New Edition. Contemporary Publishing Magazine.

page 5 Grant Faulkner of national novel writing month talks to us about his vision for the thirty-day novel-writing challenge

page 13 paul burston talks the polari literary salon, the polari first book prize, and how self publishing fits into the current literary landscape

Page 22 our bookstore bucket list: we explore some of the best independent book shops in the us and uk and tell you why we want to visit

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Books That

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NEW EDITION, OCTOBER 2013

This Month

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8 Frankfurt

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Thinly Veiled

13 Polari

BOO(K)!

Free 22 Best of Range Bookshops 24

18 20 Supersonic Youth

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In the October issue of New Edition, we interview industry insiders: from authors Holly Robinson and Paul Burston to NaNoWriMo’s Grant Faulkner. Take a look at our favourite writers under thirty-five years old, indie bookstores on our bucket lists, and some of the scariest books we’ve ever read. We also examine a generation’s obsession with Into the Wild, the account of a young man who goes off the grid and meets an untimely end. Our sister site, LitFactor, just went live, and the Frankfurt Book Fair is on the horizon. And if you’re a writer who’s ever extracted real-life revenge in a fictitious situation, you’re not alone.

Contributors: Oren Berman, Louis Dresner, Katy Garland, Gareth Howard, Jordan Koluch, Hayley Radford, Diana Rissetto, Chris Sansom, James Wharton 3

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Emperor of the Impossible Next month, Grant Faulkner will get half a million people the world over to write their first novel. How? With National Novel Writing Month, the thirty-day literary blitz. Hayley Radford spoke to Grant and found out why November is much more than just an excuse to grow an elaborate moustache.

If there’s one thing that all authors can struggle with, it’s putting their creative pursuits first. The grunt work of everyday life can so easily usurp our best laid literary plans, and a good old kick up the derriere can be needed to force us to make writing a priority. That’s why National Novel Writing Month, now in its twelfth year, is such a tonic for writers the world over. It gives them a purpose, a sense of momentum and instils a refreshing solidarity that goes a long way in reassuring them that they are not alone in their endeavour.

NaNo’s Executive Director, Grant Faulkner, has been responsible for growing the reach of this daring not-for-profit, his role in the world’s biggest writing challenge not untouched by serendipity.

“NaNoWriMo’s founder, Chris Baty, was an acquaintance of mine. I interviewed him for an article I was writing about NaNoWriMo, and as he waxed poetic about the benefits of NaNo as a creative process, I thought it was nigh time for me to shake up my writing process, which was pretty rigidly stuck in a rut at the time. So I gave NaNoWriMo a whirl.

“I was immediately taken by it. I loved the wild, unfettered nature of NaNoWriMo, the way it opened new imaginative pathways and broke down barriers.

I liked the way it was a constant conversation about creativity with a vibrant community of people. (Yes, I was one of those staunchly solitary writers, but I now believe creativity flourishes by working with and alongside others.)

“After that, I somehow managed to get invited to be on the NaNo board. I wanted to learn more about managing a creative non-profit and contribute to what I considered one of the best organisations in the world at transforming people into creators. Then Chris stepped down and said, ‘Hey, maybe you should give this a whirl.’ Another whirl, why not?”

There’s no greater advert for the powerful force of NaNoWriMo than that; that Faulkner was so hooked by NaNo’s potent appeal that he went from the writing ranks to managing the entire project, from NaNo’s base in beautiful Berkeley, California.

National Novel Writing Month challenges writers to draft a 50,000-word novel, from scratch, getting that final full stop in place by November 30th. It’s an

ingenious way of uniting authors and getting them to share in one another’s literary journey and personal triumph, exchanging advice and writing tips on the NaNoWriMo website and even in person with group write-ins held at coffee shops, in living rooms, and libraries all around the world. The formula is a proven one.

“It’s an unbeatable way to get the first draft of a book written. The thirty-day deadline helps you be less precious about every sentence, and forces you to make writing a priority. People so often say, ‘I want to write a novel someday’, but ‘someday’ rarely happens.

NaNoWriMo helps writers write their novels today.

“Without a goal and a deadline, creative projects tend to flounder. We say a deadline is a creative midwife for a novel. People tend to wait for that perfect, extended time to write in their lives, but it’s better to dive in and just start. I so often hear people say they don’t have time in their busy lives to write 50,000 words in a month, but if you analyse how you spend your time, there are pockets of time in each day or activities you can easily cut out. Why spend the month of November with your favourite TV shows when you could write a novel?

“We believe that everyone has a story, and you just need to sit down and write it. Even if you don’t really know what you’ll be writing. It turns out that if you start writing and keep writing, the story tends to take care of itself. You learn how to write a novel mainly by writing a novel—not necessarily by reading how-to books or taking writing classes. It’s good for budding authors to simply learn that writing is about showing up every day to write, not waiting for lightning bolts of inspiration. You’ll find inspiration in the act of writing.”

In 2011, more than 250,000 people took part. This year looks set to be the best turnout yet and Faulkner has big ambitions for next month’s event.

“We expect more than 500,000 people to take part this year. But beyond so many people congregating to do such an audacious creative act, I hope it delivers what it has always delivered: a festival of creativity, a month of imaginative travels, an invitation to dare to do what seems impossible, and a rollicking

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I hope that NaNoWriMo helps everyone become a creator for life. conversation about all aspects of writing.

“We’re excited to have our usual cadre of amazing pep talkers, including pep talks from the likes of James Patterson and Lev Grossman. We’ve also redesigned the website and optimised it for mobile for those on-the-go people.

We have a ‘writing marathon’ planned for November 9—a worldwide ‘National Day of Novel Writing’, in essence—so our 700 municipal liaisons in 500 regions around the world will be organising inspiring write-ins.

“Our theme this year is ‘Power Up’, riffing on the video game motif of empowerment, which is the essence of what we try to offer through our programmes. In short, I hope that NaNoWriMo helps everyone become a creator for life.

The world is a better place with more creators in it.”

As a kid, Grant was inclined to spend all of his monthly allowance on stationery; such was his taste for fountain pens and luxury parchment paper, a career as a writer was never in doubt. After a BA in English from Grinnell College and an MA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, Faulkner has been published in Southwest Review, Poets & Writers, The Rumpus, Gargoyle, and the Berkeley Fiction Review, among others. He’s the founder and editor of the lit journal 100 Word Story and writes essays and book reviews for a number

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of publications and blogs. To him everyone has the capacity to be a writer—living stories and then telling them to the people in our lives—and is prone to nudge everyone he meets into writing at least something before they drop off the perch. Not to write would be to leave a story untold. And with NaNoWriMo, even the uninitiated can test their creative selves.

