I spent a literary afternoon and evening in London last week, culminating in attending the Pen to Print annual awards. I took my daughter along as a treat after her ‘A’ levels. She used to read a lot and I was hoping she might be inspired.
Farzana Hakim (author), Arsim Shillova (founder of Libraro), and I at the awards (Photo by Madeleine White).
Mooching along the South Bank
One of the advantages of having lived in London for a long time (albeit 21 years ago) is that I have a few favourite haunts that aren’t part of the Disneyfication of Central London.
I worked in Blackfriars for 4 years, and spent many an afternoon/evening strolling or running along the South Bank. If you can ignore the hideous architecture (what were they thinking?), it’s full of delightful small businesses and a couple of big artistic venues.
Me, browsing books on the South Bank (photo by Daisy Marshall).
Coming out of Waterloo Station into a drizzly London, we took shelter at the nearby British Film Institute (BFI). I think I’ve only been there once before. It’s the epitome of cool inside: well laid out with great lighting, furniture and little annezes full of creative types writing, editing or discussing ‘treatments’. A sort of British Hollywood without the plastic surgery.
I listened to one young man tell a young woman how he’d abandoned his novel with 4 chapters to go because he thought it would make a better graphic novel. He only needed an artist, and it would be a roaring success…
My daughter was chuffed when a beautiful lady stopped her in the toilets to ask which shoes suited her outfit better! The mug of tea was worth the £349 it cost to sit and watch cool people go about their business.
Once the rain stopped, we pottered up and down the South Bank. We always go in to Foyles because, well, it’s Foyles, but we didn’t buy anything. There were at least four sections dedicated to ‘stuff’ that wasn’t books. The staff recommendations left me cold (probably because I have little in common with women in their twenties), and I was sorely tempted to move ‘The Salt Path’ pile to the fiction table.
Foyles (and my daughter).
Much more to my liking was the open-air bookstall under the next bridge. There was a great section of old Penguins and a very good SF table. I couldn’t decide what to buy, so I compromised with a collection of short stories, edited by the great Brian Aldiss.
Later in the evening, once I’d said hello to the diligent, helpful and supportive Pen to Print staff, I had an interesting chat with Arsim Shillova. Arsim is the founder of Libraro, a sort of speed-dating site between authors, the public and publishers.
I’d previously uploaded my novel, The Poster, with the hope that people would read the synopsis and then the first three chapters, and then request the whole manuscript (MS). Unfortunately, no luck so far.
Arsim told me the project is in early stages. We then talked about publishing. He said that agents are overwhelmed with submissions (40-50 books per day, each) and that publishers publish too many books.
They do this in the hope that some ‘stick’ in public’s minds and become bestsellers.
The publishing ‘spaghetti’ model. Throw enough at the wall and hope some stick.
Arsim is a book fan and was enthusiastic about the project and helping new authors. He has raised $5million for the project so far, so I assume he is a good salesman and start-up person too.
I hope Libraro works (for me, at least!) and will keep an eye out on their progress. If nothing else, I met someone in publishing without having to go through a gatekeeper or an old girl’s network.
I finally got to meet Chris Gregory, of Alternate Stories, who had created an audio version of my short story, Tales from the Shop Floor, in 2022. I’ve spoken a couple of times with him, but it’s not the same as chatting in person.
He’s an interesting (and friendly) chap and told me the Pen to Print podcast is in the top 10% of podcasts about books. I know next to nothing about podcasting (I don’t need to listen to two white men discussing their ideas together without any editing or referencing), but Chris does.
I came away informed and, again, wish him luck with his work.
If you have a favourite podcast, please tell me.
My latest novel, Stone and Water, in hand, while The Poster is on the library shelf at the bottom.
I’m glad I made the long (and expensive) trip (justified by us going to train with my old weightlifting coach at Crystal Palace the next day). It was nice to say hello to old faces and meet new people. It’s great living in Devon, but we are isolated and so need to venture further afield sometimes.
Thanks to everyone for being so nice and welcoming to my daughter, too.
"agents are overwhelmed with submissions (40-50 books per day, each)" If this is true then agents are not reading submissions. It's simple math.
On a brighter note, does anyone know any 2024 self-published books that did well? I need to feel better about (possibly) self publishing.
Sounds like a fun trip and how great you got to go with your daughter. As for the state of publishing and especially self-publishing, it does become discouraging. It takes grit to stick with it, or maybe the mindset that's this is the thing I love most, and let the joy of writing buoy you when the waves of disillusion rise.