book around a story makes it more enjoyable. For example, a book about money or changing your job could easily follow the ‘rags to riches’ Cinderella storyline.
Your book doesn’t have to be a fairy tale, but readers will enjoy reading your own story and/or case studies or people you’ve helped. Explaining your own struggles or problems, and then how you found the solution, establishes you as credible. Your story also makes your book unique. Even if you’re a high-powered expert – a brain surgeon or a leading detective – talking as one person to another will make your book accessible, and help you stand out, even if there are many other books already on your topic.
My experience: as a consumer of previous ‘diet books’ written by scientific experts, I knew they can be patronising. I decided to be 100% honest about my struggles, interspersing research and advice with my own weight-loss diary. After the book was published, I had countless emails from other dieters saying ‘it was like reading my own story’ and my success, after years of failure, helped inspire them to try the plan.
5. Know how to publish your book
Writing may be a solitary activity, but publishing your book will almost certainly be a team
effort!
You have two main options: look for an agent and publishing deal, or self-publish your work as an ebook and a print-on-demand title. The decision is worthy of an article in itself, but how-to books are very well suited to self-publishing. If your subject is quite niche, then it may not be worthwhile for a mainstream publisher, but if you get your title and cover right, readers can find you easily online, and will you will receive the lion’s share of the profits. Agents and publishers are more likely to be interested if you’re well-known in your field and already have thousands of followers on social media, and they may offer you an advance based on a proposal.
Self-publishing doesn’t mean going it alone: you will need an editor/proofreader, and a cover designer who can make your cover as appealing as possible. The investment will help make your book stand out. Formatting an ebook is straightforward, but you may also want to hire someone for that, especially if it contains illustrations or photographs. My experience: I thought my book had potential, but my publishers didn’t agree. So I worked with my agent to self-publish on Amazon Kindle. It went to Number 1 in the diet charts within a few days – and later my publisher did republish an expanded version, plus we worked together on three recipe books and a self-help title, 5:2 Your Life.
6. Know how to sell your book
Hooray – your book is ready! But the hard work is not over. You need to let potential readers know it exists.
If you already have a blog or a website, post there, and on Twitter or Facebook. Be generous with your knowledge and content; offering free samples of your work is far more convincing than just screaming BUY MY BOOK! Ebooks can be given away for free or at a reduced price, which can help get you early reviews, or increase your visibility by helping the book rise in the charts. But use with caution; don’t undersell yourself.
Good reviews on Amazon and other sites are very important, but never post them under fake names or via family members’ accounts. You will be found out. A better idea is to put a note to readers at the end of your ebook asking them to review it if they’ve enjoyed it.
Articles in newspapers or magazines can really boost your sales. Press releases are simple to write but do research the right format online. Offer yourself, or people you’ve taught, as case studies. Local media often like to feature authors, so approach your local radio station or newspaper.
My experience: I had already shared tips in a private Facebook group I’d set up with a few friends who were also fasting. The group grew massively and when I decided to write the book, I included members’ experiences. This meant that, when it went on sale, they were keen to read and discuss it. The group is now 60,000 members strong, and I still use their comments to influence my books.
7. Finally, know what to do next
Whether you find a handful of readers, or many thousands, writing a how-to book can be rewarding and fun. And it can be a platform to so much more: a new book, a podcast or YouTube channel, an e-course, or offering yourself as a public speaker.
The possibilities are endless, but whatever you do, there’s nothing like that first email from a reader thanking you for making something easy ... or even for changing their lives.
My experience: I’ve hosted my own podcast now, and also used my research and experiences to create a whole new plan, The Dirty Diet–Ditch the Guilt, Love your Food, building on my excitement about helping people feel fantastic.
Kate Harrison worked at the BBC as a TV correspondent and news producer before becoming a full-time writer. Kate wrote nine adult novels, including the Secret Shopper series, and a young adult thriller trilogy, Soul Beach (Orion 2011), before starting her non-fiction journey. She first self-published The 5:2 Diet Book as an ebook in 2012, followed by a print version with Orion, and six more recipe/self-help titles. Her books have been translated into more than 20 languages. Kate also teaches creative techniques and consumer insight to writers and media professionals. Visit Kate’s website at www.kate-harrison.com/courses for free resources and courses on publishing and pitching.
Martina Cole describes how her writing career started.
The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook holds a very dear place in my heart. Without it, I would never have been published as quickly, or as well, of that much I am sure.
I had written my first novel, Dangerous Lady, when I was 21 and it had been a dream of mine to become an author. I wasn’t expecting fortune, or fame; all I had ever wanted was to see my name on the cover of a book. Books are probably the most important things in my life, apart from the family of course! I have loved books since I was a small child, when my father, a merchant seaman, brought home from his travels a cardboard theatre. When I opened the crimson faux velvet curtains, hidden behind them were the smallest books I had ever seen. The stories they contained were all old Aesop fables, and fairy tales, and I was absolutely entranced.
After that, a book was second nature to me. I even played truant from school so I could lie all day long in the park reading books from the local library – books I had taken out in my parents’ names as well as my own. Books I would never otherwise have been allowed to read at such a young age. My parents died never knowing they had library memberships!
So, when I wrote Dangerous Lady all those years ago, it was the start of my writing career, though I didn’t know it at the time.
Over the next nine years I wrote three more novels, film scripts, television scripts, and even a play for the theatre. But I had no confidence in myself as a writer, and I wrote for the sheer pleasure of it. I’m sure many of the people reading this are doing exactly the same thing!
Coming up to 30 was my personal watershed. I was running a nursing agency and had been offered a partnership. I was also moving house, so there were big upheavals all round. I was going to throw out all my writing efforts, and put away the dream of being an author. Then I glanced through Dangerous Lady – and I knew instinctively that it was much better than I had ever realised and that I had to at least try and fulfil my ambition, whatever the outcome might be.
I purchased then read the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook from cover to cover, and was fascinated by this world I craved but knew absolutely nothing about. It told me the correct way to set out a manuscript, both for a novel and for television, who published what, and more importantly, where I could find them! It was a mine of information, and it gave me the push I needed to pursue my dream.
I found my agent, Darley Anderson, tucked away among the pages, and taking a deep breath I rang him up – I nearly passed out when he answered the phone himself. I explained that I had written a book, what it was about, and he said, ‘Send it to me, I’m intrigued’.
I posted it to him on the Thursday night, and he phoned me on the Monday at teatime: Darley’s first words were, ‘You are going to be a star!’ It was the start of a long and happy friendship. It was also the beginning of my career in publishing.
When I am at a writers’ conference, or a library event, I always tell the audience they must purchase the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook. On signings, if I am approached by someone who is writing a novel and I think they are serious about it, I purchase the book for them, and tell them that if they get published I want the first signed copy!
When I was asked to write this article, I was thrilled because all those years ago when I bought my first copy of the Yearbook I never dreamt that one day I would be lucky enough to actually be a small part of it. It’s a truly wonderful introduction to the world of literature, and it also contains everything you need to know about writing for television, film et al. If it’s relevant to what you are writing about, be it a novel or a newspaper article, you can find it in this Yearbook.
There’s so much of interest, and so much that the budding writer needs explained. By the time I finally had a meeting with Darley in person, the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook had helped me understand exactly what I needed to ask about, and more importantly, what to expect from the meeting itself.
I wish you all the very best of luck. Publishing is a great business to be a part of.
I wrote for years in my spare time, for free – I loved it. It was a part of me and who I was. I still love writing, every second of it. I was asked once by a journalist if I ever got lonely – writing is such a solitary occupation, as we all know. But I said no. I spend all day with people that I’ve created. I put the wallpaper on the walls, and I give them families, lives to live, cars to drive, and in some cases I have even killed them! Not many people can that say about their jobs.
The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook is a wonderful tool for any budding writer, so use it and enjoy it. Good luck.
Martina Cole’s first novel Dangerous Lady caused a sensation when it was published in 1992. 26 years later, Martina is the bestselling author of 24 highly successful novels, and has had more No. 1 original fiction bestsellers than any other author. The Take, which won the British Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year in 2006, was adapted for Sky One, as was The Runaway. Three of her novels have been adapted for the stage: Two Women, The Graft and Dangerous Lady were all highly acclaimed when performed at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. Her books have now sold over 16 million copies. Her latest novel, Damaged, will be published by Headline in paperback in summer 2018.
See also...
• How to get an agent, here
• Getting hooked out of the slush pile, here
• Literary agents section, here
Alexander McCall Smith suggests that within each writer there is probably more than one author wishing to be expressed and that writers should be ready to push themselves and explore the unfamiliar, to try a new voice. In this article he examines the options and points out when it would be prudent to not write in a different voice.
Every author is used to being asked for a tip for those starting off in the profession. The one that I have tended to give is this: never get stuck on your first novel – move on to the next. That advice comes from meeting so many people who have spent years – sometimes decades – rewriting their first novel. That, in my view, is a bad mistake, particularly if that first novel is unsuitable for publication, as so many first novels are. So why not make one’s second novel one’s first?
But then comes the question: what other tips? That needs a bit more thought, but my second tip is probably this: be versatile. Being prepared to write more than one sort of thing is, I think, one of the most important abilities that any aspiring writer should seek to develop. Of course there are plenty of writers who find their exact niche and stick to it very successfully: I find it hard to think, for example, of any romantic novels written by John le Carré, or spy thrillers by Barbara Cartland, for that matter. Writers who have the good fortune to master a genre and make it very much their own can indeed get away with doing the same sort of book for their entire careers, but for most people the ability to write on different subjects or in different voices is a very useful weapon in the professional armoury.
Of course there are all sorts of pressures going the other way, not least being those that come from publishers. One of the things that the first-time author may not realise is that publishers prefer to take a long view. When they agree to publish your first book, they are probably already thinking of the second. The commercial reason for this is obvious: a publisher is going to invest time and money in a book that will probably have a reasonably short shelf-life. It is not surprising, then, that they are thinking of your future career and about how your second book can do better than your first. All that is reasonable enough: it takes time to build up a following.
With this long-term strategy in mind, publishers will be keen to pigeon-hole you and present you as a writer of a certain sort of book. If, for example, you write a steamy novel about 50 shades of something or other, your publisher is not going to be pleased if your next book is on moral philosophy or even – and this would cause even greater problems for your publisher – theology. If you write a thriller, then that is how you are going to be marketed – as a writer of thrillers.
This process of categorisation, of course, can be to your advantage. Crime novels, for instance, sell better than many other categories, and to be labelled as a crime writer may help an author get started on a lucrative career. And crime fiction can be extremely well written and psychologically profound; there is no shame in being considered a genre writer, as long as one does not allow the demands of genre to be too constraining. There is a world of difference, though, between the narrow, formulaic romantic novel and the novel about love. The former will be of little literary merit; the latter may be quite the opposite.
Some will be wary of identification with a genre, as being placed in a particular one may be considered limiting. Yet the boundaries of genre may be vague. Think of Patricia
Highsmith with her Ripley novels and her other titles too: those are every bit as good – if not better – than many so-called literary novels, and of course will be read, and enjoyed, by a much wider audience. Ian McEwan is another interesting example: his compelling novel, Enduring Love, could be considered crime fiction, or even a thriller, as could his exquisitely frightening novel, Saturday. And yet McEwan crosses literary boundaries with ease because he writes so well.
Writing for children brings particular dangers. Children’s books are obviously a very distinct genre, marketed and perceived by the public in a very distinctive way. If your first book is a children’s book, beware: you will be labelled by publishers – and possibly by everybody else – as a writer of books for children and you may never be able to present yourself as anything but that. I have personal experience of this: at an earlier stage of my writing career I wrote about 30 books for children and remember feeling very frustrated that I could not persuade the people who published those books to consider the manuscripts I wrote for adults. I felt trapped, and I know a number of writers who had a similar experience. It takes a real effort and not infrequently a stroke of luck to venture out from the world of children’s books.
Of course there is no real reason why an author should not write for children as well as adults and go backwards and forwards between the genres. Roald Dahl is an example of somebody who did that: his short stories for adults are exceptionally well crafted, but are definitely not children’s fare. His children’s classics, though, can be read with enjoyment by adults, whether or not one is reading them aloud to one’s children or for private pleasure. That is the mark, I think, of the great storyteller: he or she is of universal appeal.
But let us imagine that you are now launched, whether or not with a first book that fits into any narrow genre. What should you do about your second book? Should you try to do much the same thing as you did in the first? An initial question is whether you are interested in writing a sequel. That will depend on the nature of the first book: some books lend themselves to sequels more naturally than others. If you have created strong characters, you may wish to continue those characters and expose them to new challenges. That, of course, is how most real lives are lived: they go on for years – each of us, in a way, finds ourself in a family saga of one sort or another.
A series can be attractive to both author and publisher. From the author’s point of view there is a particular pleasure in returning to characters and places with which you are already familiar. Creating a new chapter in a life that you have already got to know in an earlier novel can be rather like sitting down for a chat with an old friend, and may present chances to say much more about character and background than you were able to say in the first encounter. From the publisher’s point of view, half the battle of marketing a book is over if there is a readership that already recognises – and likes – the principal character. That is why it is relatively easy for publishers of crime fiction to sell the latest exploits of well-known detectives: everybody knows those detectives and is eager to hear from them. But the same can be said too of other series: readers of Patrick O’Brian were lining up to read about Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin as soon as the next instalment was due, just as they did for Harry Potter and his friends.
Again, though, a warning note needs to be sounded. A successful series can become a treadmill for an author and may also frustrate the author’s desire to do something different. So it is a good idea to make it clear to publishers that one wants to be able to write something different from time to time. A good publisher will be perfectly happy to allow this if the author has been reasonably successful with an existing series; indeed the publisher should see this as a way of expanding the author’s readership as well as allowing existing readers to sample something different from a writer they have come to know.
My own experience of this has involved writing a number of standalone novels as well as a number of existing, regular series. I have found these standalones to be a valuable way of saying things that I might not have been able to say in any of my series, as well as giving me an opportunity to spread my wings stylistically. There is also the sheer stimulation involved in being able to do something new – to accept new challenges.
A few years ago I had one such challenge presented to me by a publisher with whom I had worked in the past. Roger Cazalet, one of the most highly regarded of British publishers, came to me with the suggestion that I should write a new version of Jane Austen’s Emma. It took me, I think, not much longer than 30 seconds to say yes to this proposal. Not only would this enable me to work again with Roger – and the relationship with your publisher is a very important matter – but it would also allow me to step into the world of Jane Austen, a writer whom I, like virtually everybody else, admire so greatly. I was aware, though, that this was yet another genre of fiction that I was straying into: that of the use of fictional characters developed by another author altogether.
Using another author’s characters seems to have become a rather popular pursuit. Not only are people doing it with Jane Austen – there are innumerable versions now of Pride and Prejudice – but they are doing it for a whole list of well-known fictional characters. There were the Flashman novels, for instance, that involved the reappearance of the bully in Tom Brown’s Schooldays. There are also the now fairly numerous reappearances of James Bond, from the pen of various distinguished modern novelists such as William Boyd and Sebastian Faulks. This is itself now a whole new literary genre.
I found writing a new Emma one of the most enjoyable literary experiences of my life. Part of that, of course, was the sheer pleasure of Austen’s story, but much of the attraction lay in the fact that it was a new thing for me to do. I had not done this sort of thing before, and there was the exciting challenge of an entirely fresh project. And that, I think, is the important thing for any author to remember: you must be ready to push yourself, to explore the unfamiliar, to try a new voice. I am not suggesting that one picks up and then abandons literary styles and genres with careless abandon: what I am suggesting is that within each one of us there is probably more than one author waiting for a chance of self-expression. Let those voices out. Cultivate them. And even if one ends up writing widely differing types of books, there is likely to be the same vision behind each of them that will make them authentically you. And that, of course, is the bit that you must always listen to and never silence – for any reason at all.
Alexander McCall Smith CBE, a former professor of Medical Law, is one of the world’s most prolific and most popular authors. His No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series has sold over 20 million copies, and his various series of books have been translated into over 40 languages. These include the 44 Scotland Street novels, the Isabel Dalhousie Novels series, the von Igelfeld series, and the Corduroy Mansions novels. Alexander is also the author of collections of short stories, academic works, and over 50 books for children. His numerous awards include the British Book Awards Author of the Year Award (2004) and Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction (2015), as well as honorary degrees from 13 universities in Europe and N America. His most recent novels are The Good Pilot George Woodhouse (Polygon 2017) and My Italian Bulldozer (Little, Brown 2017). In 2017 he was awarded the National Arts Club of America–Medal of Honor for Achievement in Literature.
Notes from a successful crossover author
Neil Gaiman explains how he ‘learned to stop worrying and became a crossover author’.
I didn’t set out to be a crossover author, it just never occurred to me not to be. To put it another way, what I wanted to be was the kind of writer who told whatever stories he wanted in whatever medium he wanted, and I seem, more or less, to have got to that place. So, I can tell you how I did it. I’m just not sure I could tell you how you could do it too.
My first book was a children’s book. I was about 22 when I wrote it, and I sent it to one publisher, and it came back with a nice note from the editor saying that it wasn’t quite right for them, and I put it away for ever. I was a journalist for a while (it would be accurate to say that all I knew of being a journalist when I began was what I had gleaned from the 1983 edition of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook). Then I wrote comics – mostly for grownups – and once I’d learned to write comics to my own satisfaction and thought it might be good fun to go and explore prose fiction, I was spoiled. The joy of writing comics is that it’s a medium that people mistake for a genre: nobody seemed to mind whether I lurched from historical to fantasy to spy stories to autobiography to children’s fiction, because it was all comics – a freedom that I treasured.
I started writing my first real children’s book in 1991, a scary story for my daughter, Holly, called Coraline. I showed the first few chapters to my editor at Gollancz, Richard Evans. Now, Richard was a good editor and a smart man, and had just midwifed a book by Terry Pratchett and me, Good Omens, into existence. The next time I was in the Gollancz offices he took me to one side and said, ‘Neil. I read the Coraline chapters, and I loved it. I think it’s the best thing you’ve ever written. But I have to warn you, it’s unpublishable’. I was puzzled: ‘Why?’ ‘Well, it’s a horror novel aimed at children and adults,’ he told me, ‘and I don’t think we could publish a horror novel for children, and I really don’t know how anyone could publish anything for adults and children at the same time.’
So I put the book away. I planned to keep writing it, in my own time, but there wasn’t a lot of my own time about, and I managed about a thousand words on it during the next few years. I knew that unless someone was waiting for it, unless it had a chance of being read, I wasn’t going to write it.
By now I had published a couple of books with Avon, and I sent it to my editor, Jennifer Hershey. ‘It’s great,’ she said. ‘What happens next?’ I told her I wasn’t really sure, but if she sent me a contract we would both find out! She did. The contract was for about 5% of what I’d got as an advance for my last novel, but it was a contract, and Jennifer said she would worry about how the book was published when I handed it in.
Two years passed. I didn’t have any more time, so I kept a notebook beside my bed and finished the book and handed it in. But I still had an adult novel, American Gods, to finish before Coraline would be published. Avon was taken over by HarperCollins, a publisher with a healthy children’s publishing division, and somewhere in there it was decided that Coraline would be published by HarperCollins Children’s. In the UK, the book was sold to Bloomsbury .
It was still a horror novel, still aimed at both adults and children, but the publishing landscape had changed in the previous handful of years. The success of the few books that had crossed over from children’s fiction to the adult world – the Harry Potter books, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, the Lemony Snicket books – made it at least a feasible goal.
Coraline was published in the summer of 2002, which was, coincidentally, the first summer without a new Harry Potter book. Journalists had column inches to fill, and they wrote about Coraline, imagining a movement of adult novelists now writing children’s books. In both the USA and the UK, it’s fair to say, adults bought the book at first, not children. That came later, as teachers enjoyed reading it and began introducing it in schools, and news of it spread by word of mouth.
The Wolves in the Walls followed, written by me and illustrated by artist Dave McKean. A children’s picture book, again, it was initially bought by adults who liked what I wrote and what Dave painted – essentially the graphic novel audience who had come with us from comics. But it was read to children, and became popular with them, and now most of the copies I sign at signings are for younger readers.
I don’t think you can plan for something to be a crossover book. But you can do things to make it easier. In my case, it was useful that I already had a large readership, one that had followed me from comics into prose, and who didn’t seem to mind that none of my prose books resembled each other very much, except in having been written by me. It was also wonderful that I had supportive publishers in the USA and the UK, who were willing to take different approaches to the material.
When I wrote The Graveyard Book, a book that began with me wondering what would happen if you took Kipling’s The Jungle Book and relocated it to a graveyard, I wasn’t really sure who I was writing it for. I just wanted it to be good. Dave McKean did a book cover for the US edition while I was still writing it, but once the book was done it was obvious that the cover was wrong. It looked like a book for ten year-olds, and only for ten-year-olds. While the book I’d written would work for children, it worked just as well for adults, and we didn’t want to exclude them. With tremendous good humour, Dave went back to the drawing board and produced a dozen new sketches. One of them seemed perfect – it showed a gravestone, which became the outline of a boy’s face in profile. It could as easily have been a children’s book cover or the cover of a Stephen King book; no one picking it up would feel excluded. (Another of Dave’s sketches, of a baby walking on a bloody knife-edge in which a graveyard could be seen, would have been perfect for a book aimed at adults, but was thought a bit too edgy for children.)
In the UK, Bloomsbury had come up with their own strategy: two editions of The Graveyard Book, one aimed at children, one at adults. The children’s edition would be illustrated by Chris Riddell, the adult edition by Dave McKean – and Dave’s baby-on-a-knife-edge cover was ideal for what they wanted, something that was unashamedly aimed at adults.
