This week at Valley Press, #29: 'New and Selected'

Dear readers,

It's been a busy first week in the world for baby George. Just reading the hundreds of lovely emails he received after last Sunday's newsletter was quite tiring enough – but afterwards, before he went for his fifth sleep of the day, he asked me to thank you all for your kind words. We were touched!

As for me, I'd like to apologise to the authors of the other two-hundred emails I received this week, about important publishing stuff, all of which I've had to ignore. I think we may be getting into the beginnings of a routine now, a week after D-day, so perhaps this time next week I'll be back to full speed? Let's remember, I've lost my 'executive assistant' too – thanks in advance for your understanding!

I know you read these newsletters for the cutting-edge literature, and vital news from 'one of Yorkshire's leading publishers' (I'll be milking that quote until George is in high school), so I'll get back to that stuff straight away; no more baby-related frivolity. What's that? Oh ... go on then, one more picture!

Somehow, Valley Press managed to release a new book this week – the latest project from our Associate Editor Rosa Campbell, who has just started studying for her PhD up in St Andrews (so she might be quiet for a while). As hinted in the last two newsletters, this is a monumental 380-page poetry collection which took no less than forty-five years to write; it's the New and Selected Poems of Paul Sutherland.

VP followers will know Paul best as the author of 2012's Journeying, one of our most popular poetry titles, or perhaps for his many years of work on the journal Dream Catcher. He's been writing and publishing consistently since 1970, and (as I discovered in the last four years) has not slowed down at all – by spring 2014 he had offered me two excellent short collections, and it was that May when I realised I wouldn't be able to keep up, and suggested we do a big book bringing all Paul's best work into print at once.

There's so much content in this book (and this is going to be a long post!) that I'm going to struggle to describe it concisely; so will quote from Rosa's excellent blurb:

"[The book] charts the poet’s life from his Canadian roots to immigration to the UK, from agnosticism to Christianity to Sufi Islam, and from natural wonderment to a greater understanding of the world around us. The collection is in turn heartfelt, philosophical, and beautifully lyrical, as Sutherland lays bare for the reader his experiences and perspectives – at once particular and universal. Completely unique, this is an unflinching and forensic exploration of a life lived through language."

The book retails for £20, which is quite a serious price; but we think that's exceptionally good value for such a comprehensive collection. Plus, as you're a newsletter reader, you get special treatment: 20% off all this week with the code PSUTH. You can buy the book here, and make sure you click through anyway to see the extraordinary cover image; a dramatic photo of Paul by Abigail Smith.

Elsewhere this week, far away from nappies and baby-gros, Jonathan, Kelley and Malene started our autumn tour by taking Valley Press to Swindon – the performance was nicely reviewed here, well worth reading that if you couldn't make it. We'll be in Manchester and Sheffield soon; that's the 11th and 17th respectively, follow the links for times and booking.

There's also a Lucky Dip launch event coming up at our Scarborough HQ in Woodend, at which you might actually get to meet baby George – that's 10.30am on Saturday 8th (so before the next newsletter). Maybe I'll see you there, or at one of the tour events? In the meantime, thanks for reading, have a great week, and look out for next week's newsletter which will have a brilliant offer for early Christmas shoppers.

All best,
Jamie McGarry, VP Publisher

P.S. Thanks to the in-laws for entertaining George and Laura while I wrote this!

This week at Valley Press: 'Flight of the muse'

Dear readers,

This week has been all about The Naked Muse, which was released on Thursday, and made it to bookshop shelves across the country – including the one pictured above (by Kelley Swain herself) in the biography section of Blackwell's in Oxford.

The book got some serious exposure this week, the kind money can't buy. Readers of the i newspaper (the cheap, classy one) might have spotted this double-page spread, containing the first chapter, with illustrations:

This feature was also trailed on the front cover – the front cover! I never thought we'd make it to the front page of a national newspaper. What will I aim for now? The front page of two national newspapers, I suppose. Perhaps soon, everything we do in this tiny room in Scarborough will be of immense national interest...?

Kelley also spoke about the book on no less than eight radio stations during the week – don't worry, I'm not expecting you to listen to all those interviews (though I notice Ireland's Today FM has a cheery website, could be worth a try!) If you have any spare time, you should take a look at this long, in-depth feature by Teddy Jamieson (of The Herald in Scotland); that's really the last word on Kelley's modelling experience, brilliant journalism.

I must thank Ana McLaughlin of Sarah Harrison PR, who has been working for us this year (but will soon be going on maternity leave); she's responsible for all of the above. Ana is one of those people who is a true pleasure to work with, but is also so talented and effective that you'd still hire them if they were the most unpleasant person ever to walk the Earth. (I struggle with big compliments – that was meant to be one!) Big thanks Ana, anyway; we really appreciate all you've done.

