Reading for pleasure vs. Reading at school

Hello! I have just spent a fantastic week’s work experience at Hot Key Books and have been given the opportunity to write a blog. I hope you all enjoy. Alex Leonards.

The first time I read Wuthering Heights I wasn’t hugely keen.  I didn’t hate it, I just wasn’t entirely captivated. I blame this on the fact that I didn’t really understand it, had no patience for its slow pace and definitely wasn’t used to its archaic style (at the time I was into contemporary fantasy books). I was stumped when it came to the hoard of surnames, puzzled by Joesph’s obscure dialogue and felt constantly lost in the language.

Surprisingly, it was only while studying the novel at A Level that I began to understand and enjoy Wuthering Heights. I was still baffled by Joseph’s strange northern dialect, but isn’t everyone? Unfortunately, after six months of analysing, highlighting and discussing the book, my admiration for the ‘wild’ and ‘savage’ Cathy and her fellow characters was transformed into hatred. I loathed reading chapters over and over again; trawling relentlessly through 300 pages to find key quotes, learning those key quotes, and, by April 2009, dreaming of key quotes. By the time the exam had approached, my classmates and I knew more about Heathcliff than Brontë herself, and could recite at least a hundred quotes. To top it off, the painful weeks of study and revision was only for a measly hour long paper. And, of course, a week after the exam I couldn’t remember half of the quotes I was forced to learn. Pointless.

This summer, three years later, I’ve decided to read the classic again. This time with no analysis, or ‘key quotes’ – although I do glance at my messy notes in the margin from time to time! When I first opened my copy of Wuthering Heights again, labelled ‘12T, English A Level’, I almost slammed it shut straight away. I feared my past judgement of the book would creep back as soon as I read the first line. I was convinced the book was ruined for me indefinitely. But, I persevered. And from my current place on page fifty, chapter six, I can safely say the book’s genius hasn’t been ruined for me at all. In fact, I’m appreciating it more than I ever did! As I read, I remember the metaphors and themes I once despised. This time round, I appreciate the fact that I know the wild country is a symbol for Heathcliff’s own wildness – it contributes to one of the many layers and mysteries of the novel. I once thought that analysing books in school was a negative, but now I’m not so sure.

What do you think? Does analysis of books in school ruin them? Or enhance them?

Lighting the future of libraries

Last weekend we headed over to Old Windsor to the Lighting the Future joint SLG, YLG & SLA* conference for our very first exhibition.

With over 300 school librarians and children’s public librarians attending this was a great opportunity to chat to them about Hot Key Books and our fabulous launch list. We shared a table with our sister publisher Templar Publishing in the publishers’ exhibition, where we displayed our nine launch list titles all beautifully displayed on our gorgeous Hot Key embroidered table cloth (thank you Jenny!) with lots of proofs and memory sticks with PDFs of all our launch list which went like Hot Cakes!

At the exhibition opening the Mayor and Mayoress of Windsor and Templar Publisher Amanda Wood said a few words about the importance of libraries and reading and the fabulous Simon Bartram (illustrator of The Man on the Moon among other things) launched the exhibition.

Apart from the opportunity to talk to all these passionate librarians I also slipped into a couple of really interesting plenary sessions. I caught half of a ‘Question Time’ style panel discussion called ‘Reading in the Political Spotlight’ with Nic Amy, author Aidan Chambers, CILIP CE Annie Mauger, DJ and author Simon Mayo, The Reading Agency Director Miranda McKearney and David Reedy discussing questions from librarians including the panel’s thoughts on Michael Gove’s ‘Fielding test’ on which books should be in school libraries!

There was also a fascinating discussion about ‘Reading and Technology’ with a panel comprising Jonathan Douglas from the National Literacy Trust, Dave Coplin from Microsoft and Independent Trainer Bev Humphrey.

Bev spoke about the importance of tapping into the enthusiasm young people have for technology to hook them into reading, citing in particular the power of book trailers and Twitter to promote reading. She felt that technology allowed the barriers between readers and authors to come down, which can be motivating for readers – that it’s a great experience to be able to interact with the author whilst reading their book on Twitter.

When it came to ereaders, Bev felt they weren’t that useful for reluctant readers as in the end it’s the same as reading a book although it doesn’t help disguise the length of a book which can be motivating. On the other hand she found ipads and interactive ebooks very useful to encourage reading.

Jonathan Douglas went on to explain that there has been a steady decline in young people reading both online and offline in all formats year on year. Young people are accessing the stories they need to make sense of the world and learn from through visual means – not just text. Look at the popularity of YouTube. He explained his ‘Pendulum Clock’ theory (a long story!) that it’s often easier to communicate something visually than through words and we need to communicate the message/story via the best methods available. Visual storytelling is something that is growing quite rapidly.