You can do your best to write a book for children that adults will like (or the other way around – in the USA the Young Adult Library Services awards celebrate the books for adults that young readers latch on to); you can try not to mess up the publishing end of things (that first cover for the US version of The Graveyard Book, which looked like a book that only ‘middle grade readers’ might have enjoyed would have been a mis-step); you can try to bring an existing audience with you, if you have one, and a way of letting them know what you’ve done. But I’m not sure that any of this will guarantee anything. Publishers are less intimidated by crossover books now that there have been many successes, but the mechanics of bookselling, the fact that books have to go somewhere in a bookshop, and that somewhere may be in a place that adults or children don’t go, that the adult and children’s divisions of publishers are staffed by different people in different groups who don’t always talk to each other or have the same objectives (or even the same catalogues) – all of these things serve to make it harder to be a crossover author and encourage you to stay put, to write something people will know where to shelve, to write the same sort of thing you wrote before.
I suppose you become a crossover author by taking risks, but they had better be the kind of risks that you enjoy taking. Don’t set out to be a crossover author. Write the books you have to write, and if you write one that crosses boundaries, that finds readers in a variety of ages and types, then do your best to get it published in a way that lets all of them know it’s out there. Good luck.
Neil Gaiman is the winner of numerous literary honours and is the New York Times bestselling author of novels including Norse Mythology, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, American Gods, Neverwhere, Stardust and Anansi Boys; the Sandman series of graphic novels; three short story collections; and he is the first author to win both the Carnegie Medal and the Newbery Medal for one work, The Graveyard Book. American Gods is a current hit TV series on Starz/Amazon and Neil wrote and is currently showrunning a BBC/Amazon series based on Good Omens, the book he wrote with Terry Pratchett. He is also the author of books for readers of all ages including the novels Fortunately, the Milk (HarperCollins 2013) and Coraline (Bloomsbury 2008) and picture books including The Sleeper and the Spindle (Bloomsbury 2014). Recent publications include The View From The Cheap Seats (Headline 2016), a collection of his non-fiction, and Cinnamon (HarperCollins 2017), a novel for children. Originally from England, Neil now lives in the USA. He is listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers and he says he owes it all to reading the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook as a young man. Visit him at www.neilgaiman.com.
Notes from a successful children’s author
J.K. Rowling shares her experiences of writing success.
I can remember writing Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in a cafe in Oporto. I was employed as a teacher at the language institute three doors along the road at the time, and this café was a kind of unofficial staffroom. My friend and colleague joined me at my table. When I realised I was no longer alone I hastily shuffled worksheets over my notebook, but not before Paul had seen exactly what I was doing. ‘Writing a novel, eh?’ he asked wearily, as though he had seen this sort of behaviour in foolish young teachers only too often before. ‘Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook, that’s what you need,’ he said. ‘Lists all the publishers and ... stuff,’ he advised, before ordering a lager and starting to talk about the previous night’s episode of The Simpsons.
I had almost no knowledge of the practical aspects of getting published; I knew nobody in the publishing world, I didn’t even know anybody who knew anybody. It had never occurred to me that assistance might be available in book form.
Nearly three years later and a long way from Oporto, I had almost finished Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. I felt oddly as though I was setting out on a blind date as I took a copy of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook from the shelf in Edinburgh’s Central Library. Paul had been right and the Yearbook answered my every question, and after I had read and reread the invaluable advice on preparing a manuscript, and noted the time-lapse between sending said manuscript and trying to get information back from the publisher, I made two lists: one of publishers, the other of agents.
The first agent on my list sent my sample three chapters and synopsis back by return of post. The first two publishers took slightly longer to return them, but the ‘no’ was just as firm. Oddly, these rejections didn’t upset me much. I was braced to be turned down by the entire list, and in any case, these were real rejection letters – even real writers had got them. And then the second agent, who was high on the list purely because I like his name, wrote back with the most magical words I have ever read: ‘We would be pleased to read the balance of your manuscript on an exclusive basis . .
This piece was written for the very first edition of the Children’s & Writers’ Yearbook, published in 2004.
J.K. Rowling, CH is the bestselling author of the Harry Potter series (Bloomsbury), published between 1997 and 2007, which have sold over 500 million copies worldwide, are distributed in more than 200 territories, translated into over 80 languages and have been turned into eight blockbuster films. In 2012 J.K. Rowling’s digital company and digital publisher Pottermore was launched, where fans can enjoy news, features and articles, as well as original content by J.K. Rowling. J.K. Rowling has written a novel for adults: The Casual Vacancy (Little, Brown 2012), which was adapted for TV by the BBC in 2015. Her crime novels, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, were published in 2013 (The Cuckoo’s Calling), 2014 (The Silkworm) and 2015 (Career of Evil), and have been adapted for TV as a major BBC detective drama, Strike, produced by Brontë Film and Television. J.K. Rowling has collaborated on a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two, which opened in London’s West End in the summer of 2016 and on Broadway in 2018. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, written by Jack Thorne. In 2016 J.K. Rowling made her screenwriting debut and was a producer on the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a further extension of the wizarding world and the start of a new five-film series to be written by the author. The second film in the series will be released in November 2018. The script books of both the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two and the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them were published by Little, Brown in 2016.
Diana Athill describes the often unnoticed (but by authors generally much appreciated) work of an editor, how she started in the business of editing, and her relationship with one particularly important but needy author, Jean Rhys.
No one taught me to edit. Just before the Second World War’s end I joined a Hungarian friend of mine who had decided to be a publisher, although his English was still wobbly, and my job was simply to be English, and well-read.
Almost our first book was a problem: an account of the discovery of Tahiti by a man who knew everything – but everything – about it but who wrote so badly it was painful to read. Most firms would have rejected it, but the subject was interesting and we were trying to build a list, and by chance my partner, at a dinner party, sat next to an old boy recently retired from administering a Pacific Island who said he was looking for some way of using his new leisure. Would he consider editing a book? Yes indeed. So we introduced him to the author who was so pleased that he rashly paid him in advance.
The book came in, and to my dismay I saw that the naughty old boy had become bored after 30 pages and done nothing more. Either the poor author had spent quite a lot of money to no purpose, or I would have to finish the job myself.
I started on it nervously, but soon began to enjoy it. It was like unwrapping a lumpy parcel and finding something beautiful inside it. So I could edit – wow! The book got good reviews, and one reviewer said not only was it informative, but also it was very well-written. The author cut out this review and sent it to me. How kind and appreciative... But oh no! An attached postcard said, ‘I always knew all that fuss about the writing was rubbish’. Editor, know your place!
Though in fact that was an unusual case. Never again in almost 50 years did I get anything but gratitude from an author. Provided your comments make sense, a good writer is always glad of them. It is much rarer than one would think for a book to be read with really close attention – something an author longs for – so evidence that an editor has done so is welcome.
Usually my comments were few, and fairly trivial. Perhaps ‘it might be better to move your description of x’s looks back to his first appearance on the scene’, or ‘you’ve used the word “exuberance” four times on the last three pages’. Occasionally I would suggest a little cutting (which can always be done); but usually, once we had got going, I would not take on anything needing a great deal of work on the text. If permissions are needed for quoting from someone else’s work, it is of course the editor’s job to see that the author has got them, or to get them for him or her, and if something in the text might be libellous or unacceptably obscene it is the editor’s job to point it out and get a legal opinion; but on the whole the bulk of the task is nannying. You must keep your author happy by appreciating – genuinely appreciating – his or her work, and you must be helpful and attentive in small ways, making it clear that he or she is truly valued.
In the rare cases when you actually dislike an author, hand him or her over to someone else – unless you are unusually good at brainwashing yourself out of your bad feelings.
It is not often that nannying goes much further than the above, but it can. It did with one of our most valuable writers, Jean Rhys. She was, perhaps, the most extraordinary person I ever knew: extraordinary because of the contrast between her steely control of her art and her incredible inefficiency in her conduct of her life. Jean knew precisely how her writing should be, and why, and was perfectly indifferent to the opinions of anyone else. But in life... Well, I sometimes felt that she had become stuck at the age of eight. She was uncommonly attractive, so as a young woman she was always rescued from disaster by a man – but she was not much good at choosing men. Her first lover had money, but was much older, got bored, and broke her heart. After that, three husbands were each poorer than the last and two of them ended up in prison. Max Hamer, the last one, was there because of foolishness rather than criminality, but he emerged from the experience a broken man, and looking after him for years, with no money, nearly broke Jean. How she managed to finish the novel which finally made her famous, Wide Sargasso Sea, heaven knows. It saved her life, but only just.
A woman who knew Jean in her youth said she had never understood the power of the really weak until she met Jean, and I know what she meant. She meant that the feeling one got that unless Jean was rescued she would die in a ditch was true. It worked right up to the end of her life, so the nannying one had to provide as her editor was endless. She had to be reassured about money all the time; she had to be rescued from rogue agents; she had to be constantly told how good she was; she had to have home help found for her; she had to have typists found for her... Much of what she had to have was provided by a wonderful friend, Sonia Orwell, who gave her luxurious holidays in London every winter – but even then her editor had to go to her hotel every evening to put her to bed, because Jean filling a hot water bottle meant, inevitably, scalded hands. No one planning to be an editor should expect such a situation, but it is not impossible that something similar might happen.
I suppose it is possible that the work helped me to become a writer. I say ‘suppose’ because the idea did not occur to me at the time, but being concerned every day with the making of sentences may well have taught me what I liked and what I didn’t. Although I suspect that reading a lot, and being taught as a child how to parse a sentence played a larger part. (How dreadfully bored I was by grammar lessons, and how grateful I am now for being made to sit through them!)
But I believe what I really gained from being an editor was more important than anything to do with sentence structure. I think it is something simple but important to do with why one writes, expressed in words I often say to myself: ‘I must get it like it really was’. And who said those words – the only words she ever said in my hearing about her art? Jean Rhys.
Diana Athill, OBE is a literary editor and the author of several memoirs, one novel and a collection of short stories. Born in 1917, she was educated at Oxford University and worked throughout the Second World War for the BBC, before helping André Deutsch to establish his publishing company and pursuing a long career as an editor for Deutsch. Diana’s first memoir Stet was published in 2000 (and was recently re-issued) by Granta Books; this was followed by five further volumes of memoir, most recently Alive, Alive Oh!: And Other Things That Matter (Granta 2015). She won the Costa Prize for Biography for her third memoir Somewhere Towards the End (Granta 2008). Her novel, Don’t Look at Me Like That, was published by Chatto & Windus in 1967.
Marina Lewycka describes how she became a comic writer and makes suggestions on looking at life from a comic writer’s point of view. She also offers insights on why the same piece of comic writing can make some people laugh aloud but leave others totally baffled.
When I wrote A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, I certainly did not think I was embarking on a book in the comic genre; my intention was to write something deep and meaningful about the human condition. My two previous unpublished novels had been rather serious and angst-ridden works. I had wanted to write Literature with a capital L, but alas no one, it seemed, wanted to read my efforts. By the time I was in my late fifties I had more or less given up on the possibility of getting published, but some strange compulsion kept me writing, and I found myself chuckling quite a bit as I wrote. Freed from the obligation to write Literature, my style had lightened up, and so had my view of the human condition.
Getting published was a pleasant surprise, but I was a bit bemused to find myself in 2006 winning the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize (the UK’s only literary award for comic fiction; see here). So that’s where I’ve been going wrong, I thought. I must be a comic writer, not a writer of Literature. It was lovely to receive letters from readers who said they had laughed out loud while reading my book. But other readers wrote to me saying they did not know why the book had been described as comic, because they found it profoundly sad. And they had a point. The comic and the tragic are closer than we think. It’s the human condition.
With that prize, the die was cast, and keen to experiment with my new craft, I set about writing another comic novel, Two Caravans. I was even more bemused to find myself being shortlisted for a prize for political writing.
I soon found that when it comes to comic writing, you can’t please everyone. Not long after my third novel We Are All Made of Glue was published, I received a letter from a reader in Australia.
‘Dear Ms Lewycka, I very much enjoy reading your books, but I am shocked that your spelling is so bad. Don’t your publishers employ an editor? In We Are All Made of Glue there were two big spelling mistakes here. Because of this, I do not feel able to recommend your books to my friends.’
Needless to say, I immediately turned to here and read:
‘My mother had always been a great advocate of past-sell-by-date shopping ... She didn’t think much of Listernia and Saminella ...’
The offending words, for my correspondent, were Listernia and Saminella, which were the character’s mangled pronunciation of Listeria and Salmonella. But the reader just didn’t get it. In the novel, the narrator’s mother uses long words she can’t pronounce because she has pretensions to education and culture, and so does my snooty Australian correspondent. How could she be so stupid, I exclaimed under my breath? I wanted to pen a reply pointing out the brilliance of my joke, but alas there was no return address.
That’s one of the dangers with comedy – it doesn’t travel well. This joke had obviously not made it to this reader in Australia, despite the fact that English and Australian are almost the same language.
Comedy also travels badly in time. The scenes in Shakespeare that had the 16th-century groundlings rolling with laughter, mostly leave modern audiences cold. A good director can still get across the meaning, but the essential quality of comedy is lost when you have to explain it. We may just raise a faint smile, as if to say, ‘Oh, I see what you mean.’
And humour even travels badly between generations. The things my parents thought were hilarious seem to me just faintly silly. The jokes that have me and my friends laughing out loud make my daughter and her friends snigger with embarrassment. The things they laugh at, I don’t even understand, because they usually refer to music or films or people that I have no knowledge of.
When Various Pets Alive and Dead was published, the very same jokes which delighted some reviewers made others groan. For every reviewer who admired a burlesque scene, there was one who derided it as slapstick.
English language and culture are rich in humour: irony, satire, farce, wordplay, wit, silliness, absurdity, teasing. It comes in many forms, and the first rule is that there is no rule to judge whether something is intrinsically funny or not; it all rests on the judgement of the individual. What we find funny is essentially subjective. A good rule of thumb is that if you’re chuckling to yourself as you write, the chances are that at least some other people will laugh when they read what you’ve written. But you can be certain that for every person laughing there will be someone else rolling their eyes and tutting.
Getting the most from rules
Comedy depends on recognition that certain rules commonly accepted by a social group are being broken. Its audience knows those rules, and the humour draws a warm circle of shared understanding around the insiders, ‘people like us who ‘get’ the joke, and excludes those who are baffled by it. What and who we laugh at defines us’ just as surely as the clothes we wear or the music we listen to or the books on our shelves.
Language is of course a set of rules, and breaking the rules of language is a rich source of humour. But you have to know the accepted expression to be amused by the mistakes people make. My books, like my life, are peopled by characters of many nationalities. When I was as a child, I learnt ‘correct’ English at school, while my home was always full of people who got along perfectly well with their own version of it. Later, a spell as a teacher of English to speakers of other languages left me with a lifelong fascination with the way that foreign people talk.
There are as many varieties of ‘bad English’ as there are languages, and the mistakes a non-native speaker makes often mirror the grammar of their own language. A Slavic native speaker leaves out definite and indefinite articles, whereas a German inserts them even where they don’t belong in English, for example in front of abstract nouns. Speakers of Arabic often don’t distinguish between ‘p’ and ‘b’. People who speak gendered languages tend to ascribe gender to everything. When I gave Dog a voice in Two Caravans, I had to create a new language for him. I studied dogs and I talked to their owners. I learnt that their sense of smell is predominant. They keep tracking and back-tracking over the same ground, in a purposeful, not a random way. But they have no nose at all for punctuation. Even bad English must have its own internal logic. That poses a particular challenge for translators.
In Ukraine my humorous descriptions of Ukrainians have caused controversy because soon after the book was first published it was translated into Russian, not into Ukrainian, and the Russian translators translated all the ‘bad English’ as Ukrainian. Nor were my Ukrainian characters popular, for despite the great tradition of Ukrainian humour, including Gogol and Bulgakov, modern Ukrainians have only recently achieved independent nationhood, and they want to be taken seriously on the world stage.
Comic writers inevitably offend somebody; it’s a risk you have to take, and most writers set their own limits. Just because you can upset someone doesn’t mean you have to go out of your way to do so. I draw the line at humour that targets the vulnerable and weak, or diminishes someone’s self-esteem. But I prefer humour that also expresses affection, and, like teasing, can offer us the gift of self-knowledge. We can transcend our foibles when we learn to laugh at them. This is one thing I particularly admire and love about the English sense of humour; the English do make fun of others, but they are supremely good at laughing at themselves.
Thinking about writing comedy
Although there is no formula to writing comedy, there has been an enormous amount of academic theory on the subject. From Aristotle through to Lacan and Umberto Eco, thinkers have provided many fascinating insights, but believe me, it’s not a bundle of laughs. Umberto Eco is among the most accessible, as witty and stylish in his academic writing as he is in fiction. However, the more one tries to analyse or explain comedy, the more elusive it becomes. In fact when a joke or a comic scene has to be explained, it loses its power to make us laugh. Comedy has to grab you by surprise. It’s one of those quirks of the human condition, like the fact that you can’t tickle yourself.
If you want to write comedy, the most useful approach is probably to expose yourself to the comic side of life:
• Cultivate eccentric friends and relatives – seek them out, observe their ways, treat them nicely, and let them inhabit your books.
• Be curious – some might say nosy. Ask the slightly impertinent question, peep through the open door, read over the passenger’s shoulder, listen in on the hushed conversation. Comedy is often found hidden away among secrets.
• Break rules – talk to strangers, shamelessly explore your host’s house, get into arguments. A comic situation often starts out seeming perfectly normal, then incrementally becomes more and more absurd as boundaries are transgressed.
• Keep a notebook – however memorable a joke or an anecdote seems at the time, you will not be able to recall it in an hour’s time.
• When things are getting hectic, imagine pushing them one stage further. Ask yourself – what if .?
• Or you can short-cut all these by immersing yourself in the zany world of wonderful comic writers, from Chaucer to Dickens to P.G. Wodehouse to Howard Jacobson. It’s hard to imagine a more enjoyable ‘homework’.
Comedy, like all drama, originates from a combination of people and circumstances. The same sorts of people often seem to find themselves drawn to tragic or comic situations. You probably have plenty among your acquaintances, and whether their story is comic or tragic depends on how it ends. I am particularly fond of:
• People in the grip of an obsession, like Mrs Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.
• People who take themselves too seriously, like Adrian Mole or the characters created by Ricky Gervais.
• People who are perpetual victims or losers, like Eeyore.
• People who live in a world of their own imagining like Don Quixote.
• People driven beyond the bounds of reasonable behaviour by an overriding need or desire, like Valentina in A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian.
Now try placing one of these types of characters in a volatile situation, where some social norms are in danger of being transgressed. May be they misunderstand who someone is, or what someone has said, or they have misread the situation. Maybe there are too many people, or a dangerous combination of people together at the same time. Maybe money, honour or love are at stake. You can be sure that something will go terribly wrong. But instead of crying, we will laugh. It’s the human condition.
Marina Lewycka was born in a refugee camp in Germany in 1946 and moved to England with her family when she was about a year old. She has been writing for most of her life, and in 2005 published A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian which has sold more than a million copies in the UK alone. This was followed by Two Caravans (2007), We Are All Made of Glue (2009), Various Pets Alive and Dead (2012) and The Lubetkin Legacy (2016) – all published by Penguin.
Turning to crime: writing thrillers
Crime writer Kimberley Chambers describes how her life took a new direction when she began writing, and recalls the help and advice that have brought her success. She provides her own top tips for other aspiring authors.
I grew up in Dagenham and left school at 16, with hardly any qualifications. I then spent years working on East End markets such as Roman Road, Petticoat Lane and Whitechapel. When the markets took a turn for the worse, I began DJ-ing and then, in my thirties, I took up minicab driving.
At the age of 38, I was wondering what to do next. I hadn’t written anything since school, but always thought that one day I’d have a crack at writing a book. That was the start of my career. Before I started writing my first book, Billie Jo (Preface 2008), I made a list of all the main characters. I recall slightly struggling with the first three chapters, but I stuck with it and, from chapter four onwards, it started to get easier. By chapter seven I was flying, and was positive that I’d found my vocation in life.
Because I was still minicabbing, it took me a whole year to write that first book. My friend Pat, who had a bookstall on Romford market at the time, told me about the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook. I wasn’t particularly great at technical stuff – I’m still not – and if it hadn’t been for Pat’s advice I wouldn’t have had a clue about getting an agent or getting published. She ordered me a copy and I remember reading through it from cover to cover. For someone uneducated like myself, I found it was written in a way that I could understand. I took all the advice on board, including the need to create a strong covering letter and to polish up the first few chapters; they, as the Yearbook explains, could be the only chance you have to catch someone’s interest.
The day after I sent those chapters off to about 25 agents, an agent rang me up asking to see the rest. Another four agents contacted me the following week. I went to meet a few of them and ended up choosing Tim Bates (then of Pollinger Limited, now at PFD), who is still my agent to this day. And, since then, it really has been a rollercoaster of a journey for both of us.
I recall the initial wait was horrid – waiting to find out if I’d got that first book deal. Every day seemed like a week. I think a few of the publishers were worried because I was so uneducated and because I wrote by hand (which I still do). Penguin Random House had just launched a new imprint called Preface and they decided to take a chance on me. My first book deal was very small but, by the time Billie Jo came out in July 2008, I had finished my second novel, Born Evil (Preface 2009) and already signed another deal, which enabled me to give up the minicabbing for good. Obviously, there’s always a chance, as a new author, that your book will flop or that you won’t be able to get your name out there; but my sales still grew, by word of mouth, and I always believed in myself and that one day I would make it to the top.
My fortunes changed when I moved to HarperCollins. They decided to bring out the third book they published for me in hardback, because they knew I had a loyal following. Payback (HarperCollins 2013) shot straight to Number One on the Sunday Times bestseller list, where it stayed for a couple of weeks. Since that day, I’ve never looked back.
