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The Magazine for the Society of Young Publishers

Summer 2007

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Editorial

UKYoungPublisheroftheYear:andthewinner

isClare Christian

2for1:VintageTwinsLiz Foley

Reections of a First-Time AuthorRebecca Strong

Women in Publishing: Conference OverviewAnn Carter

SYP Dates For Your Diaries

Gorgeous, Gothic and Romantic: John Rylands

Library unveiled Jason Mitchell

Freelance Glance: Working with Editors

Charlie Wilson

The Real London and MalkaniJon Slack

Book Club Forum: The Inheritance of Loss Emily McLeod

Missive From Manhattan: Book Launches

Melanie Michael-Greer

Classics Competition: Winning EntriesHugo Rifkind & Matthew Bell

Career Development with Inspired SelectionJason Mitchell

Ask Ros: Careers Clinic Ros Kindersley

Chairs Column

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Editorial

I

knew spending every waking moment on Facebook

would reap its benets one day, and the proof isin the pudding (or on page 22 of this issue)! Whilestalking a friend of a friend recently (is it still weird

to admit that?) I noticed The Times columnist HugoRifkind had a prole, and in a rash moment that

would never have happened had I met him in person,I messaged him an invitation to enter the last InPrintcompetition, to which he graciously agreed! A realcoup for us. Both the winning entries encapsulateearly twentieth-century classics that share themes ofreligious and sexual anxiety perhaps they should besold as a twin-pack Vintage Angst, anyone?

This inspired suggestion of mine might makemore sense when you read our interview with Liz Foleyabout the impending re-launch of Vintage Classics thissummer. The accompanying campaign, Vintage ClassicTwins, presents a truly novel marketing concept thathas clearly had a lot of thought put into it. You can ndout what theyve got planned on pages 67.

What I love about so many of the articles in thisissue, like the Q&A with 2007s UK Young Publisher of

the Year, Clare Christian (pp.45), and ex-InPrint editorRebecca Strongs Reections of a First-Time Author(pp.89), is that they highlight and celebrate theachievements of young people in publishing today. Thisis practically the raison detre of the SYP, along withhelping new recruits to crack the industry in the rstplace (on this note, our fantastic careers agony aunt,Ros Kindersley, is back on page 24). So, pop open thechampagne with us, enjoy the ride, and let me know

what you think!

Tori Hunt can be contacted at inprint@thesyp.org.uk.

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How did your career trajectory develop, to get you where you are now an

MD of your own company?

I began with an editorial assistant job at McGraw-Hill that I absolutely hated. I wasso miserable that I thought Id made a mistake getting into publishing. So I leftand intended to do some temping while I had a re-think, but a recruitment agencysaw my experience and I was offered a job at John Wiley, which I reluctantlyaccepted. But I found I loved it, which made me realise that I had just been unluckyat McGraw-Hill and I went from Wiley to Orion, then Pearson, then Hodder; allgreat companies that gave me a huge amount of experience but that ultimatelyproved unfullling. I became increasingly frustrated by working within a corporateenvironment and had been looking to start my own business for some time. I self-published a book with a colleague (who went on to become my business partner)from our own London by London website and the nancial/sales model behindthat became the basis for The Friday Project business plan.

How did you come up with the name?

My ex-business partner and I founded an email newsletter back in 2000 which wentout on a Friday. It was a satirical look at the weeks events and was very popular.We called it The Friday Thing and the name has stuck.

Where do you see yourself and/or TFP in ten years time? Will all agents

and publishing houses be made redundant by your cut out the middle-man

approach, or is this a complementary approach?

Ten years is a long time in the life of a small publishing house particularly whenthe industry is facing an unprecedented sea change and I cant say for surewhere we will be. My ambition for the company is to become a truly cross-mediapublishing house in that I want us to be making use of every available media tosource, create, market and sell brilliant content. The cut out the middle-manapproach is a bit of a myth that seems to have developed around what we do atTFP. We dont actively look for authors that dont have agents, it just happensthat because we often nd people early in their quest for publication they oftendont yet have representation. I never discourage an author from having an agentand several of my authors do.

Whats the worst job youve ever had?

It is a close run thing between the job at McGraw-Hill and a summer job I once hadwhere I had to scrub out the cooking pots at the local factory canteen. On balance

I think I preferred scrubbing pots.

To check out Clares blog, visit www.tfpsgirlfriday.blogspot.com.

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Liz Foley, Editorial Director ofVintage Classics, began hercareer in publishing nine yearsago, working as an editorialassistant at The Harvill Press.She then enjoyed a spell as a

bookseller before moving to RandomHouses literary paperback imprint,Vintage, where she has remained eversince.

Vintage is responsible forpaperbacking the hardback imprintsChatto & Windus, Jonathan Cape, andthe recently merged Harvill Secker,and presently also publishes prestigioustwentieth-century paperback classicsin its Vintage Classics list. In 2006, Lizwas invited to take on her current role,focusing entirely on developing theVintage Classics list and brand.

Currently, the list is known forpublishing writers like William Faulkner,Iris Murdoch, Joseph Heller, and ErnestHemingway. But Vintage Classics issoon to be re-launched (with a glitzynew website) and, by expanding intothe out-of-copyright market, the listwill be broadened to cover a muchwider variety of classic works fromall different eras. Many of these will

include new introductions from high-

prole contemporary authors such asIrvine Welsh and Margaret Atwood.

Liz, talk us through the forthcomingre-launch: how many new titles andauthors are you adding, and how didyou decide which ones to publishnow?