“We want to help people through each stage of the writing process: preparing to write a novel, writing it (in gangbusters style, of course!), revising it, sharing it with peers, and publishing it. Perhaps more importantly, though, we want to be the place for a continual conversation about creativity and how to achieve one’s goals.

“Specifically, we hope to provide resources, online and face-to-face discussions, and cutting-edge Web technology to help everyone with all parts of their creative journey.

And, if there’s a part of that journey we can’t do, we’ll look to partner with folks like Authoright and LitFactor so that they can shine a light on the path for writers to go to the next step.”

Sometimes writers can feel guilty about indulging their passion; guilty for getting up early before work or cosseting themselves away at the weekend, just to put pen to paper. One of Grant’s favourite things about NaNoWriMo is that the stories it creates are twofold: there are the actual drafts completed, and then there are the

brilliant accounts of how they came to life during the event.

“I heard about a soldier who wrote a novel in a bunker while serving in Iraq. People have met through NaNoWriMo and gotten married. So many children in our Young Writers Program find their voice as writers and self-publish their books. Hugh Howey, who wrote half of his best-selling Wool series during NaNo, has become an amazing, inspiring self publishing sensation.

“Perhaps one story sums up the power of storytelling for me, though. An autistic boy had become quite passionate about his novel. His mother said it was a breakthrough moment for him.

Every day, he wrote his story, carrying his notebook with him everywhere, and he even began to make more friends at school as a result. But then a tree branch fell and hit him in the head, of all things. He was unconscious and in the hospital for several days. When he first came to, the first thing he asked about was his novel.

“Humans are meaning-making creatures, and the primary way we make meaning is through our stories. That’s what makes it all worthwhile to me—the fact that we’re at our best when we’re creating, and NaNoWriMo helps so many people find themselves as creators.”

With November now almost upon us, there is a palpable sense of excitement and expectation fizzing around online about NaNoWriMo 2013. Talking to Grant is always a joy because he’s so genuinely passionate about supporting new authors and in making the event the writing riot that it should be.

It’s even got him trying out new publishing methods for his own work.

“We’re so lucky because we’re living in the golden age of writing—the Internet is our version of the Gutenberg press.

In some ways, everyone on the Internet is a self publisher, whether you’re posting on Facebook or self publishing a novel.

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“I was quite beholden to traditional publishing, perhaps simply because it held a certain type of validation, or a cachet I’d grown up with. I have to say, though, that I’m so excited to be just now finishing my first self publishing project, a short story along the lines of Amazon Singles. It’s been such an invigorating venture, to work with a book designer and see a cover that matches the story, and even to think of how to reach readers. It’s all about the passion and joy of creation, in short, and to do it all oneself is immensely satisfying in a way I couldn’t have anticipated.

“I believe that self-publishing is a magnificent, creative culmination to an artistic endeavour—you get to keep making the work, in all of its manifestations. Although authors have traditionally been comfortable just writing and letting publishing houses take care of everything else, I think that ‘everything else’ after the writing can be equally as creatively satisfying.

“I plan to do more. I manage a lit mag on the side, 100 Word Story (www.100wordstory.org), and I’d like to publish an anthology of a hundred of our favourite stories.

I also plan to self-pub other short stories, and perhaps a collection. I might just find myself addicted to self-publishing!”

National Novel Writing Month runs throughout November. For more information go to www.nanowrimo.org

Grant Faulkner, NaNoSupremo 7

NEW EDITION, OCTOBER 2013

The Frankfurt Book Fair

As the leaves start to turn to brown, Frankfurt prepares itself for what is arguably the largest book event of the year—the Frankfurter Buchmesse. I first went to Frankfurt as a self publishing author in 2004. It was fascinating to see the commercial engine of the publishing world at work although it has to be said that the German fair has not been the most authorfocused of fairs (which of the big fairs have!?) It has taken some time for the likes of London and New York to start offering author-related programming and even this is in its infancy. Frankfurt is a literary mammoth. If you haven’t been before, it feels more like an airport terminal than a book fair—moving walkways connect you from one vast hall to another. It can take twenty minutes to get from one side of the fair to the other.

Frankfurt is primarily a rights fair. As such, many agencies have already begun to release lists of the rights they’ll be selling. Highlights include Martin Amis’s new novel, represented by the Wylie Agency;

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Paul Fischer’s A Kim Jong-Il Production, represented by Conville & Walsh; and The Adventures of Inspector Lestrade by MJ Trow, represented by the Andrew Lownie Literary Agency. Hundreds of other books represented by various other agencies will also be available for purchase.

Contec looks fascinating.

The only problem is that it is expensively priced at €650(!), which definitely says it’s more for industry people, subsidized by corporate budgets. But if you do decide to splash out and go (you’d probably learn a lot by looking at the lineup), we would draw your attention to Porter Anderson’s seminar at 15.20: Interactive Learning Lab— Self Publishing and its Implications for the Industry. Speakers include: Peter Armstrong (LeanPub); Amanda Barbara (PubSlush), Hugh Howey (author), Matthias Matting (researcher), Kristin Nelson (Nelson Literary Agency), Jonny Geller (Curtis Brown), Jon Fine (Amazon), Michael Tamblyn (Kobo), Dr Florian Geuppert (BoD

GmbH).

There is a self publishing event being held on the Saturday, called Ignite; although it feels like a bit of an afterthought, being held on the Saturday when most of the Fair will have gone home by midday on the Friday. For us, authors should be at the heart of a fair, if there is going to be some provided for them at all. Arguably, I feel that there is room for a fair that isn’t actually focusing on authors. It feels right that London and New York should create more dedicated author programming, but perhaps Frankfurt should remain an industry event, a place where we (the publishing world) can discuss, debate, cogitate and innovate internally before sharing it with the rest of the world, before presenting it to authors. Rather than all trying to do the same thing, perhaps Frankfurt should corner the market on being the only non-author trade fair, and that’s okay.

Alles Gut!

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Helpful Tips

Don’t forget the address, although you can always ask for the ‘Buchmesse:

Apps:

You will often hear Frankfurt veterans bemoaning the fact it’s Messegelände impossible Ludwig-Erhard- to get a taxi.

Anlage 1 The best way 60327 Frankfurt to avoid long am Main queues is to Germany download Germany’s leading Taxi app, MyTaxi.

Visit www. mytaxi.com for more info, or visit the App Store.

Staying:

Food:

For a decent hotel rate (snort!), book now for next year. Although another top tip for British attendees looking at going this year and who want to avoid extortionate, inflated room rates, you can fly direct from City Airport in Docklands and it only has a 30-minute check-in!

There and back in a day, no problem.

Be bold, don’t do Italian. Try an awesome local dish whilst you’re in town, accompanied by some cracking, often underrated, Austro-German wines. We’d recommend the Schweinshaxe (pork knuckle) and Spaetzle (dumplings) with a good bottle of Blaufränkisch.