I’m not the biggest planner when it comes to plotting my books. I tend to mostly go with the flow, and let the storyline come to me as I get into the book. For instance, my novel The Feud (Preface 2010) was meant to be a standalone but, when I got five chapters from the end, I decided to change the ending in order to carry on with the story. A similar thing happened with The Trap (Harper 2013). That was also meant to be a standalone, but yet again I loved the characters and thought there was so much more to come from them, so I ended up with five books.
I often get asked by others wanting to write a book how to go about it, and I always tell them to get the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook and go through it with a fine-tooth comb like I did. I also advise them to write to as many agents as possible. As the old saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I sometimes wonder what I would be doing now if I hadn’t been given the advice that I was.
As far as advising others on their writing, I personally find that I bring more colour to a book when I set it in an era that I’m interested in. I much prefer writing stories set in the ’60s, ’70s or ’80s. I love to recreate the music and fashion of those days and the way life was back then. For example, my parents used to have a caravan on King’s Holiday Park in Eastbourne, which back in the day had the biggest nightclub in the Southeast. So I set part of the Butler series at King’s – my main characters bought a bungalow there – and I went back and recreated those days and how I remembered it. The markets usually pop up in my books too. Queenie Butler, one of my characters, loves shopping with her sister Vivvy up the Roman Road. That was recalling the time I worked there myself and it was like a competition between the women back then, about who was the most glamorous on a Saturday afternoon! As I was writing those scenes, it felt like stepping back in time.
I’m not the biggest reader myself but, as a child, I was addicted to Enid Blyton and I remember reading the Famous Five books repeatedly. I didn’t pick up a book again until I went on a girls’ holiday in my late teens. I found a Jackie Collins novel at the airport, and that’s what got me back into reading although, since becoming an author myself, I don’t tend to read a great amount. I still enjoy a good holiday book, but I relax by watching a drama or film on TV. I have no set pattern to the hours I work, but I tend to write more in the evening than earlier in the day. In summer I like to sit at the kitchen table because it looks out onto my garden and it’s quite tranquil; in winter I prefer sitting in the front room opposite the open fire.
My top tips for anybody who aspires to be a published author are:
1. Think about your characters carefully. I tend to visualize what mine would look like, give them strong names that suit them, and focus on their separate personalities.
2. Pick a genre you like to read or a world you are familiar with. I chose the genre I write in as it’s the one I enjoy reading the most. I had led a reasonably colourful life, so choosing to write crime from the other side of the fence, rather than from the usual police perspective, was much easier for me. I don’t like doing hours and hours of research.
3. Think of a strong beginning, middle and ending. This might change as your book develops, as it has in a few of mine, but it’s always best to know in which direction you are heading.
4. Believe in yourself. If you are having a bad day when you are writing, don’t give up. Just take a break, then return to the story with a fresh mind and eye.
5. Try to go down the route of getting properly published before considering self-publishing. To do that, you need an agent. You will find literary agents listed in this Yearbook, along with tips about how to approach them (listings for agents start here). That is exactly how I got published, and I wish all of you doing the same the very best of luck.
Kimberley Chambers worked as a market trader, DJ and minicab driver before becoming a full-time author after the success of her first two books, Billie Jo and Born Evil. The second book in her Butler series, Payback (HarperCollins 2013), was No. 1 in the Sunday Times bestseller list, as were both Tainted Love (Harper Collins 2016) and her most recent book Life of Crime (HarperCollins 2018). Kimberley’s other books include the Mitchell & O’Haras trilogy: The Feud, The Traitor and The Victim. For more information visit http://kimberleychambers.com and follow her on Twitter @kimbochambers or https://www.facebook.com/kimberleychambersofficial.
See also...
• The path to a bestseller, here
Author Claire North considers the nature of ‘speculative fiction’, and the blurry nature of genres more broadly, and provides advice for writers on the boundless world-building possibilities that writers of fantastical fiction can develop to grab a reader’s imagination.
You could spend as much time arguing about what ‘speculative fiction’ is as writing it. Magic realism? Literature with a twist? Science fiction? Hi-tech social commentary? It’s worth asking this question as – although hopefully you are writing out of love for words on the page – your experience of being a published author will vary hugely, depending on where (rather arbitrarily) the world decides your speculative fiction falls.
The question of genre
Revolutions in film, TV and games now mean that science fiction and fantasy have never been more popular and accepted in the mainstream. Yet the world of literary criticism and review frequently still treats genre as if it were less worthy of note than literature, despite its potent selling power. Without making ‘literature’ a term of exclusions (NOT crime, NOT thriller, NOT romance) it can be hard to say what ‘literary’ actually means, and the inclusion of writers such as Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, Kazuo Ishiguro and George Orwell on mainstream shelves only adds to the justified arch of your raised eyebrow.
Partly in response to this, ‘speculative fiction’ has grown in recent years as a term that tweaks the definition of genre into something mainstream – and therefore perhaps more acceptable. Not quite ‘hard’ science fiction or pure fantasy, but laced through with an element of something strange, fantastical or other, it is the land of James Smythe, Nick Harkaway, Naomi Alderman, and – in film/TV terms – of Black Mirror or Stranger Things. Speculative fiction is, in short, an excellent corner to claim for marketing purposes, encompassing the best of so many worlds: if only you can work out what it means.
The simplest truth may be the truth of all genres, namely that the key difference between, say, hard science fiction and speculative fiction is a publisher’s marketing choice. In the case of M.R. Carey’s Girl with all the Gifts (Orbit 2014) this meant removing any reference to ‘zombies’ from both book and blurb, transforming an excellent apocalypse story into something sold as nuanced character-study in a difficult world. Both aspects are of course true – it is both a character study and a straight-up zombie book – but most books are more than one thing, and it could have been positioned a dozen other ways. Genre is an increasingly blurry line – a comforting tool for helping us find books that we love, as well as an imprisoning categorisation used to define what we don’t read as much as what we do. What we read defines us; there is still a social pressure to be seen to read the ‘right’ thing. Men do not read books about shopping with Comic Sans lettering on pink covers; adults do not read Harry Potter unless they have silver embossed jackets – and so on. The world is changing, perhaps, but social pressures remain.
Does genre even matter?
Of course, appreciating the nuances of how genre is positioned in the changing world of bookshop categories and predictive algorithms may not affect what you write. Indeed, I would argue that at the early stages of writing, it shouldn’t. Writing is a business, but it is also a joy, a gift. Forget market positioning, forget reviewer bias; the best book you can possibly write is the one you loved writing the most. And if you have chosen to write speculative fiction – embrace it, enjoy it! In the future you might find yourself making artistic choices based on where a publisher seeks to sell you, but this makes now the moment to choose a path that you’ll always love walking. That said, there are a few things to bear in mind in those earliest stages, that may help you on your quest:
Have confidence
Easier said than done, but this is key, especially in speculative fiction, to bringing a reader into a place where their imagination has never been before. You do not need to explain your choices; you do not need to info-dump your world. If you know every detail of it already, it will manifest in the actions of your text, in the story that you show rather than the information that you tell. In doing so, you have already won half the battle.
‘Show, don’t tell’ is one of the classic rules. It is the art of revealing information through story, rather than through exposition.
-‘The witches are coming!’
-‘No – not the witches of the west!’
-‘Yes, the very ones, who drink the blood of infants!’
-‘Oh my God – and who wear blue robes while chanting to their pagan gods?’
-‘That’s them!’
Nah, mate. Think of the tools you have available to you as a writer to help us live a story – third person, first person, extracted texts, second person, biased narrator, past tense, present tense, future tense, flashback. There is the tool out there that is waiting for you to show us your world, and to transform information into experience. It is the secret of every great medical drama. Very few people know why the CT scan matters or what the spleen does, but we all hear the truth of feeling beneath this language and are caught up by the emotional urgency beneath the technobabble.
Where information must be given, be succinct:
- ‘The western witches in robes of blue, who drank the blood of babies and worshipped their pagan gods, came upon the town as it was sleeping.’
Job done. You have imparted data. Now move on; there’s a story to tell.
2. Use story for world-building
The same ‘show, don’t tell’ applies to speculative fiction world-building. Show us what we need to know. It is the difference between:
- ‘She was one of the sisters, an ancient order of healers, who look after dying men on the battlefield.’
and
- ‘The sister’s robe was still caked in the blood of the men she had tended on the battlefield ...’.
The immediacy of one brings us into the moment; the other is just information. Resist putting every detail of your world on the page; the story must come first, and the world will unfold as it does. A focus on story allows you to start harder, faster, and let the reader invest more in building the world for themselves.
3. Obey your own rules
It is the classic Dr Who/Buffy the Vampire Slayer trope: around 40 minutes into a 45-minute episode (or 250 pages into an average book), when things have got just about as bad as they can possibly get, someone finds a giant button/a mystic spell that fixes everything. In crime, this is the unexpected witness who busts the case wide open; thrillers have the dramatic helicopter rescue. But in speculative fiction, if you try to write yourself out of that plot-hole with an unexpected deus ex machina, there is a danger that you will undermine a reader’s immersion in what that world is. Don’t be afraid of deleting your way to freedom and take time to structure your story. Especially in speculative fiction, death need not be the thing that matters. In thrillers in the Chris Ryan vein, soldiers live and soldiers die, but betrayal hurts more than actual bullets. Gout doesn’t kill Falstaff; the betrayal of Prince Hal does. What matters to the story is not life or death, but what these things mean to our characters. Mount Doom erupting in Middle-Earth has nothing on Frodo succumbing to the dark side. Find what matters to your world and characters; obey your own rules.
4. Humanity is your gift
Speculative fiction is a genre that offers you so many possibilities, from the pure joy of space cowboy adventure through to tales of horror and deceit. But, more than anything, it lets you ask what humanity is. What is it to be human, in a world where apps and algorithms run our lives? Are we still ourselves with 30% of our brain grown from something else? 40%? 50%? Are we still ourselves, unique and true, when our clone sits opposite us? Is it human nature to build or to destroy? If we know the thoughts of others, does that elevate us or destroy the very essence of humanity? Is Kafka’s twisted human cockroach still a man? Does humankind need gender? Can humans be grown in a lab?
We ask these questions, and in doing so we can tear down the barriers that are used to stratify humanity into exclusionary ideas of ‘not I’, such as class, race, ethnicity and sex. Fiction tells stories that catch the heart and then bring the head along after. We can do all of this, and we can have fun doing it, poking at the world while having badass, awesome adventures.
This being so, embrace the scope of humanity that is offered to you. Forget normative, oppressive ideas of women, men or culture. Speculative fiction opens up realms of boundless imagination to you; be awesome, and imagine humanity – lots and lots of it.
Claire North is the pen name of Catherine Webb, who also writes under the name Kate Griffin. Her novel, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August (Orbit 2014) was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award and was selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club, the Waterstones Book Club and the Radio 2 Book Club. Also published by Orbit, her novel The Sudden Appearance of Hope (2017) won the 2017 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel and The End of the Day (2017) was shortlisted for the 2017 Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award. In May 2018 Catherine published her fifth book under the Claire North pseudonym, 84K. For more information see www.kategriffin.net and follow her on Twitter @ClaireNorth42.
Mick Herron describes the appeal, range and addictive nature of writing spy novels, and offers his thoughts and advice on developing plot, character, and a rewarding work ethic.
I can’t remember when I first realised I was a novelist, but now that the condition has firmly established itself – and seems likely to be terminal – I keep noting new symptoms. Like the habit I’ve developed of pausing a DVD when a bookshelf hoves into view, to read the titles. Often, set designers remove the dust jackets from novels, to make their spines seem more business-like, which means you can occasionally make out, say, a Jilly Cooper in a Home Secretary’s study. And I once spotted a bound set of law reports in the background of a vet’s surgery. TV props people buy books by the yard.
Nor am I sure when I became a spy novelist, but it felt like a natural progression. Novelists are spies of a kind, after all; observing the people around them, inventing cover stories for strangers. So it’s an attractive genre for the budding writer, offering the opportunity to rely on skills honed by years of nosiness. Which isn’t to say that – for me, anyway – it was simply a matter of picking up a pen and wading right in. Starting was difficult. Which is as it ought to be. If you love books, the prospect of adding to their number is an intimidating one, and nobody is going to give you permission to do so; you have to grant this yourself, or find it in the pages of authors you love. For me, that’s a long list, but it was the late Reginald Hill whose work provided the necessary encouragement. I’m still not quite sure why this was. There was nothing in his style or plotting to suggest that I, or anyone else, could write anything like as well as he did; but the generosity of his spirit, as exemplified by the humanity of his characters, allowed me to believe there could be no harm in trying.
Assuming, then, that you’ve already reached that stage, the things you’ll need for the road ahead include plot, character, style, a writing routine and some rules. Good luck with all of that. Here’s a few loose thoughts to start you off.
Staying off the grid
A good spy novel depends on a tight plot. The classics of the genre dazzle because of the way they deceive – think of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold: that moment when the plot cracks like a whip, and the ground shifts beneath the reader. Not all books work like that; still, you need more than the simple desire to produce a novel before embarking on the writing.
But that’s not to say you need everything worked out in advance. Beginning a novel is daunting – like setting out on a round-the-world trek – and it’s comforting to have an itinerary but, at the same time, it’s possible to over-plan and leave no time for the spontaneous experience. If your plot has been designed to the tiniest detail, its every movement choreographed in advance, then writing it becomes less like creating fiction and more like filling in a spreadsheet (symbolic moment: check; character insight: check; action sequence: check). It’s a tempting method, largely because it allows you to feel you can sneak up on your book: make your notes, draw up your blueprint, flesh out your jottings, and lo – there’s your novel. But the likelihood is that the result will be as lifeless as the process which produced it. A novel needs room to breathe; don’t starve it of oxygen. Allow for organic growth. If your plot goes chasing down rabbit-holes, you can always call it to heel on your rewrite. Let yourself enjoy the ride, and this will communicate itself to the reader.
Choose your weapons
As with so many other things, of course, if you’re to enjoy the ride, you’ve got to be in the right vehicle. One you’re comfortable with. My editor once had to point out to me, very gently, that car windows don’t have handles any more: you open them by pressing a button, which, moreover, won’t work when the engine’s not on. It’s not that I’m a Luddite, or even especially stupid, it’s just that the technical stuff – forensic detail – doesn’t excite my imagination and I tend not to pay attention to it. Which could be seen as a disadvantage in the world of the spy thriller. After all, any expert in security will tell you that cyber-terrorism is the next big threat. Bullets kill targets, bombs kill crowds, but cyber-villains can knock out infrastructures. So if, like me, you have only the sketchiest notion of how a kettle works, you might feel that the genre isn’t for you. How can you write about espionage without being up on the tools of its trade: the latest surveillance techniques, the state-of-the-art weaponry that will have moved one generation forwards before you’re halfway through your first draft? How can this be the right car for you?
But just because technology moves like a cheetah doesn’t mean the game has changed beyond recognition. As novelist Adam Brookes has pointed out, you can have all the gizmos in the world at your disposal, but sooner or later you’re going to need the Sneaker Guy. He’s the one who tiptoes across the room in his sneakers, slips a flash-drive into an air-gapped computer, and steals its supposedly secure data. He might be your hero, might be your villain, but the point is: he’s a human being. Drones patrol the skies, and malware creeps across the Net, but somewhere down the line, there’s a man with a joystick or a woman writing code. And men and women are the novelist’s bread and butter.
So if you want a Bond-type scenario, with an evil genius in a volcano-base plotting to conquer the world, go for it. On the other hand, there’ll always be overworked civil servants in shabby raincoats, trading classified information at bus stops or on allotments. The spy genre covers both. Which you prefer is a matter of taste.
Start on the inside
And whichever scenario you opt for – whether they’re licensed-to-kill Actionwomen or shabby Everymen – your characters should start on the inside. True, there’s a readership agog to hear what your character drives, where she shops, what she wears, etc, and you’re free to indulge this. The spy genre, after all, has form here; Ian Fleming was among the first to pepper his texts with references to designer names. But this will only take you so far, because readers are only interested in these things for so long. If they don’t come to care for your character (note: this is not the same as liking her), they’ll pretty soon tire of the cool stuff she has.
How much you reveal of what your characters think and feel – how deeply you delve into the rag-and-bone shops of their hearts – is up to you. You might want them to retain an air of mystery, and not let the reader see too much. That’s fine. But regardless of what you put on show, you, the author, have to know what’s going on inside them. Without that, you’re just pulling strings and watching puppets dance. And the dance will be jerky and uncoordinated, because neither you nor the puppets can hear music.
Nurture your addiction
Of course, having a plot, having characters, choosing your approach: these are all essential, but the tricky part is doing the actual writing. So before you start, remember this: writers are artists, and need creative freedom; they should follow their muse wherever it takes them, and not feel bound by the clock or the petty rules of civilised society. And they should write only when possessed by the urgent need to create, or what they produce will not be authentic.
And now forget all that, because it’s nonsense.
The idea that being a writer means only working when you feel like it has a certain attraction, true. Unfortunately, it’s one that quickly morphs into not being a writer, in which you can still indulge all the above self-adoring twaddle but without the dreary necessity of squeezing words onto paper. Because, whether you’re doing it full time, on your commute, in the half-hour before breakfast or in moments stolen from family life, writing is a job. One you’ve chosen because you love it, and one you may never be paid for, but still a job, and like any job, if it’s to be done effectively you need a routine to follow. You don’t need a garret and an absinthe habit; you need a work ethic. And nobody else is going to create one for you.
The handy thing here is, writing fiction can be addictive. It has to be, if you’re to accumulate 90,000 words or more, over and again. So feed that feeling. Many habits we try to wean ourselves off, because they’re bad for us – drinking, smoking, overeating – or because we’re worried we indulge them too much: watching TV, buying shoes, tweeting. With writing, though, you’ve got to nurture your addiction. Set yourself targets. Reward yourself when you meet them. Feel good about hitting that daily word count, and let it niggle at you when you don’t. Before long, it’ll become second nature.
Addiction doesn’t betoken enjoyment, of course. There are times, many of them, when writing will feel like a chore, but you have to do it anyway. So bear in mind that if it weren’t for doing it anyway, most novels wouldn’t get written. And that’s as true for those gazing down from the top of the bestseller lists as it is for the rest of us.
The Golden Rule
All writers have rules, and I’m no exception. But I’m not about to reveal what they are. In cold stark print they’d look forlorn, like a list of resolutions from New Years gone by; indications of an ambition to do better, not necessarily reflected in subsequent performance. It would just embarrass all of us.
Instead, I’ll offer one Golden Rule – not my own; a very familiar commandment, and it’s this: Never use adverbs. This is a great rule, for at least three reasons. First, it’s short; easy to remember. Secondly: it’s good. Adverbs weaken sentences; they qualify, they dilute. Is that what you want to do to your prose? And thirdly – and this is the best bit – the word ‘never’ is an adverb. In other words, what this rule really means is: When you need to, break the rules. This will happen, a lot.
Two approaches
There are already a huge number of novelists in the world, but there are a far greater number of people who simply wish they were – a recent survey revealed that 60% of people polled wished they could earn a living by writing. Who’d be left to buy books if they did is a whole other question, but still – if it’s that common an ambition, what are the odds on you succeeding? That’s the kind of thought that can deter you from ever booting up your laptop.
But ultimately, if you want to write a novel, the best approach to doing so is to write one. You’ll encounter problems, but they will mostly be the kind that can be solved by craft and, since craft comes with practice, the more you write, the more able you’ll be to deal with them. And after a year or so, you’ll have a pile of typescript.
The alternative approach is to not write it, but to angst about it instead. This creates problems too, but of a more existential nature (‘Why can’t I write? Will I ever achieve my ambition? What am I doing with my life?’) that are best addressed through the bottom of a glass. And after a year or so, you’ll have a pile of empty bottles.
The choice is yours.
And one last tip ...
Few things are reliable in a novelist’s life, but this is: if you publish spy fiction, strangers will ask you, ‘Do you write from experience?’. When this happens, lie.
Mick Herron is a novelist and short story writer whose books include the Sarah Tucker/Zoë Boehm series, the standalone novels Reconstruction (Soho Crime 2008) and Nobody Walks (Soho Crime 2015), and the award-winning Slough House series. Dead Lions (Soho Crime 2013), his second Slough House novel, won the 2013 CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger; the fourth, Spook Street (John Murray 2017) won the 2017 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. His latest books are London Rules and This Is What Happened (2018), both published by John Murray. See more at www.mickherron.com.
Then and now: becoming a science fiction and fantasy writer
Aliette de Bodard offers her experience in the special art of science fiction and fantasy writing and the skill of ‘world-building’. She provides tips on tools and resources, and stresses the benefits of attending workshops and conventions.
In the beginning: writing books
I was a reader before I became a writer. When I was a child, my parents encouraged me by buying all the books I wanted. I soon became an expert at filing books in double and triple rows on narrow bookshelves. I read a lot, haphazardly – series out of order, children’s books, grown-up books, mysteries, science fiction.
I fell into writing much like I fell into reading: at one point, browsing through the library, I found a How to Write book, and realised that there was a method to it. There are many such books available. Many apply broadly, the basic building blocks of a story being the same, regardless of genre. But the ones I find myself coming back to are the ones with some sensitivity to writing science fiction and fantasy; some tips and tricks are specific.
