How To Be A
Writer: Conversations with Writers about Writing (978 1783199037, pb, £14.99) was published this
spring and is a collection of interviews with famous writers, performers and
industry insiders that takes the reader through a writer's day, from getting up
to giving in. And, along the way, asks: When do you get ideas? When should you
write? How do you deal with your money? Who do you have lunch with? And how do
you keep going? It includes talks with Caitlin Moran, Emma Donoghue and Mark
Billingham and readers have described it as “Very honest, informative
and inspirational” and “hilarity combined with wisdom”.
David’s
earlier bestselling title How to Write Everything (pb, £12.99, 978 1783191031) is also essential in any
bookshop – it’s the ultimate writer's handbook telling you about every aspect
of writing, from having an idea to getting the idea out into the world and
getting paid for it, too. It covers everything from journalism to
screen-writing, from speeches to sketches, from sitcoms to novels. Jonathan Coe
called it “Clear, kind, funny, and full of good advice. There’s nobody
better to provide it than David Quantick, who in writing terms is the
quintessential jack of all trades and master of...well, all of them actually.”
Both titles are published by Oberon Books – great covers!
Incidentally, Oberon Books, celebrates its
thirtieth anniversary this month – many congratulations to them! Publisher James
Hogan, founded the company in 1986 with only £50 in his pocket and thirty
years on the company has now grown to a staff of 10, across editorial,
production, sales and marketing, publishing over 100 titles a year. His vision
was to raise the standard and profile of published new plays and encourage
mainstream bookshops to stock them. Oberon is now the leading publisher
for drama and the performing arts, and the list has broadened to include books
on theatre practice, biographies and successful arts titles. It has also
entered into a successful association with the Royal Opera House and the Royal
Ballet, which has resulted in a number of prestigious illustrated titles. One
of James’ priorities was to upgrade book production standards by commissioning
original artwork from artists and illustrators. James Hogan says: “New
writing spurred me into publishing. 30 years ago, too many good plays
disappeared after the first production. I set out to change that, and new
writing from all over the world is still the soul of Oberon. It’s been a
struggle, but I get my reward from that magic moment when writers realise that
their work will be available for a long time to come.’’ The thirtieth
anniversary celebrations will start on 25 September 2016 with a party for
authors and staff and continue with activities on the Oberon website and
offers to book buyers and consumers. Have a look at their website to find out a
bit more: www.oberonbooks.com
It’s a Jungle Out There: A
Lipman-agerie (978 1785900969, hb, £12.99)
is a rather unusual and sumptuously illustrated book from actress and author Maureen Lipman in
which she presents a dizzying array of celebrity/animal paronomasia (Greek for
mash-ups)! It started when Maureen drew a doodle of a doodle of a large animal
in a dinner jacket, to which she gave a green carnation and named Oscar
Wildebeest. After this breakthrough moment, Maureen became obsessive, boring
friends and family with her latest creation.
When she woke at 3 a.m. and said
out loud, “Tuna Stubbs!”, the die was cast. A book was born. Here you
will meet Brad Pitbull and Ange-lemur Jolie; Johnny Deppard and Jake
Gorillanhall; Lu-seal Ball and Andy Warthog; Joan Crow-ford and Vanessie
Redgrave, among many others. This perfect gift book for Christmas is a wry and
witty look at celebrity life through the febrile imagination of one of our most
celebrated and best-loved actors with the aid of with the aid of a fertile
mind, a keen sense of humour and, oh yes, her trusty iPad.
Maureen Lipman will be much in demand by broadcast
media on publication – the book will be serialised in the Mail on Sunday,
there will be lots of magazine coverage including Women’s Weekly, and
Maureen will be appearing on BBC Breakfast on 19 September and also on ITV’s
Loose Women.
Sharp, funny and endlessly
inventive, lt's a Jungle Out There presents a dizzying array of stars as you've really
never seen them before; this otterly brilliant collection is guaranteed to
quack you up. It’s a Jungle Out There: A
Lipman-agerie by Maureen Lipman is
published on 22 September by Robson Press.
Something a bit different – two superb new 1,000-piece
jigsaws which are available on 4 September from Galileo. The Lord of the Rings Jigsaw is illustrated by John
Howe who is widely recognised as the
premier artist interpreting JRR Tolkien’s masterpiece. He has painted
book covers, calendars, board games, posters and was the art advisor on all
Peter Jackson’s highly successful movies. This jigsaw is a superb collage of John Howe’s art from the hugely successful board
games he illustrated for Sophisticated Games and the complex and intricate
picture will appeal to both Tolkien fans and regular jigsaw puzzlers.