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NEW EDITION, OCTOBER 2013

Thinly Veiled I was fifteen years old when I committed my first murder.

In the tenth grade, I poured my heart out to a boy at school with whom I thought I was madly in love… (I had liked him since the eighth grade! When you are fifteen, that is huge.) He was gangly and had a bit of a lazy eye, but I thought he was pretty dreamy and looked just like a gangly and lazy-eyed Christian Bale. I wrote him a letter, and he laughed at me and told the entire school.

My sophomore-year heart was shattered. (I still cringe whenever I see him post a status on Facebook.)

So I killed this boy off in my next ‘novel’, which was a long, sprawling saga set in Ireland in the 1940s. (If I ever find that thing and reread it, I will most likely want to hide for life, so embarrassed will I be.) This boy broke my heart, so I killed his alter ego, which turned out to be very satisfying. I gave him a very noble death as a test pilot, something he’d always wanted to be. I thought that was actually very

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When fictional characters aren’t actually fictional, and the things that happen to them aren’t entirely accidental nice of me.

I was always a writer, but it wasn’t until I read the diary of Agnes von Kurowsky when I was in the ninth grade that I realized that writers have the power to play God. And they do. All the time. Perhaps that is why so many people like to call themselves writers—a writer has a sense of control in a world where we often have none. We rewrite our lives and get to live them twice.

How many people are that lucky?

Agnes von Kurowsky met Ernest Hemingway while he was working

I was fifteen years old when I committed my first murder.

as an ambulance driver and she as a nurse during the First World War. He was nineteen (and quite handsome); she was twenty-nine.

She broke his heart, and he never recovered. When I read that diary, I fell a bit in love with Ernie myself and hated Aggie for hurting him so much. She wrote in her breakup letter to him, ‘I somehow feel that some day I’ll have reason to be proud of you, but, dear boy, I can’t wait for that day.’ (Ha! He sure showed her.) Hemingway took literary revenge on her years later when he based, very thinly veiled, a character on her in A Farewell to Arms and killed her off in childbirth. (He really showed her!)

I once again committed literary murder after I left an extremely toxic office environment. (It made The Devil Wears Prada look like Little House on the Prairie.)

Throughout my years at this job, I would often mumble under my breath that I hoped one particular man would fall into a lake. I

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thought falling into a lake wasn’t such a bad thing to wish upon somebody. It’s like saying, “I hope you catch a cold!” or “I hope you ruin your shoes!”

When I rehashed this story in a script and fixed things that in real life had gone wrong, this man really did fall into a lake. And he drowned. This particular play is yet to be performed, but when it is, I hope to get a lot of controversial press about it, since said drowning man is a very prominent figure.

off-Broadway. One of the characters was played by a very tall, strikingly handsome actor who had a delightfully flaky quality to him (and who was also openly gay). I named the character Cherokee.

Anybody who knew me well knew exactly who my inspiration was for that character—my friend Cheyenne, who is a relatively famous actor, my surrogate big brother figure of over ten years, and somebody I just completely adore and think the world of. Yes, sometimes (often times), I laugh I don’t always base characters on at the flaky things he says, but it real people in order to make myself always comes from a place of love, feel better. Often, I base characters and I know that he knows that. on people I know and love, admire As we were rehearsing for the and want to immortalize in some play, Matthew, the very talented way. You are supposed to write (and tall and handsome) actor what you know, of course, but who was playing Cherokee, basing characters on people you developed the character focusing know can cross a line. When art too on that ‘flaky’ part. The character closely imitates life, it can cause you Cherokee was portrayed as a wideto stress or be concerned that your eyed, sweetly and terribly naive inspirations will become upset with guy with the attention span of a you when they see their literary goldfish. I watched each rehearsal incarnations on stage before them, and was delighted with Matthew’s reciting verbatim conversations you performance, until one day he said, have had with them.

“Oh, I pass Cheyenne in the street In 2010, my play Pigeons, Knishes all the time…I’m going to go up and Rockettes (a sweet, sentimental to him and tell him that I’m the love story set in Manhattan during guy who is making him look like the Christmas season) premiered a completely blistering idiot on

stage.”

My heart stopped.

Oh, no.

I had written this character, inspired by somebody I loved, with a lot of love. But now, apparently, he was coming off as a blistering idiot, and I hadn’t even noticed. I started to panic. What if my friend saw this show and was terribly offended by this character and never spoke to me again?

Luckily, Cheyenne was out of town filming a movie the summer that play ran, and he never did see it. I pretended I was woefully disappointed that he wasn’t there for my biggest play to date, but I was actually extremely relieved.

(However, I do have hopes that Pigeons, Knishes and Rockettes will have many more productions.)

I debuted another play, called Warmth, this past summer. The main character’s mother is never seen on stage, but we do get to know her through several lines referring to her and hearing her daughter’s side of phone conversations. I told my mother many times that this character was not based on her (doesn’t every play, book or movie have a crazy mother, anyway?) and to please

Authoright’s Diana Rissetto with her friend Cheyanne Jackson 11

NEW EDITION, OCTOBER 2013

Promotional materials for Diana’s plays ‘Warmth’ and ‘Pigeons, Knishes, and Rockettes’. Both were inspired in part by people in Diana’s life.

not get upset. At intermission, my mother walked over to me and said, “So, I’m the crazy mother?”

(I would like to borrow a line from my theatrical idol, the Pulitzerwinning playwright Wendy Wasserstein. She was often told that she was “born into great material”, which she said was just a polite way of saying, “Your family is crazy”.)

Most of the time, people are able to see when a character is inspired by them, and other times, people are going to assume characters are based on them when you hadn’t even intended it. I gave a script to a friend (and also great heartbreak, but that’s a story for another edition) to read once. He texted me right after he finished and

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said, “Soooooo…the character of Matt……” I knew exactly where this was going. “He isn’t based on you,” I argued, and my friend replied with “Bulls**t.” Matt was certainly not based on him; I could say that confidently because the character was based on myself.

(Cues Carly Simon’s “You’re so vain…you probably think this song is about you”.)

I absolutely love The Last Five Years, a musical about a young golden boy novelist and his struggling actress wife. I have always related to the writer character, of course, and he was based on the writer of the show, Jason Robert Brown.

Big shock—the actress wife was inspired by his own ex-wife, who

sued Brown because the show too closely depicted their relationship.

But what else was he supposed to write about? Where else are we supposed to draw inspiration from if not our own lives and relationships?

I will continue to write thinly veiled literary adaptations depicting people I know in real life and conversations we have had. It’s a great way to exercise poetic justice or celebrate those who mean the most to you. It also teaches you a lot about yourself and your relationships. It’s always good to be careful, but there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of fictitious fun.