August is an exceptional month because

were running a special promotioncalled the Vintage Classic Twins. Ithink this is the rst time any publisherhas done anything like this wereproducing gift packs with two booksshrinkwrapped together, which willbe sold for the price of a single book.Each pack includes a specially designedlimited edition of a modern title fromthe standard Vintage list, and an

established classic work that is joiningthe Vintage Classics list.The titles are thematically linked

and weve picked them to makethought-provoking combinations. Sofor example, we have Vintage Fantasy,which includes Alices Adventures inWonderlandand Haruki Murakamis TheWind-up Bird Chronicle; Vintage Crime,which has Dostoevskys Crime and

Punishment with Patricia Highsmiths

2 FOR 1: VINTAGE TWINSTori Hunt talks to Liz Foley about the soon-to-be-re-launched Vintage Classics list, and why(or the rst time ever) old classics will be paired with new titles this summer.

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Ripleys Game, and Vintage Youth,which matches Oliver Twist withTrainspotting. The idea is to makepeople look at the classics in a newway. There are ten Twins in total, on avariety of themes, so there should be

something that appeals to everyone.Going forward, we will be adding

to the list every month. Wevecommissioned new translations andalso looked into doing illustrated andspecial editions of selected titles: PosySimmonds has agreed to do a graphicnoveledition of A Christmas Carol forus, which is particularly wonderful.

For the Vintage 15th birthday campaignin 2005, you invited reading groupsacross the country to select 15twentieth-century books that theyfelt would become future classics. Areyou involving reading groups againthis summer?

Yes, the Reading Group Partnership is

heavily involved in the Twins promotion.To celebrate the launch we have pairsof different reading groups aroundthe country reading the Twins. So wehave a group in East London and onein Edinburgh reading Trainspotting andOliver Twist together, and we have amothers reading group and a groupmade up of female students reading ourVintage Fear Twin, which includes The

Complete Fairy Tales by the BrothersGrimm and Angela Carters The BloodyChamber. We even have a group inJapan and one in England reading theVintage Fantasy Twin. Itll be reallyinteresting to see how the differentgroups respond to the books and to theidea of linking them together.

Who do you see as being your biggestcompetitor out there? What makesVintage Classics stand out from thecrowd?

There are various players in theeld of classics publishing who havebeen around for a long time and areobviously established, and then thereare other publishers who have recentlydecided to publish a few classic titles in

a more ad hoc way. I think what makesVintage Classics different is that we aregoing about this venture very seriouslyand wholeheartedly, but also we areattempting to broaden the market forthese books with our approach. Webelieve that these books should appealmore to the ordinary reader, whomight normally read one of the modernauthors from the standard Vintage listlike Ian McEwan or Philip Roth.

Another publisher has recentlylaunched a series of Compact ClassicEditions, abridging famous classics.Is this something you would everconsider doing, for the particularlyweighty titles on your list?

Its an interesting idea but its notreally true to the spirit of Vintage, orVintage Classics. Historically were aliterary publisher and our readers areattracted to our books by differentcriteria than length. Were keener topublish complete and unexpurgatededitions (like our Grimms Fairy Tales)and include interesting extra materialwhere relevant, rather than take stuffaway from the reader.

Finally, whats your favourite classic

title, and why?

An impossible question everyonealways says Middlemarch. It denitelyis one of my favourites, but they changeall the time. The Leopardand The Endof theAffairhave also been in my topten for a good while.

But re-reading things I haventlooked at since school or university

has really opened my eyes to how yourperception of classic books changesover time. I hated Wuthering Heightswhen I was 12, and now I love it.

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Ihad been editing InPrint for justunder a year when I rst heard fromTom Chalmers. He had started his ownpublishing company, Legend Press,and wrote an article about it for themagazine. Eventually, Tom asked

me for a quote for the back of his rstshort story collection, The RemarkableEveryday, and so we became betteracquainted.

I had written a couple of short

stories whilst at university, which wereresiding languidly on my computer harddrive. When one day I mentioned theirexistence, Tom said hed be happyto read them and give me feedback.Encouraged, I went home and retrievedthem, my mind spinning with renewedinterest. But when I did a word count,my heart sank each story totalledonly 4,000 words. Memories of spending

carefree student hours carefullyconstructing them came ooding back;if I had put so much time and effort intosuch short stories, would I ever be ableto write an entire, 75,000 word novel?Was I being too ambitious in trying totranslate an occasional hobby intosomething many people painstakinglypursue as a full-time career?

But I knew I had nothing to lose,and Toms offer was invaluable. I

emailed him both short stories, and wemet soon afterwards to discuss them. Iwas both relieved and excited when hesaid that he liked my writing style, and

suggested that I turn one of them into anovel. And so, the story beganMany people have asked me how

long it took to write a novel, and itsa difcult question to answer. I startedwriting in February 2006, a few monthsafter getting married and moving toa new house. I was working full-time,still editing InPrint and occupyingan SYP committee role, and I hadrecently joined a church choir (which

meant attending practices everyFriday evening and services twice ona Sunday). Additionally, I was oftencatching up with friends after workduring the week and seeing family on

Refections o a First-Time AuthorRebecca Strong, ormer Editor oInPrint, looks back on the creative process involved in writing

and publishing her rst novel.

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weekends. Tom and I agreed ondeadlines, and my rst was to get him25,000 words by the end of March. Thiswas hugely benecial, not only becauseI work well under pressure, but becauseit meant I would receive his feedbackalong the way. I wrote as much as Icould on free evenings, and dedicatedSunday afternoons to writing. The restof the time I was developing the plotin my head, thinking constantly aboutthe narrative and who the characterswere, so that when I did sit down towrite the sentences would ow. Iknew that, no matter what, I couldntlet this opportunity slip away, and inbetween the frustrations and self-

doubt, I re-discovered the pleasure ofwriting. Two more deadlines passed,

and Toms feedback was positive andconstructive. By December I had senthim an entire rst draft, and aftertaking his comments on board, I senthim a nal draft at the end of Januarythis year. It wasnt until March 2007that he conrmed hed like to publishit this July.

