This week at Valley Press, #60: 'Better than never'

Dear readers,

A very late blog post this week, as it's been a packed Friday – full of important meetings, complex tasks and some exciting parcels; including the flyers/posters for our 'Literary Lunch Hour' events (viewable here), the 'machine proof' for Today the Birds Will Sing, and the paperbacks of Madame Bildungsroman's Optimistic Worldview (photos below).

Speaking of that mysterious character... Madame B is set to be officially 'launched' in Edinburgh, on Friday 21st July at the Lighthouse bookshop, all details here. Attendees have been promised a chance to 'quiz' the author, hear sections of the book performed live, and enjoy jazz music performed by non other than legendary local poet Don Paterson! It should be quite a night, I can tell you. (Entry is free.)

Before that, author Nora Chassler is coming to Scarborough on Wednesday 5th July to run a flash fiction workshop; that's in the evening from 6pm at Wardle & Jones, our go-to independent bookshop. (For those still living in the real world, 'flash fiction' is a trendy phrase for 'very short stories'.) Attendees will be writing these stories with guidance from Nora, who's aiming for a supportive and relaxed mood. It's just £5 to attend (with a drink included), get in touch with W&J to book a place.

The wonderful Wardle & Jones has just turned two years old, and if you visit today (Saturday 24th) there's 40% off all books and an all-day party atmosphere! To run an independent bookshop for any amount of time requires a superhuman love of books, infinite patience with readers, and more than a little visual-merchandising magic... so you can imagine what it takes to last two years. Huge congratulations to them.

Oh, and while I've got my congratulating hat on... same goes to Richard O'Brien, who won a prestigious Eric Gregory Award this week for his as-yet-unpublished debut collection of poetry. Long-time followers will remember we published his pamphlet A Bloody Mess in 2014 (with Dead Ink, back when they were only doing ebooks). It was obvious back then that Richard was a poet destined for great things; and he's still just getting warmed up...

Richard will be a familiar face for fans of the Emma Press, and we were inspired this week by a typically feisty blog from their founder Emma Wright (read it here) about starting her business. 'It's not fair that the poorer you are the safer you have to play it,' she writes, about job prospects for our generation... no-one does hopeful defiance like Emma!

Another great blog this week came from Helen Cadbury, discussing her forthcoming Valley Press collection, as well as her origins as a poet and the 'forensic' nature of that art form (connecting it to crime writing). Read that one here.

A great blog post you won't be reading this week, despite promises last time, is the one from our 'Submissions Coordinator' Tess. I've ended up saying too much myself – and as I write this, midnight is fast approaching! I'll hope to bring you that soon; in the meantime, thanks as ever for your time reading our newsetter, it's much appreciated.

All best,
Jamie McGarry, VP Publisher

This week at Valley Press, #33: 'Exile and miscellany'

Dear readers,

This week, updates on numerous ongoing projects – but first, I want to mention a new book that you might call an 'honorary member' of the Valley Press family.

Back in January I heard from Adnan al-Sayegh, an Iraqi writer who fled his home country after being condemned to death by the Hussein regime during the 1990s. Now living in London, his latest collection had been translated to English, and prepped for publication by a band of friends, family and supporters: could I help them make it available for sale? As it happened, I could: Adnan's book, charmingly titled To Cuddle My Exile, is available in paperback here and on Kindle here (sorry for the Amazon links, but they do provide a good service!) If you're intrigued, there is a sample of the book available via the Kindle link. You can also read the full story of Adnan's extraordinary life in the blurb; worth clicking through for that alone, I would say.

Onto the updates: let's remember the two Sue Wilsea book launches (and 'Hull to Scarborough Line' performances) which are on this week, at Kardomah94 in Hull on Wednesday 2nd (main show 7pm, book launch 8pm), then at Scarborough Art Gallery on Sunday 6th (main show 3pm, book launch 4pm). I'll be there!

Antony Dunn is coming to Scarborough too this week, to our favourite bookshop Wardle & Jones, on Friday 4th from 6.30. There are only ten tickets available for this event, and the shop is closed Tuesday-Thursday, so you'll need to call them on Monday afternoon (01723353260) if you've any hope of sneaking in. Even I might have to give that one a miss! If you've ordered a signed copy of his new book, I'm hoping to get them all signed and posted that same day.

What else is there? Oh yes: our current submissions process is coming to an end in a month's time, so start getting your manuscript in order if you're a last-minute sort of person. If you've submitted already and are waiting for news, I'll be working through submissions during December and hope to have replied to everyone before Christmas Day. That means I'll be needing volunteers for the reading group, to meet for a day in Scarborough and give opinions on the most promising work. If you'd like to be involved, please get in touch and let me know which days you're available between the 5th and 16th of December. There's no money available, but I do provide biscuits (as you can see below).

I'm still getting a few enquiries about the Yorkshire Anthology: it's not dead, I promise! I hope to have a new date for you soonish, once Miles clambers back to the surface of your enormous heap of Yorkshire-related writing. Oh, and talking of Yorkshire – John Wedgwood Clarke's TV programme can still be viewed on iPlayer here, and I'm told is repeated on BBC4 this week (though I haven't made a note of when ... see listings?)

No picture of George for you this time – don't want to spoil you, he'll be back though! Until then, keep reading, and I'll see you soon.