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Polari Express Authoright’s James Wharton met author, activist and TimeOut’s LGBT editor, Paul Burston, to find out why by breaking the mould he’s helping new writers to break out.

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P Polari, London’s ‘peerless literary salon’, is one of the most high profile regular author events in the capital, often attracting superstars from the writing world to showcase their work and perform before the packed out audiences that continue to turn out month in, month out. Taking its name from the secret thespian language of the 1950s and ’60s, Polari-talk allowed gay people the chance to communicate safely in a time when they were considered criminals. Author and gay rights activist Paul Burston started the event in a small Soho venue in 2007 and has nurtured its growth to its current location at the Southbank Centre.

Polari is now in its sixth year. What initially prompted you to create the event?

Publishers don’t, on the whole, put lots of money into marketing for authors. You do a lot of it yourself. I’d published two novels and five non-fiction books at the point in which I decided to start Polari and had been invited to one literary event and I just thought, this is ridiculous. I could do something about it or just leave it, and being me… I decided to do something about it. So in creating this event, it was really myself and a few friends and supporters, in an upstairs bar in Soho trying to make a platform for authors to come and perform their work. The first event, about twenty people came along, and the second about thirty, but then Will Self agreed to perform and suddenly we were heaving! After that, we decided it was time to move to a bigger venue. Finally, Polari really took shape and became the event it is today. The New York Times called it the ‘most theatrical salon in the whole of London’, which I think was more in reference to

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my flamboyance than anything else! Soon, somebody from the Southbank came and said to us we ought to move to the Southbank Centre, so we did. It really took off, so they kept us.

become an author, the industry is very enclosed. It’s very difficult for people to get a foot on the ladder.

Polari is a good space because it’s very welcoming. Celia Imrie, who, let’s be honest, has been on many a stage, said it was the friendliest audience she’d ever stood before.

And I’m very proud of that.

What are your stand-out performances from the six years of Polari?

Will Self was phenomenal.

He really got into the spirit of everything. Fenella Fielding was tremendous. She rang me up out of the blue and asked if I could help a friend of hers get published. I told her I could promote his work but that was about it. I offered a spot at Polari but he refused with nerves but asked if Fenella could do it instead. I was like, OF COURSE! How could you turn down Fenella Fielding? We had Celia Imrie, which was just astounding. We couldn’t announce it because she can never be tied down; a jobbing actor, she didn’t know what her availability would be like, but the week before she was penned in she said she could do it, so we built up interest by announcing there was a very special guest preforming. It was very difficult to keep it secret.

She was completely un-starry and didn’t want special treatment.

Do you think unpublished authors sitting in the crowd feel inspired by what they hear and see at Polari?

I know they do. We have five slots for authors at each event and one of those slots is open to anyone.

They can’t just turn up, it’s not an open mic night, but unpublished, self published or simply people who have just got a great idea that they want to act out to an audience can book the slot. To me, there’s no point having a platform—which was created out of frustration anyway—without allowing as many people as possible the chance to use it. I feel I have an obligation, morally, to lend that platform to other people and give somebody that break. It’s really hard to

Do you see a difference in standard between authors who have been traditionally published and those who have self published?

It’s really hard to become an author; the industry is very enclosed.

There’s not necessarily a difference in the standard of work but what I do tend to find is that some self published works have perhaps not had a very strong edit. Not in every case, but it’s a general observation. They tend not to go through the same process of editing as a traditionally published book.

I get sent a lot here at TimeOut and there is often a lot of typos and inconsistencies. It depends what the author’s background is, too. In the old days, self publishing was seen as a vanity project but it’s not like that any more and anybody who does still think like that is really, really, behind the times because it’s shifted. There are so many authors that I know who are now self publishing who are well established, who’ve gone the traditional route for years but have now chosen to self publish. It’s not because they weren’t good enough to get published because they were good enough and they are.

So, those people tend to be much better self editors or have enough faith in themselves to hand their work to people they know will be critical. I think one of the things a lot of self publishing authors who are starting out don’t always understand is that you have to be able to take criticism. If you can’t you shouldn’t be writing. You can’t think that everything you write is just brilliant because it isn’t.

Even the best authors, everything they write isn’t brilliant. I’m in a writing group now and every week my fellow writers will say to me,

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‘that’s terrible’, which is fantastic, and then they make really positive suggestions. Very constructive. It is a difficult thing but you have to be thick skinned to a degree.

Moving on to the Polari First Book Prize, you’ve attracted a headline sponsor this year, surely this underlines the relevance of the Prize? What led you to create the Prize in the first place?

Well it was kind of an extension to what Polari is all about. Polari had been running for three years and we decided that now we had become so established we could use this as a platform for something else. I’d seen so many authors performing over the three years, who’d written something LGBT related who couldn’t get published, partly down to the subject matter, because even to this day there is still an issue. There is still this thing where lesbian and gay work is somehow limited in its appeal, which I think is a fallacy.

If it’s presented as a human story told in the right way it can sell to anybody. I read lots of authors who aren’t gay and I understand them without being heterosexual. I think heterosexuals are as clever as I am and can make the leap in reverse.

Maybe some scenes are best left to the imagination!

So I wanted to do a prize that celebrated and encouraged those kinds of people, specifically for a first book and in any format. If you launch a first book prize in 2011, as we did, and you say it’s only for people who’ve been published in the traditional way, you are a fool.

You’re a fool because a first book by its very nature is more likely to have been self published than any other way. Some people were quite taken aback initially; there was quite a lot of discussion about it because it does mean that any man and his dog can send you their great unpublished manuscript and you can get besieged by a lot of slush pile stuff. You can tell if something is going to be worth

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In the old days, self publishing was seen as a vanity project but it’s not like like that any more and anybody who does still think like that is really, really, behind the times.

the investment, as a reader, pretty quickly. You can certainly tell if it’s worthy of being on a long-list for a prize.

This year there are two self published titles on the longlist.

Our first ever winner was self published. I think that says it all really. James Maker was then picked up by a small independent publisher straight away.

Do you think that sends a message to the industry that the world and the climate is changing?

I think that message is being sent to them from many different directions. Some publishers I have spoken to, and I won’t tell you which ones, but mainstream publishers, I’ve definitely had the sense that they are aware and wakening up to the potential and the threat. There are two ways to look at it: it’s either a threat or it’s an opportunity. They can either bury their heads in the sand and ignore what’s going on, hoping it will just go away; or they can look up and think, wait a minute, 50 Shades of Grey! Something like that proves that a phenomenon can happen down the self publishing route. Digitalisation presents problems but also provides opportunities. But what isn’t going to change is the need for author and reader. All that’s happened is the route from getting from author to reader has deviated slightly.

Would you ever self publish?

Yes. I mean, it’s my natural instinct and the way I’ve always gone. The book will go to my agent and my agent will sell it.