Im sure many of you, like me, haveheard authors lamenting about howdifcult it is to get a publishing deal you have to get a miraculous break orknow someone who knows someone but it might not be as impossible at itseems. I met Tom because I got involvedwith the SYP, because I mentioned myinterest in writing, and because I seizethe opportunity to create a novel for hisconsideration, despite no guarantee of

publication. And I can honestly say thatas wonderful as it is to have my workpublished, it was equally as satisfyingto prove to myself that I could write a

novel I think is worth reading.Writing ction can be a very solitary

process. You nd yourself guardingyour real thoughts and emotions, andchannelling them into the ctitiousworld into which youre breathinglife. Everything you encounter in your

daily life is a potential spark for yourimagination; you turn the supercialinto intensity, the mundane into magic.Your muse hides in everyone, andeverything. And, for me at least, thisall-consuming process is a secret one:a drawn-out metamorphosis thats hardto share. Yet you are not alone: thecharacters you have created invadeyour mind and keep you company. I

wrote my story from the perspective ofdifferent characters, which challengedme as a writer and broadened the worldI invented.

Here or There is for anyonewho has made a choice in life andwondered if its the right one. It isfor anyone who has been affected,directly or indirectly, by someoneelses decisions. Its for anyone whohas grabbed at life, and subsequently

realised theyve left the mostimportant part behind. But most of all,it is for anyone who is still searchingfor that place in life they know theyllnever want to leave. I sincerely hopeyou will read and enjoy it.

Here or There by Rebecca Strong is

published by Legend Press on 28 July

2007. To read an extract, visit

www.thesyp.org.uk.

For more information, or to order acopy, go to www.legendpress.co.uk.

I couldnt let thisopportunity slip away,and in between thefrustrations and self-doubt, I re-discovered the

pleasure of writing.

Everything you encounterin your daily life is apotential spark for yourimagination; you turn the

superficial into intensity,the mundane into magic.

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Most women are morereticent than men inmaking demands ofemployers.

Women in Publishing: Conerence OverviewIs there still a glass ceiling in orce at boardroom level or has the appointment o women to

managerial positions changed publishing or good? Ann Carter reports.

The Women in Publishing conference took place at the Oxford InternationalCentre for Publishing Studies at Oxford Brookes University. This one dayconference gave a varied account of womens history and experiences inpublishing, including some of the most inuential women in trade publishing,past and present, speaking at the event.

Helen Fraser (managing director, Penguin Books) presented a detailedaccount of her career, which started in academic publishing in the 1970s, and howshe has worked for various companies and survived takeovers. Her experience

started in male dominated, old boys club days of publishing, but she admittedthat these days more should be done to encourage young men into junior editoriallevels. She believes that the glass ceiling is still there but not for long.

Her experiences and ideas contrasted quite strongly with those of the followingspeakers from Random House imprint Chatto & Windus. Poppy Hampson (editor)and Jenny Uglow (editorial director) discussed women in publishing with ProfessorHermione Lee (University of Oxford). Jenny began her publishing career at roughlythe same time as Helen Fraser but has stayed in an editorial role rather than movinginto management. She has written various books so was able to provide an authors

perspective of editors, as was Hermoine Lee.Poppy Hampson is younger than the previousspeakers and is involved with the NUJ. She spokeabout the problems of low pay at entry levelpositions and the need for publishing to be seenas a legitimate career choice, admitting that

shed once heard it described it as a hobby. When asked, neither speaker thoughtwomen have specic skills as editors which men do not.

The nal event of the day was a panel discussion chaired by Claire Squires fromOxford Brookes University. The panel included Kate Hyde (senior editor, Press Books,

HarperCollins), Helen Moreno (sales and marketing assistant, Publishing Department,Oxfam), Ursula Owen (founding director of Virago Press and Project Director for theCentre of Literature and Free Expression) and Carole Welch (Publishing Director,Sceptre). Kate Hyde thought women could improve their chances of remainingcurrent in the industry by embracing the digital age. One speaker suggested thatmost women are more reticent than men in making demands of employers, so oftendont progress at the same pace. Another commented that young men may not beinterested in publishing due to the low pay and suggested that women are perhapsmore willing to work for less for love of the job.The increasing number of women

in managerial roles has not changed the fact that the publishing industry is highlycompetitive and difcult to penetrate. More women work in various positions inpublishing than ever before but the Conference ultimately highlighted other issues,such as demographics, which affect women more than gender inequality.

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Dates For Your Diaries 2007Wednesday 1 August 2007, 6.30pmLondon Speaker Meeting The Art of Publishing Illustrated Books

Saturday 11 August2007Punting Party, Oxford

Monday 20 August 2007, 24pmEdinburgh Book Festival drinks, Party Pavilion. Guest speaker is Jamie Byng,MD of Canongate.

Wednesday 19 September, 6.30pmOxford Speaker Meeting: Working in Trade Publishing

Wednesday 26 September2007, 6.30pm

London Speaker Meeting Editorial: Commissioning & Editing A BookWednesday 17 October, 6.30pmOxford Speaker Meeting: Getting into Publishing

Wednesday 31 October 2007, 6.30pmLondon Speaker Meeting Publicity

Saturday 10 November2007Careers Conference, Oxford Brookes University

Wednesday 28 November 2007, 6.30pmLondon Speaker Meeting Rights

Visitwww.thesyp.org.uk for more details, and subscribe to our press email forregular updates.

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Gorgeous, Gothic and RomanticJason Mitchell explores the new John Rylands Library, Manchester.

The history of Manchester has always been closely connected to that of its

libraries. Indeed, from a city known for itsradical belligerence came the worlds rstfree public library, Chethams Library, in1653 and, in 1850, Manchester became therst local authority in Britain to introduce a

public lending and reference library for its citizens,free of charge and supported by ratepayers.