Recommended writing books and resources
• Beginnings, Middle and Ends, Nancy Kress (F+W Media 1993)
• Steering the Craft, Ursula K Le Guin (Eighth Mountain Press 1998; rev. edn Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2015)
• Storyteller, Kate Wilhelm (Small Beer Press 2005)
• Wonderbook: the Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction, Jeff VanderMeer, Jeremy Zerfoss et al. (Abrams Image 2013)
• Worldbuilding Wednesdays, Kate Elliott et al. (www.imakeupworlds.com/index.php/category/worldbuilding-wednesday)
The one important thing I learnt from those books is how to manage exposition, which is a problem specific to science fiction and fantasy; when the setting differs a lot from today’s world, there is a lot of extra information to get across. The trick, I found, is to remember that the reader only has a few spaces in their mind at a given time for those differences; you don’t want to launch into a big, paragraph-long lecture, especially near the beginning, or you will lose them. Rather, you have to do this slowly and in steady trickles. You must build your world gradually, in small touches.
The other thing I learnt is how to do world-building. World-building is the basis of science fiction and fantasy: it’s the differences between the real world and your imagined ones, and the impact they have on characters, their lives, the plot ... Inspirations for this are numerous; I use history and mythology a lot, because there is so much to be mined there. My novel The House of Shattered Wings (Gollancz 2015) had fallen angels in a post-apocalyptic belle epoqué Paris. Joan D. Vinge’s The Snow Queen (Doubleday 1980), set in a future of planetary colonisation, draws its inspiration for plot and world from the titular fairy tale.
But you can also change the environment or human condition to arrive at your imagined world. Ken McLeod’s Intrusion (Orbit 2012) features a benevolent UK dictatorship pushing pregnant women to take a pill that fixes their offsprings’ ‘anomalies’. Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice (Orbit 2013) features consciousnesses spread over multiple, and sometimes very numerous, host bodies.
One thing I’ve found that helps is that having only one modification (or ‘big idea’) will often result in a setting that rings hollow. I’ve had good results by throwing together two or more totally unrelated ideas and finding with ways to make them mesh.
Recommended software
Honing your craft: software for writing
My first attempt at a novel was swiftly lost when we moved and the computer it was stored on wouldn’t start up again ... My second attempt was a 200,000-word fantasy novel that became corrupted when it turned out Word 2000 wouldn’t handle large files properly.
Nowadays, of course, there is software for writing and backing up. Dropbox backs up online, and also allows the writer access to a writing folder from different locations like a laptop or a tablet. Microsoft Word has patched up its issues with large files, and is the de facto standard of the science fiction publishing industry: at some point, writers will be handling revisions made with Word’s Track Changes (Pages is Apple’s slightly cheaper alternative, mostly but not always compatible).
I write my first drafts in Word because I find it simpler, and because I often write on the move in public transport. I use an Alphasmart Neo, a keyboard with a small screen and instant on/off that’s, alas, no longer manufactured. I’ve also had good results with a tablet plus Bluetooth keyboard (iPad plus Apple keyboard, in this case). I’ve found that I need to block out large chunks of time for first drafts; I can do revisions piecemeal, but first drafts require my undiluted attention. My one-hour commute is great for this. You can also try blocking a pre-determined writing time that you spend writing (no internet and no social media). Software like Freedom cuts off your internet connection for a set time-period. For revisions, especially for multiple plot lines and characters, Scrivener, which has been conceived with writers in mind, makes it much easier to change, move and delete scenes, as well as find particular occurrences of sentences or characters, so that’s where I do most of my post-first-draft work.
From afar: writing workshops
When I started writing, the internet was just taking off, which was in many ways a godsend. I live in France, which isn’t that far from the UK, but might as well be on another planet insofar as writing groups and writing workshops are concerned.
Science fiction and fantasy has a strong culture of peer workshopping: having other people read your manuscript and offer you reader feedback, in exchange for your reader feedback on their manuscript. Even back in 2006, a lot of this community were already online, which enabled me to join them.
You cannot write by committee; there is no pleasing everyone in every detail in a workshop. Equally, you do need to take critiques into account, as it’s unlikely your piece will work perfectly as a draft. A good tip is this: if only one person mentions a problem, then you can wonder how important fixing it is to you, and subsequently do the fix or not, as you wish. But if two or more people mention the same issue, then you have to fix it.
The fix, though, might be quite different from what the critiquers are suggesting. Someone
once wanted me to remove an entire section because it served no purpose. Instead, I rewrote
it so that it was far more relevant to the overall plot. The other thing about critiques is that
Recommended workshops
Clarion
Clarion West www.clarionwest.org
Critters
Milford
Odyssey
Online Writing Workshop
http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com
Orbit groups, BSFA
Viable Paradise
you can judge how closely a critiquer’s tastes mesh with yours by checking what they’re saying about other people’s stories, and whether you agree with it, because it’s easier to judge on things that aren’t your own writing. Someone whose critiques on other stories you appreciate should be given more weight.
When it comes to workshops, there are two approaches: a large sample pool of readers (such as Critters), or a smaller pool of people (such as Online Writing Workshop). The large sample is useful because of size and variety of reactions. I know it works great for some people: I’ve always found the smaller ones more useful because, as a writer, I find it hard to ignore the desire to please everyone, and this can be a disaster when trying to please 40+ people!
There are also in-person intensive workshops, whether in the UK or US. Many of these are application-based and can be quite competitive. They can be helpful for developing a writer’s craft and for connections; being isolated with other like-minded souls for anything from a week to six weeks can be a great boost. It can also be too much, so you should have a good idea of how much intensity you can bear (and such workshops can be expensive and time-consuming, which is the main reason I never went!).
Fantasy and science fiction conventions
RECOMMENDED CONVENTIONS AND EVENTS
BSFA monthly meetings
Eastercon
Held over the Easter weekend, various locations depending on the year
Nine Worlds
Super Relaxed Fantasy Book Club
www.hodderscape.co.uk/introducing-the-super-relaxed-fantasy-club
Worldcon and World Fantasy Con
http://worldcon.org.www.worldfantasy.org
RECOMMENDED READING
•Conventions and writing, or Schmoozing 101, Mary Robinette Kowal
http://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/conventions-and-writing-or-schmoozing-101
•Thoughts on Conventions, Zen Cho
Networking: conventions
I fell into conventions almost by accident. The 2008 Eastercon, one of the UK’s big Science Fiction and Fantasy conventions, was taking place in London, and I thought it would be fun to attend. At the time I only had a handful of publishing credits, notably a story in Interzone. Fortunately for me, Jetse de Vries, Interzone’s assistant editor, introduced me to everyone he knew, which made the whole prospect slightly less intimidating.
In the years since, there have been quite a few new conventions and events set up. They’re great fun and also quite useful venues for networking. For all the importance of online social media, nothing quite matches meeting people in the flesh. They’re not for everyone; I know writers who do quite well at their careers without ever having set foot at a convention.
The UK has a lot of science fiction and fantasy events and conventions, and there are also a few big ones in the US that are useful. Every convention has a slightly different character, which means you can try a few and see which one suits you best. They can range from huge (thousands of attendees) to quite small (200-300 people), and can be literature or media or gaming focused. My personal comfort level is around 1000 people: large enough to justify a trip, but small enough that I can run into people by accident (as opposed to remembering everyone’s email/phones). Events are usually a bit different: they’re more circumscribed in time (Super Relaxed Fantasy Club is just one evening; a convention runs continuously over several days).
Conventions are generally very friendly to newcomers, but it’s best if you come into them knowing some people already. I was in the position of having published something which made me visible, but if you’re not, there are some strong opportunities today to ‘e-meet’ people before you attend a con. Following people on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Writers’ Forum) is a good way to start your network and have people at conventions you already know who can, in turn, introduce you to others.
Only do what you’re comfortable with. I’m an introvert (like a lot of writers), and I know I need to recharge my batteries with some quiet time every once in a while, lest I crash. I’ve found it helpful to have a room in the main convention hotel, or not too far from it. Don’t hesitate to hang out in the bar; panels are useful, but a lot of networking happens outside of the official programming. I actually met my agent in a bar at the World Fantasy Convention!
It’s been a while since I started writing fantasy and science fiction. Some things have changed, some things haven’t. At heart, it’s still about time and dedication spent developing and maintaining craft and connections – and sheer bloody perseverance, which always comes in handy!
Aliette de Bodard is a multi-award-winning writer of fantasy and science fiction. In 2016 she became the first writer to win two BSFA awards in the same year for Best Novel and Best Short Fiction. Her novel, The House of Shattered Wings (Gollancz 2015), won the BSFA Award for Best Novel. Her Aztec mystery-fantasies, Servant of the Underworld, Harbinger of the Storm, and Master of the House of Darts (Angry Robot) have been reissued by JABberwocky, and her ongoing Xuya universe series includes the short novels The Tea Master and the Detective (Subterranean Press 2018) and The Citadel of Weeping Pearls (JABberwocky Books 2017). Her latest novel is The House of Binding Thorns (Ace/Gollancz 2017). For more information see http://aliettedebodard.com. Follow her on Twitter @aliettedb.
Writing bestselling women’s fiction
Penny Vincenzi offers some insight on how she writes her bestselling novels. She highlights the value of writers really knowing the characters they create.
Well, that’s a tough one! How to write bestselling women’s fiction ... Writing: yes, I can tell you about that. Writing women’s fiction: yes, I can do that too. But bestselling women’s fiction – that’s a tough one. You need a bit of magic, a lot of luck, and an ability to believe in yourself – and a refusal to give up. I’ll do my best to tell you what I know. Let’s start with the writing.
First of all, you know if you’re a writer because you’ll be doing it already. I believe writers are born not made. You won’t suddenly think, ‘I don’t like nursing, I wonder if I might be a writer instead.’ (Although you can certainly do both, and lots of very successful writers have started out as nurses, doctors or vets; the medical profession is rich in plots ...) You don’t have to think about whether you want to write; you just know.
I started writing stories when I was eight, in the form of fake Enid Blytons, usually about a page long. My stories were hardly works of literature, but they were what I did when other children were sticking stamps in albums or building Meccano models, or playing with dolls. And I really couldn’t stop: I was enthralled, happy, utterly satisfied. Two years later I typed my stories on my mother’s typewriter with lots of carbon copies, stapled them into a magazine called Stories and handed them out in the school playground. (There were few takers.)
Later on, I wrote for the parish magazine and the school magazine (I was the editor), and then moved on to getting paid for writing captions to photographs in Tatler magazine where I worked as secretary to the editor. It was humble stuff: ‘Lord and Lady Smith enjoying a joke on the stairs’ sort of thing. But I knew that when I was writing, I was happy; I felt I was in the right place at the right time. Look out for that feeling; it’s all-important.
Writing and inspiration
The next thing you should know is that writing is hard work. A lot of it is sheer hard grind. There is a tendency to romanticise it, but it is not romantic at all. I don’t believe in inspiration – unless inspiration is what you call one of those bolt from the blue ideas that gets your spine tingling as it hits you and you recognise it as something that could form a rattling good plot, or really great chapter, or even one wonderful scene. But you are just as likely to get one of those ideas when you’re stuck in a traffic jam or leafing through a magazine at the dentist’s, or listening to someone chatting on the number 22 bus, as when (as many people seem assume) gazing misty eyed at some beautiful scenery or listening to a glorious piece of music (although don’t knock it if it does come then).
You should write because you want to, and more than that even, because you have to. Having got the idea, you then have to start working on it; your book won’t get written without you; the words won’t drift into your head, page after wonderful page, without effort.
But I’m running away with myself; and also making out writing to be rather joyless when actually it’s one of the most joyful, rewarding, exciting things you can possibly do.
When I’ve had a good day at the plot-face, as I call it, I could fly; I feel literally and perfectly happy.
You need to practise writing; it’s a bit like playing the piano, and writing a little every day is better than producing a chunk once a month. Reading is essential too; the more you read, carefully and attentively, paying proper attention to how the author tells the story, weaves the plot, creates the characters, the more you will learn. Read as much and as widely as you can – biographies, thrillers, memoirs and classics, as well as modern fiction.
Squeeze out the time somehow so you can write, however busy you are; getting up an hour earlier never hurt anyone. And don’t think you need to have some complex program for your computer – or indeed a computer at all, although it helps. An exercise book and a ballpoint pen will suffice. ‘Just do it...’ as the song says.
Writing women’s fiction
Because I write women’s fiction, I feel qualified to tell you about it. I could never write a detective story because I’d be rubbish at the plotting side of it, or a learned literary work because I’m neither learned nor literary; and I couldn’t write a self-help book because that sort of thing just doesn’t interest me (although I do know they have huge value).
My fiction career began because I wanted to tell stories and I had a cracking idea. I suddenly felt there might be more to life than writing articles about beauty, or even doing interviews with celebrities and then writing about them, which at the time I loved. That writing experience taught me a lot about things like construction and creating a mood and a sense of place, all vital ingredients to successful fiction writing.
So, having cracking ideas is essential. All my books are what one of my editors called ‘what-ifs’ – each has a strong idea that grabs the reader when she first picks up the book and makes her want to explore it. For instance, a book about a village and the people who live in it sounds charming. But if the village in that book was threatened by a developer moving in and potentially wrecking its most precious beauty spot, describing who opposes him and how, and the relationships formed and/or threatened by him, plus the secrets that get unearthed in the process of the opposition – then you have a plot.
Thus, in Dilemma the ‘what-if’ is: ‘What if your husband asked you to perjure yourself to keep him out of jail?’, and in Windfall, ‘What if you inherited an enormous sum of money, how would it affect you, your marriage and your relationships?’, and in The Decision, ‘What if you and your husband were battling over custody of your only child?’ People can put themselves into these situations, and wonder: what would I do, how would I behave? And so on.
The greatest and most important rule about writing is an old one: write what you know. If you don’t know about something – say, banking or the art world – but feel the subject suits your story, do a lot of research on it. Ignorance of a subject shows horribly in half a page. On the other hand, just because you’ve done the research it doesn’t mean you have to use every syllable of it – that would be boring. Readers get very involved in the world you create; they like to find themselves in a new place – whether it’s the world of modelling, law or journalism, they like to be told about something new. A sense of place is important too, from windswept beaches to plush restaurants and from Paris to Peru. If you bring those places alive, your readers will follow you to and through them. It all helps to bring everything in the book to life.
The most important thing about writing fiction for women is the characters you create. They need to leap off the page. For male fiction, in my view, it’s less vital as the plot will do a lot more. I think that women need to bond, to become totally involved with their heroines, and to feel she is, for the duration of the book, part of their own lives. Again and again, when I give talks about writing, that’s what people say: ‘I loved Lady Celia’ (in the Lytton trilogy), ‘I can’t get over what happened to Barty’ (also in the Lytton trilogy and a great favourite of readers), and ‘I got so worried about Jocasta [in Sheer Abandon] I couldn’t sleep’.
And indeed if you start discussing women’s favourite fiction, it’s the characters people talk about – Jane (in Jane Eyre), Cathy (in Wuthering Heights), Scarlett (in Gone with the Wind) and Lizzie (in Pride and Prejudice) as much, if not more, than the book as a whole. A great heroine will, as you write, take over the book and the plot.
I never know what is going to happen in my books. Many writers work in this way, being taken by surprise at what their characters do and actually refusing to do what the writer tells them. The only book I ever planned carefully was my first, Old Sins, where I had wanted my heroine to marry her stepson. It was a nice neat plot: her first husband, who was about 25 years older than she was, had died, and I thought and indeed wrote in the synopsis that she would fall in love with his son. But she didn’t and moreover, as I continued writing she just wouldn’t. Every time I wrote the scene that brings them together, it was awkward and embarrassing. I panicked; what was I going to do with her? Why wasn’t my neat plot working out? And then it hit me: she liked older men; of course she did, there was no way she would fall in love with a beautiful boy. So I listened to her for a bit and then abandoned the enforced marriage and allowed to her to choose someone else much more suitable.
It was a huge and truly valuable lesson. I’ve followed and listened to my characters ever since and I’d advise you to do the same. You need to know them really well – not just what they look like, but their likes and dislikes, what they are afraid of, what makes them happy, what makes them miserable, what they’re afraid of. It doesn’t all need to be spelt out though. Knowing your characters well makes them leap off the page, and makes your fiction sing and speak to people. It’s a wonderful feeling when you create interesting, strong characters and just let them go and you follow them.
Becoming a bestseller
I was lucky; my first book was indeed successful. And I know I had a lot of luck to make it so. I also had some hard-headed practical advice given to me. I knew I needed to have an agent – don’t even think about trying to sell your book to a publisher direct. It’s difficult to find a good agent who is willing take you on. Agents won’t take on an author unless they think they can sell their work. They know all the editors, and which of them will suit your work. Look in this Yearbook to find out which agents specialise in what areas. If you’re lucky enough to find an agent, listen very attentively to what he or she advises. If they say your typescript is too long, or the language is too flowery, or your grammar isn’t too great, or the plot is too convoluted, do what you’re told and remember that you’re lucky to have an expert working on your book with you.
I was truly lucky to have had a wonderful agent and an amazing editor first off and I never cease to be thankful for both of them. My story would have been very different, and less happy without them.
A good, memorable title is crucial, as is a striking cover. Publishers know a great deal about both and how to make a book stand out from the enormous number of books published every year. So if – and that’s a big ‘if’ – your book is sold to a publisher, you still need a lot of what I call magic.
You need an idea that will catch people’s fancy and ensnare their imaginations, a cover that catches the eye on the bookstalls, and a title that promises a heady dash of intrigue in the relationships you’ve created. It’s almost impossible to define but if you can also deliver a considerable element of charm in your characters, that will make people talk about them. If your book provides a positive experience, your readers will want more of it and will also enjoy your other books.
I hope you enjoy your writing and I wish you good luck with it. I think writing is the best fun and if you can promise people fun too, then you could, very possibly, hit the jackpot. Be brave and go for it: believe in yourself and don’t be talked out of writing the book you want to write!
Penny Vincenzi was one of Britain’s best-loved and most popular novelists. She published her first novel, Old Sins, in 1989 and subsequently wrote 17 bestselling novels, most recently A Question of Trust, published by Headline in 2017. She died on 25 February 2018 aged 78. © Penny Vincenzi
Notes from a successful romantic novelist
Katie Fforde describes how she became published and why she likes writing romantic fiction.
If you want to get a group of writers into a panic, put them on a panel and then ask them, one at a time, what their working practice is. The first one answers confidently enough – after all they probably have several books on the shelves by this time. But the others listen in consternation, convinced that what they do is wrong and they are not proper writers even though the world is reading their books.
This is because there are as many writing methods as there are writers, and it’s important to work out what kind of writer you are.
If you are reading this there is a chance that you are a writer; but in case you’re not sure, do check. It’s hard enough to write if you like doing it, but if you think you might prefer painting water colours or needlepoint, please try those first. At least you might get an acceptable still life or cushion relatively quickly. It takes a long time to write a novel.
I discovered I wanted to write – almost more than anything else in the world – as soon as I started. My mother had given me a writing kit for Christmas. This consisted of paper, pens, a dictionary, a thesaurus and yes, a copy of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook, as well as Tipp-Ex and a nice box to keep it all in.
Having made a New Year’s Resolution that I would start writing that year, I started in January. I cleaned the house, made sure my children were out of the way and put the first sheet of paper into my typewriter. When I’d got over my nerves – which I dealt with by starting to rewrite someone else’s book – and began a story I’d had in my head for years, I realised what had been missing in my life for so long. I had a lovely family, a lovely house and a lovely dog, and yet I wasn’t content. What had been missing was a creative outlet.
One of the joys of starting to write is that no one needs to know you are doing it until you choose to tell them. Most other things people do require a bit of going out in public. While it would be a bit difficult to hide it from the people you live with, the rest of the world doesn’t need to know. In fact, I suggest you don’t tell anyone unless you’re sure they will understand. There is nothing more irritating than being asked ‘how the book is going’ by people who assume you just need to write one to become a millionaire.
There are annoying examples of people who got their first novel published and became an instant bestseller – some of those authors are even my friends – but I prefer to think it’s better to be a tortoise than a hare. If you get there the long slow way at least you know what you’ve done and can do it again. That said, I have a Pollyanna side to my nature and will always see the advantages to any of life’s setbacks if I possibly can. It took me eight years before I found a publisher and ten years – from starting – before I had a book on the shelves.
Now that you’re feeling a bit more positive about it, knowing how long it took me to achieve publication, I’ll go on with my tips.
My top tip, which I’m assuming you do already, is to read a lot. I believe if you never ever went to any sort of writing course or never read a ‘how to’ book on writing, you would still be able to write to a publishable standard just by reading enough novels. It would take you longer, probably, because you could set yourself an impossibly high standard and consequently never become Henry James. But once you’ve decided what sort of book you want to write, which I hope would be the sort of book you want to read, read as many of the genre as you can fit into your busy life.
My second tip – which I sometimes describe as the gift I’d give to baby writers if I was a fairy godmother – is perseverance. This pig-headedness (a less polite but more accurate word) got me through receiving all those rejections. Every time I was rejected I became more determined that one day I would have a book published. But you do have to be very determined. I’d quite like to be a size ten, too, but I’m never going to be one because I don’t want it quite enough.
My third tip, which I’ll say more about later, is to emulate Nelson’s favourite captains and be lucky.
So why did it take me so long? I think it does take quite a long time to learn to write – for most of us anyway – but also I was aiming at a market that wasn’t quite suitable for me. I was trying to write for Mills & Boon. Like many people, I read these by the shelf-load and assumed, in my complete ignorance, that because they were easy to read they were easy to write. Not so! But I am eternally grateful to the literary agents that sent me some very encouraging rejection letters, and trying to fit my story into 50,000 words forced me to keep to the point. There is no room in those books for characters who have no function, for any little scene that doesn’t further the plot or for a hero who isn’t extremely attractive.
