I have officially finished taught classes at OICPS and moved to London (for five weeks) to leap once again into the world of publishing. Week one: a sales and marketing internship with Hot Key Books. I was offered the internship back in December, first approaching Sarah Benton, head of marketing, through Twitter, and then following up by emailing my covering letter and C.V. to them. I had met Sarah again whilst volunteering at London Book Fair, and was amazed to realise that yes, my ridiculously dedicated *ahem* use of Twitter to keep up with book news was genuinely beneficial. Hot Key Books run an internship scheme around the year, giving individuals interested in working in publishing the chance to train with them, and working with Creative Access and Lift and Platform to further outreach.  

To afford the trip I’m staying with my uncle, aunt, cousins and a large golden retriever called Ruby, as they graciously offered me their spare room for the duration of my work placements, with Hot Key Books providing travel expenses cover of £35. My journey to work is just a quick hop on the Northern line and a walk down the road to Hot Key’s office. I settled in to a café around the corner early each morning for a cappuccino and the chance to read.

The Hot Key office is in a lovely converted building, with open plan floors and shelves full of beautiful books. You get a real sense of the exciting energy that the young publishing house has to offer. If you have been following my blog for a while you already know that I’m pretty much head over heels for their wonderful list of middle grade and teen titles, so I was positively floating to be working for them. I was greeted on Monday morning by Naomi Colthurst, editorial assistant. She introduced me to everyone and set me to work reading manuscripts (I can’t tell you what I’m afraid!) to the musical accompaniment of David Bowie’s Space Oddity beaming down from space courtesy of Chris Hadfield.

The most incredible thing about being an intern, aside from the chance to put all those skills you’ve stacked up over the year to use at last, is the chance to observe how things are done out in the real world. Every publishing house is unique. Seeing how each department interacts with each other at Hot Key Books reinforced the feeling that this is a publishing house that works as a team, sharing ideas to create the best books they possibly can offer. Collaboration, imagination and innovation are the keys to success.

I saw the culmination of Fleur Hitchcock's Story Adventure, a term long project of interactive online creative writing with primary school children, as it came to an end ready for the final book to be put together. 

On Wednesday it was publication day (book birthday) for Natalie Whipple’s Transparent about a world where high school superpowers are the norm. This meant that there was much fun to be had watching the tweets roll in from people (and dogs) in various states of invisibility. The marketing department embraced the theme, with Livs Mead dressing up a coat rack and flying headphones held by totally not visible hands, Sarah Benton opening filing cabinets out of sight, and Cait Davies working on emails with eyes in the back of her head. Hot Key really understand that the best way to promote their titles is to revel in the fun. Books, after all, are a source of entertainment.

I was lucky enough on Thursday to meet Debbie McCune, author of Death & Co., after a successful day of reading and workshops with schools. I’d spent some time the previous day reading her book, a brilliant novel about a boy who inherits the role of teen grim reaper from his family. Great for fans of Supernatural, Dead Like Me, and Grimm! My task was to locate character descriptions for an illustrator’s competition run by Movella. Find out more (and the character quotations!) here.

I also spent the week reading and analysing Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield. This book was originally published in Australia, and will be published in the UK on the 4th July. Proofs are making their way around to bookshops and bloggers. I will be reviewing it for MuggleNet a little closer to the launch date, but for now I shall say that it is a truly remarkable book, thought provoking, brave, bold and emotional. The twists and turns make you question ideas and beliefs you hold, challenging perceptions and the power of truth versus fiction. I challenge you not to fall in love with the character of Silence. If you’ve read Red Ink or Maggot Moon, then definitely pick up Friday Brown, as it offers another breath taking literary journey. 

The quality of their titles can be seen today, with both Sally Gardner’s Maggot Moon and Lydia Syson’s A World Between Us longlisted in the nominations for the Guardians’ Children’s Prize 2013.

My week with Hot Key Books was a whirlwind of tasks and triumphs, and discovering that, yes, I am really very interested in pursuing a career in publishing and marketing/publicity. I was allowed to read, practice copy-editing, and research. If I could have I would have stayed for as long as they'd have me. But the week flew by, and for now I am off to internship number two, a month with Headline Publishing Group. 

Thank you, Hot Key, for letting me come and watch you guys in action! And I cannot wait to read these great proofs and new releases. First up is Transparent.