Manchester remains home to several worldfamous libraries: the aforementioned Chethams(where, in 1845, Friederich Engels and Karl Marx

hammered out The Communist Manifesto); ThePortico Library; the Working Class MovementLibrary (a regular venue for union training courses,e.g. with the NUJ); Manchester Central Library(the largest in the UK outside London, frequentedby such individuals as the novelist Anthony Burgess,the singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl, Morrissey,Howard Spring, Tony Warren, Sir John Barbirolli andVikram Seth); and the John Rylands Library.

For me, the John Rylands Library has to be the jewel in the crown of Manchestersrich literary heritage. Housing one of the countrys greatest collections of printed

books, manuscripts and archives (including the oldest surviving fragment of theNew Testament), it is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful libraries in theworld, which boasts collections of outstanding international signicance. Locatedin the heart of the city on Deansgate, a quick look at the exterior of the building

afrms its status: made of sandstone and built in 1888,the building remains one of the greatest examples ofGothic architecture in Europe.

The library can be seen as Manchesters version ofthe Taj Mahal: widow Enriqueta Rylands had millionsof pounds at her disposal, and the memorial she built

to her husband, John Rylands, is a lasting legacy of thelove she had for the wealthy textile merchant. Rylandswas a successful and modest cotton merchant andmanufacturer: when he died in 1888 leaving an estate of

more than 2.5 million (the largest estate ever left by a non-aristocrat), his secondwife, Enriqueta, resolved to convert his private theological book collection into apublic one. It includes the oldest printed material from Europe, a rst edition ofShakespeares Sonnets, most of the Caxtons ever printed (including a 1476 WilliamCaxton edition of Chaucers Canterbury Tales, thought to be the rst book printedin England), Guttenberg Bibles and mediaeval illuminated manuscripts. In theOriental section alone, there are 20,000 manuscripts in 40 different languages.

No expense was spared in the construction of the Library, which was tobecome a scholarly institution of international importance following Mrs Rylandspurchase in 1892 of 43,000 volumes from the library of George John, 2nd EarlSpencer. Another purchase in 1901 of over 6,000 manuscripts collected by the

The librarycan be seen asManchesters

version of theTaj Mahal

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Earls of Crawford further enhanced the academic standing of the Library.The magnicent new Library opened to the public on 1 January 1900, designed

by architect Basil Champneys. The 1890s building as awhole is of outstanding architectural signicance: themagnicent faade serves as a taster for the interior,the central feature of which is the cathedral-like

historic Reading Room. Individual elements of theinterior are also remarkable, including the stonework,metalwork, windows and bookcases. The heating andventilation system was extremely sophisticated for itstime and it was one of the rst buildings in Manchesterto be served by electricity.

The Library continued to ourish throughoutthe early twentieth century, thanks to endowmentsbequeathed by Mrs Rylands when she died in 1908. Thebuilding was extended in 1920 (Champneys was againthe architect) and again in the 1950s and late 1960s.However, the Library began to experience nancialpressures and a merger with The University of Manchester in 1972 was the obviousway forward. The Deansgate building became the Special Collections Division ofThe John Rylands University Library.

In 2003, the Library closed whilst 17 million of restoration work gotunderway, and in May this year it nally reopened to the public with an extensivenew entrance wing and exhibition space. The Unlocking the Rylands projectwas launched to conserve the Grade I listed building and its collections and toimprove facilities for visitors. The project has been funded by 8.2 million from

the Heritage Lottery Fund, 3 million from

the European Regional Development Fund(ERDF) plus generous contributions fromThe University of Manchester, trusts andfoundations, and businesses and individuals.Fundraising efforts are continuing in order toraise the nal 1.3 million needed.

The Unlocking the Rylands project hasenabled major conservation of the building,including the cleaning of much of the interiorShawk stonework to reveal its natural, subtle

shades of pink and grey.A major aspect of theproject has been a new roof. Basil Champneysoriginally designed a pitched roof, but thiswas abandoned in 1893, because of worriesover re risk. Instead a shallow-pitchedconcrete roof was constructed, which had a

long history of structural problems and leaks, so needed to be replaced. The newpitched roof is covered with Westmorland green slates in order to complete thebuilding as Champneys intended and to provide a weather-tight covering.

The project has enabled better access to the Library for the rst time:

visitors will be able to nd out more about the building and its history in thenew Introductory Gallery. Themed displays from the permanent collections arecomplemented by a programme of changing exhibitions, including major shows inpartnership with The British Library. I strongly recommend a visit.

The Unlocking theRylands projecthas enabled majorconservation of thebuilding, includingthe cleaning of much

of the interior Shawkstonework to reveal itsnatural, subtle shadesof pink and grey.

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Freelance Glance

Charlie Wilson asks hersel what its really like working with editors in publishing companies.

Its time to get down to the nitty gritty on how to work successfully with others,in my role. This month I thought Id spice things up by grilling myself, in a split-personality style interview.

So how do you get work from publishers?

Well, usually the onus is on me to build a relationship with a new publishing client.My rst job for a publisher is often the result of a mailshot introducing myself andmy experience. When I write to a publisher, I always encourage them to keep mydetails on le. A publisher may express an interest straight away, or I may get acall two years later asking if Im available (yes, really).

Did you have to pass tests before working for your publishing clients?

Yes, editorial exams are pretty common. I dont actually mind them, as Ive thengot a good basis to show the client I know my stuff.

Do you have to be on the books to get work?

Yes if publishers use freelances, they generally have a pool of editors they feelthey can rely on. So on your rst job for a publisher (and subsequent jobs, ofcourse), you need to impress them.

How do you get commissioned?

An in-house editor will contact me to see if Im interested in the project, givingme an outline of the work involved, the deadline and the rate (yes, the publisherusually sets the fee). If Im willing, Im commissioned.

How do you settle the terms?

