Compass Points 306

Brilliant, independent publisher of radical, left‐wing non­‐fiction Pluto are fifty! Established in 1969, they may be one of the oldest radical publishing houses in the UK, but their focus remains firmly on making timely interventions in contemporary struggles. Foyles in Charing Cross are running a superb promotion for Pluto’s 50th birthday throughout June where customers can get 50% on 50 books. What a good idea! If any other bookshop would like to do something similar, then please talk to your Compass Regional Manager or email lee.morgan@compassips.london! I’m pleased to say that they are Bertram’s publisher of the month in June too, which means extra terms for all you indies for the whole of June, another very very good reason to do a 50th anniversary window or table! You can see some of the titles in the Foyles promotion pictured here, other suggestions would be:

978 0745339580             After Grenfell

978 0745339474              To Exist is to Resist
978 0745338620             Monitored: Business and Surveillance in a Time of Big Data

978 0745338552             Rebel Footprints: A Guide to Uncovering London's Radical History

978 0745338156              The New Authoritarians: Convergence on the Right

978 0745338118              Propaganda Blitz: How the Corporate Media Distort Reality

978 0745338040             Radical History of the World

978 0745338309              Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain

978 0861043798             Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism

978 0745337470              A Party with Socialists in It: A History of the Labour Left

978 0745399034             Peoples History of the Russian Revolution

978 0745399300             Sound System: The Political Power of Music

978 0745337456              Alt-Right: From 4chan to the White House

978 0745399485             Violence of Austerity

978 0745335421              Rethinking Camelot: JFK, the Vietnam War, and U.S. Political Culture

9780745399317               On Western Terrorism: From Hiroshima to Drone Warfare

978 0745335650             Propaganda and the Public Mind: Interviews by David Barsamian

978 0745399515             Towards a Gay Communism: Elements of a Homosexual Critique

Big up to Carcanet who have a title shortlisted in each of the three categories of this year's Forward Prizes for Poetry. Helen Tookey’s second Carcanet collection City of Departures (£9.99, pb, 978 1784107598) has been shortlisted for Best Collection; Isabel Galleymore’s first collection Significant Other (£9.99, pb, 978 1784107116) for Best First Collection and Parwana Fayyaz’s poem Forty Names published in PN Review is shortlisted for Best Single Poem! You can find out all the details of these three titles on the Carcanet website here and see the full shortlist on the Forward Prize website here.  The Forward Prizes for Poetry are among the UK’s most coveted literary awards: the annual ceremony in October features readings by exceptional poets from around the world, and attracts a young, lively and diverse audience and significant media coverage. The prizes have been awarded since 1992 to more than 70 poets.

Some good publicity for Paul Woods’ London’s Street Trees (£12.99, pb, 978 0993291135); Sky News did an interview with him yesterday on the back of a new £10m initiative from Michael Gove's to plant 130,000 urban trees. Paul now has a very useful page on his website thestreettree.com listing all the events he’s doing – there’s lots coming up! It’s published by Safe Haven.

Coming on 16 June from Oberon, is Riot Act (978 1786826015, pb, £9.99); a powerful piece of theatre, chronicling 60 years of queer history. Attitude magazine said “this stand-out piece will become part of LGBT cultural heritage.” Playwright Alexis Gregory interviewed three men at the heart of LGBT history: Michael-Anthony Nozzi, one of the only remaining Stonewall survivors; radical 1970’s drag icon Lavinia Co-Op; and Paul Burston, a 1990s London Aids activist. Hard-hitting, provocative, tender, truthful, funny, political and personal, these are stories of queerness, activism, addiction, sex, drag, community, conflict, youth, ageing, fierce queens and a Hollywood diva. This special commemorative Stonewall 50th anniversary edition includes exclusive photographs from the original production, and there will be a nationwide tour of the piece, during June, July and August 2019. The tour includes:

June 6 – 8 Old Joint Stock Theatre. Birmingham.

June 16 Arcola Theatre.

June 23 Arcola Theatre.

June 27 Crewe Lyceum.

June 30 Arcola Theatre.

July 3 Norwich Theatre Royal.

July 10 Wardrobe Theatre. Presented by Bristol Pride.