After spending a week sightseeing in Italy, the sun shone more for London Book Fair than Bologna.The venue at Earl’s Court was buzzing with digital news, publishing plans and author events. Kobo adverts spread across the building in banners and the HarperCollins, Bonnier, Penguin and Random House stands prominently displayed their new titles. Whilst Bologna felt more personal, thousands of stands pressed close together in halls filled with friends and professionals discussing business for 2013-14.

Volunteering on Tuesday provided the perfect opportunity to sit in on a series of talks and learn about the current publishing climate. My duties for the day ranged from answering queries from the attendants, providing water for the speakers and greeting them to the room, and acting as microphone runner during Q&A sessions. 

I was situated in the Old Press Office with the Children's seminars which means I have a lot of exciting things to blog about! 

The first talk I was asked to help out with was the Booktrust Equal Measures panel, discussing inclusion and diversity in books for Children and Young Adults. Having attended the LGBT YA talk in February and then been lucky enough to have Beth Cox from Inclusive Minds come to talk to the Children’s Publishing class at Brookes, I was particularly excited to listen to what the panel had to say. The talk was introduced by Alexandra Strick who demonstrated the brilliant talking pen poster for Inclusive Minds. This gave voice to children’s experiences of seeing themselves represented in fiction and books. “Why are children like me always the sidekick and never the main character?”

The incredible Verna Wilkins delivered her key note speech, and gave the audience a short history of Tamarind Books, the publishing house she established to give black children like her son images of themselves in stories. Her message was that if you want to change something, you can, just be proactive and prepare to fight for your voice to be heard. Good teachers recognise that education is a widening of experiences so Tamarind books sold well in schools. And in response to booksellers saying that their customers didn’t look like her characters, Verna’s son recognised that her response was going to be “You got a lot of Gruffalos around here?” and promptly distracted her. Beth pointed out that the best kind of inclusion is incidental, not making a statement for the sake of “issues” or ticking off a box, but simply representing the world as it is. All children need to see diversity in books to provide a true representation of the world and learn to be open minded. Fen Coles from Letterbox Library listed some gaps in the current publishing landscape for inclusion: books representing transgender characters, diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, children with mental health issues and disabilities, and more. She posed the challenge of writing material that excluded use of gender pronouns full stop and simply explored children living their lives and pursuing their interests as individuals. She also warned against the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes for example villains portrayed as scarred. 

PHD student Erica Gillingham researches LGBT* inclusive books and says that yes books are out there, despite the lack of awareness for mainstream business. She pointed out that when it comes to love and romance for LGBT* characters, the US is leaps and bounds ahead of the UK (as was discussed during the LGBT* YA panel in February) and that even then the majority of characters were cis!male white teens in America. The B and the T in the umbrella need a lot more exploration. She recommended Malinda Lo’s science fiction YA novel Adaptation for an excellent representation of a bisexuality, but could only name four trans* books for the young adult market. I've just finished reading LR Lam's YA novel Pantomime which features an intersex character and fluid sexuality, with a futuristic fantasy setting and scenes of circus life.

The key advice for the industry was “Be brave, little things make a difference, avoid negative stereotypes, think about language and be inclusive.”

The ‘New Demands On, and Support For, Writers’ panel chaired by author Justin Somper, featured many of the buzz words of LBF13. Author Sarah McIntyre (jabberwocks) championed blogging as a means of networking by building an author brand. She also discussed supportive initiatives such as SCWBI and Society of Authors to hone skills. Curtis Brown Literary Agent Stephanie Thwaites and Bookbrunch journalist Liz Thompson discussed the merits and pitfalls of writing courses. Although much of the audience seemed to appreciate the feeling of companionship and the advice offered, Liz warned that research is vital to finding suitable courses that provide reasonable advice. Sarah McIntyre suggested a compromise, requesting chunkable courses that focus on improving key areas such as social media writing and management. This would help publishers and authors manage the demands on writers to become brand names, generating their own PR and participating on the festival circuit. Another suggestion came from the audience who suggested booksellers are often happy to run events with authors not present if they are later contactable for feedback or competition judges for individuals.

