Of wrestling trolls and faces of the moon…

Last year, our first Bologna, we had five books to sell on the international rights front – not bad for a launch list of nine. It was exhilarating, scary, sobering, surprising – and enormous fun.  And now here we were again, one year on, with our shelves stacked with real finished books and with a few prizes and rights sales too.

What happened in the interim?  Let’s take MAGGOT MOON.  We reckoned we had a bit of a winner there, but markets can be fickle (and the mood was pretty cautious) so you can never be quite sure.  That’s one of the thrills of the business – no two books work in the same way.  It’s a statement of the obvious, I know, but it makes life challenging and just a little bit dangerous.  The fair just reminds you of the amazing diversity of tastes (sometimes surprising, sometimes downright confounding), of ways of publishing, of national and cultural conventions.

MAGGOT MOON went down brilliantly at that first fair and has now sold in seventeen countries (it’s only the beginning) and has been published in three so far.  So, in seventeen places, the book has been similarly appreciated, loved and bought but just take a look at the jackets and differences immediately emerge.

Our edition

The American edition

American booksellers are colour-prejudiced – they abhor white jackets – so for the US edition our image has been cast on a cool shade of midnight blue.  In both the Italian and Spanish editions the title has changed (it is a bit of a difficult one) so it becomes THE THREE FACES OF THE MOON and STANDISH’S PLANET.  Take a look at the treatment – graphic and photographic – reflecting what the publisher feels will make it work in the local market.  Of course if you were to give the book to a handful of UK publishers you would get as many and various jackets but with translation you have the originating publisher’s vision first and foremost – to reject, accept or adapt.  I can’t wait to see the Chinese, Japanese and Thai versions…

The Italian edition

The Spanish edition

Interestingly the book has sold in southern European countries, the far east too, but NOT in Scandinavia.  It’s just a matter of time but it’s still curious – is it because of the subject, the politics, the genre, the state of the market, the fact that there are more books being published by local authors at the moment?  Hmmmmm.  I’ll let you know.

When we’re offering for a book, we consider what we think we can sell in translation, and it’s tricky.  Say we have a book on wrestling trolls, for instance.  Trolls are from Scandinavia so that should be fertile territory, although one Norwegian editor told me that her publisher absolutely hated trolls.

And what about wrestling? It’s hugely popular in Japan, Korea, the USA and of course Turkey where oil wrestling (when the participants are covered in olive oil…) is a national sport, but in Japan they are not so fond of huge hairy trolls (Moomintrolls are quite another matter).  There again the combination of the two is perhaps more than the sum of its parts. Basically, there is no science in this, no easy formula that can be worked out with a bit of research on google.  All I can say is that the mood of the fair was definitely receptive to the idea of wrestling trolls.  Hooray!  It’s all about the magic of the writing and the spell it casts over the reader.  And that’s the thrill of a book fair.  There’s nothing quite like seeing that glimmer in an editor’s eye – the excitement of a new idea, a challenging concept… a wrestling troll.

Visual Inspiration in Bologna

There’s a LOT to look at in Bologna. Giant glowing versions of book covers line walkways, book-covered shelves form the walls of each booth, signs dangle from the ceiling. Amidst all of this visual stimuli, our Art Director Jet found some visually stunning covers and artwork both at the fair and in Bologna bookshops!

Outside the main exhibition hall, there was a gallery of art by carefully selected children’s illustrators on display. Here are a few of Jet’s favourites:

By seesaw, Japan.

By Ha Yeon Jung, Korea.

Felt characters by Holman and Jack Wang, Canada.

By Violeta Lopiz, Spain.

And some special bookshop finds:

Bologna 2013: Thinking about design…

Spotted: This stunning Brazilian cover

Bologna Book Fair is a wonderful showcase of beautiful design. From Pre-School and Board Books up to New Adult, the books here are presented to showcase the best work of their publishers.

There are classics like the Miffy books for babies and toddlers, rubbing shoulders with new and challenging jackets for young adults like Asylum by Madeleine Roux to be published by HarperCollins.

Classic iconic design

Prepare to be lost in…

And along the way wonderful examples of design that mark out their publishers as brave and innovative.