How did I finally get a book deal? This is where the luck comes in. I had been a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association for some years (I am now its President) and through its New Writers’ scheme (which alas is now hugely oversubscribed) my writing came to the attention of an agent, who was new to the business and so had time to look for new writers and to work with them. This agent told me she couldn’t do anything with the books I had been writing but that she liked my style and together we discussed what my next novel should be like. She asked for 100 pages before the end of the year. I felt I couldn’t write what amounted to half a Mills & Boon novel and not check I was on the right track so I sent her the first chapter. She liked it and I got into the habit of sending her chunks which she would read and comment on, sometimes asking for changes, at other times saying, crack on with it. This wonderful woman had sold the novel before I’d finished it.
But then came the hard work. There is no tougher writing course than your first professional edit, and although it was hard – no actual blood but certainly sweat and tears – I pity writers who don’t have this experience. My lovely story had too little plot and putting one in after it had been written was akin to putting in the foundations to a house after it is built. It is possible with the help of Acrow props and rigid steel joists, but it is not the way round to do it. Books need plots in the same way that bodies need skeletons and it’s better to work out what yours is before starting.
My second huge stroke of luck after finding a wonderful agent was to be picked for the WHSmith Fresh Talent promotion. This meant cardboard cutouts of me and the other authors were in the window of every WHSmith shop in the country and our books were reviewed by almost every newspaper. This massive exposure was a terrific start to any writing career.
So what keeps me going nowadays, 20 or so books on? One thing is that I keep having ideas which I want to write and I think this is something that develops along with other neural pathways that you forge. My antennae are constantly twitching when I watch television, go to a party or sit on a train. I am fascinated by relationships and want to explore new ones, and I also like falling in love. If you write romantic fiction you have to fall in love with your hero or you can’t expect your readers to. Falling in love with your hero is the affair you’re allowed to have and it is a lot less complicated to arrange.
Why do people buy my books? It’s hard to say but I’m very glad that they do. I think it’s because readers can recognise themselves in my characters and this is the same whatever age you are – I have readers of all ages, from school age girls to elderly women. I and three other authors were asked this question at a literature festival recently and none of us really knew. The general consensus was, life is tough for a lot of people and everyone needs a bit of escape. Some people like a nice gritty crime novel or an edge-of-the-seat thriller, but some like a story where you know the baby – and probably even the dog – is not going to die. You know you’re guaranteed a few hours off from your own life in a safe place.
This is why I like writing romantic fiction. I enjoy spending time with people I like, to whom nice things happen. I like being able to choose the wallpaper and have the garden I could never have. I also like deciding it’s time we had a good summer, and write about one.
And the very best thing about being a writer is meeting people who have enjoyed your books, read them to cheer themselves up when they were ill (although I do take it amiss when it’s implied that you have to be ill to read my books) or going through some sort of hard time. That is the very best reward.
So, if you feel fit for the fight (as Bonnie Tyler might have said) gather your tools and do your research. First of all, decide what you like to read. Don’t try and write anything just because it’s the current favourite unless you love it. You probably won’t succeed if your heart isn’t in it; if you do you’ll be stuck writing chaste romance novels when you yearn to write raunchy thrillers, and the market will have changed by the time it hits the shelves anyway.
And please do your research before you even think of submitting anything. It may seem blindingly obvious, but the number of people who send their work to any agent in this Yearbook without checking that they even handle fiction is enormous.
Be brave and get someone else to read at least part of your book before you submit it. It does have to be someone you can trust to be brutally frank, who will tell you if they don’t know who any of the characters are, and if they couldn’t care less. It’s better to find out things like this before you let the professionals near it.
Make sure you present your script exactly as it’s requested. Don’t email books to agents who only want hard copy. Make sure the copy is clean and easy to read. Write a covering letter that will encourage the agent to look at the book and if a synopsis is asked for, write one. (Some people find it easier to write after the book is finished.)
If you are lucky enough to receive comments from an agent, take them to heart unless you know them to be wrong. If they say your characters come across as older than they are supposed to be, watch a bit of ‘yoof’ television and learn some modern slang. If they say no one wants to read about undertakers, consider carefully if this is true. It’s possible you’ve written the one that people would enjoy.
If you’re brave enough to join a writers’ group, make sure it’s not a mutual appreciation society. It’s more productive to be told your dialogue is poor than for people to wonder why on earth no one has yet snapped up your masterpiece.
Be in it for the long haul. If (or when) you’re rejected, allow yourself a certain amount of time to gnash your teeth and eat chocolate and then get back to it. If you want it enough you will get there and there’s no time to waste feeling sorry for yourself. Writing mustn’t seem like a hobby, it must be your passion. Eventually it might also become your profession.
Katie Fforde is a Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling author. Her first book was Living Dangerously (1995) and she has written 21 more novels since. Her most recent books are The Perfect Match (2014), A Vintage Wedding (2015), A Summer At Sea (2016), A Secret Garden (2017) and A Country Escape (2018), all published by Century. She has published three short story collections, From Scotland with Love, Staying Away at Christmas and A Christmas Feast. Her hobbies, when she has time for them, are singing in a choir and flamenco dancing. Her website is www.katiefforde.com.
On turning from fiction to non-fiction, author Tom Holland was able to re-connect fully with his childhood love of history and find a fulfilling place as a writer. He reflects on the importance of historical accuracy in popular history, and on the literary and scholarly giants whose work has combined to influence and inspire him.
When I began writing, I wanted to be Proust. No novel had ever inspired me quite as much as his À la recherche du temps perdu (1913-27) – and so, with the lunatic hubris of youth, I decided that I would devote my career to emulating it. Naturally, it did not turn out well. My laborious attempt to write a ‘Great Novel’ proved abortive. My first published work of fiction, The Vampyre (Little, Brown 1995), instead featured Lord Byron as a vampire. Two more in the series followed, set respectively in 1880s London and the Restoration. My final vampire novel featured Howard Carter, a deranged Fatimid caliph, and bloodsucking pharaohs. It was all a long way from madeleines dipped in tea.
Or was it? Proust’s great theme was memory – the hold that it has on us, and the tricks that it can play on our minds. My mistake had been to imagine that my formative experiences, my formative passions, were best served by fiction. In truth, the emotions that lived most vividly in my memory, I came to realise, were those bred of my childhood love of history. That all my novels were set in the past was, perhaps, a desperate cry for recognition to my ego from my id. In writing historical fiction, I could now see that what really stirred me was less the fiction than the history. To invent things that had happened in the reign of Akhenaten, the heretic pharaoh who served as the central protagonist in my last vampire novel, was to gild the lily. He was quite extraordinary enough as he was, without me giving him a taste for human blood.
So I decided to turn to non-fiction. Pointedly, though, I chose as my subject the period that had given me my first ever rush of fascination with vanished empires. It was a book on the Roman army (complete with a gory cover showing one of Caesar’s officers getting spitted by a Gaul) that had first persuaded me, at the age of eight, to abandon an obsession with palaeontology for one with humanity’s past. Rome was the apex predator of the ancient world: like a tyrannosaur, it was lethal, glamorous, and extinct. Yet it was also a civilisation of astonishing brilliance, possessed of poets and historians who, over the course of my studies, and then into my adult life, had allowed my fascination with it to mature as I myself grew older. Rome, as a theme, was unavoidably steeped in my memories. In researching the age of Caesar and the collapse of the Roman Republic, I was exploring an aspect of my own past, as surely as if I been writing an autobiography.
Which is not to say that Rubicon (Little, Brown 2003), my first work of non-fiction, did not aspire to stringent accuracy and objectivity. History has always had pretensions to rank as a science. Thucydides, writing back in the 5th century BC, scorned the exaggerations of poets and the meretricious taste for fantasy of chroniclers; presenting his account of the great war between Athens and Sparta, he assured his readers that ‘the conclusions I have drawn from the proofs quoted may, I believe, safely be relied upon.’
History today, as an academic discipline, is recognisably the descendant of such a methodology. Scholarship, in university history departments, ranks as a vocation. The books that result tend to be written by experts for experts, and in a style that is distinctively academic. Historians who write for the general reader cannot afford to indulge in jargon; but neither can they afford to jettison the exacting standards that serve to qualify a book published by a university press. With large readerships come large responsibilities. No less than academics, writers of popular history are dependent for their career upon a reputation for not making mistakes.
An evident aspect of history’s enduring appeal beyond the groves of academe, though, is precisely the fact that it is not a science. Herodotus, Thucydides’ great predecessor and rival, declared – in the first sentence of the first work of history ever written – that it was his ambition to ensure that ‘human achievement may be spared the ravages of time’. Literally, he spoke of not allowing them to become exitêla, a word that could be used in a technical sense to signify the fading of paint from inscriptions or works of art. To Thu-cydides, the colours applied by Herodotus to his history were too bright, too distracting, to qualify him as a true historian – a criticism that would see him, in due course, named the ‘Father of Lies’ as well as the ‘Father of History’. Herodotus himself, though, might have retorted that Thucydides was too dry, too narrow, too lacking in colour. His own history was rich with the plenitude that is the mark of great literature. If his concern with the means of gathering evidence was something revolutionary, then so too was the sheer scope and range of his interests. No one before him had ever thought to write on such a heroically panoramic scale. Unlike the austere narrative of Thucydides, with its focus on politics and war, that of Herodotus might lead in an often bewildering variety of directions: to a laugh-out-loud story of a drunk man dancing on a table, perhaps, or to the chilling account of a eunuch’s revenge on the man who had him castrated as a child. ‘Clio’, as Isaiah Berlin once put it, ‘is, after all, a muse’.
It is the mark of the direction that my career took, I now recognise, that the great literary influence on my life has turned out to be, not Proust, but Herodotus. He too, like Caesar’s legions, was a part of my childhood; and ever since I first read him at the age of 12, he has been a constant companion. I translated him for Penguin Classics, and Persian Fire (Little, Brown 2005), the book I wrote after Rubicon, was in large part a refraction of his work. Much of what we know about the early 5th century BC – the Persian Empire, the Greek world, and the wars that were fought between them – is dependent upon Herodotus; and it was as a quarry full of data that I gleefully mined him for my own history of the Persian wars. Yet Herodotus – in his love of wonders, in his complex relationship to evidence, and in his style, which today can appear closer to Tristram Shandy than to any conventional work of history – was a great literary artist as well as a historian. To write in his shadow is, of necessity, to acknowledge that. Which is why, in academia, the study of Herodotus is as much the prerogative of literary critics as it is of historians; and it is why, to the writer of popular history, he affords quite as many opportunities to meditate upon the nature of memory and narrative as any novelist would.
‘Stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus.’ So Umberto Eco ended his bestselling novel, The Name of the Rose (Secker & Warburg 1983). ‘The rose that once was now exists just in name – for bare names are all we have’. It is given to few writers to combine scholarship with fiction to the remarkable degree that Eco did; but to write about the distant past is, perforce, to wrestle with the implications of Eco’s Latin tag. Even when the sources are at their most plentiful, uncertainties and discrepancies crop up everywhere. This is the fascination of ancient history, as well as its frustration. Although to write about it is, indeed, to impose upon the past an artificial pattern, that need be no drawback. The ancients, after all, when they wrote their own histories, did the same. Rare, for instance, in the era of Caesar, was the citizen who did not fancy himself the hero of his own history. This was an attitude which did much to bring Rome to disaster, but it also gave the epic of the Republic’s fall its peculiarly lurid and heroic hue. Barely a generation after it had occurred, men were already shaking their heads in wonderment, astonished that such a time, and such giants, could ever have been.
A half-century later, the panegyrist of the Emperor Tiberius, Velleius Paterculus, could exclaim that ‘It seems an almost superfluous task, to draw attention to an age when men of such extraordinary character lived,’ – and then promptly write it up. He knew, as all Romans knew, that it was in action, in great deeds and remarkable accomplishments, that the genius of his people had been most gloriously displayed. Accordingly, it was through narrative that this genius could best be understood.
This intersection between the reliability of ancient sources and their unreliability, between their value as a record of facts and their often incorrigibly literary character, is the furrow which, as a writer, I find I most enjoy ploughing. It has led me to various dimensions in which reality and fantasy can easily seem intermingled: to the court of Nero; to the origins of Islam; to Viking England; to the First Crusade. The pleasure I have taken in writing about all of them is the pleasure of someone who, after years of restless wandering, has finally found somewhere that feels like home. I am not Proust, nor was I meant to be. The relief of this discovery is what enabled me at last, after many false starts, to become fulfilled as a writer.
Tom Holland is the author of the prize-winning history titles Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic (2003) and Persian Fire (2005), as well as Millennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom (2008), In the Shadow of the Sword (2012), and Dynasty (2015), all published by Little, Brown. Tom’s translation of Herodotus: The Histories was published in 2013 by Penguin Classics. His novels include The Vampyre (1995), Deliver Us From Evil (1997) and The Bonehunter (Abacus 2001). His latest book is Athelstan: The Making of England (Allen Lane 2016). Tom has adapted Herodotus, Homer, Thucydides and Virgil for BBC Radio 4 and is the presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Making History. He has written and presented TV documentaries on subjects ranging from religion to dinosaurs. Tom was Chair of the Society of Authors 2009–11. Visit www.tom-holland.org for more information or follow him on Twitter @holland_tom.
Historical fiction gives writers the freedom to use ‘informed imagination’, rich in authentic detail, to breathe life into history, explains historian and novelist Alison Weir. She explores important aspects of the genre and describes the bridge between biography and fiction in her work, seeing encouraging trends in the market.
Filling in the gaps: enhancing history?
Writing a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine was my first attempt at recreating the life of a medieval woman, piecing together myriad fragments of evidence in an attempt to construct a cohesive narrative – such is the challenge of medieval biography. It was, to some extent, a frustrating exercise, because there will always be gaps that we cannot hope to fill: no one thought to record what the beautiful Eleanor actually looked like, for example, how much political influence she actually exerted, or why she separated from her husband, Henry II. I found myself itching to fill those gaps, knowing that a historian oversteps the bounds of legitimate speculation at his or her peril, for we can only infer so much from historical sources.
It was while I was researching this biography, it occurred to me that I wanted to write a novel about Eleanor, one in which I could develop ideas and themes that had no place in a history book, but which – based on sound research and educated guesses – could help to illuminate her life and explain her motives and actions. A historian uses such inventiveness at their risk – but a novelist has the power to get inside their subject’s head, and that can afford insights that would not be permissible to a historian, and yet can have a legitimate value of their own.
Having decided to have a go at writing a novel, I had to choose a subject. Eleanor of Aquitaine was off limits at the time, because my contract precluded a competing book. A reader had suggested that I write a biography of Lady Jane Grey, and it occurred to me that Jane’s tragic tale would be an ideal subject for a novel: it was short, it was dramatic and unbearably poignant, and I knew it well, having researched it for an earlier book. Three months later the novel was finished.
My agent thought it a riveting story, but said I should come down off the fence and forget I was a historian, as the book read like ‘faction’. But I had no more time to work on it, so I put it away and forgot about it until 2003, when I rewrote it using the first person and the present tense, a format in which no history book would ever be written. It was this novel that was commissioned by Hutchinson and was published in 2006 as Innocent Traitor. Since then I have published seven more historical novels, including one on Eleanor of Aquitaine.
From historical fact to fiction: providing authentic detail
Writing historical fiction affords me a sense of freedom: it is liberating not to have to keep within the strict confines of contemporary sources. I can use my imagination to fill those frustrating gaps, although I strongly feel that what a historical novelist writes must be credible within the context of what is known about the subject. You cannot simply indulge in flights of fancy. That sells short both those who know nothing about the subject, and those who know a great deal. I know – because my readers regularly, and forcefully, tell me so – that people care that what they are reading in a historical novel is close to the truth, if allowing for a little dramatic licence and the novelist’s informed imagination.
Consequently I feel that I have a great responsibility towards my readers – and also my subjects, who were, after all, real people. In my novels, I adhere to the facts where they exist, using my informed imagination where they do not. History does not always record people’s motives, emotions and reactions, or the intimate details of their relationships or their love lives, so there is plenty of scope for invention there – and I have to confess to having been quite inventive in that respect!
The setting must be authentic. Too many historical novels fall down because the author has not done enough background research. They know the story superficially, but they don’t know the period or the social and cultural context. It’s an advantage to have studied the history in depth. I find that I am constantly looking up minor details in the interests of authenticity, such as the kind of books that were printed by the Caxton press in Lady Jane Grey’s time, the kind of food that Eleanor of Aquitaine would have eaten, or even the Welsh folk song sung by Elizabeth I’s nursery maid. One can’t afford to be sloppy because this is ‘just’ fiction.
Readers of history books love such details – I’ve heard that time and again – and I’ve found that it’s often in the details that we gain a broader picture. For example, Peter Englund’s book on the Great War, The Beauty and the Sorrow (Knopf Publishing 2011), briefly mentions a soldier watching the body of a fallen comrade decompose over days; he has come to see it as just chemicals and rags. But that speaks volumes about how men coped with the unimaginable carnage of that war. And may be historians can learn something from historical novelists about bringing history vividly to life.
Finding an authentic voice
A major challenge to any author embarking on a historical novel is the use of language. There are tough choices, and you will never please everyone. You could, if you were stupid enough, adopt pseudo-Tudor speak and alienate your readers with words and phrases such as ‘prithee’ or ‘hey nonny nonny’; or you could go to the other extreme, as Suzannah Dunn does in The Queen of Subtleties (Doubleday 2005), where she has Anne Boleyn calling her father ‘Dad’. Although I flinched at that, her novel worked well, thanks to the excellent characterisations.
Having spent many years studying Tudor sources, I have become familiar with the idioms of language in use then – although we can never fully know how people actually spoke, only how their words were written down, which may not be the same thing. Wherever possible, I use my characters’ own historical quotes, or the quotes of others, lifting them from historical sources but modernising them slightly so that they do not stand out awkwardly in a 21st-century text. In order to appeal to as wide – and as young – an audience as possible, I confess to deliberately using a few modern idioms where I think they sound better than their Tudor equivalent, even if they are anachronistic. But it’s impossible to please everyone with the language in a historical novel: while one reviewer of Innocent Traitor deplored what he saw as anachronisms, another said I had got the language just right. In my subsequent novels I have used the past tense and the third person, which allows for greater versatility in telling the story.
Inventive freedom: from historical evidence to ‘what if ... ?’
How far dare a novelist make things up or manipulate the facts in a novel about a real historical figure who may also be famous? My feeling is that you should have some historical evidence, however flimsy, on which to base your storyline. For a historian, such evidence may not be convincing, but it might be a gift to a novelist. For example, in The Other Boleyn Girl (Harper 2007), Philippa Gregory has Anne Boleyn, desperate to have a son, contemplating committing incest with her brother because he is the only man who can safely be relied upon not to betray their intimacy to others. The historical Anne was charged with incest in the indictment drawn up against her, and while other evidence strongly suggests that these were trumped-up charges, a novelist can use them as the basis of a good plot. I have no argument with that.
The issue of Elizabeth I’s much-vaunted virginity has been endlessly debated by scholars, so in my view it is quite legitimate for novelists such as Susan Kay in Legacy (Bodley Head 1985) and Robin Maxwell in The Queen’s Bastard (Review 1999) to depict the Queen having a full physical relationship with the Earl of Leicester.
I myself took a similar liberty, going against what I believe as a historian, in my second novel, The Lady Elizabeth (Hutchinson 2008). That storyline was based purely on unreliable gossip and a coincidence over dates, but had this contemporary evidence not existed, I would not have ventured so far. Given that it does exist, and even though, as a historian, I would discount it, as a novelist I have the freedom to ask: what if?
My fourth novel, A Dangerous Inheritance (Hutchinson 2012), was the sequel to Innocent Traitor, with a dramatic sub-plot involving the bastard daughter of Richard III and a few hints of the supernatural, which I have woven into all my novels. But in this one the theme is more prominent – and you might say that Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time (Macmillan 1951) was an inspiration. Yet this book is very different from that much-outdated classic, and it is the first of my novels in which I wrote a fictional tale that had no historical foundation. Even so, it is based on extensive research and set within the context of two documented lives – and an enduring mystery. You could say that I have learned to relax into fiction writing – but my quest for authenticity remains as enthusiastic as ever.
I feel strongly that, where a novelist invents material in a historical novel about real persons or events, they should always include an author’s note explaining what is fact and what is fiction. If the book is largely fictional, that should be made clear. Does it matter? Of course it matters, when we are dealing with real history. It is a matter of concern to historians that fiction – in well-publicised novels and films – is often taken as fact.
Publishers, trends and sales
Where do publishers come into this? I want to say from the start that my own publishers have always been supportive of my pursuit of authenticity. But publishers do not have the autonomy they once had, and they need to survive in a difficult world. Supermarket giants, for example, have enormous power: they squeeze publishers’ profits (see a ‘buy one, get one free’ offer and you might depend on it that one has been printed free); they reject jackets and titles as not being commercial enough for their customers, which can result in the dumbing down of a book, making both the publishers and the author very unhappy. I fought for my novel on Eleanor of Aquitaine to be titled A Marriage of Lions, which reflects the parallels between evolving heraldry and Eleanor’s turbulent marriage to Henry II. But that was rejected out of hand, and I ended up submitting no fewer than 90 titles
until a compromise was reached and we went for The Captive Queen. It’s a title I still hate – it’s inane, and echoes so many others on the market. And it has since become clear that many readers preferred A Marriage of Lions.
Having made my case somewhat passionately for authenticity in historical novels, which ones would I recommend? Apart from those already mentioned, I must mention C. J. Sansom’s compelling Shardlake series; Edward Rutherfurd’s epics Sarum (Arrow 1991), London (Century 1997) and The Forest (Century 2000); Sarah Gristwood’s The Girl in the Mirror (Harper Press 2012); Derek K. Wilson’s The First Horseman (Sphere 2013); and, of course, Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall (Fourth Estate 2009) and Bring Up The Bodies (Fourth Estate 2012), in which she wonderfully evokes a world, even though as a historian I find her portrayal of Thomas Cromwell over-sympathetic. Historical novels have become a respected genre because of novels such as these.