In the panel discussing “What’s Poetry’s Problem?” the speakers suggested that digital routes such as YouTube and twitter provided an excellent route for engaging young readers in poetry as spoken performance. They noted that children love poetry and rhyme (The Gruffalo is in rhyme after all) and that it is parents and teachers who are uncertain and lack confidence in teaching the material, perhaps because Key Stage 3 poetry encourages writing and reading, whereas GCSE poetry becomes heavily analytical. Penguin have launched a Poetry by Heart app which gives an audio visual experience. This was also referred to during the digistories panel about enhanced books. PenguinUSA’s poetry app has received much fever after its recent release, making learning interactive. However drawbacks include the trouble with free apps with monetized stages embedded within, and the controversies surrounding hidden costs after point of purchase. The panel agreed that there is indeed a future in enhanced fiction, but the work at the moment is a constantly evolving process with kinks still to be worked out on a trial and error basis. Fellow OICPS student, Judith Paskin, has been researching the books/ebooks/apps popularity among children in the Oxfordshire area. Her research shows that older children are more jaded about the gadgets and need more enticing to consider them stories. But that they are more likely to choose their own books with the anonymity of online buying (parents credit card access aside!) The most important thing for publishers to do is ensure that interactivity is right, that digital isn't just a distraction from the flow of reading. A sentiment shared by the publishers on the panel.

Digital received a huge buzz throughout the fair, from the opening conference talk with Neil Gaiman asking publishers to take risks and think big and fail better, to smaller projects such as the Random House initiative sourcing teen authors in their Movellas competition. The final talk in the Old Press Office discussed the future of enhanced fiction. Sarah Benton demonstrated the utility of Sally Gardner’s Maggot Moon iBook which provides video and sound insight into the mind of a dyslexic reader as well as factual research surrounding the narrative. Hot Key Books have also been involved in an on-going online writing project Story Adventure for young children, in which they collaborate with author Fleur Hitchcock to write the sequel to her fiction book Shrunk!. Gaming developers suggested the epic world building around fantasy novels provided the most exciting opportunity for the end users, authors and gamers alike. The most important factor to separate gaming from publishing books was the involvement of authors and a clear narrative. Publishers are experts in story and need to bring those skills to the table when collaborating with the technical departments.

In all the experience of volunteering at London Book Fair was extremely beneficial. I met many industry insiders, was able to discuss areas of interest, research New Product Development by observing companies operate. Most of all it was fun and rewarding experience. Maybe next year I will get to attend as a professional publisher, rather than bookseller and student!

I shall be writing a follow up blog in the next few days on the two New Adult panels I attended, with author Abbi Glines, Liz Bankes and Tanya Byrne, so keep an eye out for "New Adult and YA and Steamies, oh my!" and in the meantime here's a sneak peek featured on the Oxford Brookes Publishing site.

When I was fourteen I read Mary Hoffman’s Stravaganza: City of Masks, a young adult novel set both in contemporary England and in an alternate Venice 500 years in the past. Reading that book whilst on a family holiday captured my imagination and sparked my love of Venice. It made me want to learn Italian so I could revisit the city during my gap year, and eventually live there to study at Ca’ Foscari and Venice International University during my BA Erasmus year.

Why am I talking about Venice, when myself and my peers at OICPS have recently visited Bologna for the international rights fair?

Because as an introduction to the event Brookes had arranged by complete coincidence for us to meet the author of Stravaganza! What a dream come true.

I’d expressed my happiness at the coincidence on twitter the week before, and Mary responded in turn to say how happy she was that a reader of her books would be at the meeting. In a strange coincidence she was due to meet with Laura Tosi after her jaunt at Bologna, a lady whose lecture I had attended whilst studying in Venice.

Meeting with myself, Laura and Judith in the comfortable business lounge (complete with squishy seats!) Mary Hoffman set the scene and gave us insight into this year at the fair. We discussed her findings and our own. In conversation with The Bookseller, she’d noted that picture books were on the rise. The illustrator presence at the fair was huge, with walls of example pictures and cards coating the lounge, and engaging talks with some key players. There was Big Picture Press a new sister imprint of Templar. Scholastic had a great title, The Snatcha Book in which a little creature snatches away bedtime stories for company. Emily Gravett had a promising next offering, Little Mouse’s Big Book of Beasts. In my wandering I also stumbled upon David Fickling Book's gorgeous cover for Very Little Red Riding Hood by Heapy and Heap at the Random House stand. And Salariya had reissued a childhood classic in Old Bear that had many of us feeling nostalgia pangs.

One of the biggest draws of the fair was Nosy Crow's stand, their bright red display proudly boasting the numerous awards they have scooped up in recent years particularly for their ahead of the times digital content and apps for younger readers. When we walked past them the queue was building up the aisle for the chance to talk to their team. 