But, if in the future any of those circumstances were to change, or, I wanted to write something that I thought would benefit from going a different route, then I would.

Without question. I don’t think there’s any stigma attached to it any

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more. I spoke to an author a few days ago who has self published a series of books and is making £2000 a month and then he got picked up by a publisher and since he’s seen no more money.

Having already achieved so much in your career, particularly Stonewall writer of the year in 2008, what ambitions do you still have?

Or have you already achieved your ultimate goal?

I’d like to write a book that would really go mainstream. There’s only so much you can achieve within the margins. I’ve always believed that if something’s worth saying, it’s worth saying to as wide an audience as possible. So I want to cross over more. There comes a point where as a writer you can’t keep writing the same material. As a gay author, you’re not obliged to write books purely for gay people. It just so happens for the most part it’s what I’ve chosen to do, but it’s not what I want to do indefinitely.

I feel in a way that the Polari First Book Prize was an attempt by you to tackle some remaining discrimination within the book industry. A protest in itself?

Yes, I guess I’ve always been an activist. I was a writer from a very young age in a sense that I wrote things for my own entertainment.

I had no idea what I really wanted to do and I ended up going to university, and believe it or not, I studied Religious Studies. I realised very quickly that I’d chosen the wrong course, partly because I went to a Catholic college. It hadn’t struck me that that might be a bad idea. I went to the principal and he told me the only other thing I could do was drama—it was the only course running at the same time. So I did drama and that became my major. Drama was fantastic! Not only was it a great course, it also had great tutors. I came out during that and ended up starting a gay society within my

Digitalization presents problems but also provides opportunities.

But what isn’t going to change is the need for author and reader.

Catholic college. In 1985 it didn’t go down very well. Throughout my time studying drama, going through the reading of all these texts, Tennessee Williams and the like, I became interested in how everything worked. The reading of a text and translating it into live theatre as a writer was a great exercise to learn. When I left college I knew so much more about how writing actually worked. So I got involved with fringe theatre and putting on fringe productions and stuff. I was sharing a flat with somebody who was involved in that, who was a little older than me, and suddenly he got AIDS. And that really politicised me and my life changed direction. With the backdrop of Thatcher, I went on all those marches. Pride marches in those days were a very angry affair and the police were very hostile to us. It was a difficult time. It really shocked me and that was the start of everything. Soon after, a number of other friends fell ill, too. A lot of people my age really irritated me so most of my friends were older and they were the wave that got hit hardest by AIDS during the ’80s.

So I lost more friends than most.

I’ve always felt that we don’t have to accept things the way they are, and whether that be a government saying you can’t be gay, or you can’t demonstrate and get arrested… well, why can’t you? I got arrested so many times on demos, I was used to a police cell. So you know, Why can’t you self publish? Why? Why not? Why can’t you start your own literary salon? That’s just the way I am. And you know what, if you don’t do it, someone else will.

Get in first!

The 2013 Polari First Book Prize will be announced on 13 November, in the Purcell Room at the Southbank Centre, London.

For more information, go to www. polariliterarysalon.co.uk. Paul Burston is the author of four novels: Shameless (Abacus, 2001), Star People (Sphere, 2005), Lovers & Losers (Sphere, 2007), and The Gay Divorcee (Sphere, 2009).

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NEW EDITION, OCTOBER 2013

Wild at Heart Authoright’s Chris Sansom asks why the remarkable true story which became a bestseller continues to haunt and inspire us today.

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Why are we so captivated by Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild?

In April 1992, twenty-four year old Christopher McCandless, disillusioned with his charmed lifestyle and eager to eschew the tropes of modern society, donated his savings of $24,000 to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska, unannounced. Armed with little more than a backpack, a smallgauge rifle and a bag of rice, he made his way along ‘Stampede Trail’ and into the foreboding Alaskan wilderness which would play host to his self-discovery and enlightenment.

For over 100 days he survived in almost complete isolation, living off the land and busying himself with the myriad duties of a full-time wild man. The young explorer had subsisted well considering his inherent lack of experience, eating a minimal diet of squirrels, porcupines, small birds, mushrooms, roots and berries. Unfortunately, the energy exerted in hunting and gathering this meagre food supply ultimately led to a calorie deficit, wasting McCandless down to the painfully thin form later found in his selfportrait photographs.

It’s safe to assume that most people would be blissfully unaware of the story of Chris McCandless were it not for its tragic, and now contested, conclusion.

McCandless’ captivating life and mysterious death were brought to international attention by the American writer and mountaineer Jon Krakauer in his acclaimed novel Into the Wild. Published four years after the young man’s remains were discovered by moose hunters in an abandoned bus on the boundary of Denali National Park, it was a loving expansion of his 9,000 word article entitled Death of an Innocent that resonated with thousands of readers. Some found inspiration in Chris McCandless’ vibrant life, while others cursed his naivety, his stupidity, in contributing to his own untimely demise.

But it wasn’t until 2005 that

the McCandless legend truly reached the mainstream, when Emile Hirsch starred in a film adaptation of Into the Wild under the directorship of Sean Penn. The movie both glamorised McCandless’ fleeting, free-spirited lifestyle and revealed in unflinching detail what would have been his desperation in a presumed slow death at the merciless hands of mother nature.

Lauded by many as a martyr to spiritual enlightenment in an age of confinement, and by others as a selfish, careless hippy, McCandless has posthumously captured the imagination of millions. Sadly, other deaths have followed. Eager to retrace the steps of the doomed Virginian, and seemingly oblivious to the meaning of a ‘cautionary tale’, many have since traipsed ill-prepared into the unforgiving wilderness of Alaska, never to return. Twenty-nine year old Claire Jane Ackerman died in August 2010 when attempting to cross the Teklanika River with a fellow hiker, both desperate to reach the abandoned 1940s era school bus in which their tragic hero had lived and died. Ironically, the Teklanika was the very same raging river which prevented McCandless passing back into safety after he’d realised the severity of his predicament.

So why are we all still enthralled by the McCandless story? What is it about this idealistic young man who died trying to find himself over twenty years ago that still encourages debate? For many, the draw lies in why anyone would give up their loving family, a bright future and a vast amount of money to boot. Perhaps the answer lies in our fascination with rebellion. It’s an enviable trait to some, but one which combined with a profound lack of survival skills meant the death of a much loved brother and son.

Seemingly not even John Krakauer, who has effectively become the custodian of McCandless’ legacy, can avoid the variously reignited internet

debates surrounding his version of events, as evidenced in a recent rebuttal to the writer Ronald Hamilton. Hamilton’s December 2012 internet article politely questioned Krakauer’s speculation on the cause of death, thought to have been consumption of the wild potato plant, which was based on Christopher’s own notes in the final days before passing. He believed that McCandless’ death was not down to the seed of the wild potato, but to that of a strikingly similar plant, the ‘wild sweet pea’, otherwise known as Lathyrus sativus.