Essentially there has been a paradigm shift from text to visual and there is a need to examine what reading and literacy is as children’s reading habits change so rapidly.

Dave from Microsoft spoke about ‘technology as a force for good’ – his job is all about helping people understand what technology can offer. We love knowledge and entertainment and don’t care how we access it. Books and reading connect readers with wisdom of the author and the internet connects everyone to the wisdom of everything – the Internet has great potential.

He went on to talk about the reading circuit – the fact that children these days have ‘butterfly brains’ as they are constantly flipping from one thing to the next. Children love all technology and books and we need to equip

Dave is very excited about the future of computers, that we will be using every surface to access screens which will stop the constant upgrading of hard ware and help with the environment.

He went on to talk about our digital heritage – that it’s better to teach young people critical thinking – how to access and use information – (ie is the Wiki page correct?) rather than how to create a spread sheet using software that will be out of date in a couple of years. And this is where librarians come into play as they play a crucial role in teaching people how to access information and use it – and how to use a library, the internet, anywhere you search for information.

Dave’s message was – don’t worry about technology – use it to augment our experience. Don’t focus on the tool, focus on the task. Technology isn’t a barrier it’s an enabler!

Questions asked afterwards explored the role of librarians, the need for them to embrace technology and use it to their advantage, the environmental impact of Microsoft servers  versus trees for paper, the impact of DRM on social reading and much more!

There as a real buzz at this year’s conference as school librarians and public librarians were able to talk about and share their different experiences in a time that is difficult for everyone. It was great to see that despite obvious challenges, librarians are determined to fight for their future and the importance of reading.

*That’s the School Library Group, Youth Library Group and School Library Association for the uninitiated!

Carnegie Challenge – Under 24 hours to go…

…and, with only the slight cheat of putting two books in one post, WE’VE DONE IT!

So here we have

Small Change for Stuart by Lissa Evans

and

 Everybody Jam by Ali Lewis

You know how this works - let us know what you think of the books in the comments section.  We’ve been nattering on about these in the kitchenette area, so there’ll be lots fo HKB comments.

So who do you think will win?  Is it a different book to the one you think should win?

(I’m not saying anything just so I can nod sagely when the winner is announced and smirk in a knowing way.)

A Love Affair with Audio

‘Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh lived in the forest all by himself’.

Some audiobooks are truly unforgettable, and Alan Bennett reading Winnie-the-Pooh is one of the very best. His marvellous lilting voice brilliantly captures the gentle humour and eccentricity of Pooh, and has become synonymous with the book itself – and yet doesn’t detract one iota from the experience of actually reading it yourself. You can still read and love A.A. Milne’s classic and not hear Alan Bennett – to make of it what you want, to interpret and imagine the story in your own way.

For people of a certain age, the slightly sarcastic intonation of Peter Jones IS the voice of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He played the narrator of Arthur Dent’s saga, as he travels round the universe wearing his dressing gown and armed only with a towel. Hitchhiker’s began its life not as a book, but as a radio play, and Jones went on to be the voice of the titular know-it-all guidebook in the television series too. And it’s his performance that brings Douglas Adams’ cheerily world-weary and sometimes surreal voice to life. Again, the performance was so perfectly suited to the words that it has became synonymous with the text.

There are such diverse and exciting possibilities with audio: authors reading their own books (not always successful; Roald Dahl is a particularly grumpsome narrator of Fantastic Mr Fox); much-loved personalities (Stephen Fry doing Harry Potter; Martin Jarvis reading Just William); full-cast renditions (Philip Pullman’s  His Dark Materials; and then there is the unexpected thrill of an absolute unknown with a voice that crackles out of nowhere to bring a new magic to a familiar work.

Recently I was lucky enough to attend the auditions to find the narrator for our very own Maggot Moon audiobook, by Sally Gardner. As soon as we heard 16-year-old actor Robert Madge, we knew we had found our hero Standish Treadwell. It was an amazing, spine-tingling, and somewhat humbling experience, to hear a book that continues to stun and move me every time I read it be brought to life in a very different way by this very talented young man, who captured the absolute essence of the narrator of the novel. He was certainly helped in this by Sally Gardner’s perfect prose: in audio any duff sentence or dodgy dialogue will stand out horribly, and the fact that Sally reads all of her writing out loud to herself as she writes could not have been more evident. There was not a single word out of place.

