This week at Valley Press, #70: 'Not a Stunt'

Dear readers,

This is Jamie – Jamie McGarry that is, "the original" – back at the helm of the newsletters to see you through what should be a busy autumn season. The start of September means the beginning of our new schedule, bringing you three new titles per month in September, October and November; and we'll need to maintain that pace going forward, to keep the now seven-strong VP team supplied with the posh biscuits that they deserve.

Our first September book is titled This Is Not a Stunt, and it's by Cath Nichols, from an original submission in May 2015. Like many poetry collections, simply listing the key themes – in this case, disability and gender identity – fails to do justice to the great swathe of human existence which is captured within the pages. Many of the joys, frustrations and monotonies of life are featured, but it was the short poem below that originally stopped my eye when reading through the 2015 manuscripts:

Chiaroscuro The pond made winter’s bed from blackened sycamore leaves, now green arms razzle through the waterline. Marsh marigolds hold out their cups shout, Look at me! Look at me, don’t I do yellow exceptionally well? I then saw this one, which sealed the deal:

Fathom Between the hours of two and four our muscles slacken, heartbeats slow, if needs we’ll slip our mortal coil on this night tide: deep breaths, let go. Between the hours of two and four most people pass away if passing in their sleep is what they’ll do. Don’t be alarmed, this is the death we’d all choose, asleep in bed. The hours of two and three and four are those when analgesics reign, we slip with ease through that last door, but other slippage has its place between these hours, slip in, drift low. Watch: this quietest ebb will even out the balance sheet of loss, will pace our bodies’ sighs and dreams. Balm pours into our bones and loosens joints, so most births take place at night between the hours of two and four. For those who enjoy the little extras that sometimes accompany poetry, you'll be glad to hear this collection features a lengthy poetic dedication, a notes section, and an afterword from the author (who becomes the ninth Valley Press author to appear on their own book cover; can you remember the others? If you can get all nine, there might be a prize.) You can read more about the book here, and remember to use your 10% newsletter discount if you decide to treat yourself to a copy. In a handy coincidence, 'Stunt' author Cath Nichols is our next guest at Woodend for the 'Literary Lunch Hour'. These events were always considered something of an experiment, to be tweaked and amended as time went on... Thus the newly-branded poster below, dropping the original title and adding a prominent mention for new host Laura McGarry (something of a local celebrity). You can meet Cath and hear some poetry from 1pm next Thursday (7th), and the following week we are graced by the presence of Antony Dunn; but please note his event has moved to 3-4pm (because he's needed in Newcastle that morning for something exciting, and poetry-related, which we can't reveal until January). If you missed the last event, with Laura chatting to Nora Chassler, it can be watched online here; they made a good double act! We're headed for the local tip in next week's newsletter (you'll see what I mean), but in the meantime, have a wonderful week, and don't ever stray too far from a decent book. All best, Jamie McGarry, VP Publisher

This week at Valley Press, #69: 'River in the Sky'

Dear readers,

As promised I (Jamie #2) have returned to newsletter duty, and there is a lot to report.

Undeterred by the torrential downpours on Wednesday, myself and Jamie (the Two Jamies?) bravely took to the rainy streets of York, armed with just one umbrella and one coat between us, for a series of top-secret meetings. I can’t tell you the details of these meetings, but one of them included poet Robert Powell, a book that is not entirely written yet, and a boat. Exciting things are happening at Valley Press! It was also during this meeting that Robert gazed romantically out of the window and calmly proclaimed: ‘the river is in the sky’. Poets, eh?

Yesterday saw the return of the Literary Lunch Hour, and this week was a celebration of the Valley Press Anthology of Yorkshire Poetry. Presented by co-editor Oz Hardwick, 15 of Yorkshire’s finest poets descended upon Scarborough as we saw readings from – pause for breath – Patrick Lodge, Sarah Wallis, Carole Bromley, Wendy Pratt, Ian Harrow, Anne Caldwell, Mike Farren, Pauline Kirk, Jane Sharp, Robert Powell, Yvie Holder, Amina Alyal and Rob Miles. This made for an extremely talented – if slightly crowded – room, and you can watch the entire event here.