Genuinely intrigued by Hamilton’s assertions, Krakauer took it upon himself to have numerous types of seed examined by biochemistry professors and chemists countrywide. Krakauer had concluded that the seeds which McCandless had been eating likely induced a crippling condition known as ‘neurolathyrism’. Under its effect, the wanderer would have become increasingly weak, eventually unable to stand, at which point he succumbed to starvation.

Of course, all of these valiant efforts on Krakauer’s behalf only amount to a very slight change in his line of thought on the death, but it serves as validation to diehard disciples of McCandless, as it all but acquits him of negligence by proving that the trusty edibleplant guide he’d been consulting throughout was his eventual downfall. Strange that the untamed beauty and complexity of nature both freed his soul and claimed the man’s life.

Perhaps the culture in which we find ourselves, twenty-one years on, increasingly lends itself to this young man’s way of thinking.

Foolish though he may have been, he saw something deeply troubling in modern life which forced his astonishing and flawed leap of faith.

The debate will no doubt rage on, as even detractors remain endlessly inquisitive about Krakauer’s enduring story.

Into the Wild, by John Krakauer, is published by Villard.

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NEW EDITION, OCTOBER 2013

books that scared us silly

The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill I read The Woman in Black after seeing the London stage show adaptation, which is still running today. A back to front experience I know, but I’d never experienced fear like it—and I served in the army! Whilst watching the live performance, I was fascinated by how just two actors could portray the story with such terrifying delivery. The audience screamed in unison throughout the performance—a feat achieved by what was effectively clever lighting and spooky sound effects, coupled with the stage prowess of just two actors. I entered the book’s journey with an already established understanding that I would be aghast from the off, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. As only a book can, it left me trembling night after night, the fear I had experienced in the theatre becoming somewhat jaded in comparison with the pictures my own imagination was painting.

With its eerie narrative, its knife-edge chapter endings that make the reader both squint in fear and turn in excitement, and the build-up to a gripping and tragic ending, The Woman in Black is by far the scariest book I’ve ever read.

Point Horror Series, by Various I cannot possibly pick one horror novel when there is an entire series of young adult fiction books to blame for cultivating my love affair with fright fiction: Point Horror. Launched by Scholastic in 1991, at a time when I was leaving Anne of Green Gables and her ilk behind in search of something with a little more edge, Point Horror delivered a blood-lusty litany of murderous cheerleaders, demented babysitters and certifiable sixteen year olds, all hell-bent on ruining prom night, turning into werewolves or possibly killing their parents and making it look like an accident.

Authors including Caroline B Cooney, RL Stine and the brilliantly named DE Athkins laid the mock-horror on with a trowel (one which had presumably just been used to dispatch an unpopular homecoming queen).

But at the horrible heart of all Point Horror novels was the indisputable fact that High School can be a living hell, and that in spite of all the satanic silliness, the terrors of adolescence are laid chillingly bare.

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Spook Secrets, by Various If you’re some strange person who gives out Hallowe’en gifts to your friends and family, Spook Secrets: How Much Do You Really Know About Classic Sci-Fi/Horror? by Zach Zito, Mike Lederman, Christopher Mealie and The Everett Collection makes the perfect virtual pumpkin stuffer. The eBook contains over 100 years of creepy, spooky, fantastic and bizarre horror movie trivia. Which films end with the villain dying after being struck by lightning? What horror movie did Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre inspire?

How many horror films close with the monster alive and kicking? Did you know that famed dancer and actress Cyd Charisse once appeared in a horror film, or that Mark Harmon’s mother was once a horror-film princess? Download the book to learn many more fascinating horror film facts…if you so dare!

Republic, Lost, by Lawrence Lessig There have been works of fiction that got me me—and continues to scare me. Lessig, a H of exactly how money has corrupted politics fixed, but gives the most likely of his plans o understand the nature of our broken politica

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Spooky Sudbury, by Mark Leslie and Jenny Jelen This book bucks the trend somewhat as it’s one I’m looking forward to reading this Hallowe’en, rather than an old favourite. Leslie and Jelen are out to scare us with a collection of stories focused on a haunted city that the residents of which are so spellbound by they find it impossible to leave it behind, even after death! All of these shorts have been inspired by real-life accounts of supernatural events that have occurred in a city said to have a magnetic aura.

Skendleby, by Nick Brown Archaeologist, historian and author Nick Brown has already impressed readers this year with his debut, a historical novel set in Ancient Greece, called Luck Bringer. With his second, Brown stays true to his archaeological roots. Skendleby is a contemporary ghost story set in the eponymous but fictional town in northern England. Underneath the rolling hills, dotted with the mansions of the rich and famous, something which has been hidden for millennia is beginning to stir. An excavation reveals a unique Neolithic chamber, the disruption of which prompts a series of peculiar happenings which lead the villagers to believe the land around the chamber is cursed. The collusion between an amoral property developer and a corrupt politician who are keen to build on top of the sinister site doesn’t bode well for residents. The salvation of Skendleby will fall to a local psychic healer and an agnostic vicar. Gripping and genuinely creepy, it’s an autumnal must-read!

The Witches, by Roald Dahl I tend to avoid horror novels and one book alone is to blame for that.

The Witches by Roald Dahl still gives me the creeps despite its being a children’s book, and, yes, I’m an adult and I’m still unnerved by it! This book made such an impression on me when I was younger; Dahl had an almost unrivalled knack of getting into the head space of kids with the potential nastiness of grown-ups. The way the witches are disguised as real women, hiding in plain sight, as opposed to conforming to the usual witch uniform, is probably what made you, as a child, question everyone around you, just in case they weren’t who they said they were.

And it seems I wasn’t alone in my wiccaphobia—Dahl’s content made The Witches a frequent target of censors, and it appeared on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–1999 at number 22. A justified argument in my defence I think.

e emotionally involved or gave me the chills, but this superb non-fiction honestly and truly scared Harvard law professor and free culture activist, paints a highly detailed yet completely tangible picture s in the USA in recent history. He includes four specific plans for how this problem might be only a 5–10% chance of success. Needless to say, it’s a rather pessimistic outlook, but the better we al system, the more well-equipped we are to fix it. A horror for the 21st century if ever there was one.

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NEW EDITION, OCTOBER 2013

YOU The WON’T Best FIND Independent THIS Bookshops ONLINE Authoright’s Oren Berman lists the indie bookstores he’d most like to visit in the US and UK. Each is a gem in its own right—filled with an abundance of both new and used stock, fantastic tomes of the type that only surface after digging through dusty stacks, and the expertise of wise, helpful staff.