There are now so many ways of communicating and disseminating a story – for every book we publish we think about the print edition, the ebook, and whether we might have an app, or some kind of enhanced ebook edition, or any number of other ingenious platforms. Audio is another branch of that – one that has been around for a long time, but whose longevity bears testament to its power. Whether it’s Richard Burton’s mellifluous performance of Under Milk Wood, or the rather more schlocky Alfred Hitchcock-inspired The Secret of Terror Castle that kept me and my sisters entertained on many a long car journey, audio can have an unmatched emotional resonance.

At Hot Key we are passionate about audio and hope to be able to do much more of it. So what are the audiobooks and performances that get your spine tingling?

Carnegie Challenge – the home straight…

We are heading in the last 48 hours before the Carnegie winner gets announced and we are DETERMINED to get through the last few titles.

After a very animated conversation with a lovely librarian at this weekend’s Lighting the Future Conference (I’m sorry! I can’t remember who it was! Talked to so many lovely people!), who raved about it, we moved MIDNIGHT ZOO by Sonya Hartnett to the top of our final three reading pile.

This wasn’t a book we’d heard much about actually, so we’re pleased we embarked on this challenge and read it – as now we have discovered another wonderful book to tell people about.  See our comments below (hint: I LOVED IT) and add yours too as usual…

Okay, come on last two! We will finish you before the winner is announced!

Young Writers Prize Stats!

You are all very eager (including you @sun_shadows) to know how we got on with our submissions to the Guardian Hot Key Books Young Writers Prize.

We are determined to be as transparent about this as we are about our publishing, so here is all the data presented in a handy infographic. All design and hard work credit goes to the wonderful Becca, who used easily.ly to make this.

(She’s also built this awesome submissions-by-city Google map, which is fascinating.)

I think my favourite is the word cloud of the titles (lots of BLOOD going on here). I am most surprised that we have more entries from the US than we do from the UK, and I do wish there had been more for 9-12 year olds!

There is definitely lots of reading going on; we estimate that we are about one-quarter of the way through.

Anybody want to take a guess at what gender, what genre and what country the winner will be from?

Book PR – The view from both sides

With just two months to go until the publication of our first two books (wheeeeee!!) we in the SPAM team have been busy telling our wonderful authors how we are going to promote their books as Sarah Benton described in ‘the Pitch period’.

Now the authors, editors, designers and production teams have done their job it’s now time for the sell-in – our job in the SPAM team (Sales, Publicity and Marketing). We’re busy selling the books into all the places we can think of who might be interested in selling or promoting our books – bookshops, supermarkets, online shops, libraries, schools, festivals etc and once the books are there, it’s up to marketing and publicity to let everyone know the books are out there.

A lot of people ask what’s the difference between marketing and publicity – and it used to be easily explained – marketing is paid for and publicity is free. Take out an ad, create a website, produce some posters and flyers – these are all paid for marketing tools. Publicity/PR compliments marketing activity and is all about spreading the word about the books and authors by talking to book editors, reviewers, librarians, teachers and the public via free editorial space and events. Now the line between marketing and publicity isn’t as defined as before, in the digital age a lot of marketing can be achieved for less than it used to – using social media, building a website using free tools, designing and distributing digital flyers – so marketing and publicity work together more than ever.

Book PR is all about convincing these people to feature the book and author by thinking up interesting news stories relevant to their audience and convincing them to read the book, write a review, a news story or interview, run a competition, anything to get the interest of their audience who will then hopefully march to their nearest bookshop, review in hand and ask for the book.

In my career so far I’ve been lucky enough to be on both sides of ‘the Pitch’. As a publicist at Macmillan I loved pitching books and authors – enthusing about the books and thinking up good ideas relevant to the person you’re talking to. There is such a great buzz when you see a piece in the newspaper and can say ‘I made that happen’.

Then as the Children’s Web Editor on the Booktrust website I experienced what it was like to be on the other side – I was bombarded with email pitches, drowning in review copies, it was completely overwhelming to begin with. I felt like this:

After a while, of course, I got the feel for which books were the ones I wanted to read or pass on to the reviewing panel, which authors to interview, which features to commission, themed book lists to put together and how to plan  relevant and interesting content for the site.

Now I’m back on the other side – and am more aware than ever of how many other books we are competing with out there. For every email I send or book I send out for review the editor has been sent a hundred other similar ones from other publishers all competing for less and less space. I appreciate how important it is to be completely familiar with the publication/festival you are pitching to, to be able to make things easy for editors and journalists who are under so much pressure to create new content, especially online. I know how time consuming it is for web editors who not only often have to write content but also have to add to the CMS, sourcing images, tagging, hyperlinking. It’s a laborious process.