The Hobbit Jigsaw features one of Ted Nasmith’s finest Tolkien paintings entitled Bilbo
and the Eagles which appeared previously on the best-selling board game of The
Hobbit. It is a beautiful picture, which again will greatly appeal to both
Tolkien fans and regular puzzlers. You can also order the Beautiful Britain Jigsaw by
Phil and Glyn Martin which was published earlier this year – it has a
really lovely collage image on it featuring scenes from all over Britain – have
a look on the blog to see it. The pictures are painted from actual locations
and the collage has been assembled from these paintings especially for this
jigsaw puzzle – it is not available elsewhere.
All the place names of the
different locations are listed on the back of the box, to enable identification
of the parts of Britain. The Lord of the Rings
Jigsaw by John Howe (£14.99, 700461754725); The Hobbit Jigsaw by Ted Nasmith (£14.99, 700461754718) and the Beautiful Britain Jigsaw by Phil and Glyn Martin (£10.99, 702811645912) all measure 680 x 480mm, box
400mm x 270mm x 6mm and are available from Galileo
And have a look here to remind yourself
of Maureen Lipman’s hilarious performance
in the famous BT ads – well I say remind yourself, some of you were probably
not even born – can you believe this one was first aired 28 years ago!!!
We all love wordplay and puns right? Who has a number
plate that, shall we say, reflects their personality? Maybe the one you wanted
wasn’t allowed – have a look here
at the licence plates that are banned by the DVLA for being just too
rude!
Congratulations to César Aira who has just won this year's $60,000 Manuel Rojas Prize. His newest title The Seamstress and the Wind (978 1908276841, pb, £7.99) was published in July by And Other
Stories – and had a great review this week in the Financial Times
who called it “Bewitching and bewildering . . . Compulsively readable . . .
Aira’s writing – with its equal measures of rich complications and airy
whimsies – combines brevity with so many possible meanings, or none.” The Guardian
said it was “surreal and intriguing . . . a drama is as fun as it is
mystifying.” And other rave reviews have come from the Scotsman: “A
work of literary trigonometry. The prose bounds along with a gleeful spring in
its step, dragging the improbable story behind it . . . If you’re happy to have
your buttons pushed, then you’ll fall for this shaggy-dog-story-on-shrooms, and
fall hard” and the Big Issue: “Funny, poetic and wonderfully
readable . . . Idiosyncratic and vivacious, The
Seamstress and the Wind reads more
like an afternoon in the pub with a dreamy Eddie Izzard than a sit-down
session exploring prose form with Eimear McBride, and is all the better for
it.”
Lots of you will probably enjoy this
amusing list over on BuzzFeed of the top upsetting remarks that book lovers
have to deal with!
A great piece in the Daily Record about The House Between Tides by
Sarah Maine, which has just been
published by Freight. Headed Scottish novel takes America by storm
with debut novel after rejection in the UK, it describes how the book
attracted a fierce bidding war in the US where Harper Collins compared it to Rebecca,
while Simon and Schuster compared Sarah Maine
to international bestselling Australian author Kate Morton. Simon &
Schuster’s American imprint, Atria, won the bidding war and gave her a
substantial five-figure deal. The novel has been out for only two weeks to rave
reviews and sales have been so good there has already been a reprint in the US.
Sarah Maine’s agent, Jenny Brown, described the novel as “a true success
story – a Cinderella story.” You can read the whole article here
. Adrian Searle, the publisher at Freight says “London
publishers will deny it, but they are prejudiced against novels set in Scotland
and against Scottish writers. They think they are too regional and turn their
noses up at them but … Scottish independent publishing is in rude health!” The House Between Tides is
a beautiful debut novel set in the Outer Hebrides, which strips back layers of
the past to reveal a dark mystery. In the present day, Hetty Deveraux returns
to the family home on a remote Hebridean island estate following the untimely
death of her parents. Torn between selling the house and turning it into a
hotel, Hetty undertakes repairs and accidentally uncovers human remains. Who
has been lying beneath the floorboards for a century? Were they murdered?
Through diaries and letters, Hetty discovers that the house was occupied at the
turn of the century by distant relative Beatrice Blake… This is an utterly
compelling historical mystery set in a haunting and beautifully evoked location
and you can order The House Between Tides (pb, £9.99, 978 1910449783 ) now – if the US can do
so well with it then surely we can too!
And talking of the US, here's
a rather heartening article from the New York Times as to why people
still prefer printed books rather than reading them on a screen. Yaay!
And finally, if you think you are a bit of an expert on
English spelling and pronunciation, then have a look here at
a poem entitled The Chaos by Gerard Nolst Trenité, written nearly 100
years ago in 1922, to demonstrate the irregularities of our glorious language!
And if you’re still struggling, then watch here to hear it read
correctly on YouTube!
That’s all for now folks! More
next week!
This newsletter is sent weekly to over 700 booksellers as
well as publishers and publicists. If you would like to order any of the titles
mentioned, then please talk to your Compass Sales Manager, or call the office
on 020 8326 5696.
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