Next week’s literary lunch hour will be with Nora Chassler, fresh from the Edinburgh festival with a new, subversive book: Madame Bildungsroman’s Optimistic Worldview. In the meantime Laura McGarry will be doing a ‘live-reading’ of the book – posting excerpts of it on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag ‘#readingwithLM’. Madame Bildungsroman is full of snappy philosophical wisdoms, presented in such a way that it almost comes across as Nietzsche’s Man Alone With Himself’s younger, easier to read sibling. If this sounds like your sort of thing, why don’t you buy a copy and join in the debate (which has already sparked a good-natured Facebook argument about racism in Sherlock Holmes)?

Continuing our recent theme of having more videos than books, Kate Fox (of The Glasto Code, Jagger’s Yurt and Tour de Force, among others) was featured on Good Morning Britain today, discussing the pressure on women to have children. If you fancy a change from all of the literature videos we’ve been giving you, you can watch Kate’s debate here.

As just about the last intern at Valley Press this summer, I feel I have a duty to thank Jamie and the team for being so welcoming and helpful (and a special mention to my friends at the post office – I will miss each and every one of you). It is a testament to Valley Press that despite the pressures of being an independent publishing company they are still doing their best to give experience to people like myself. Two weeks ago I arrived as a confused southerner in a strange land. Since then I have I have seen first-hand how books are created, bored you all with my adventures and found myself charmed by the northern grace of a town (and company) that I do not want to leave.

Sadly, I must depart tomorrow. Before I sign off, though, there is one last thing…

Readers, friends of Valley Press, lovers of literature: we need your help! Our ‘readers group’ is now recruiting new members to look at submissions, via email. If you join, every week (ish) you will be sent poetry and novels that Valley Press are considering publishing – totally free of charge! All you have to do is read through them – whichever ones you choose, and totally at your leisure – and then send us your thoughts. Seems like a pretty good deal, right? I know I will be signing up as soon as I leave tomorrow. To join, just email Submissions Coordinator Tess and let her know.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, and rest assured that by the next newsletter the number of Jamies in the office will have returned to one.

Jamie Firby,
Valley Press Intern

This week at Valley Press, #48: 'Hello!'

Dear readers,

I started the email version of this post by welcoming new subscribers – we've just added all the people who submitted manuscripts in 2016, who indicated they'd be happy to receive emails from us. Hello! We've spent the last four months reading your work and processing those submissions, but as of today, we believe we've sent everyone at least one email letting them know the outcome, good or bad.

So it almost goes without saying: if you still haven't heard from us, please get in touch, as something has obviously gone slightly wrong. If we've called in a full digital manuscript and you're waiting to hear the outcome, you'll need to be patient a little longer; there are still around twenty that I need to read through myself, and as usual I'll need the skills of the digital reading group to back me up. More volunteers would be very welcome.

Here's a photo of the team who finally got the job done: Mrs McGarry in the foreground, our first 2017 intern Luke Taylor in the middle, and 'Assistant Publisher' Jo Haywood in the distance (it was the first day at work for her and Luke). Thanks to all three for fantastic work on this mission, under some pressure!

It all went smoothly, except when four 'subs forms' slid between piles, resulting in those authors getting both good and bad news within minutes of each other – what can I say, we like to keep you on your toes!

In other news, tomorrow is the first day of business for "Valley Press Ltd." after my six years of self-employment. Nothing particularly will change, but with the new staff (and the clearing of the subs pile) it does feel a little like a fresh start, and surprisingly motivating. A new bank account without a single transaction, an unmarked diary for all the staff to use ... a chance to do everything right, from day one. What could be better?

Also this weekend, our friends at Chapel FM have a 'Writing on Air' festival in progress; all kinds of stuff going on (consult their website for details), but VP followers will particularly appreciate Helen Burke's show (noon on Saturday 1st) and Oz Hardwick's (12.30 on Sunday 2nd) (with nods to their collaborators Phil Pattinson and John Tuffen.)

Work continues on Helen's book of course, the next VP publication, and on the many other exciting titles we've got lined up for you in the rest of 2017. Don't go anywhere!

All best,
Jamie McGarry, VP Publisher

This week at Valley Press: A very special edition

Dear readers,

In a change from your scheduled newsletter...

This morning we welcomed George McGarry into the world – that's him in the middle there! Mother and baby are doing absolutely fine (and daddy); George is being so well-behaved, we're going to make the most of that while it lasts...

Hopefully Jamie will make it back to the laptop next Sunday to tell you about that extra-long book he mentioned last week (it's already printed, thank goodness!) In the meantime, thanks for all your support – we'll see you soon.

All best,
Jamie & Laura