July 25 Oldham Coliseum

July 30 Marlborough. Brighton.

August 1 Marlborough. Brighton.

August 2 Manchester tbc, 70 Oxford Street (pop up venue) for Manchester Pride and Superb Festival.

In February 2020 the LGBT History Month Tour dates will includeCurve Theatre, York Theatre Royal, Theatre By The Lake and the Bradford Playhouse

The Power of Less is a handbook of simplicity. Leo Babauta shows us how to know what you want, and what you need, how to choose what is essential, and clear out the rest. As Red magazine said, these six productivity principles, are “just the thing when you're feeling overwhelmed, his strategies for organising stuff (email, admin, life generally) are easy to follow”. Leo is writing a piece for Marie Claire which has a circulation of 100,000 for their summer issue, it will also be featured in Woman’s Own in June, Psychologies in July and there will be an extract in August’s Health and Fitness magazine.  It’s published on 6 July by Hay House.

With the Cricket World Cup about to start next week, there’s plenty of publicity for Keeper of Faith (978 1909245860, pb, £8.99). The BBC World Service in an interview with Tatenda Taibu on 17th May called it “A deep story and a significant one” and there are interviews coming with Tatenda in the Liverpool Echo on 24th May, the Guardian on 29th May, BBC Radio Merseyside, Radio City, TalkSPORT,  BBC NW Tonight and ITV Granada, TMS during June, and a piece by Mick Atherton in the Times and on Sky Sports. There will also be reviews in the Telegraph, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail and more! This revealing memoir lifts the lid on the challenges of representing Zimbabwe in the era of Robert Mugabe, and details how constant controversy and conflict ultimately restrict meaningful progress. It’s just been published by DeCoubertin.

The Bobsphere reviewed Comma’s new title, The Book of Cairo (£9.99, pb, 978 1910974254) saying: “The Book of Cairo has something for everyone and is quite a varied collection. It’s rare that you’ll laugh, cry and smile within the space of 100 pages, but this volume manages to do that perfectly.” You can see that here.  STORGY also reviewed it, saying of the collection “Each story provides a fresh and exciting glimpse into the city of Cairo ... the city lives and breathes on the pages of this book.” That’s here.  

Financial magician, flamboyant politician, minister in both world wars, press baron, serial philanderer, Winston Churchill's boon companion, Max Beaverbrook was without a doubt one of the most colourful characters of the first half of the twentieth century. Max Beaverbrook: Not Quite A Gentleman (hb, 978 1849547468, £25) by Charles Williams has just been published by Biteback and has had some terrific reviews in the Oldie, Sunday Telegraph and the Daily Mail. You can read the Telegraph five star review here.  Fascinating stuff, it ends with the memorable sentence “Clement Attlee is reported to have said that Beaverbrook was the only evil man he had met. This thorough biography leaves one in no doubt that he was an ironclad, ocean-going monster.”

There’s been lots of publicity of course for the 75th anniversary of D-Day – and here's some really brilliant coverage for Amber’s D-Day: The First 24 Hours (£19.99, hb, 978 1782747550) by Will Fowler in the Sun. Headlined as “The day that changed the world; D-Day’s first 24 hours captured in haunting new photos released in book marking 75th anniversary” it is well worth a look! This dramatic visual history explores every area of operation with first-hand accounts, timelines, and maps and brings the turning point of World War II to vivid life.

Great promotion for Yorkshire Coast Path (£14.99, pb, 978 0993291180 ) by Welcome to Yorkshire on their website which you can see here  and also on Twitter to their more than a quarter of a million followers. This definitive walking guide maps the whole route on large-scale OS maps and is packed with colour photos. It is an essential purchase for the long-distance walker and afternoon stroller alike. It’s published by Safe Haven

Who’s planning a BBQ this Bank Hols? Well, according to Buzzfeed, there are eight types of people at a BBQ, why not take this quiz  to find out which one you are!

That’s all folks, more next week!

This weekly blog is written for the UK book trade. If you would like to order any of the titles mentioned, then please talk to your Compass Sales Manager, or call the Compass office on 020 8326 5696. Every Friday an e-newsletter containing highlights from the blog is sent out to over 700 booksellers and if you’d like to receive this then please contact nuala@compass-ips.london .