Im glad you asked me that. I cant stress enough how important it is to be crystal

clear on what the job involves. Ideally, clients ask me to sign their terms andconditions which include the fee, work involved and deadline. If they dont, Illask them to sign my own t&cs. I learnt this lesson the hard way get it in writingto save tears later on, as some clients love to move those goal posts.

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So what happens once youre commissioned then?

Once the publisher and I agree the project, Im emailed a full brief, together withany les and style documents. During the project, Ill be in touch regularly withthe in-house editor to let them know where I am with things, and address anyqueries or concerns as they arise. While initiative is a positive quality, its always

better to ask than skip merrily down the wrong editorial avenue. Let the publishermake the big decisions theyre the boss.

Can you give us the lowdown on working with in-house editors?

Nine times out of ten, its a pleasure to work with them. Ive found the in-houseteams I work with organised, professional and friendly, and best of all helpful andpatient with questions and problems. Editors are good folk, and who else can I callup to discuss the intricacies of the comma splice?

Do you work with the authors themselves?

When I work for publishers, I seldom have any contact with the authors at all thein-house editors act as middlemen. However, its still just as important to build agood relationship with the author, by which I mean being respectful when makingchanges and comments. So I write Im not sure what you mean here, could yousimplify this para?, rather than scrawling What? Utter drivel!

How do publishers work out the fee?

Publishers base the fee for a project on an hourly rate, cost per page or sometimesa seemingly plucked-from-the-air xed fee. Before agreeing, I make sure it willwork out at a reasonable hourly rate for me. If Im concerned, the time to negotiateis at the start of the project, not when I invoice.

And nally, the million dollar question whats the pay like?

A little short of a million dollars. Some publishers pay peanuts; some pay well. Payis based on the intensity of the work (proof-reading/copy-editing) as well as the

type of material. Its also comes down to the size and reputation of the publisher.In my time working for publishers, my hourly rate has ranged from 8 (very muchan economy sh-nger time for me) to 30 (bring on the Birds Eye). And if 30gives you cartoon-style dollar signs on your eyeballs, remember a freelance has topay overheads, gets no holiday or sick pay, and has to put money aside for tax andto cover the natural ebb and ow of business. I do this job because I love it, notbecause it will make me rich.

If you have any questions about freelancing or want to suggest a topic for afuture column, you can email me at info@perfectlywrite.co.uk. You can alsocheck out my latest news, tips and articles on my new blog atwww.perfectly-write-words.blogspot.com.

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On the Gallery level at Foyles,Gautam Malkani beginswith an extract from hisacclaimed desi-urban taleLondonstani, set amonga gang of Asian teens in

Hounslow and penned entirely in arefreshing rude-boy, Punjabi text mash-up. The resigned musings of narratorJas as he looks on at yet anotherclinical beating of a gora white-boy,in the company of his bredren mates,forcefully brought the novel to life forthe assembled audience at this monthsSYP meet: Malkanis precise deliveryconveys both the brutality and humourof his book in equal measure.

The story follows Jas, a formerself-professed geek, who is drawn into

a trio of wannabe gangsters led byHardjit (real name Harjit) a violentSikh obsessed with Paki-etiquetteand body-building and the sheepishRavi and Amit, who tag along as theyterrorise disrespectful whites andcoconut Muslims (brown outside,white inside). All the while they dabble

in minor crime until the opportunityto pull off a major mobile-phone scam

unravels with disastrous consequencesfor all involved.

A novel that directly addresses thegaps in modern Asian subculture both

against other ethnic groups in London(and by inference other parts of theUK) as well as each other in the familyand schoolyard Londonstani is chock-full of hot topics that originally beganas the core of a university dissertation.Under the banner of his Social andPolitical Science degree at Cambridge,Malkani returned frequently to thestreets and school grounds of Hounslow the area in which he grew up

to examine the change inbehaviour he was witnessing amongBritish Asian teenagers. An assertivetrend was forming, with kids employingethnic identity as a proxy for theirmasculinity. Initially, Malkani intendedto centre his dissertation on race, but

it was in fact gender that soon becamehis focus.

The more I talked to these kidsthe more I noticed how important therole of their mothers were in all this,Malkani explained. With the father

It had become an age of

nobody tells us who weare, and a cut-and-pasteidentity was the outcome often forceful and at timesaggressive.

The Real London and MalkaniJon Slack reports back rom a recent London Speaker Meeting, eaturing bestselling author

Gautam Malkani.

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away from the house working and often emotionally detached from the family,you suddenly have young men in households that are dominated by women. As aresult, Malkani observed, young Asian boys were dening themselves in oppositionto their mothers, rather than in relation to their fathers, and this heightenedtheir insecurities (that they might be too effeminate, or not Asian enough, andso on). Racism was being used as a means of bonding with their peers and giving

purpose to their character. It had become an age of nobody tells us who weare, and a cut-and-paste identity was the outcome often forceful and at timesaggressive.

After numerous failed attempts to turn his dissertation into non-ction,Malkani became interested in the idea of writing a novel, but one that couldeasily reach the audience for which he was writing. As someone who was used towriting business articles, the process was a pleasant relief. Drawing inspirationon a wealth of interview material from hisresearch, he found that many conclusions,including the ending, actually had a fairamount of shape to them already. As in the

book, the female characters he met duringhis research were more serious and correctin their language than the boys. Malkanidescribes the books rude-boy dialect an admirable feat which has drawn perhaps misguided comparisons with IrvineWelsh as an effort to capture and record the language he grew up with andlater came across during his research.

Discussion also touched on the divisive reaction among critics to the themesand stylistic nature of Londonstani. A large advance preceded the bookspublication: it was the talking point of the Frankfurt Book Fair in its year and

the book was wildly acclaimed on release. But some were sceptical of MalkanisCambridge and Financial Times background despite his Hounslow upbringing unconvinced he could accurately represent Asian youth subculture as he was notin the ghetto. Others disagreed with this easy assessment, and it wasnt longbefore the debate took on a life of its own. Critics began attacking other criticsfor being too ignorant, or resentful, or even racist.