The tide is turning, I think. Having seen the BBC’s well-paced and fairly authentic adaptation of Wolf Hall (2015), and the huge interest in it, I am more optimistic than I was. Maybe we don’t always have to knuckle under to the powerful factors that come into play in the publishing and interpretation of history: market forces; the need to drive sales; the impact of films and blockbuster novels. It seems that people are again seeking – and enjoying – excellence in historical fiction. But historians might not win all the battles. As one lady remarked when she heard me pointing out some inaccuracies to a friend as we toured a well-known castle – ‘Please stop spoiling it for me!’
Alison Weir is the top-selling female historian (and the fifth bestselling historian overall) in the UK, and has sold over 2.7 million books worldwide. She has published 18 history books, including The Six Wives of Henry VIII (Bodley Head 1991), The Princes in the Tower (Bodley Head 1992), Elizabeth the Queen (Jonathan Cape 1998), Eleanor of Aquitaine (Jonathan Cape 1999), Henry VIII: King and Court (Jonathan Cape 2001), Katherine Swynford (Jonathan Cape 2007) The Lady in the Tower (Jonathan Cape 2009) and Elizabeth of York (Jonathan Cape 2013). Alison has also published seven historical novels, including Innocent Traitor (Hutchinson 2006) and Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen (Headline 2016), the first in her Six Tudor Queens series. The second novel, Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession was published by Headline in 2017 and the third, Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen, in May 2018. Alison’s latest non-fiction, Queens of the Conquest (Jonathan Cape 2017), the first in her England’s Medieval Queens quartet, appeared in September 2017. She is an honorary life patron of Historic Royal Palaces.
See also...
• Writing popular history books, here
Gillian Stern sheds light on the invisible role of the ghostwriter, describing the often intense process involved in the art of writing another person’s story in their own voice.
Everyone has a story. I learned this as a Saturday dental nurse at my father’s NHS practice in Tottenham. Even the smallest details of people’s lives are important, he would tell me. Listen carefully and you will hear.
His tiny surgery vibrated with life. Even before I had a chance to show a patient to the chair, they took up whatever they had been telling him during their last visit, which may have been six months or a year previously. They talked about their children, their families; they pre-emptively repeated their vow to quit eating sugary things; they gave their opinions on what Thatcher was or wasn’t doing; told him how they brushed their teeth, what dental problems they were having. And as he filled their mouth with cotton wool rolls and started probing, he would take up the thread of their conversation, to which the patient would nod their head or roll their eyes, trying to make themselves understood.
As I mixed the mercury and amalgam for fillings, or held the hand of a nervous patient, I would listen. Everyone who sat in that chair had a distinctive voice; they were mostly living hard, complex lives. And I learned to hear, I learned to ask questions, and eventually I learned that sometimes what a patient wasn’t saying was as interesting as what they were saying. My father made each and every one of his patients feel as if they mattered and how I wish now that I had written down the words that filled his surgery, in the rich and varied voices of his patients.
Maybe, then, it is no surprise that I am a ghostwriter – a writer who gives voice to other people’s stories. I am paid to listen, to hear, to become someone else, to tell their story in their voice. In this, I am completely invisible, a siphon for their words, their story, their life, their soul. I do not interpret or pass judgement and though I might steer my questions in a direction I think their story should head, ultimately the book I am ghosting is entirely theirs, made up of their words.
While there are a range of ghostwriters – from those who ghost speeches to others ghosting novels – I ghost memoirs. I am a more reactive type of ghost in that I take commissions; many ghosts are more proactive, coming up with the idea of who they are going to ghost, taking responsibility for the outline, and involving themselves in all aspects of the publishing deal to writing the book itself. Ghostwriters are proper writers, often excellent writers, and in a world where we suspend our egos almost entirely, swapping recognition for invisibility, ghostwriters deserve all the accolades the industry and public are so keen not to throw our way. Going into a large, unnamed publishing house, where they were painting beautiful swirls of their author’s names up and down the walls, I was completely unsurprised to see my own and other ghostly colleagues’ names not included.
There is a peculiar snobbery and fuss out there about ghostwritten books and I can’t quite work out why. There are plenty of people with book-worthy stories, from the already famous to the completely unknown, who have been busy living their lives – noisily or quietly – but who have never written a book before and are honest enough to know that writing is not one of their talents. While everyone has a story, not everyone has the ability to write that story. So, in order for their commissioned book to be the best possible read, they, their agent and publisher decide that it is better to employ the services of a professional writer rather than have them inflict underdeveloped, clumsy prose on their readers. I can see nothing wrong with this. The art is in how that story is told.
I came to ghosting through being a structural editor. A publisher handed me a manuscript by someone pretty famous (signing Non-Disclosure Agreements means I am not allowed to disclose who I am ghosting, before, during and after) and asked me to edit it. It was so tortuously written – so oblique and wooden – that I simply couldn’t, and I requested time with the author, persuading them to let me have a go at re-working what they had written. The book went on to do extremely well and so the same publisher commissioned me to ghost another memoir. Publishing is a small world and publishers get used to reading between the lines in acknowledgements. ‘A special thank you to Gillian Stern, without whom none of this would have hit the page’ is a bit of a giveaway in the industry (and to my family), and so the acknowledgement, on many levels, is everything.
Often I am asked to attend what is, quaintly and oddly, still known as a ‘beauty parade’, where the person who needs a ghost – the author – with their agent and the publisher interview a number of potential ghosts, offering the job to the person whom the author feels best fits the profile of whatever it is they are looking for. I have walked into some such events and it is obvious immediately, or as the interview proceeds, that there is no way I fit, either because of a massive difference in outlook or voice or a complete lack of connection; I have walked into others and the connection and fit have been instant – not that that means I always then got the job. Mostly, though, because I’ve been around a bit, I am asked directly by a publisher to meet the author, with a view that I am the right person for the job. I am careful about what I accept; I am likely to be spending a great deal of time with the author, investing a great deal emotionally in them and their story, even ‘becoming’ them as I get into and develop the writing. I can only write someone’s story if I can imagine myself in their voice. I will not accept a job if I think I will bring judgment and bias to the page.
Once I accept a commission, I either involve my agent or negotiate the contract myself. I read as much as I can about the author that already exists. Sometimes that can be just the outline on which the publisher has bought the book; in general, though, there is a body of material online, in existing books or articles and often they have diaries or letters or papers. I listen to, or watch, whatever programmes or clips I can and then spend time with the author, chatting, walking, eating (– for one author even frenetically working out with them at their gym while they talked!). I tape as much as I can and in the early stages, as I go about my day, I stick in my headphones and listen to their voice, allowing their way of talking, the patterns in their speech, to become mine too. I try it out as I shop or talk to friends. I try to understand the way they look at the world, the way they see the everyday, what it is they want to convey. I love that aspect of the job, the beginning of becoming part of someone else’s life so intimately. It’s a strange internal intimacy; becoming them as – I write and am them – can be overwhelming, although when I’m actually with that person, I can feel oddly detached.
Typically, the author and I have a couple of sessions where we decide how we are going to work and then we get going. I generally spend as much time as I can with them; some like me to tape everything over a number of days or weeks and get writing; others prefer to get together once a week or so, with me writing and them going over what I have written in between times. Most authors I have worked with like to pore over every word, checking that I am expressing them as they believe they express themselves, hearing the flow of the narrative, the timbre of the tone, the sound of their words. I have the world’s best transcriber and I download tapes to her as soon as I get home and write from the transcripts. One thing I would strongly advise aspiring ghosts to do is to insist that your publisher or author pay for all transcribing expenses.
Once we settle on style and rhythm, I like my editor or the author’s agent to see a few initial draft chapters so that there are no great surprises or disappointments near to the delivery deadline. I didn’t do this on the first book I ghosted, and a couple of days before delivery received 18 pages of vicious criticism from the author’s agent, none of which I disagreed with.
I get emotionally attached to my authors, of course I do. I have fallen in (appropriate) love; I have wanted to be the person I am ghosting; I have been a part of the lives of people I would never have otherwise had access to and I have seen things that would fill a book I can never write. And I have learned, painfully at first, that once the script is delivered and the book goes into production, I need to get out of there. I don’t own the book; I don’t own the story and I have no part in the publishing process once the script is delivered. Quite often the author and I stay in touch; quite often they tell me I am the most important person in their lives, the person who ‘knows them the best’, but that is moonshine and after the launch, after the razzmatazz, after the sales (and even prizes), life moves on. I did ghost two memoirs for one author, two years of our lives spent working together, and she told me shocking things she had genuinely never told anyone before, which was a burden for me but one I was prepared to carry and not include in the book. But I am not in this business to make friends. Ghosting, like editing, is a job and, once a book is written, I need to write the next.
The questions I am most frequently asked are: Why don’t you write your own book? and How can you write a book without your name on the front? Here are my answers: I do not have a novel in me; I do not have a story about my life or an aspect of my life that I believe would interest readers; I have no desire to see my name on the front of a book when the story belongs to someone else. I get a great deal of satisfaction bringing interesting stories to life, in capturing someone else’s voice so convincingly that they hear themselves come off the page. Ghostwriting is challenging and complex and a great privilege.
These days, well into his eighties, my father is still collecting stories – be it on the streets of his neighbourhood as he goes for his daily ‘ball of chalk’, in the stands at White Hart Lane, or around the table with his grandchildren. And, if I had time, I would tell you his story. Or maybe, one day, I will ghost it.
Gillian Stern is a former academic publishing commissioning editor, who while on maternity leave discovered a novel that went on to win prizes and become a bestseller. She then crossed over into the world of commercial and literary fiction and has since been a freelance structural editor for literary agents and publishers including Bloomsbury, Hodder and Orion. She combines this with her work as a ghostwriter and to date has ghosted eight books, all memoir, for Penguin and Orion amongst others; her latest ghosted memoir was a prize winner in 2018.
Making facts your mission: the pleasure of writing non-fiction
Jane Robinson describes what led her to become a non-fiction writer, and gives advice on the key elements and requirements of this disciplined and enjoyable work.
I didn’t mean to be an author. I’ve always loved books; my obsession with collecting them began when I was banned from our local library at the age of seven – for using a jam tart as a bookmark in their copy of Squirrel Nutkin. After university I bought and sold books for a living, but never dreamed of writing them myself. That happened by accident. One day, while I was working in an antiquarian bookshop, a customer asked me for a guide to all the travel books ever written by women. He wanted to make a complete collection. I asked him to wait a few days; if there wasn’t already a published list, I was sure I could work one up. After all, there couldn’t be that many female first-hand travel accounts. Didn’t history’s women traditionally stay at home?
Off I went to the library to begin research. I discovered a handful of volumes by women and then a handful more, and by the time my customer returned I had a catalogue of over 100. He disappeared, disappointed that his task was now probably beyond his purse. And I went back to the library to see how many more forgotten travellers’ voices I could find.
I was entranced by these intrepid adventurers. Encouraged by a friend who was a published historian, I decided to attempt a reference bibliography of their work – a book about books – just so that dealers like me could appreciate how many of these surprising authors there were. By now I had unearthed getting on for 1,000, spanning 16 centuries. But when I started reading the books I was only supposed to be listing (how could I resist On Sledge and Horseback to Outcast Siberian Lepers or To Lake Tanganyika in a Bath Chair?) my life swerved onto a new course. The same friend introduced me to his editor at Oxford University Press. We had a meeting, I wrote a proposal, and a few weeks later was the stunned possessor of a contract for my first book: Wayward Women: A Guide to Women Travellers (OUP 1990). One book led to another; I gave up my job at the shop, became self-employed, and now here I am, ten books later, working on the eleventh. I fell into a career as an author specialising in social history through women’s eyes – and couldn’t enjoy my job more.
I’m making it sound easy, and to some extent it was – back then. I had found a subject virtually untouched by other historians by which I was completely enthused; I knew I could research it given time; I had an introduction to and subsequently a commission from a respectable publisher; and I have never found it hard to discipline myself to meet deadlines. When Wayward Women came out, the publishing business was not as restricted as it is now by the aggressive need to make money on every book. OUP could afford to take a chance on me. But it is still possible to start from scratch as a non-fiction writer, as I did, and enjoy success.
Here’s some advice about those five key elements of the job, with reference to my own work as a narrative historian.
1. Subject
Everything begins with this. Fiction writers can make up reality for themselves; we non-fiction authors must stick to the facts. The trick is to root your book in a subject you find irresistibly fascinating (enthusiasm is infectious) and write about it engagingly. Easily said, I know, but you’ll develop your style with practice. Read aloud everything you write – that helps you gauge what readers are hearing in their heads as they turn the pages. It’s no less important to pay attention to the cadence of a sentence in a biography, for instance, than in a novel. Good writing is good writing.
On a book-by-book level, I seek out well-known historical events or social attitudes and approach them from an unexpected angle, using the testimony of ‘ordinary’ people rather than history’s celebrities. I like challenging stereotypes. The popular assumption is that before the 20th century, for instance, women were mostly seen, not heard, and did what they were told. Wayward Women smashes that one. In Bluestockings (Penguin 2009), about the first women to fight for higher education, I highlight the drama behind something we take for granted: the right of women to attend university. Did you realise that they were not given degrees at Cambridge until 1948? Or that Victorian medics believed that if women thought too much their wombs would wither? Hearts and Minds (Doubleday 2018) focuses on a massed, six-week women’s march though the UK which won (some) women the vote in 1918 – and they weren’t suffragettes. Who knew?
Choose a common approach like this for each book, and your work will amass a recognisable USP, which helps enormously when pitching for new commissions.
2. Research
Don’t choose a subject you can’t research thoroughly. While writing Wayward Women I had access to the British Library, which is a copyright library. Every book published in the UK must be deposited there by law. Anyone can become a registered reader, provided they have a referee and a valid reason for study. Other copyright libraries are in Aberystwyth, Cambridge, Dublin, Edinburgh and Oxford. It’s important, when trying to present a fresh perspective to your readers, to find as many original sources as possible; hence I spend a great deal of research time in local archives and record offices, listening to oral history collections and advertising in judiciously chosen magazines for reader contributions. For Bluestockings I asked for family stories through university alumni magazines. Authenticity is crucial – try to get straight to the horse’s mouth.
3. Commissions
I was fortunate to have an introduction to my first editor, which helped. If it’s your debut you might not have an agent yet, so do try to find a champion – perhaps a friend or mentor in the business. Editors are swamped by unsolicited manuscripts (some refuse them altogether), so they welcome anything that marks you out from the crowd.
I have never written a book, chapter or article without a commission. It’s not about the advance – only a quarter of that is due on signing the contract anyway (the rest coming on delivery, hardback and then paperback publication). Very few of us get rich writing. It’s more that I need the confidence of a promise to publish and the impetus of having a contractual deadline. I value the framework provided by the proposal I’ve had to submit to achieve the deal. A good proposal is a thorough document with a detailed chapter-plan, as well as the usual information about why me, why the subject and what’s the competition. Mine are blueprints; they are the most important element of the whole process of writing non-fiction. They express the flavour of the book and of my style to a potential editor and guide me through my work until I’ve finished.
4. Discipline
I happen to be temperamentally incapable of submitting work late. Always was, however hard I tried – even at university. I don’t have the bravado to break deadlines, terrified that if something doesn’t get done in time, it won’t get done at all. I set myself a series of achievable targets. I decide when I’m realistically likely to finish the book, stating this in the proposal. Usually I allow a year for research and a year for writing. That includes a little leeway for other commitments (and life) to get in the way. Within that timeframe I’ll mentally apportion periods for: research; collating my notes into a usable resource; completing each chapter; a second draft; and finally organising the notes, bibliography and illustrations.
Like most writers, I suspect, I have a routine. Once the research is done – all of it, so that I have an overview of the whole subject before I metaphorically put pen to paper – I start pretending I have a proper job, by disappearing into my study during office hours, with a break for some exercise at lunch. Because I write at home, I demarcate my working life from my domestic life by (bizarrely) putting on an apron before I sit down at my desk and removing it when I’ve switched off the computer. Weird, I know, but it works for me. There’s probably a psychological fest of hidden agendas swirling around this ritual to do with the subversion of my role as a wife and mother ... let’s not go there.
5. Enjoy success
Sometimes I dream of being a fiction writer, of sitting somewhere inspirational for a while, inviting some characters into my empty head, then floating off to my study to see where they lead me and eventually lapping up the awards when my tour de force is made into a blockbuster film. Imagine! No research other than my own life and that of my friends and family (more or less disguised); no wearisome checking of the facts, compiling of the bibliography, sifting of the footnotes and fear of having misconstrued the truth.
But then I remember how much I enjoy having the outline of a plot already in place and then colouring it in to my own design. To me, non-fiction is a mission: I aim to restore a voice to people whose part in history has been forgotten. Hence my passion for women’s lives. If I write well, I will paint no less involving a picture for my readers than a fiction-writer might; share some astonishing stories with them; inspire them and make them proud of those unknown ancestors who belong to us all. Never think of non-fiction as a poor relation.
Added extras
Don’t think that you can’t make money from it, either. The days of publishers taking a punt on young authors may have disappeared in the glare of hard-nosed commercialism, but it is possible to supplement your earnings by learning how to deliver a good talk. A significant part of my income comes from author appearances. Publish a blog about your work; interest in that could attract invitations to write opinion pieces elsewhere. Choose your subject carefully enough, and write about it in a lively, revealing way, and – who knows – the film and TV companies might come knocking at your door. It happens. Take advantage of every opportunity offered around publication day in terms of media and speaking engagements; they’ll push up sales and, anyway, after all that work you deserve your day in the sun.
Every time a book of mine comes out, I thank that nameless customer who walked into the bookshop all those years ago. He changed the way I look at the world. And by writing non-fiction, I can now do the same for my readers. It’s a privilege. Do try it.
Jane Robinson worked in the antiquarian book trade before becoming a full-time writer, social historian and lecturer. Her first book was Wayward Women: A Guide to Women Travellers (OUP 1990) and later publications include A Force To Be Reckoned With: A History of the Women’s Institute (Virago 2011), In the Family Way (Viking 2015), and most recently Hearts and Minds (Doubleday 2018). For more information see www.jane-robinson.com and read her blog at https://janerobinsonauthor.wordpress.com. Follow her on Twitter @janerobinson00.
See also...
• How to submit a non-fiction proposal, here
• Libraries, here
There is more to literary translation than merely translating, as Danny Hahn explains. A self-confessed lobbyist, advocate and proselytiser for the profession, he describes the increasing breadth and diversity of ‘being a translator’. He gives advice on how to get started, practical information on the work, and reveals a highly supportive and dynamic working community.
The easy bit
What does a literary translator do? A literary translator takes a literary text in one language, and writes it again in another. It’s not particularly difficult, so long as you don’t care whether your translation is any good. But ... what about not merely translating, but translating well? That’s another matter entirely.
We all strive towards an ideal, a perfect translation, even while knowing that such a thing is impossible. Because rewriting a text in a new language doesn’t just mean carrying over the sense, it means carrying over everything: the rhythm, the register, the associations, the resonances, the voice. All these things are deeply embedded in the original language, one might say they are inextricable from it – so how could it be possible to keep all of them when you’re changing every single word? No, it’s impossible – simple as that. And yet we translators do it anyway.
Being a literary translator demands all manner of unusual, overlapping skills, but there are just two that are absolutely essential. You need to be: 1) an uncommonly close, sensitive and wise reader; 2) a fantastically accomplished and versatile writer. And in two different languages, of course, because that’s what translation is, after all – a process of reading, in language A, followed by a process of writing in which you deploy language B with such spectacular skill that everything you’ve read is somehow recreated, even if every single word is different. You read a line like ‘The cat sat on the mat’ and write a line in another language that keeps all of it: the meaning (feline, seated, carpet); the simple, almost childish register; the six absolutely consistent monosyllables; and the fact that the verb and both nouns all rhyme. Want to try it? Like I say – impossible!
How, practically, do translators work?
Literary translators in the UK are freelances, hired usually by a publisher to do a single job (translate a novel, say). There are a number of publishing houses or imprints that have a particular focus on international literature in translation – Harvill Secker, Pushkin Press, And Other Stories, Peirene Press, Maclehose Press and others – but as it becomes more mainstream, translations are nowadays to be found (albeit in small numbers) on all kinds of literary and commercial publishing lists.
Translators do pitch ideas to publishers, but in the overwhelming majority of cases it’s the publisher who initiates a project. The publisher finds a book they’d like to publish in English (at one of the big trade fairs, perhaps, such as the Frankfurt or London Book Fair), then they recruit a translator to do the job. (Sometimes they invite several translators each to do a sample and choose the best match for the voice they’re after.)
There will be a contract between publisher and translator, specifying the terms of the agreement, which will include a delivery deadline, a rate of payment and a royalty. Payment is calculated on the basis of the word count of the job (I currently charge £90 per 1,000 words of my translation, which is pretty typical, though rates can be negotiated up or down) and this is usually considered an ‘advance’ on future royalties. The payment is usually made half on signature of the contract and half on delivery of the translation.
The translator will deliver the new text, which will go through a number of editorial stages; it won’t usually get a major structural edit as an Anglophone work might, but there will be some editing, copy-editing and proofreading – with the translator involved at every stage. (The translator should have the right to veto unwelcome editorial changes, though most translators – like most writers – are happy to be well edited.)
Eventually the translation will be published, perhaps both in print and ebook form; the translator’s name should be clearly credited (ideally on the jacket, but otherwise on the title page), and the translator’s copyright in the work asserted. In very rare cases a publisher will ask a translator to agree to a contract in which he or she signs over their copyright, but this should be forcefully resisted! Once the book is out in the world, the translator may well be invited to be a part of promoting it – alongside, or instead of, the original author.