But it’s a wonderful position to be doing the PR at Hot Key Books – a new company everyone is excited to hear about with nine fantastically varied books on the launch list to promote. We are very lucky too to have authors happy to write articles, make videos, embrace social media to help with the promotion – another sign of the times that authors also need to be proactive to promote themselves. There is already a buzz of interest and we’ve only just started – which makes my life easier!

And today we’re at our very first librarians’ conference – we hope they’ll be convinced to read our fantastic books.

Kate enjoying the stand and our new table cloth!

Meg

Blog on Blog(s) – Part 6

We’re really pleased with the feedback and continued interest in our list we’ve had from the wonderful book blogging community out there – who can I remind you again are blogging, reviewing, promoting reading and authors for no pay at all, while also normally juggling a full time job, children, or exams.

So, I’m really pleased that we have been able to give space on our blog to feature some of these great bloggers, and today we have another one for you. Cait Lomas from The Cait Files joins us today for a quick Q&A (and my BIG apologies to Cait for the delay in posting this!)

Name & blog
I’m Caitlin and my blog is The Cait Files (http://thecaitfiles.blogspot.com)

Tell us a bit about your blog… Well I post reviews for YA titles, both my own and review copies and also fortnightly discussion posts and features such as blog tour stops and giveaways.

How did you start blogging?
From Twitter actually! I followed a load of book bloggers on Twitter and then, in the depths of despair that is writing one’s dissertation I took the leap and made my own blog. I really should give some credit to Cassie Clare, I read 4 of her books (the ones that were out at the time) and loved them SO MUCH that I felt I had to review them.

What’s the best thing about blogging?
For me it’s the recommendations. Before I started blogging I’d gotten into a bit of a rut, only reading new books by my favourite authors. I’ve reverted back to the adventurousness of my teenage years thanks to reading about all the amazing books out there on everyone’s blogs. I also really love having so many people to talk books with, I will seriously talk books with anyone. Even people who hate reading. Especially people who hate reading! I’d also like to work in publishing, and blogging has allowed me to learn so much about how the whole industry works, that’s been a definite and unexpected bonus.

What kind of books are you most excited about reviewing?
At the moment, contemporary fiction.  I didn’t read any at all for about 5 years so I have A LOT to catch up on! I will always have a love of paranormal fiction, it’s the main thing I read. And anything with a misunderstood, emotionally crippled, fairly amoral bad boy. Ultimate favourite.

Who are your favourite authors?
Sarah Rees Brennan, Cassie Clare, Maggie Stiefvater, Holly Black, Veronica Roth, Richelle Mead, Melina Marchetta, Lili St. Crow, Melissa Marr, LJ Smith and Ruth Warbuton.

Do you have any advice for new bloggers?
Don’t blog for any ulterior motive other than pure love of books. It’s too much work to do otherwise! Always be honest, there is some pressure to write glowing reviews of every book you’ll read, but not everyone loves everything. Be honest but tactful, no need to get insulting! Definitely get a Twitter account, you chat more with people on there and it’s a great way to stalk your favourite authors *cough* Make sure you have a neat, easy to navigate blog layout, nothing overly fancy, and network as much as you can! But most of all: enjoy it, not much point doing it otherwise!

Thanks so much Cait! I love that you are reading Contemporary Fiction right now – everyone loves a bad boy We’d love to continue this feature or invite guest blogs from ANYONE that wants to write for us! Just get in touch.

Eight Carnegie Days Left!

Eight days left before the Carnegie winner announcement and we are just a touch behind on our shadowing reading challenge! We’ve just finished MY NAME IS MINA, but we still have SMALL CHANGE FOR STUART, MIDNIGHT ZOO and EVERYBODY JAM to get through.

(I’ve already read SMALL CHANGE… so I only have two left. Goodie-two-shoes-me.)

MY NAME IS MINA by David Almond is a prequel to the amazing, the stunning, the gorgeous and hopeful and dark SKELLIG. It has the most amazing interior design, with so many gorgeous fonts, depending on the part of the diary that Mina is writing. MINA was published in paperback last year, when I worked at Hodder, and I had the privilege of working on the audio book version, which is read wonderfully by Charlie Sanderson, the young actress who played Mina in the stage production.

Have you read it? I know a few of you have strong feelings about David Almond, as witnessed in our Twitter chat about books you read at school. (Please note, he is one of my literary heroes.) What did you think?

And now that we are coming down to the wire, do you have a front runner for this year’s medal?

Look! We have more books!

More exiting news from Hot Key HQ. Photos have been sent from our printers of the next three books that have just printed. Eeeeeeeep! Finished copies are coming our way very soon…

Until then, check out these beauties!

(Export TPB edition of Maggot Moon…)