The Big Picture list to be published by our sister company Templar was the talk of the fair with one French publisher telling me that it was one of only two things she had seen during the week that really excited her. Great praise from Gallimard.

Beautiful picture books coming soon from Big Picture Press

Tara Books from India won the prestigious Bologna Prize – Best Publisher of the Year for Asia.  Up against stiff competition, notably Kalimat in UAE, they were triumphant because of their stunningly beautiful books and their international reputation built by the hugely talented Gita Wolf. Their books are available all over world and are consequently treasured by readers everywhere.

Beautiful Tara Books

It is never too late to learn and after four days of looking at other people’s inspired and thoughtful designs you realize that we have to absorb ideas and influences from around the world. Not only from wonderful books but art, product design, shop signs, graffiti … The list can go on and on.

Bologna is a place which allows you to really open your eyes to different cultural approaches to visual representation. I know I am going to try to keep my eyes open.

Bowling, group love-ins and metadata…

Last Thursday and Friday, a bunch of us went down to Chelsea Harbour for a Bonnier Group Love-in, including food, presentations and bowling, officially known as the Bonnier Manager’s Conference. This is an annual event where all the publishers in the Bonnier Publishing group get together and we all get an update on what our lovely sisters are doing.

And then we all lose all that sisterly love, just like in a real family, and battle it out on the bowling alley in the evening. Hot Key Bowling Report: Sarah Odedina is actually a secret bowling star, Emily Thomas wins the most enthusiastic member of the team ever and Jet Purdie was the one that actually scored most of our points (who isn’t surprised by that?). It all got a little serious at points I must say. For instance Autumn publishing took things VERY seriously:

Things got serious(ly competitive)

But anyway, I digress. Being part of a group like Bonnier Publishing is great. Firstly – nobody takes themselves too seriously, and everyone is very approachable. Nobody is corporate. For instance – which other CEO would let themselves be caricatured and put right there on the website?

The Bonnier Publishing CEO Richard Johnson reading CEO for Dummies.

It also means though we have strength in numbers – we can share some functions like having a group sales and accounts team – but then also each company is decentralized which means we all have full editorial control and each have our own identities. Look out for our sister companies blog takeover in a few weeks time where you can get to know them all a bit better.

I was given the unenviable task of task of talking to the group about metadata. SAY WHAT NOW? I hear you ask. Well…metadata is how people find our books online, so it is mega important. But only to a data-geek I hear you say? Well here’s how I convinced people otherwise with a little video conversation…with a little help from Xtranormal.com:

What can I say, apart from after that, metadata was certainly the word of the conference!

Staying ahead of the game

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to go to New York for the Tools of Change for Publishing conference – a summit about new technologies and business models relevant to help us publishing folk move forward. It’s a brain-melting three days where you spend your whole time going ‘ooh, ooh, that’s so cool’ and wishing you had infinite time/money/skills to do EVERYTHING.

Obviously, I can’t wrap up three days in one short Friday blog post, so I won’t, but I wanted to highlight a few particularly cool projects, people and companies I saw.

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Paperight – this great project turns photocopy shops in developing countries into legal bookshops, so that many more people in villages and towns can have access to text. See more here!

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Thrillbent.com  is new way of reading comics online where the pages come alive on the screen – check it out!

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WorldReader.org - this is a great project getting ereaders into the hands of kids that need access to stories the most. Get involved!

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And finally, this was shown as the keynote for the first day to make us all laugh -  let’s hope we don’t forget how to use the traditional paper book

This is of course only a TINY SNAPSHOT of the amazing speakers that were at TOC – you can take a look at some of the other Keynote speakers and stay in touch with their blog and community site here.

(And if you ever get the chance to go – don’t hesitate!)

Sarah

Want to Work in Children’s Book Publishing?

Last week, we did A Day in the Life… video series featuring all our fantastic assistants and what they do. We’ve had an amazing response – mostly people wanting to know how they can break into the industry. If you missed it, see yesterday’s round up check it out here (or below).

I’ve already blogged about my top tips in this post.

Eight years ago, I was hunting for a job in children’s publishing, after a couple of years in New York. This is what I did:

First, I bought a notebook with a cow on it, as you do. Then, I stuck in a calendar.