Getting started
Literary translation, like any writing, doesn’t have anything as sensible as a career path one might tidily follow. It’s not a job that requires a certain series of qualifications, or clear stages of apprenticeship to be served before attaining the hallowed status of Literary Translator (from which time great work just sort of appears magically whenever you need it...). What it does have, however, is an incredible collegial community, a network, which it’s really easy to get into.
Organisations like BCLT and Writers’ Centre Norwich run residential summer schools and all kinds of other workshops; there’s a mentoring scheme which pairs new translators with experienced translators in the same language for six months; and there are now dozens of postgraduate programmes for studying literary translation, some more practice-based, others with a stronger focus on theory. There’s a new Emerging Translators Network, too, which is mostly an online community but also hosts occasional events.
And there are plenty of opportunities to meet other translators in the community, whether it’s at the Literary Translation Centre at the London Book Fair every April, which hosts its own programme of events every year; or at the International Translation Day event in London, which gathers the whole tribe together – translators but also interested publishers, students, writers, funders. International Translation Day itself is 30 September, St Jerome’s Day (he’s the patron saint of translators), so the London event is always around that time.
However much you might hate the idea of ‘networking’, getting yourself known to publishers is an important part of finding your way into this industry, and the existing events, programmes and networks certainly make this easier. You might also want to write to publishers direct and pitch ideas for books you think they should publish (and commission you to translate for them, naturally). Send a cover letter, some information about the book and its author, and an excellent short sample translation. It’s very unusual that these cold pitches come to fruition but, if they (and your sample work in particular) are good enough, they are at least a useful calling card; even if they don’t buy this book, publishers may remember you and later invite you to audition for something else they acquire. Offer to do reader’s reports, too – these are a good way of honing your own critical skills, as well as allowing publishers to get to know you. And don’t be shy about pitching short-form translations to magazines; publishing the odd short story or poem is a good way to get in the door. There are plenty of good places to start that are particularly receptive to international writing: Words without Borders, Granta, Modern Poetry in Translation, The White Review, Asymptote, and many others.
The UK is blessed with a number of extremely effective and collaborative organisations working in the literary translation world. These are just a few of them. Sign up to their newsletters (and/or like on Facebook, follow on Twitter, etc) and you’ll quickly get a sense of who else is out there.
The British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT)
See here
Based at the University of East Anglia, the BCLT has recently changed its focus from public, professional and industry work to concentrate principally on its academic side. However, it still hosts an annual summer school (in partnership with Writers’ Centre Norwich, see below), and the annual Sebald Lecture. Speakers have included Seamus Heaney, Susan Sontag and Margaret Atwood.
website www.bclt.org.uk
The Emerging Translators Network (ETN)
Just as it sounds, the ETN is a network for emerging translators. It operates mostly as an online forum, offering a welcoming and supportive environment for early-career literary translators and would-be literary translators to exchange information and advice.
website https://emergingtranslatorsnetwork.wordpress.com
English PEN
The founding centre of the PEN International network, English PEN works at the overlap between literature and free speech. Best known perhaps for its work with imprisoned authors around the world, its activities range much wider. Its strapline is ‘Freedom to write, freedom to read’, and it helps to make as wide a range of books as possible available to English-speaking readers, specifically by supporting literary translation. PEN offers grants to publishers to help cover the translation costs of publishing and promoting foreign books. It is a main player in the consortium of organisations that oversee the Literary Translation Centre at London Book Fair and International Translation Day.
website www.englishpen.org (See also PEN International in Societies, associations and clubs here.)
Free Word
See here
The Free Word Centre in London is home to a number of organisations – both residents (such as English PEN, above) and associates (such as BCLT) – that work in the areas of literature, literacy and free expression.
Free Word has chosen translation as one of the focuses of its work, which has included annual translators in residence who use their time at the Centre to collaborate with resident organisations, work with local schools, programme public events on a translation theme, and so on. Free Word is now the organisation responsible for International Translation Day.
website https://freewordcentre.com
Literature Across Frontiers (LAF)
Founded in 2001, this ‘European Platform for Literary Exchange, Translation and Policy Debate’ is based in Wales but works right across Europe (and beyond). With a wide network of partners, the organisation uses literature and translation to encourage intercultural dialogue, through workshops and publications, etc, focusing particularly on less-translated languages. It also carries out research into aspects of the translation market.
website www.lit-across-frontiers.org
The Translators Association (TA)
See here
Part of the Society of Authors, membership is limited to those who have published a book-length work or equivalent (though there is also associate membership for those who have been offered a first contract, even if it hasn’t yet been completed). Among the many benefits is legal advice including clause-by-clause vetting of your contracts.
website www.societyofauthors.org/groups/translators
Writers’ Centre Norwich
This literature development agency has recently moved to new premises and is currently evolving into the National Centre for Writing. The transition will involve taking on much of the professional and public work that used to be done by BCLT, including the running of translation mentorships, programming public events that look at literary translation and translated literature, and publishing the journal for literary translators, In Other Words.
website www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk
I’ve mentioned the translation ‘community’, but it’s also worth thinking of smaller, more focused communities within it, which may exist for particular languages or regions. Find other translators who work in your language and look for other possible language-specific allies. For example most European countries, and some outside Europe, have organisations that exist to promote their literatures. Drop the appropriate ones a note and introduce yourself; they’re usually grateful to meet translators who want to help them get their writers into the wider world, and they’ll be useful to you.
‘Being a translator’
The world of the professional literary translator in the UK has transformed in the last five or six years, and in almost every respect for the better. So much of this has come about thanks to the dynamism of translators themselves and the way the profession has come to think about itself, and in particular what it means to be a translator. I draw that distinction a lot these days, between ‘translating’ and ‘being a translator’.
Translating is the core of the work, of course – taking an old text and writing a new one. That strange alchemical process (as one of my colleagues beautifully put it) of turning gold into gold. But that’s not how I spend most of my time.
I talk to publishers about books – things that interest me, things that interest them; I read foreign-language submissions on their behalf and write reports. I talk to foreign agents and publishers and writers, too, to get a sense of what’s going on in the publishing world. I am, in short, part of a big, transnational, translingual, literary conversation. I review translations for newspapers, and write about translation as I’m doing now. I do public events about literary translation and translated literature. I run workshops for newer translators than me (including in universities and schools, primary as well as secondary) and assorted programmes to make translation better, better paid, and more appreciated. In other words, I’m a lobbyist, an advocate, a proselytiser – as most translators are, I think. There’s a sense in the profession of a kind of common mission (it seems rather zealous when I say that); we all feel there should be more translation, and more diverse translation, and that translations and translators should be profoundly cherished by the reading public.
That’s what ‘being a translator’ means to me. Yes, doing the translating, but also being part of a community, a conversation – you might almost say a movement; it means seeing one’s role as broad and flexible, seeing oneself as a significant and active player in the publishing world, not just an occasional, grateful hired hand. The community itself is an extraordinarily warm and welcoming one, and it’s never been easier to join. Our profession and the market for our work are both growing – it’s a good time for translating, and for being a translator, too.
Danny Hahn is a writer, editor and translator. He has translated about 20 novels from Portuguese, Spanish and French, including translations of fiction by José Eduardo Agualusa and José Luis Peixoto, and non-fiction by writers ranging from Portuguese Nobel Literature Laureate José Saramago to Brazilian footballer Pelé. He has also written several works of non-fiction and one children’s picture book, as well as editing reference books for adults and reading guides for children and teenagers. Formerly National Programme Director of the British Centre for Literary Translation, he is a former chair of the Society of Authors (2014–16) and of the UK Translators Association (2012–15). His most recent publications include the new edition of the Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature (Oxford University Press 2015).
Sara Wheeler paints a vivid picture of life and work as a travel writer, through her own experiences and those of inspirational writers of the past. She reflects on the freedom and flexibility of travel writing as a genre, the personal qualities it demands, and how a sense of place is best captured through the details of daily life.
The happiest moment of my life presented itself one cool February afternoon in the Trans-antarctic mountains, many years ago. I was hiking up a valley. Fearful of losing my bearings, I stopped to fish an American Geological Survey map out of my pack and spread it on the ice. Tracing my route by topographical landmarks (including an especially pointy mountain glaciologists had baptised ‘The Doesn’t matterhorn’), my finger came to a straight line drawn with a ruler and marked ‘Limit of Compilation’. Beyond that, the sheet was blank. I had reached the end of the map.
Getting off the map
Travel writing aims to take the reader off the map, literally and metaphorically. Throughout my own professional life, travel has loaned a vehicle in which to explore the inner terrain of fears and desires we stumble through every day. Writing about travel allows flexibility and freedom within the rigid framework of train journeys, weather and knackered tent. The creative process is an ‘escape from personality’ (T.S. Eliot said that), and so is the open road. And a journey goes in fits and starts, like life. Not history, not memoir, but a hybrid blend of the two with a generous dose of topographical description, travel writing is sui generis – either that, or anything you want it to be, provided the narrative conjures a sense of place. It is a baggy genre. Why not be playful?
In the 5th century BC, Herodotus sniffed around Egypt. Coming upon a handsome obelisk, he asked a gang of workers nearby the meaning of the hieroglyphics carved on the base. ‘That’, the labourers solemnly announced, ‘records the number of onions eaten by the men who constructed the obelisk.’ Travel writing can break ground too. In the 14th century, Ibn Battuta set out from the land now known as Morocco and deployed his pen (or was it a quill?) to unveil points east hitherto undreamt of by his contemporaries.
I got started some decades ago with a book on Evia, the second largest Greek island (known to classicists as Euboia). I had studied both ancient and modern Greek at university, had lived in the country for more than a year, and was incubating plenty of ideas about all things Greek. I got a commission, but the resulting book was a labour of love: too much labour, too much love and not enough art (though it’s still in print ... yeah!). My agent said, ‘Next time, go somewhere you don’t know anything about.’ So I went to Chile, because I had always been fascinated by its shape.
Inspirational writers
Many of the writers who inspired me were on the road and at their desks in the early decades of the 20th century – a kind of golden age for travel writing in Britain. I’m thinking of Evelyn Waugh’s Labels: A Mediterranean Journal (Duckworth 1930), Norman Douglas’ Old Calabria (Secker & Warburg 1915), Arthur Grimble’s A Pattern of Islands (John Murray 1952) and of course Robert Byron, the travel writer’s travel writer, whose Road to Oxiana (Macmillan 1937) perfectly embraces the frivolous and the deeply serious – a killer combo.
In the ’70s, the genre enjoyed a renaissance inspired by Paul Theroux, who set off by train to India, and then to Patagonia. In the aftermath, as the craze worked itself out, a superfluity of travelogues took a bogus motif as their central theme – you know the kind of thing: Up Everest with One Hand Tied Behind My Back. The trope reached its logical conclusion with Tony Hawks’ bestselling Round Ireland with a Fridge (Ebury Press 1998) (he hitchhiked the length of the country with a small item of white goods). This idea has had its day, I feel, and prospective writers would do better to find a more authentic theme.
The ‘pattern in the carpet’
The most important thing, in a book or a short piece, is the pattern in the carpet. Travel literature must be about something, and not just an account of a great trip. During the glorious six months I spent travelling down Chile, I assumed that journey’s end would be Cape Horn. But I learned that the country claimed a slice of Antarctica, which appeared on all the maps – even those on badges on Boy Scouts’ arms – like a slice of cake suspended in the Southern Ocean. Damn! So I hitched a lift on a Chilean air-force plane to a snowy base and, as I climbed a hill with a volcanologist and heard him tap-tapping ice into a specimen jar, I looked out at an ice desert bigger than the United States and saw my next book: a travel journey across the Antarctic. I subsequently spent seven months in ‘the Big White’ and the experience gave me a taste for extreme environments. Some years later I followed up with a book on the Arctic. For both, I had to get people to cooperate, as many of my destinations were not on commercial routes; indeed some, like the far eastern Russian region of Chukotka, were closed to foreigners. Dogged persistence required. Never Give
Up!
Books and other ventures ...
My chief endeavour, in my working life, has been books: travel books and biographies of travellers, of Captain Scott’s man Apsley Cherry-Garrard, for example, author of the polar classic The Worst Journey in the World (Constable & Co. 1922). But, as for most of my peers, there have been many short pieces along the way. I write essays, reviews and squibs for love – and for money. The freelance travel writer has many avenues to explore. Some of these pieces really are essays – new introductions to classic works of travel literature, for example; some you could call incidental journalism. This latter might be an enemy of promise, but it gets me out of the house, often to places I would not otherwise go. Dropping in to a village in Kerala for six days might not yield any profound experience, but it offers suggestions and opens up possibilities.
There is a difference between the magazine assignment, for which the writer must travel fast and purposefully, and the book, for which the journey evolves its own inner logic. When I turned 50 my publisher suggested I collect some of my incidental articles in a volume which we called Access All Areas: Selected Writings 1990–2011 (Jonathan Cape 2011). Editing that book revived pleasures of crossing unimportant African borders using a kidney donor card as ID; of sharing a bathroom with a harp seal; of mixing a cocktail of six parts vodka and one part something else (they didn’t revive much of that, because I can’t remember what happened next...).
The power of detail
I often hear it said that tourism has murdered travel writing. I don’t think so. Mass travel has liberated the form. No amount of package tours will stop the ordinary quietly going on everywhere on earth. When I lived in Chile in the early ’90s I found my weekly trawl round the supermarket gripping beyond belief: watching women decide between this jar of dulce de leche or that one, weighing out their cherimoyas, loading up with boxes of washing powder. In Greece a decade earlier I often joined girlfriends at their weekly weigh-in at the local pharmacy (domestic scales had to wait for more prosperous times). So you don’t actually have to be off the map. Don’t you sometimes find daily life almost unbearably poetic?
Minute curiosity is a requirement of the travel writer – and of the biographer, novelist and poet. The significance of the trivial is what makes a book human. Out there on the road, I have often found that the most aimless and boring interludes yielded, in the long run, the most fertile material. Every journey created energy, joy and, above all, hope. There was always a dash of human dignity to lift a story out of absurdity and farce, however ugly the background. The world everywhere and simultaneously is a beautiful and horrible place.
In short, the notion that all the journeys have been made is just another variation of the theme that the past exists in technicolour while the present has faded to grey – that everything then was good, and everything now is bad. A theme, in other words, as old as literature. I add the point that there are no package tours to the Democratic Republic of Congo, still the heart of darkness, or to the parts of Saudi Arabia where women live in a perpetual ethical midnight.
Tools of the trade
Having established her pattern in the carpet, the writer must work hard to conjure a sense of place: she has to make the reader see, hear, taste, feel and smell (though not all at the same time). Specificity is the key, as it is to all writing. Don’t tell the reader so-and-so was eating, or reading – tell them what he was eating or reading. Themes and characters can function as scaffolding. Other trusty tools include the use of dialogue, which works on prose like yeast. Quotations from your diary or letters or emails can vary the texture of your narrative. And history is your friend – use judiciously selected quotations from those who have gone before you. I often cruise the topography shelves in the stacks of the London Library, on the lookout.
And do I need to add that to be any kind of writer you have to read all the time? If you are aiming to pursue a career in the field I describe, you can start by devouring one volume by each of the writers I cite here – preferably within a month. Get the habit. Make notes about what you like and don’t like. I still keep a log of that kind, and I refer to it all the time.
Travelling heroines
Let me end with a few words from and about the travel writer who inspired me above all others: Mary Kingsley. She belonged to that tribe of tweed-skirted Victorians who battled through malarial swamps, parasols aloft, or scaled the unnamed Pamirs trailed by a retinue of exhausted factotums. History has tended to write them off as benignly mad eccentrics, but the best among their volumes have stood the test of time: Isabella Bird’s A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains (1874), Harriet Tytler’s An Englishwoman in India (1903–06), Kate Marsden’s On Sledge and Horseback to Outcast Siberian Lepers (1893) (candidate for title of the millennium?). It is Kingsley, however, who carries the prize with her masterpiece Travels in West Africa (1897), a book enjoyed by millions since it first appeared more than a century ago. The author’s influence on those following in her tracks can scarcely be overestimated. After all, not only did she do what countless men told her could not be done, but she also turned the experience into literature – and had the time of her life to boot.
She was born in London in 1862, high noon of imperial splendour. Amazingly, given the sophistication of her publications, she never went to school. Blue-eyed and slender, with a long face and hair the colour of wet sand, she was 31 when she set off on her first proper trip to Africa in August 1893. Travels in West Africa tells the story of Kingsley’s second, 11-month voyage. Her ship reached Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 7 January 1895, and she headed southwards through those countries now known as Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The trip involved almost unimaginable hardship. Approaching the Gabonese river Remboué, our heroine wades through swamps for two hours at a stretch, up to her neck in fetid water with leeches round her neck like a frill. She marches 25 miles through forest so dense that the sky is never once visible, and falls 15 feet into a game pit laid with 12-inch ebony spikes (‘It is at these times,’ she writes, ‘you realise the blessing of a good thick skirt.’). Kingsley responds profoundly to the African landscape. ‘I believe the great swamp region of the Bight of Biafra is the greatest in the world,’ she writes, ‘and that in its immensity and gloom it has a grandeur equal to that of the Himalayas.’ Like all the very best travel scribes – one thinks of Sybille Bedford, Norman Lewis, Jonathan Raban, and, on form, Freya Stark – Kingsley brilliantly paints a landscape onto the page. The reader can see the silver bubbles of Lake Ncovi as the canoe carves a frosted trail, the rich golden sunlight of late afternoon, or the wreaths of indigo and purple over the forest as day sinks into night. ‘To my taste’, she writes, ‘there is nothing so fascinating as spending a night out in an African forest, or plantation ... And if you do fall under its spell, it takes all the colour out of other kinds of living.’ Indeed.
Sara Wheeler, FRSL is a travel writer, biographer and journalist. Her books include Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile (Little, Brown 1994), Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica (Jonathan Cape 1996), Cherry: A Biography of Apsley Cherry-Garrard (Jonathan Cape 2001) and Too Close to the Sun: A Biography of Denys Finch Hatton (Jonathan Cape 2006). Her most recent book is O My America! (Jonathan Cape 2013). She is a contributing editor of the Literary Review and a Trustee of the London Library.
See also...
• Life’s a pitch: how to get your ideas into print, here
• Writing features for newspapers and magazines, here
Ruby Tandoh describes what is special about a good cookbook, with its vital ingredients of personality, integrity, accessibility and beauty, and how such books continue to be treasured friends, even in our internet age.
We live in a golden age of recipes. Things haven’t always been this way. There was a time when families would have just one cookbook – a tome of culinary knowledge that set the standard for every meal they ate. Before that, recipes would be family heirlooms, passed between generations in furtive whispers. Earlier still, the whole concept of the ‘recipe’ – a set of instructions for preparing a meal – would hardly have made sense; making food was something to be intuited through sight, smell, taste and touch – something impossible to reduce to clunky words and text.
But now, straddling the digital and physical worlds as we do, every day plugging ourselves into the internet, we’ve grown used to a different kind of cooking: we can search for any recipe, from any time, place or culture, no matter where we are. We have the entire world in our smartphone browsers. We can find videos, tutorials, blog posts, picture guides, scientific breakdowns, nutrition calculators and more. Google ‘lasagne recipe’ and you’ll find over 22 million results. When recipes are so abundant, what’s the point of cookbooks?
It might seem pessimistic, but this question is at the heart of good food writing. Because, despite the vastness of the internet and all the resources it offers, people do still buy cookbooks. No matter how many million guacamole recipes litter the virtual landscape, we still do turn to that one stained and food-spattered recipe in the pages of an old book. Clearly there’s something special within the pages of a good cookbook that you can’t necessarily find online. If you can put your finger on this specialness, you can write a good cookbook.
Exactly how this strange, fuzzy-edged ‘specialness’ manifests itself will be different in every book: for some it’ll be in the styling and the aesthetic; in others it’ll be a unique voice; some might be brought together by a unifying message; others have a personality at their core. There’s no one right way to do this – there are as many ways to write a good cookbook as there are recipes for lasagne on Google – but I find it helps to turn first to the cookbooks that line your shelves. What follows is a little tour through my own cookbook collection – from aspic to avocado toast, celebrity recipe books to scholarly guides – to get a sense of the many, many ways to make a cookbook special.
First up is an unlikely one, because it’s important to step outside the old rules and structures if you’re going to write a cookbook that holds its own in the here and now. It’s In the Kitchen with Kris: A Kollection of Kardashian-Jenner Family Favorites (Gallery Books/Karen Hunter Publishing 2014). The food world might not have a lot of time for reality-TV matriarch Kris Jenner and her (most likely ghostwritten) book of recipes, but I think there’s a lot to be learnt from it. The recipes are inviting enough, but the core of this book is Kris herself; these are the musings of a home cook, putting herself and her life at the centre of each recipe. Because, as much as cooking is about craft, science and skill, it’s also about who’s cooking, and who they’re cooking for. So many cookbooks forget how deeply personal food can be, but Kris Jenner is unapologetic about both who she is (an amateur cook) and why these recipes are important (because they’re important to her).
And you don’t have to be a reality TV star to put yourself at the centre of the picture like this. From the beginning of her food writing career, Nigella Lawson has followed exactly this approach: weaving personal anecdotes through her recipes, infusing dull how-to sections with in-jokes and wry remarks, and writing herself and her cooking process into the narrative. The recipes in Lawson’s books aren’t for some exemplar eggs benedict or the platonic pissaladière – they’re unique, sometimes odd, and inseparable from the tastes, cravings and idiosyncrasies of the person who devised them. When I cook these meals, I get a taste of what it is to walk in Nigella Lawson’s shoes. Now that’s special.