All best,
Jamie McGarry, VP Publisher

This week at Valley Press: a call for Yorkshire poems

Dear readers,

I'll leap straight in this week with the biggest news: as part of our Arts Council grant for 2016, we promised to publish a Yorkshire-themed poetry anthology, and we are opening submissions for it today. Here's the official announcement, which you can feel free to spread around the internet:

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Call for submissions: Yorkshire poetry anthology (deadline: 31st May)

In October 2016, Yorkshire-based Valley Press will publish an anthology of poetry which aims to document and celebrate our multi-faceted home county. We are now searching for great poems to feature in the book, from writers based anywhere in the world. Poems can be on any subject or topic – a place, an incident, a person, an idea – with only one rule: there must be some connection with the county of Yorkshire. (If in any doubt as to where Yorkshire begins and ends, consult this helpful map.)

Contributing poets will each receive a copy of the finished book, and a share of £900 in prize money/fees. We are considering poems which have been published before, but the author must be able to grant Valley Press non-exclusive rights to reproduce them in this anthology (if in doubt, consult your previous publisher).

The anthology will be edited by York-based poet Miles Salter, and submissions (maximum three poems per author) should be sent to milesinyork@hotmail.com, with the subject line 'Yorkshire Poetry Anthology', by 5pm on May 31st. The featured poets will be announced by September 1st, and the book is expected to be launched on National Poetry Day (Thursday 6th October).

Funding for this project has been generously provided by Arts Council England. We look forward to seeing your poems – best of luck!
 

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In other news: I was delighted by the response to last week's newsletter – no great exodus of subscribers, plenty of emails of support, and better still, lots of people taking advantage of the 'buy one get one free' offer! Thanks folks!

To keep the goodwill going, I'll do another offer this week: anyone who buys our first hardback, Ex Libris by David Hughes, can receive a second VP book free of charge. You should be able to add a 'note to seller' at the checkout advising me which book you'd like as your freebie (or say 'surprise me!') – but if you can't find that button, just reply to this email and let me know your choice.

I've chosen Ex Libris as Antony Dunn, the book's editor, is coming to Scarborough on February 11th for a reading at our favourite bookshop Wardle & Jones, and he's promised to read from David's book as well as his own collections. You can find details on that event here, and contact the bookshop for tickets, which are £5. I won't be featuring too many events in these newsletters – as I worry about annoying the 95% of subscribers who don't live anywhere near Scarborough! – but that will be a really special evening.

Next week: the new website is coming, and it is looking good. Watch this space!

All best,
Jamie McGarry, VP Publisher

'Poets on Bar Street' – and, meet Wardle & Jones

Today, I'm excited to bring you news of a new series of poetry readings in Scarborough, at recently-opened independent bookshop Wardle & Jones. Details of the readings can be found below, in the poster, and afterwards I thought I'd let W&J's proprietors share a few thoughts on the daunting process of opening a new bookshop. Wish them luck!  – J.M.

We are Rachel and Karl – the two halves of Wardle & Jones. 

I am the Wardle half and it's my smile you'll usually see as you come through the door. I mainly read fiction, I also love children's books and am more likely to be found perusing our children's stock than reading a book aimed at grown ups. Karl, the Jones half, on the other hand much prefers non-fiction – history, politics, philosophy – he also loves Terry Pratchett.

We decided to open a book shop after lots of talking, thinking, research and training. It is the one thing Karl and I had always talked about doing together with true excitement. I was aiming to find my sparkle again after leaving a 12-year career as a project manager. It was definitely the right decision – my sparkle’s back and we love being in Scarborough.

We opened on 20 June 2015 after a frenetic five weeks of work from both family and some of the most conscientious trades people I've ever met. There was only one major hiccup when, 10 days before opening, we were told the material for the shelves and counter was not available. Not only would it not be delivered in the next three days as planned, it wasn’t going to be delivered at all! I began contacting local joiners and carpenters and by the end of the following day I'd managed to line up a two-man team. They were new to the area and needed to build a good reputation quickly, it was a fortuitous meeting for all concerned. They did a good quality job and we opened on time, phew!

We decided on books, coffee and cake as the right combination because we'd visited other places where this mixture worked well. Two of our favourite bookshops are Barter Books in Alnwick and Mr B's Book Emporium in Bath. Mr B's doesn't serve coffee and cake but they do have lots of space and comfy nooks to sit and enjoy the books. We wanted to give everyone a place to enjoy being around books in a safe, comfy environment where there was a reason to stay longer and have a proper look.

Our challenge was to fit that into a very small space – just 30m2; serving only cake was the solution. We knew we wanted to serve freshly ground coffee, that way book and coffee lovers alike would have a reason to visit, stay – well, only until closing – and return. So we made sure there was space for an espresso machine and grinder on our carefully designed counter (thanks to Mr Jones' hidden – until now – talent for technical drawings).

Almost 10 weeks in I am enjoying life more than I have for years. I’m excited every day about the people I might meet in the shop and the thoughts, opinions, ideas and memories they might share. But I am fearful of the future too, will we be able to sell enough books, coffee and cake to stay open? Business is at best steady and we certainly need to be selling more in the coming weeks, months and years to carry on for the foreseeable future, but we're hopeful. There are a number of as yet untapped income streams – we are just starting to put together an events calendar, we'd like to start supplying schools when the new school year starts and we have yet to run any joint events with local venues.

Finally, one thing I find useful as a bookseller is to remind myself the books in the shop aren't mine, they already belong to someone else. That way I find it easy to let people look, touch, feel and enjoy the books in their own way, so hopefully they're more likely to make them theirs before leaving.

You can read more about W&J here.