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Bird & Beckett birdbeckett.com San Francisco, CA (415) 586-3733

Brookline Booksmith brooklinebooksmith.com Brookline, MA (Boston) 617.566.6660

The name refers to Charlie Parker and Samuel Beckett, and the store is a home-away-from-home for the Glen Park community in which it resides. Its stock includes new and used books as well as vinyl records and it hosts regular jazz performances. Its patrons love the store so much that they host pancake breakfasts and fundraising parties to keep it from going under.

This store is famous for its massive basement of steeply-discounted used stock, and beloved among the large student population of Boston. The upstairs is also packed with books, as well as all manner of art supplies, letterpress cards, and other knick-knacks.

Some of the best readings in the city happen at Brookline Booksmith.

Magnolia’s Bookstore magnoliasbookstore.com Magnolia Village, Seattle, WA (206) 283-1062

Capitol Hill Books capitolhillbooks-dc.com Washington, DC (202) 544-1621

The store has been part of the Magnolia Village neighbourhood since 1992, hosting signings for local authors and fundraisers for public schools. It has a reputation for its small but exceptionally well-curated stock, devoted personal customer service and familyfriendly vibe. It also has a frequent-buyer card system, inviting patrons to come back time and again.

Capitol Hill Books sells only used and rare books and first editions, so every purchase promises to be one of a kind. The only way to really appreciate their full stock is to go in, browse, and schmooze. Their loosely organised stacks make you feel like you’re walking through a friend’s personal library, not just any old bookstore.

Quinto & Francis Edwards http://quintobookshop.co.uk London 020 7379 7669

Cogito Books http://cogitobooksonline.tbpcontrol.co.uk Hexham, Northumberland 01434 602555

These partner shops occupy the basement and ground floor of the same building on Charing Cross Road.

Quinto deals in general used books and Francis Edwards in antiquarian and fine rare editions. Both collections are highly curated for the finest selection, but Quinto’s books aren’t even catalogued, ensuring that shopping there is more like digging for treasure than buying off the feature table.

This is a classic bookshop, with short hours, a highly curated eclectic selection, and a small staff who pride themselves on the depth and breadth of their bookish knowledge and their skill in recommending and selling tomes with great care. Classical music plays softly as you peruse the shelves. The store is a gathering place for friends and family, and even sells local concert tickets.

The Book Shop http://www.the-bookshop.com/ Wigtown, Scotland 01988 402499

Hodges Figgis (No website!)

Dublin, Ireland (01) 6774754

With about 100,000 books in stock and over a mile of shelf space, The Book Shop is the largest secondhand bookshop in all of Scotland. Wigtown has been designated Scotland’s ‘National Book Town’, and is home to the Annual Wigtown Book Festival. If you really want to get a feel for the store, take a look at its advertisement on YouTube: http://is.gd/nQo4bX.

Dublin isn’t actually in the UK, and Hodges Figgis is currently owned by Waterstones, so it doesn’t exactly fit the parameters of this list. But this bookshop has been open since 1768 (it’s older than the USA!), was mentioned by James Joyce in Ulysses, and published some of its own books on Irish culture around the turn of the 20th century. It’s a literary gem if there’s ever been one, and its lack of website means you have to visit for yourself if you want the full experience.

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NEW EDITION, OCTOBER 2013

Free Range Louis Dresner caught up with hybrid author Holly Robinson about her experiences of indie and traditional publishing, how she secured her first book deal, and why she chose to take a traditional contract for her latest title rather than go indie again.

Holly Robinson is a great example of an author who has experienced both sides of the publishing coin.

Holly has worked for many years as a journalist, essayist and ghostwriter, but her dream was always to have a book published. After several unsuccessful attempts, she decided, given her writing background, that she might have a chance of landing a book deal writing a non-fiction title. Her first published book was a memoir called The Gerbil Farmer’s Daughter. The book was well-received and Holly was delighted to call herself a ‘published author’, but it was a novel that she really wanted to produce. Despite having a supportive and pro-active agent, she failed to generate interest from publishers for any of the fiction manuscripts she had written, so she decided to self publish Sleeping Tigers. The success of this first foray into fiction helped her to secure a publishing deal for her third book, The Wishing Hill, which was released earlier this year.

a really solid book proposal to back up the title. People who read memoirs don’t often stop to consider the amount of research that goes into writing a lot of them, and the fact that I showed I was able to do that sort of research—going back in time, for instance, to discover when gerbils first started being marketed as pets in this country—helped convince the publisher that I was up to the job of writing the book. That’s important with a non-fiction book, since you typically sell those on the basis of a proposal and a couple of chapters.

You struggled to secure a book deal for any of your first five novels. Do you think you would you have gotten a deal for your memoir, The Gerbil Farmer’s Daughter, had it not been for your experience as a journalist and ghostwriter?

I actually think most traditional publishers and agents are open to new talent. What’s difficult is that they are just cogs in the big publishing wheel, and that wheel runs like any other business machinery: slowly and cautiously. But most editors and agents I’ve known are thrilled to find new writers, because 1) they often got into the business because they love books as much as we do, and 2) it’s often easier to sell a book by a debut author than one who has already published a novel that didn’t sell enough copies to pay back the advance.

Well, yes and no. Yes, because my editor at Broadway Books, a division of Random House, told me that the title and concept of The Gerbil Farmer’s Daughter really helped her sell the book to the publisher, because nobody heard the title without first laughing and then asking, “Can that possibly be a true story?” I hadn’t done much work as a ghostwriter at that point, but my prior experience as a journalist helped me put together

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A frequent complaint from new authors is how difficult it is to find an agent or secure a book deal. Do you think, as ‘literary gatekeepers’, traditional publishers have an obligation to open more avenues, through which new talent can emerge?

Why did you choose to self publish Sleeping Tigers?

I grew extremely frustrated because I’d been writing

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fiction for over twenty years, earned an MFA, and even found a wonderful agent, yet couldn’t sell a novel. I didn’t want to go to my grave not having sold a novel, and I’d had a reasonable amount of success writing all sorts of non-fiction, so maybe that gave me the courage to do it. I looked upon it as a way to further my education, figuring that I’d at least learn how to market a book if I published it myself, and I was quite right. I think every writer should try self publishing, if only to really learn how to use social media to promote a book.

Even the biggest publishers don’t have the capacity to promote a book the way the author can, by interacting personally with other writers and readers.

On the subject of marketing, has it been a relief to go back to the traditional route with your latest title, The Wishing Hill, or do you find yourself doing just as much self-promo as you did for Sleeping Tigers?

I do just as much self promotion—writers need to be captains of their own ships when it comes to social media, setting up events, etc., because nobody cares as much about your book as you do! However, one reason I went back to traditional publishing is because it’s really terrific to have the kind of team behind you that will help you get your book into bookstores, send books out when you need them for events, and help set up things like blog tours for you. Yes, you can (and should) do a lot of that yourself, but it can get quite costly to promote a book, and it’s grand to have help with it.