Even if you’re not willing to offer up your life story on a plate, that doesn’t mean your voice can’t come through loud and clear. So many of the most wonderful cookbooks I own are ones where the author’s name is in small print or nestled away with the copyright information; these are the manuals and the collections, books like the Hamlyn All-Colour Cookbook (Hamlyn 1979) or your mum’s much-used, barely-holding-together, branded slow-cooker recipe book. What keeps these books on the kitchen shelves long after they’ve gone out of fashion (think dust-jackets with faded photos of aspic, baked alaska and soufflé) is the integrity that they embody. These books are straightforward and unfussy, true to themselves and their readership: if they say home cooking, they mean genuinely easy-to-source ingredients and tried-and-tested recipes. If they claim to give you 100 easy microwave recipes, they do that with unabashed pride. The specialness of these books is about trust: I’ve got as much faith in the Hamlyn Yorkshire puddings rising as I do in the sun coming up in the morning. This is the stuff that treasured cookbooks are made of.
Creating a book like this isn’t easy. The process of recipe testing was completely unlike any kind of home cooking I’ve ever done. When I was testing and tasting recipes for my two cookbooks, my whole life consisted of going to the shop, trudging home with bags of groceries, cooking until I was exhausted, then getting up the next day to do it all over again. I was forced to think about food in ways that no normal, hungry human being would: I found myself counting grams of pasta, measuring frying times with a stopwatch and agonising over the exact dimensions of ‘small cubes’ of potato. If I called for half a can of chopped tomatoes in a recipe, I had to think hard about what my readers would do with the other half of the can. If a recipe needed expensive ingredients, I had to question whether or not those costs were worth it, or what cheaper substitutions I could suggest. Jack Monroe’s A Girl Called Jack (Michael Joseph 2014) takes everyday ingredients and turns them into low-budget meals to feed a family, which meant Jack had to painstakingly calculate exactly how many pennies a teaspoon of cumin would cost. Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals (Michael Joseph 2010) was no doubt the result of a whole team of home economists working ceaselessly for months to create something that can be recreated in just half an hour.
The glory of these cookbooks is that they take that worry, precision and care – all of those countless questions about whether a recipe is spicy enough, cheap enough, accessible enough or authentic enough – and cook it into something as natural as eating itself. Write a Filipino chicken adobo recipe well, and a week of tireless testing will condense into a single page: a story about your girlfriend’s favourite meal, the sweet-sour flavour it’s famous for, and the right way to cook the chicken. From all that trial and error comes a recipe as effortless as if you’d just talked your friend through it while sitting idly on their kitchen countertop. A good cookbook is a friend in the kitchen.
With all this talk of recipes and writing, it’s easy to forget that cookbooks are seldom comprised of text alone. The modern recipe book is a beautiful object. It’s no longer enough just to contain recipes for desirable things; a cookbook has to be a desirable thing in and of itself. I was shocked when I was writing my first cookbook, Crumb (Chatto & Windus 2014), at just how much of the book wasn’t my work at all: designers chose beautiful fonts and formatted the recipes just so; a photographer took hundreds of photos; the publishing team sourced props that conveyed exactly what kind of cooking the book was all about. The images and design of the book did just as much speaking as the words on the page. Even in wordy, prose-heavy cookbooks such as Nigel Slater’s The Kitchen Diaries (Fourth Estate 2005), photos play a vital role, giving us a sense of mood, pace and atmosphere. In Samin Nosrat’s Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (Canongate 2017), illustrations bring levity to descriptions of the science of cooking, while in Molly Katzen’s The Enchanted Broccoli Forest (Ten Speed Press 1982), illustrations serve to hint at a natural, back-to-basics style of cooking, at odds with the highly-styled glossiness of the aforementioned Hamlyn All-Colour Cookbook.
No matter what type of cuisine you write about, or which audience you write for, these things – voice, narrative, recipe quality, accessibility and aesthetic – should all come together to create a message that runs through every page of your cookbook. For some, this will be a romantic story of love, cooking and family, while in other books it might take shape as a paean to traditional Sicilian food. Your book could be heavy on history and context, or it might immerse you in descriptions of the tactile, sensory joys of the kitchen. Perhaps you’re keen to show the world the cooking of your parents and grandparents, preserving a culture that has been passed down to you, or perhaps you want to muddle the rules of good taste, creating something irreverent, inauthentic and fun. In our increasingly self-aware food culture, it might be that you have a more political food message: prioritising affordability, centring marginalised cultures or reframing old culinary histories. Michael W. Twitty’s The Cooking Gene (Amistad 2017) and Julia Turshen’s Feed the Resistance (Chronicle Books 2017) are two great examples of the latter.
Whatever your message, it’s vital that you have one. It’s this message that makes a cookbook more than the sum of its parts, and so, so much more than just a bunch of recipes at the end of a Google search.
Ruby Tandoh is a baker, journalist, and the bestselling author of three books: Crumb: The Baking Book (2014) and Flavour: Eat What You Love (2016) were published by Chatto & Windus, and her latest book is Eat Up: Food, Appetite and Eating What You Want (Profile Books 2018). She is a columnist for the Guardian, and co-founder of Do What You Want, a zine about mental health. Ruby was a finalist in the 2013 series of ‘The Great British Bake Off’. Follow her on Twitter @rubytandoh and her blog at rubyandthekitchen.co.uk.
Writing for the health and wellness market
Health writer Anita Bean offers advice on how to find success in the popular and fast-moving health and wellness market, using some essential ingredients – fresh ideas, careful research, trustworthy content and strong, clever marketing.
When I began writing freelance in 1990, the health and wellness market was quite niche compared to what is today. Back then, it comprised mostly slimming magazines, which were targeted exclusively at women. As a nutritionist, I was – fortunately – in high demand. My first regular commission was a column for Slimmer magazine, and after that folded I had a regular column in Zest and She. In those days, most publications preferred to use freelances rather than staff writers, so there was certainly plenty of work around.
The market has changed hugely over the past 25 years, thanks largely to the internet. So many more people are interested in health and wellness, not just slimmers. You’ll find regular health and wellness features in just about every print and digital medium – even the financial and business press! The other major change is the decreased use of freelances by mainstream media, as tighter budgets mean many more health and wellness features are now written in-house.
This is both good and bad for health writers. More media channels and bigger audiences mean there’s loads of potential work out there for us. Editors need to fill more column inches and digital space, so they are perpetually on the lookout for new health content. The downside is that every man and his dog now seem to be an ‘expert’ and there’s nothing to stop them writing about health and wellness on the internet. As a result, good (that is, evidence-based) content has become diluted in a tsunami of poor content put out there by bloggers, self-styled ‘experts’, and social media stars with a large Instagram following and impressive six-packs. The public are often left confused and, nowadays, no longer know who to trust for health advice.
How I got into writing
As a child, I was always curious about the science of food – what’s in it, what happens when you add this to that, what happens to food in the body – and I was forever experimenting in the kitchen, cooking and creating recipes. I also loved reading cookery books and built up quite a collection over the years – I would devour every morsel of information I could find about food and nutrition.
At school, I loved home economics (now food technology) but was more fascinated by food chemistry. So I went on to study for a degree in Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Surrey and – unusually for a girl back in the 80s – started lifting weights. I qualified both as a registered nutritionist and, after winning the British bodybuilding championships in 1991, as a fitness instructor.
I honed my writing skills while I worked as a nutritionist for the Dairy Council. I wrote booklets and articles about health and nutrition, and also developed an interest in the organisation’s sports sponsorship activities. I realised that there was virtually no nutrition information available for athletes or regular exercisers. There was clearly a gap in the market for such a book! So, I handed in my notice and decided to enter the world of freelance health writing.
Getting your lucky break
As with many things in life, getting that lucky break in writing is often a case of being in the right place at the right time, seizing an opportunity and taking a risk. You also need to have a strong belief in your idea, and be persistent. That’s essentially how I got my first book deal in 1992 (The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition) when I sent my proposal to Bloomsbury (then A&C Black), as well as many other publishers. There was nothing on sports and exercise nutrition in the UK trade market but, luckily, this commissioning editor happened to be on the lookout for a sports nutrition book to add to her sports list. My proposal landed at just the right time. But it was a risk for both of us, as it was an untapped and unknown market.
Fortunately, the market turned out to be a lot bigger than anticipated; as well as publicising the book to athletes, I also looked up my contacts list and targeted fitness training providers, schools and universities. The book was soon placed on the recommended list for many higher education courses, which now account for a large proportion of its sales. There’s no single secret to a book’s success, but it’s often a combination of fresh ideas, excellent content and savvy marketing.
Build your brand
The other aspect of writing is longevity. It’s tempting to sit back on your laurels after you’ve published a book and let sales look after themselves. But that won’t happen. You need to put sustained effort into building your reputation and marketing yourself and your work. As a new writer, I offered to provide nutrition talks for health clubs and fitness training organisations who then recommended my books to their students. I also gave talks to athletes, spoke at conferences, and provided quotes and commentary to the media. Much of this was either underpaid or unpaid but it was always done in return for a book plug. And any editorial coverage is worth so much more in terms of endorsement. Whether you’re a new or an established author, it’s important to get your name out there – and keep it there!
In the world of health and wellness, trends change fast, and what’s hot one minute can be out of the favour the next. The key to a book’s longevity is to update it regularly to reflect new thinking and also the demands of a fast-changing market. I’ve now written eight editions of my first book. Each time, I re-examine the content to ensure it is current and relevant to my readership. I add extra material and cut sections that I feel are no longer engaging my readers.
Market your work
In the highly competitive world of health and wellness, doing your own marketing is more important than ever before. I strongly recommend having your own website. This is not only a brilliant way of marketing your books and writing services but is also a platform to showcase your published work. Providing free information in the form of articles and recipes is also a great way of establishing your credibility and attracting potential book sales. You don’t need to spend a fortune (you can build your own site) but the more time and effort you put into your website, the greater will be the return in terms of future commissions. It’s also crucial to update your site regularly, add new content, ditch stuff that has become less relevant and learn a bit about search engine optimisation. I’ve redesigned my website (www.anitabean.co.uk) three times since 2004. I provide free articles and recipes, and a free downloadable ebook. To sustain a regular readership, I aim to post a new blog a minimum of once a month.
Having a social media presence is also crucial for a health writer. It’s not only a great way of letting people know about your work but is also essential for keeping up to date and finding out what people are talking about. I recommend focusing your efforts on just two or three platforms, whichever are most relevant to your target market. For me, Twitter and Instagram work very well. I use Twitter for sharing new information, publicising my work (e.g. new books, blog posts and articles) and finding out what’s new in health. I post photos of recipes from my latest book on Instagram to help spread the word.
Seven tips on breaking into the health and wellness market
1. Identify a gap in the market
Read, read, read – find out what’s new and emerging. Research what’s already out there, your competition, and then work out how you can make your product better. Keep an eye on trends and try to stay ahead of the game – be the first to write about a new topic, not the last.
2. Generate new ideas
Network with colleagues and experts at conferences; this is also useful for building up a contact list of experts for quotes. Mingle with your audience before and after presentations – what do they want to know, what are their concerns? Social media can be a great place to pick up on what’s trending and on ideas for blogs, articles and books.
3. Know your readership
Do your research – actually read the magazine you want to write for, so you get a feel of who the readers are and what they want to read about. Get on their level and talk their language.
4. Improve your content
Accuracy is paramount; always use evidence (not just ‘research says...’) and cite or link to the source or study abstract. Always add a practical element (‘– now here’s how you can use this info...’).
5. Adapt your style
Be adaptive and always write to, not at, your reader as if you were speaking to them. Aim to inspire them, and for your reader to say, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that!’ by the end of the piece. Make your article or book unique and different from the competition, not just a companion to what’s already out there.
6. Be consistent
Ensure your messages are consistent across everything you write (e.g. you can’t be pro-carb one minute and low-carb the next), but be prepared to change your view if new research comes to light.
7. Don’t slavishly follow trends
Just because other writers are raving about a new thing – say, coconut oil – doesn’t mean you have to. Question a trend; where did it start? Often it stems from clever PR rather than science. And don’t believe everything a PR sends you; look beyond the headlines – where did the story come from? Read the original research, and only write about the product if you believe it stands up to scrutiny, not just to fill a column or to generate a grabby headline.
Anita Bean is an award-winning registered nutritionist, freelance health writer and author of 28 books, including The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition, The Vegetarian Athlete’s Cookbook, Food for Fitness, The Complete Guide to Strength Training, Nutrition for Young Athletes and Sod It! Eat Well (all Bloomsbury). Her latest book, The Runner’s Cookbook, was published in 2018 (Bloomsbury). She has written features for many national magazines, including Good Housekeeping, Cycling Weekly, Runner’s World, Women’s Running and Healthy, and is quoted regularly in the media. Visit Anita’s website at www.anitabean.co.uk.
Frances Jessop describes how, in sports publishing, a quick-thinking and creative author can grasp an opportunity or take advantage of a new angle to find success. Here she gives clear advice on what an editor is looking for in a proposal for a sports book.
A children’s book, the autobiography of a player, the biography of a manager, at least seven books telling the story of the season, a book of the manager’s quotes, and the story told in the words of Richard III – so many books have been published about the ‘fairy tale’ of Leicester City winning the Premier League in 2015/16 that this story has almost become a sub-genre in itself. This most unlikely of tales (if it were submitted as a novel, it would surely have had ‘a bit unrealistic?’ scrawled on the manuscript) has spawned books that perfectly illustrate both the breadth and depth of sports writing and the opportunities open to authors and publishers who can think quickly and imaginatively.
What makes a good (and successful) sports book?
There are as many types of sports books as there are types of non-fiction but, as an editor commissioning sports books for a trade publisher, I mostly see three kinds. Firstly, the autobiography or biography of a sporting figure – what many people imagine when they think of a sports book. Their subjects range from household names to pioneers of a sport and everything in between. What the good ones have in common are insight and access. Many autobiographies are ghostwritten and the more time the writer has had to spend with the subject, the better the book. If they have been able to interview people surrounding their subject, then a much more nuanced and layered portrait will emerge. A gold standard in autobiography (across all genres) is Andre Agassi’s Open (HarperCollins 2010). As the title suggests, he is breathtakingly honest about his relationship with tennis and the struggles he has faced in his career. This candour and vulnerability, combined, of course, with a highly successful career and an engaging character, make for a terrific book.
Secondly, many of the books we publish at Yellow Jersey Press could be described as narrative non-fiction that happens to be set in the sporting world. One of the best non-fiction books I’ve read is Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger (Yellow Jersey Press 2005), which was subsequently adapted into a film and a long-running television drama. It’s ‘about’ American football in Texas, but it’s actually about small town life, growing up, hopes and dreams. The best sporting narratives are often described as books you’d enjoy even if you aren’t a fan of the particular sport. Sport is a great leveller; there’s a universality to sport that makes it an excellent prism through which to tell bigger stories, something which good books do to great effect.
Sports publishing is opportunistic, as can be seen by the flurry of books that inevitably appear following a successful Olympic Games or the aforementioned Leicester City triumph. A third type of book we see is one that has a clear opportunity of this kind – perhaps due to a tournament, an anniversary or a spectacular result. These books are often a gamble – after all, as every football manager knows, the only result that counts is the most recent one – but when they work can be very successful. It is often said that you need to be the best or the first, and with this type of book being first is often what really counts, which makes for some hair-raising schedules! A good sports book of this kind has a clear market, an excellent hook for publicity, and timeliness. Last autumn we published a biography of Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp. We knew that he was popular with fans, who tend to heavily support books about the club and its players and managers. He was doing well, which meant we hoped he’d be a long-term appointment, plus the book would be out in advance of any trophies he won with the club. And we had the perfect author, someone who had excellent access to Klopp’s friends, family and colleagues and could deliver the definitive story of his career.
More than anything, finding a new angle or a story that hasn’t been told is key. Some people are brilliant at this, with a knack for spotting sides of their sport that haven’t been explored. Most great sports books start with a question, such as: ‘Will anyone ever run a marathon in under two hours?’ [Ed Caesar’s Two Hours (Viking 2015)]; ‘What’s it really like to be a professional athlete? Could I do it?’ [George Plimpton’s Paper Lion (Yellow Jersey Press 2016)].
Pitching a sports book: the proposal
Like any other non-fiction, most sports books are sold on proposal. Whether you’re submitting directly to a publisher or to an agent, a good proposal contains an introduction to the project, which includes: an overview of the story; why now is the time to tell it; why you are uniquely qualified (this is just as important as your professional experience – I’ve commissioned new writers who are perfectly placed to write their book just as often as experienced writers); and research to show the book’s place in the market. We also need a detailed summary of the chapters, in order to assess the shape of the story, although, as you write it this might change, so don’t be concerned about being beholden to a structure that doesn’t work. Finally, a sample of your writing is essential – a chapter or two will do, and make sure it’s as polished as possible.
You will need to give an idea of when you’ll deliver the manuscript. With most sports books there’s likely to be an obvious time to publish it – for example, ahead of the Tour de France for cycling books, before a World Cup or the start of the season for football books. Also important are gifting opportunities – many sports books are given as gifts, so Father’s Day and Christmas are sales peaks. Ideally, books are delivered a year in advance of publication to allow time for editorial work, for the cover to be designed, the production process (copy-editing, typesetting, proofreading, etc.), and to have the final book in plenty of time for the sales department to sell it in to retailers and for the publicity and marketing team to plan and execute their campaigns. However, in order to make the most of a window of opportunity, this process is often compressed – so being able to work quickly and deliver in a reasonable timeframe is very attractive to a publisher. But do be realistic: late delivery is intensely frustrating for publishers, resulting in either a book being rushed or it having to be moved on, possibly missing the ideal publication date. Both scenarios can severely affect its commercial potential.
Many publishers only accept submissions from agents, but in sports publishing we do see far more direct approaches from authors. In principle, we’re happy to see a well-written and comprehensive proposal, no matter how it comes to us, and if time is a factor then it can make sense to come directly to publishers, particularly if there is an obvious home for a book. However, agents can contribute a great deal to the publishing process, not least by taking care of the contract negotiations, so it’s often worth taking advantage of that extra step. See section Literary agents, here.
Most sports books will require interviews, so it’s helpful to have an idea of who you intend to interview and to show if you’ve already got links to them. By all means include a wish list, but where you do have contacts make this clear, and where you don’t, outline how you might get to those interviewees.
Some research into the market and competitor titles is useful. We do this research too, but it helps to be given a view on how you see your book positioned and what the market looks like, particularly in less mainstream sports. And just because a sport isn’t mainstream it doesn’t mean we won’t want to publish it. On the contrary, more diversity in sports writing, such as more books on women’s sport and sports that are underrepresented on television, would be very much welcomed. It does mean, though, that author and editor will need to work a bit harder to build a case and to prove there’s an audience out there waiting for this book. As well as comparison titles, think about providing viewing figures, attendance numbers, the sport’s social media reach, and ways in which the athletes reach their fans.
Finally, it’s important to understand that not all books get commissioned and the vast majority are turned down by a least one publisher. Please don’t get disheartened. Publishing is an extremely subjective industry: as editors, we must fall in love with a book (or spy an unmissable publishing opportunity), enough to make our colleagues fall for it too; those colleagues, in turn, will make retailers and book reviewers desperate to stock or review it, and they will persuade readers to buy it. We all have different tastes; what leaves one person cold will be perfect for another.
There are many things editors consider when evaluating a proposal, other than simply whether it’s good enough to be published. I have numerous questions running through my mind as I look at a proposal: Is it well written? Does the story grab me? Do I know there’s a market for it? What publicity and marketing opportunities are there? Is my schedule already full (publishing schedules are usually filled at least a year ahead, barring one or two late must-haves)? What’s the balance of the list like – do I have space for another football/cycling/tennis book? We’ve all turned down books we loved but which just weren’t right for us at that particular time, for any of the above reasons and more.
What an editor wants you to know
If you’ve got a commission, congratulations! Your editor will be excited to publish your book and to share it with colleagues. Here are a few things that we tell almost every writer during the writing and editing process.
Firstly, you’re doing a great job – writing a book is hard. Most writers have a wobble at some point and your editor is here to be a sounding board and to offer some advice or just moral support. We’d always rather hear from you than for you to suffer in silence.
Don’t panic if you don’t already have loads of industry contacts. Most people are willing to help you or to point you in the right direction. Be clear about what you want, polite, and willing to travel or be flexible. Often one interviewee will lead you to another and your network will blossom. Be persistent; PR offices are hectic places, so keep trying in a variety of ways and your patience may well be rewarded. Be creative about who you approach – the star names would be ideal, but you might get more insight (and time) from someone recently retired or the next level down.
When writing, keep notes on your sources. Many sports book need a libel read if the subjects are still living and you will save yourself a lot of time (and money – the cost of libel reads are shared between publishers and authors) if you have this information to hand.
Finally, it’s surprising how little sport you actually want in a sports book. Endless descriptions of what happened in a football match are superfluous and drain the pace from a narrative. Save the blow-by-blow detail for when it’s necessary and when it adds real drama. On a similar note, the usual adage: show, don’t tell. Don’t tell us why something is important, show it; where possible, let us hear directly from interviewees instead of telling us what they said.
In summary: be curious, be creative, think strategically about where opportunities might be found, and read widely for inspiration and instruction. There are some wonderful stories out there waiting to be turned into brilliant sports books – I look forward to reading your take on them.
Frances Jessop is a commissioning editor within Penguin Random House where she looks after literary sports books at Yellow Jersey Press, as well as fiction and non-fiction paperbacks for Vintage. She started her publishing career at Blackwell Publishing in Oxford and then worked in the literary agency at the William Morris Agency, before joining Random House. Follow her on Twitter @francesjessop.