However, now comfortably settled into the paperback release of his book andeyeing up his second effort, Malkani nds the debate invigorating, and importantto keep alive. Its works such as his which build upon our arguments and in turngradually remove misconceptions over time. The important thing for me, hesays, is to keep writing to engage the people that arent reading. Not just the

professors or the reviewers but the ethnic minorities who arent reading at all.And if in the end Malkani and others give the unreading public the voice to pentheir own stories, the question of authenticity will no doubt become a criticismof the past.

The important thing forme is to keep writing, to

engage the people whoarent reading.

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BOOK CLUB FORUMOxord Book Club Coordinator Emily McLeod discusses The Inheritance of Lossby Kiran Desai.

Ihad high expectations for this book, which won the 2006 Man Booker Prize, but,while I was not disappointed, I wasnt blown away the way I have been with

some prize-winning novels. Collectively, our book group made positive noisesabout it, but our individual comments revealed a more lukewarm response.

Desais language is intriguingly experimental and creative; she has a talentfor evoking lively and vivid images which conjure up a fantastic sense of place.

She spells out dialogue phonetically on the page, which makes the voices lift outfrom the novel and come to life for the reader. There are beautiful descriptionsbut its not all owery: she is just as vivid in her depiction of the squalid livingconditions and the awful treatment her characters receive at the hand of theiroppressors. This honesty is an important part of her message.

Although historically interesting, we wanted to learn more about the Gurkhasand Nepalese insurgency, the legacy of which still affects some Indian communities.The Judge is forced to consider his own roots and the role that he has assumedback among his people. He suffers almost unbearably from a deep sense ofnever belonging and the loss to which the title refers is undoubtedly the loss ofpersonal identity and self. The Judges humiliation, loss of self-worth and pridecharacterises the shared situation and makes us question how this community canproceed. In his case, anglophilia has led to self-hatred and, more generally, thereis general post-colonial chaos. Desai looks at these big issues using a small focus

on the lives of the ordinary people caught up in something that they are powerlessto control.

There is a love story, a tale of young and exploratory feelings that becomeovercomplicated with politics and, like the bigger situation, deteriorate. Andthere is humour from Biju, who we found to be the most likeable and interestingcharacter, and who overcomes great hardships with a positive disposition; his storyis tenderly, but always realistically, portrayed. In fact we agreed wed have likedmore time with Biju. The plot jumps around between time and place and somemore minor characters often eclipse the main narrative; there is no doubt that

their stories enhance the novel too, but sometimes it becomes frustrating not tostay with those we perceived to be the main characters, and have a greater senseof their development. It was disappointing that Biju is cast in a lesser role when hischaracter actually seems to have a much more signicant part to play. But perhaps

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this is simply Desais way of showing the reader how things are in reality, withpeople consigned to hover backstage against their will and best determination.

Biju not only provides light relief during the depths of despair but alsohas some profoundly sad moments. The reunion between father and son is anincredibly moving scene: we are so relieved that they see each other again butso saddened that, for all his troublesome journey, his return is triumphant only inthat he makes a return at all.

Never again, Sai concludes, could she think there was but one narrative andthat this narrative belonged only to herself, that she might create her own meanlittle happiness and live safely within it. And really Bijus story brings this hometo us. He has not been able to empower or improve his situation, not even throughsheer hard work and self-reliance because he is trapped in a larger narrative fromwhich it is impossible to escape. He too has inherited an innate loss, a viciouscircle.

Desai elected to quote Jorge Luis Borges on the cover of her novel, the most

poignant phrase of which is perhaps this: I walk slowly, like one who comesfrom so far away he doesnt expect to arrive. Unfortunately this seems to bereected in the novels construction as well as its message and, while the journeyis fascinating and well documented, we the readers are left feeling that there wasso much more to say.

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Missive From Manhattan

In her last Bloomsbury USA postcard beore moving back to the UK, Melanie Michael-Greer

gives a nal insight into New Yorks publishing world.

Literary circles ourish, of course, around books, but the written word hasto be nurtured and nourished beyond the printed page if a book is to gofrom being a simple shelf product to a gold-standard seller. The literatiof past present and future use the same arena to bring books to lifeand parade their authors with pride and aplomb: that of the book party.Sometimes known as the Launch, the Media Gathering or the Reading, the

social life of books and authors thrives in New York City, and in my Manhattan lifeIve been privileged to attend quite a few.

Readings are valuable showgrounds in which authors can push their subjectand their writing. Using their personality, they can start to build a tangible fanbase never a bad thing when trying to accrue a strong sales record. Usually theauthor picks out a few key passages to read to the audience, and then respondsto questions. Its an opportunity for readers and book lovers to get acquaintedwith the talent behind the writing, and author contact deepens the readingexperience, by revealing the writers motivations and inner spirit. Of course, anauthor signature is always a crowning glory on a newly bought book!

True to its character in ction, history and contemporary media, New York runsan energised calendar of literary events in abundant venues across neighbourhoods.Below are just some of the highlights in my Bloomsbury calendar:

Anthony Bourdain and Bill Buord, authors o The Nasty Bitsand Heat, at The HalKing, Chelsea.

The infamous chef and the New Yorker journalist did a wonderfully successfuljoint reading at this metropolitan answer to the gastro pub a little west of theFlatiron building and Madison Square Park. The stalwart fan-base of both writersensured a hefty turnout in a space that regularly hosts literary events, readingsand discussion groups that have contributed to its growing popularity as a bookish

destination. At the candlelit event, Bourdain used his hefty charisma in readingfrom the collection How I Learned to Cook, whilst Buford read from his vastlyvastly entertaining bestseller, Heat. Given the foodie credentials of the starsand the spectators, there was a hearty exchange of chef banter (with derogatory

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fondness for superstar Mario Battali and controversial disparaging of Rachel Ray!)and a crock of meaty questions from a clearly informed audience. It was anevening drenched in charm, erudition and comedy that was pleasing to the eyeand reading soul.