Then, I harassed as many people whose names in children’s publishing I could for “informational interviews” to fill up slots in that calendar.

For any number of reasons, internships aren’t always possible, but a carefully-worded, well-researched letter/email asking for half an hour of their time was generally positively received. (And if you do get a meeting, MAKE SURE you stick with just half an hour!)

At each meeting, I had a set of questions that I asked, and I was always listening out for other names and companies mentioned.

Sara O’Connor’s list of questions to ask on children’s publishing informational interview.

At two of my meetings, I heard about the fantastic editorial team at Working Partners, and so chased that lead up. I ended up with a two week internship there, and at the end of that… a job!

So my big tip for this blog is to look at non-traditional ways in. Find the smaller, more flexible companies: book packagers like Working Partners or HotHouse, new independant houses, think about interning with agencies (I know Eve White runs a scheme) or with literary scouts. You’ll get an excellent overview of the market.

Also consider digital start ups – having digital experience will be so valuable in the very near future.

Send an impassioned letter to people/companies of your choice, volunteering your time in exchange for experience.

But most of all, don’t give up! Keep trying…

We’d love to hear any other success stories… how did you get your job in publishing?

(In all my rush to post the blog (yes, yes, I know, I was late posting!) I forgot to add in my favourite thing from those weeks back in 2004… I’ve got all the notes from those meetings, including the notes from when Emma Matthewson – the newset Hot Key-er – agreed to talk to me. Click on the link below for the PDF. The frowny face is because I was naughty and talked to her for an hour, instead of half an hour. But that was because she was just SO NICE and lovely and helpful. )

EmmaMatthewsonNotes

A Day in the Life of a Sales Assistant

Today’s “Day in the Life” post focuses on how a book transforms from its UK edition form into its brand-new form as a foreign language edition. Every day in the Red Lemon Press office, a talented team of individuals sell books all over the world. In the video below, Sales Assistant Mariana Podmore takes us through the sales process from start to finish.

Hiya, I’m Mariana, Foreign Rights and Sales Assistant to brand new Red Lemon Press, Weldon Owen and also Piccolia (another Bonnier company), as well as helping out with Hot Key when I have a spare minute! Today I’ll take you through the most exciting bit of working in foreign rights: actually selling a right, and getting to see your book published in a different language!

If you have any questions for Mariana, feel free to post them below and she’ll respond.

The bogey man in the cupboard at the Costa Book Awards

Our blog today comes from our Managing Director Sarah Odedina. Sarah attended the Costa Awards ceremony with our author Sally Gardner, whose book Maggot Moon won the Costa Children’s Award.

Last night was the Costa Book Awards party and Hilary Mantel triumphed, winning the overall prize as well as the novel award, with Sally Gardner winning the children’s award,  Francesca Segal winning the first novel award, Kathleen Jamie winning the poetry award and Mary and Bryan Talbot winning the biography award.  Each of the books is a wonderful ‘story’ waiting to be read and will be enjoyed by many people still to come.

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During the ceremony there was an interesting moment when head judge Dame Jenni Murray told the guests that because she chose to read the physical editions instead of the ebooks on her Kindle, she felt that she had proof that the digital format was a ‘second choice’ and that print editions were far superior in terms of providing true enjoyment and a more intellectual experience.  She went on to say that she would save her Kindle for light easy holiday throwaway reading…the kind of books, by implication, that are somehow less worthy of respect and possibly enjoyment.

The guests, publishers, authors, agents,  obviously all book-loving individuals, duly clapped. I didn’t. I was a bit bemused.  Why does the digital edition have to be constantly maligned by ‘real book lovers’?  What on earth is wrong with reading a book in the digital format?  Surely the point is for the book to be read, for the story to be shared, for the author’s work to be enjoyed by a reader.  If that reader chooses to prefer to read the book digitally as opposed to in a print format does that make them somehow lightweight or less of a ‘real book lover’?