What about the creative side? Did you find that you had more freedom to write what you wanted when you went indie?

Well, truthfully, I write what I want anyway, probably because I know how volatile the publishing market is; there is always a new ‘it’ book every year, whether it’s Life of Pi or Wool, so you might as well write the book you want to write and then decide how best to get it into the hands of readers. For instance, if I decided to write a sexy romance, I’d probably self publish, whereas it’s easier to find an audience for literary fiction or women’s fiction through traditional publishing venues.

Why did you choose to sell the rights for your latest title, The Wishing Hill, to a publisher rather than going indie?

I love going to bookstores and browsing the shelves, and I’d always fantasised about seeing my novel among the others there. Maybe that will happen one day with self published books, but for right now, it’s much easier to find your book on the shelf of your favourite bookstore if a traditional publisher has put it there. In addition, I found it was a better bet for me financially to have a publisher fund much of the editing, design, and marketing efforts than for me to put the money up for those things and earn it back. Yes, I did earn it back, but I had to have the money in the first place, and that’s a tough thing when you have kids you’re putting through college, as I do. Oh, and I also wanted my book to be sold internationally, and that, too, happens more easily if you’re traditionally published.

Some argue that publishers don’t offer the same value to authors that they once did, making self publishing a preferable option. Do you agree?

It definitely depends on the type of book. I think it’s certainly true if you’re writing in a popular genre, like mystery, romance, or fantasy. But, for writers of literary fiction, for instance, traditional publishers are still the way to go.

If you had one piece of advice for authors looking to self publish, what would it be?

Hire both a developmental editor and a copy editor if you can afford it! If you can’t afford to do that, then at least have the manuscript vetted by other writers who will help you catch things like problems with chronology, weak scenes, sluggish flashbacks, or grammar boo-boos.

Holly Robinson is the author of The Gerbil Farmer’s Daughter (published by Three Rivers Press), Sleeping Tigers (self published), and The Wishing Hill (published

by New American Library). www.authorhollyrobinson.com

From Left: Holly Robinson and her three books: ‘The Gerbil Farmer’s Daughter’, ‘Sleeping Tigers’, and ‘The Wishing Hill’.

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NEW EDITION, OCTOBER 2013

Supersonic

Youth Katy Garland celebrates young, under 35, writing talent, past and present, to prove that, in literary terms at least, age ain’t nothing but a number.

I often wonder how many people actually manage to follow their dreams in life. The list of reasons why not to pursue a path of passion is almost endless: fear, self-doubt, the dreadful unknown, procrastination, time, money, parental and peer disapproval or – worse still – parental and peer apathy towards your dream. But what about age? I wonder how many people have chosen not to follow their dreams because they feel they lack the experience or the confidence to be taken seriously. Of course, the future of literature lies in the hands and creative minds of emerging talent and for that reason alone it’s important that young writers are allowed to find their voice and make their dreams become reality. Here’s my personal pick of the most inspirational young ones, old and new.

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CONTEMPORARY PUBLISHING MAGAZINE

The Original New Kid on the Block: Mary Shelley Mary Shelley was the English novelist, dramatist, biographer, short story writer and essayist best known for Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, a master-class in gothic horror, considered by some to be one of the first science-fiction novels. On top of all of this, Shelley edited and promoted the works of her husband, Percy Shelley, England’s major Romantic poet. Mary Shelley came up with the idea of Frankenstein when she was just 19, and had it was published aged 21, albeit anonymously, leaving many readers to assume that the author was Percy Shelley.

The 21st Century Trailblazer: NoViolet Bulawayo NoViolet Bulawayo (real name Elizabeth Zandile Tshele) was recently shortlisted for this year’s Man Booker Prize for her debut novel, We Need New Names. Not only is she the first black African woman, and indeed the first Zimbabwean, to be shortlisted, she’s just been announced as a winner of the National Book Foundation’s 5 under 35, which honours outstanding young fiction writers. Bulawayo, who left Zimbabwe to finish her education in the US, was recognised with a prestigious Truman Capote Fellowship while studying for her masters degree in Creative Writing at Cornell University. In 2011, she won the Caine Prize for African writing. We Need New Names is a powerful story of a young girl’s journey out of Zimbabwe. Bulawayo’s inspirations? “Humanity. ‘Womanity’. My homeland.”

The Self Published Upstart: Kerry Wilkinson Kerry Wilkinson is one of the UK’s most-successful self published authors. Six books into a selfpublished crime series, he still intends to flirt again with self publishing, despite having now signed a 14-book deal! “When I turned 30, I’d been doing the same job for a while. I wanted to try doing something different with my life, and made a list of things I thought I could do if I put a bit of effort in.” Turns out that effort paid off when he was announced by Amazon UK as their top-selling author for their Amazon Kindle Chart, having notched up over 250,000 sales.

Originally from Bath, Wilkinson became the first formerly self published British author to have a number 1 eBook and reach the top 20 of the UK paperback chart. “I worked hard,” explains Wilkinson, “I would get up at 5am, write for an hour, go to work for a 10-hour shift, write on my lunch break, drive home, then write until I went to bed.”

Authoright’s Young Stars Anna Caltabiano’s debut novel, All That is Red, was published when she was just fifteen years old. A self-styled child of the transnational cyber punk generation, she was born in British colonial Hong Kong and educated in Mandarin Chinese schools before moving to Palo Alto, California, the mecca of futurism. Caltabiano draws on the eclectic but disaffected kids within her peer group for inspiration, her classmates being a blend of the lost offspring of ultra-wealthy Silicon Valley magnates, aspirational internet entrepreneurs and Stanford philosophy professors. Her writing reflects her concerns for her own generation as they try to find their way in a world that has been rendered small and connected through social media but which has never been more fractured. All That is Red explores themes of suffering, emotional crisis and self-mutilation. Before she decided to self publish, Anna had been told by a literary agent to ‘go to college and come back when you have something to say’. Thank heavens she ignored this patronising advice!

Anna now has a literary agent, and is poised to announce a major book deal this autumn.

Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, 19-year old Carlos Paolini grew up wanting to be a writer, but chose to study law instead. Fortunately, he saw the light and quit after just three months, deciding to spend the remainder of the year seeking inspiration from various films and from literature. The result of his immersion into culture is When Adam Lacroft Met Death, an ambitious young adult trilogy. “By writing for myself, what I write is real, and far from uncommon, it is relatable, because I share a reality with thousands of other people out there. If I had anything to say to young people that dream of becoming writers, I’d just say ‘write’.”

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NEW EDITION CONTEMPORARY ISSUE

7,

PUBLISHING OCTOBER

2013

MAGAZINE