Diana and Michael Preston, authors o Taj Mahal, at the TamarindART Museum.

To the credit of both the city of New York and Bloomsbury USAs diversity, lastweek we held an author presentation at TamarindART on East 39th street tappingthe fringes of the museum district with a mission to showcase Indian art andbecome a resource for understanding the Asian subcontinents cultural legacies. Itwas here Diana and Michael Preston led a fascinating talk and slideshow for theirjointly authored book Taj Mahal an enthralling account of the love affair andcourtly customs that led to the palaces building. This was an ideal location forthe Prestons to strengthen their prole and generate genre-based interest aroundtheir book.

Iris Bahr, author o DorkWhore, at the Chelsea Branch o Barnes & Noble.

This B&N outpost on Sixth Avenue in the heart of the west side has a great stockof entertainment, music, lm and cultural theory books to meet the tastes of ayounger demographic living in one of the most buzzing areas of town. A spirited gaycommunity and the presence of the Fashion Institute of Technology have also seenthis branch widen its fashion and design sections to complement an ever growinglm and music department. The airy presentation space is perfectly placed in thetop corner of the store, with ceiling to oor windows giving a view of the Avenue

creating a nice spectacle to draw in passing trade. DorkWhore, a comical accountof comedian/author Iris gap year travels around Thailand involving various dietary,cultural and risqu sexual calamities, brought in a sizeable crowd very receptiveto her vivacious humour and LA wit.

Phew! Both here and elsewhere in the States, the literary event scene continuesto thrive. For me, the highlight so far has been the Los Angeles Times Book Prizeannouncements. Among inspiring keynote addresses, perhaps the most upliftingwas by the Book Review Editor who dashed rumours of the slashing of the booksection of the paper, and extolled the virtues of a healthy critical writing culture

and media society. In an increasingly electronic media age, the trusted andimportant pages of review sections nd themselves under threat, but it seems thegrass roots are more inspired than ever to attend readings, set up book groups andgo the extra mile to meet authors in person. On that note, I urge you all to supportliterary goings-on in your respective publishing spheres, and encourage others todo the same. You and your readers will feel muchbetter for it!

Websites to check out for literary events in London:

www.pennedinthemargins.co.uk

www.bookslam.com

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Is Small(er) More Beautiul?

Competition Winners!In the last issue oInPrint, readers were invited to enter our competition to write a 200 word

summary o their avourite classic. Printed here are the two winning entries, rom The Times

columnist and novelist Hugo Rikind, and Evening Standardjournalist Matthew Bell. They each

win a set o Phoenix Compact Editions.

W. Somerset Maughams Of Human Bondage, according to Hugo Rifkind:

Philip was born, his mother died. He was left with a big foot, and a vicar.He went to school, made a friend, then lost him again. It was all curiouslygay. He had sex with a pretentious old lady and then went to Germany,both of which served to convince him that God probably didnt exist. Hedidnt tell the vicar.

He went to Paris, drank absinthe, met a poet, and wasnt very goodat painting. Somebody died. He came home, trained to be a doctor, and had anoperation to make his foot smaller. It worked a bit.

He fell in love with a tart called Mildred. He decided never to see her again.He saw her again. He decided never to see her again. He saw her again. He decided

never to see her again. He didnt. He thought about going to Asia.He ran out of money, lived in a hostel, and met Athelny, the kindest man in theworld, who taught him not to see women as his equal. Philip shagged his daughterin a hedge. She might have been pregnant, but she wasnt, but he decided not togo to Asia anyway. The end.

Evelyn Waughs Brideshead Revisited, described by Matthew Bell:

A MIDDLE class chap, Charles, falls slightly in love with a louche aristocrat,Sebastian, after he pukes through Charless window at Oxford. Its the 1920s, these

things happened. They eat plovers eggs and are decadent, which is all anyoneremembers about the book. Charles is wowed by Sebastians grand Catholic family,who live rather splendidly at Brideshead except for the father, Lord Marchmain,who is in Venice, living in sin. But Charles thinks Catholicism is rot, especially allthe guilt stuff.

Sebastian becomes an alcoholic and sets up with a one-legged German inNorth Africa. Charles becomes a painter and marries a woman he doesnt loveand has children and is bored. He bumps into Sebastians sister, Julia; they havean affair. (Shes married to a ridiculous American.) They decide to divorce andmarry each other. Lord Marchmain returns to Brideshead to die. He dies. Then

Julia realises she cant really marry Charles because its sinful, so Charles hasan epiphany and converts to Catholicism, but its too late. All this is recalled byCharles, now an ofcer in the war and stationed at Brideshead, which the armyhas requisitioned. Its the sorry end of grand old England. ENDS.

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The Oxford SYP speaker meeting addressed the all-important subject ofyour publishing career, and strategies for moving it in the right direction.Judy Irving and Sue Trafford, from the publishing recruitment consultancyInspired Selection, gave an insight into a subject close to the hearts ofmany young publishers.

How long should I stay in my rst job? Sue recommended that yourrst position be given a minimum of 12 months, and it is worth persevering despitethe perceived drawbacks (poor pay, a monotonous role etc) as a decent level ofservice is often important from a recruitment managers point of view.

In terms of moving between departments, for example from Sales to Editorial,Sue advised to make any such move as soon as possible: It is not impossible to

move across departments the longer you are with a company, but it becomesincreasingly difcult to do so as time goes on. In terms of moving into differenttypes of publishing (e.g. from academic to trade and vice versa) she warned thisis often problematic:

It can often be easier to progress internally with a publisher where theprocesses are understood, and the people and work culture are known than tomove into an entirely different territory altogether. Doing so can be a setback,and before embarking on such a move it is worth speaking to your HR departmentto see what career development plans or structure they have in place.