There was likewise some buzz for several young adult authors, S.R. Johannes’ wilderness thriller Untraceable offering contemporary realism and romance, Walker Books’ Neverending a sinister new romance, and a lot of interest in Hot Key Books list which is expanding from 9 titles published in 2012 to 50 in 2013. They saw success with the crossover appeal of Maggot Moon, creating an adult cover for a new edition, and generated buzz over titles such as The Blue Lady with eye catching cover art adorning wall sized posters. David Fickling Books YA forensic science meets magic book Spellbinder gained a lot of word of mouth and rumours of film interest. US publisher Little Brown still proudly displayed a range of YA supernatural titles like Malinda Lo’s Inheritance and Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Cold Town - described as the vampire book you didn’t know you still needed to read. However there was a definite moving away from the previous years' obsession with Young Adult dystopian trilogies. 

Barrington Stoke’s rebranded list of dyslexia friendly titles has captured the attention of high profile authors including Michael Morpurgo, Gillian Cross, Malorie Blackmam, Eoin Colfer and more. Their squirrel logo and slogan ‘cracking reading’ gives the publishing house a more approachable feel.

As a whole the industry was moving towards a lot of renewed interest in Middle Grade fiction. Bonnier imprint Red Lemon Press displayed Being A Boy by James Dawson. There was also Emily Diamand’s Ways to See A Ghost, and World War One fiction such as Dog In No-Mans Land. Little Brown also had a number of middle grade fiction titles including the sequel to Chris Colfer’s The Land Of Stories, cover art covered up under sheet paper until it is no longer embargoed. Disney-Hyperion praised Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky, a middle grade book about transgender identity and gender fluidity, a book about issues that tells the story in a way that doesn’t become an “issue book”. R.J Palacio’s Wonder seemingly paving the way for a rise in engaging and stimulating books for younger readers.

We left Mary with lots to think about and keep an eye out for in our walk around the fair. And furthermore she graciously agreed to sign my copy of City of Masks with a lovely message. Maybe one day I will get to publish one of her books, as coincidences such as this chance encounter can happen when you least expect it!


Part Two

Busy month has been extremely busy! I've been awfully quiet this December - but hard at work over here in Oxford. Our assignments have been ticked off one by one. Farewell editorial report and presentation, farewell design and production sample chapters and BLAD, farewell marketing plan. You were a hoot.

(I'm now nocturnal.)

We've officially proposed our Online Dating Guide for the Young Professional (Click Online Dating in the City), and although we didn't win the Pan Macmillan editorial prize (which went to the extremely deserving team who created Happy Hedgehogs a Gluten-free cookbook for kids with 'prickly tummies') we probably won with the world's most co-operative and peaceful team building experience. It was great working with you team 11!

Karly and I spent many an afternoon with wicked witches and dastardly devils trying to get to grips with the ins and outs of InDesign to redesign Monsters in the Movies into a new paperback format, with revised text and layout. Vampires and Werewolves, ghosts, fairytales and modern monsters were all scanned, edited and reformatted. And eventually we even figured out how to do the preflight checks (tip: do this as you go along and spot mistakes on the way!) My most successful accomplishment was learning how to do clipping paths on photoshop. I'll be reading my InDesign guide back to front this Christmas break to try and figure it all out at home.

And Beth and I have literally just this minute submitted our Marketing Plan for a series of four 'Living With...' titles under the Jessica Kingsley Publishers brand list. 

FREEDOM!

In other news I've managed to stumble my happy way into three upcoming internships in 2013. The first you already know about, David Fickling Books, which starts in January. I've been reading lots of wonderful DFB titles in preparation, and am particularly fond of Richard Coleridge's beautiful winter picturebook When it Snows. 

The second is a week in May with the sales and marketing department of an up and coming Childrens and Young Adult trade fiction imprint called Hot Key Books, who have signed Sally Gardner's fabulously trippy tale Maggot Moon, and one of my favourite American teen writers, Maureen Johnson. I'm hoping to build my dissertation/major project around the idea of social media and community building with marketing and PR in Young Adult markets, so am particularly excited at this amazing opportunity.

And finally I am incredibly happy to have been offered a month internship at Headline books immediately following my week at Hot Key. I can't wait to follow up the book signing event with Eowyn Ivey and Sam Eades with the chance to peek behind the scenes at the build up to such a campaign.

So I hope you all enjoy your winter holidays.

I shall be reading:

Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey (I'm half way through and it is beautiful, a definite must read!)
Divergent - Veronica Roth
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairytale Land In A Ship Of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente
The Feathered Man - Jeremy de Quidt
A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness 
Heart-Shaped Bruise - Tanya Byrne