Books and Delis

The Moose and Steve Clayton are speaking at Hebden Bridge library tonight. Steve will be talking about his book, The art of being dead and how he managed to get published by an Independent and I will be ranting on about the trials and tribulations of getting new writers onto bookshelves, trying to get reviews and dealing with Waterstones et al. There will also be an author from Headline and a self published author. They will all be talking about their experiences of getting published. Mainstream. Independent. Self Published. There was a wonderful quote from Chris Blackwell, founder of Island records, who are celebrating their 50th anniversay this year. He said the big multi national record companies were more like supermarkets and Island and other indies could be compared with the delights of the delicatessan, which is a damned good answer. With the news that Transworld have doubled the advance to £2m to Paul O'Grady for the next installment, what chance of new writers getting their chance to deliver bold and original fiction to the reading public? Well, the answer is in Independents like Bluemoose, Tindal Street and Myrmidon.The time is right in this age of Corporate publishing blandness for Independent Publishers to shine. You may pay more for a Malt whisky but the taste will linger far longer than all the blended Scotches you can purchase from the supermarket. That's enough of the analogies, but you get my drift. The New York Times yesterday may have said the book is dead, but for the discerning reader there are enough independents out there publishing fantastic bold and original writing. When The art of being dead became the best selling non promotional book at Wats Leeds last year, you know that given some prominence, new writing from a debut novelist and published by an Independent does sell and can make a few quid for all concerned. Simples.