Always try to take on extra responsibilities: although this may seem counter-productive in the short-term (juggling more deadlines and priorities for littleimmediate reward), the longer term benets are a boosted CV and increasedknowledge and experience all helpful for the next interview.

Sue stressed the benets of knowing the right people: its certainly good to beinvolved in networking and training with such organisations as OPuS and the Societyof Young Publishers. Businesses such as Inspired Selection and other recruitmentagencies will offer free advice and recommendations on CVs, vacancies etc, sothese are all worthwhile contacts.

To work in Production, any introductory courses are useful to gaining an initialfoot in the door, but to move on within this part of the industry you should haveknowledge and training in such packages as XML: companies such as Imago andOxford-Brookes Publishing Centre run a number of tailored production courses.

Career Development:

Advice rom Inspired SelectionJason Mitchell reports on an evening with one o publishings biggest

recruitment consultancies.

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Judy Irving then took over from Sue and elaborated on the key vacancy areaswithin publishing and the prerequisite skills and knowledge necessary to securework within them. As she said:

Design, Marketing, Sales and Rights vacancies are all somewhat tricky forpublishing companies as they have to put more effort into recruiting the rightpeople.She brought up the following points:

Rights/Contracts: In Oxford, there are fairly few vacancies and companiestend to promote from within. In London, more vacancies appear and they arelooking for a legal background or language skills (for International Rights). Thiscan be quite a specialist area covering merchandise, lm rights, electronic andworld rights. Involves close contact with other departments, and key requirementsinclude negotiating skills, good nancial awareness and a strong eye for detail.

Design: Many houses outsource their work which can be frustrating, but any

vacancies which arise are very popular and in-house designers will often workwithin the Production department. A design qualication is a prerequisite for therole, or a strong portfolio of your own work. Quark, Photoshop, Powerpoint and 4colour experience are all essential.

Sales: This falls into two distinct categories, in-house or eld sales. For eldsales, many people ask is this hard sell?, and Judy conrmed that to some extentit is as the sales rep is promoting a title, whether it is persuading a bookshopto stock titles, or convincing a lecturer to adopt a book for their module. Theirrole also serves to support the Marketing department and the key skills needed

are: to be personable, to have negotiating skills, a bookselling background, and agood understanding of the UK textbook market. For in-house roles, these involvemanaging key accounts, attending conferences and exhibitions, and the candidateshould be exible (willing to undertake foreign travel) and have some salesexperience.

Marketing/Publicity: these tend to be the most popular roles. Marketinggenerally involves publicity from the pre-press to post-publication stage,concentrating on getting press exposure. Key skills: CIM qualications, sellingexperience, and a degree in a related subject. Some publishers may want specialist

subject knowledge (e.g. medical and technical publishers).

Judy recommended that one should always go for training at reputable institutionssuch as The Publishing Training Centre (www.train4publishing.co.uk), LCC,Oxford Publishing Centre, Imago, or perhaps do a postgraduate course at StirlingUniversitys Centre for Publishing Studies.

Judy and Sue rounded off a highly informative evening by emphasising somecommon career mistakes to avoid, including impatience (in terms of moving up)and moving sideways (always do it sooner rather than later, and bear in mind there

is the risk of a salary drop in doing so).

To register with Inspired Selection, visit the website:www.inspiredselection.co.uk.

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Dear Ros,I am just about to graduate from a

French degree and really want to

get into publishing; Ive got workexperience lined up for the summer, but

should I be looking into postgraduate

publishing courses?

Rachel, Oxford

Work experience is the very bestpreparation for a career in publishing so you are doing absolutely the rightthing. Do you know if you are interestedin rights, editorial, publicity, productionor marketing? By doing work experienceyou should gain rst hand experienceof a range of disciplines. But dont getstuck in editorial, if you really want tobe in rights, where indeed you may beable to use your French.

There is a growing number ofpublishing courses, the best of whichare the MA Publishing courses at OxfordBrookes and at the London College ofCommunication (LCC) and the new MAat UCL. There are several short coursesaround too, which you can look intoby searching the internet, but nothingprepares you better for the work place

than hands-on experience.

Dear Ros,I work in an editorial department of a

large trade publisher as the Publishing

Directors PA. When I requested to goon a copy-editing course, my boss said

it wasnt relevant to my job. Am I being

treated unfairly?

Anna, London

This must be very frustrating for you.But on the the positive side your seniorPA experience gives you an overviewof the industry, and an understandingof the dynamics of each departmentand how it relates to the company as awhole. This will help you later. But youmay nd that your PA salary is higherthan that of an entry-level editorialassistant because you are valued forthe essential PA work that you are

supporting your boss with. Your bossobviously wants a PA, not an editorialassistant. I recommend that you applyfor junior editorial jobs where yourdepth of knowledge will be consideredan advantage. Be prepared to take adrop in salary to begin with. If you aregood, it will soon go up again. Think ofit as being an investment in your career.

Good luck!

ASK ROS

Our careers agony aunt, Ros Kindersley, also MD o JFL Recruit Search & Select, is back

with some riendly advice.

Email Ros your questions at inprint@thesyp.org.uk by 17 August.

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Verite ad to go here (like 1st issue)4 colour

below text to be in white

InPrint Team

Editor: Tori HuntDesigner/Production Manager: Rebecca FoxSub-Editors: Mia Kilroy, Claire Shanahan, Rebecca StrongOxford InPrint Coordinator: Jason Mitchell

Picture Credits: Rebecca Fox, Jason Mitchell, Jon Slack, DougWallace, Clare Christian

7/30/2019 InPrint 120 Summer 2007

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