I also wonder if, with this rather archaic and hierarchical attitude, many people in the book world will miss the opportunity to communicate with readers properly. When there is an implicit snobbery about form, will potential readers be deterred from ever getting to the content?  Will a sixteen-year-old young adult who comes across this attitude feel immediately alienated from the precious object being talked about?  I suspect that they will.  When will ‘real book lovers’  get over feeling that ebooks are the bogey men hiding in the cupboard and truly and properly embrace them as simply another format which allows us to link readers with authors and their stories?  I also wonder if this attitude is not helping us as an industry in our fight to maintain pricing.  Surely if we perceive the format as so inferior the lack of value attached to it culturally reflects in the value we attach to it financially.

I am sure that the time will come when these sorts of comments, and the support for them, will be harder to make.  I hope that before that time comes we don’t lose an entire generation of digitally savvy readers who don’t want to be made to feel inferior for their choices.

Peering through the glass

Over the Christmas break I went on the National Theatre’s backstage tour – which displays a little of the inner workings of the large theatre. You see into the three main theatres, go under the stages, walk through corridors normally not open to the public, and occasionally bump into theatre stars. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone – but this isn’t just a tourist advert for this London landmark.

No. One of the things that was mentioned on the tour excited me and got me thinking. The workshops, carpentry studios and set painters were not visible on our tour as they have been moved to a new temporary location in preparation for NT’s Future project. When they come back, you’ll no longer have to pay to see the workings of these fascinating parts of the theatre, by going ‘behind the scenes’. Instead, as part of a major NT Development of their South Bank site, they will be bringing the scenes to life right on the pavement, with new glass fronted working studios open for everyone to peer into. That’s right, in the future you will be able to wander down with your coffee and stare inside as a set is being made, props are being crafted and walls are being constructed.  The NT is opening up what it does and laying it bare for us all to see.

The current director Nicholas Hytner says he wants to give people ‘a greater understanding of the plays they see and encourage the public to participate in the process of making theatre’.

It struck me on this tour that this is just one of countless examples of companies starting to be ‘transparent’ – to show (and in some cases prove) what they are doing, and how they work. So we understand them more, yes, but also so we feel part of them and get involved. Say you are walking past the NT and see a super cool set being designed, or an amazing prop. You’ll want to know what it’s for, for which play, and chances are that will make you more likely to want to see it.

I remember when publishing used to be all closed up and behind an ‘iron curtain’. I would constantly get told that we couldn’t mention anything about a project until it was completely finalised, totally planned from start to finish. We shouldn’t show things in stages as people might get confused or *gasp* want to have a say. There seemed to be a thought process that why would anyone be interested in what happens behind the scenes, and why should we take time to show them? Well, twitter has pretty much changed that and I am pleased about it. Seeing an author’s process on Twitter, seeing how many words they have written, a snapshot of the cover, a write up of their first publisher meeting – these all help you feel like you know the author, and want to know more about the book. Here, we always set out to be public fronted, and talk about what we are doing at all times (in fact, most of the time you can’t shut us up!) and I’m pleased to see that many other companies are starting to do the same.

It made me think of this lovely ‘Birth of a Book’ video filmed at a printers for the Telegraph last year. As many of us move towards more e-reading – it’s nice to show the process that goes into printing of the physical books we also want to keep alive.

Birth of a Book from Glen Milner on Vimeo.

So what about you? How do you feel about companies being more open and approachable? Do you like being more involved in how things get made?

Sarah B

P.S – The NT need our help to make the Future project possible. You can find out how to get involved on their NEW project site here

Front page news, and smiles all round!

We are over the [maggot] moon…

Last night on Radio 4′s Front Row the category winners of the Costa Award were announced and we are DELIGHTED to say that Maggot Moon WON the Children’s Category. Listen to the announcement for yourself here.  (The Children’s Award is announced about 10 minutes in) And see the full press release and other winners here – Costa Press Release 2012

Needless to say that there was much jumping up and down in Hot Key HQ, and here’s a very happy Sarah Odedina when she heard the news:

BIG THUMBS UP

Twitter has been going crazy since the announcement, catch up on what’s been going on in our Storify here and if you haven’t read Maggot Moon yet, the paperback comes out today! So, get yourself to a bookshop, website or library right now.

Oh, and if that wasn’t exciting enough Sally Gardner was on the FRONT PAGE OF THE INDEPENDENT today!

Hot off the press!

Not bad for our third book ever published eh? Well done to Sally on this fantastic achievement. It is so well deserved. We can’t stop smiling.