This Wednesday sees the long-awaited launch event for The Naked Muse, which will also feature a reading from Malene Engelund and 'rising star' David Nash. It's happening at the Peckham Pelican (in London, see map here), from 7pm on the 1st June. You are promised pizza, and some very special guests from the art world.

Also launched this week is our anthology inspired by David Oluwale, which is for sale now, first copies dispatched on Friday. There is an event, in Leeds on the evening of Friday 3rd, but it's not one I'm heavily promoting as we're expecting to fill the venue just with the organisers, contributors, and guests of both. I can probably sneak you in though – drop me a return email and I'll pull the necessary strings!

While we're in Leeds (which we seem to be regularly!), Saturday 4th June sees the first 'Northern Short Story Festival', which looks like a brilliant day – check out the programme here if you're interested. Of course, I'm involved (I get everywhere), and our own Michael Stewart will also be giving a reading.

I think that's it for this week – except to say, you now have only two days to submit to our Yorkshire anthology, and also to give 'a big shout-out' to my mother, an avid reader of this newsletter, who turned 60 on Thursday. I think you'll agree she's very lucky – not many mothers can claim their son writes to them every week!

All best,
Jamie McGarry, VP Publisher

This week at Valley Press: 'Quick and the late'

Dear readers,

I'm writing to you a bit later than usual this week, as I've been out enjoying some unusually warm weather – not a bad excuse! We'll start with a word from Associate Editor Rosa Campbell, who has been busy (again):

This week I’m very very excited to announce the release of Quick, the first collection of poems by Peter Spafford, a professional writer for more than twenty years, and a giant of the Leeds literary scene. Peter’s plays have been performed throughout the country and on the radio, and he is currently Director of Spoken Word at East Leeds FM as well as being a founder member of the band Schwa (look out for Threshold, their touring performance).

Somehow, on top of all that, he’s also managed to write a truly wonderful poetry collection. Exhibiting a bold playfulness with language and a stunning lightness of touch, the poems in Quick explore topics as diverse as the Yorkshire landscape, the joys and despairs of parenthood, and the surreal escapades of a horse in Tesco. They are rich, funny, and often breathtakingly poignant. And, uh, not to get overexcited, but Andrew McMillan – winner of the Guardian First Book Award 2015 for the incredible Physical – loves this book (see the front cover for proof!)

According to Ralph Dartford of A Firm of Poets, ‘these poems demand to be read aloud, as well as in solitude,’ so count yourselves lucky, because this Friday you have an opportunity to hear Peter himself read from Quick! We’re celebrating the launch at HEART in Headingley, Leeds, along with guest poet Anne Caldwell (of Cinnamon Press) – and you’re all invited! It’s going to be an unmissable evening. Full details are available here. Hope to see you there!

Having just re-read the collection myself, I can confirm it is as great as everyone says. Peter has felt like part of the Valley Press team for several years now – as he welcomed an endless stream of VP authors onto his radio show – and it's great to welcome him officially to 'the family' this week.

Talking of radio shows, I hope you all tuned in to hear Kelley Swain on 'Start the Week' last Monday? If not, we have the answer here on the BBC iPlayer – discussion of her forthcoming book The Naked Muse begins 28 minutes in, but it's all worth listening to if you're a fan of the arts (most of them get a mention).

My favourite bit of discussion was when Kelley was asked the difference between nude and naked; to paraphrase, she suggested that when you're posing for a painting without wearing any clothes, you are nude ... if you're having a cup of tea afterwards and still haven't put your clothes on, you're just naked. (But 'The Nude Muse' doesn't have the same ring to it, I think we can agree.)

It's been a while since I've given you money off a Valley Press book in these newsletters, so it's time to put that right; albeit in a somewhat unusual fashion. When we printed Malene Engelund's The Wild Gods, we received hundreds of perfect copies, but also ten where the 'textblock' was inserted the wrong way round (so the cover is upside-down). These have sat on my shelf since then, but this week I'd like to offer you the chance to buy one, at 30% off the usual price – so if you add the book to your basket, and use the code WONKYGODS at checkout, you'll receive one of these ultra-limited-edition copies. Move fast though, there really are only ten!

I'm going to end this week by promoting a book we didn't publish – such things do exist, it turns out. The brilliant poetry organisation Live Canon invited 154 modern poets to write 154 new poems, each responding to one of Shakespeare's sonnets, and have now published the results in a book. A dozen of the 154 were poets from our own stable, and it's filled with other familiar names, doing great work – don't spend all your poetry-buying dollars on 154, but you have my permission to spend some. (That may not happen again, so make the most of it.)

All best,
Jamie McGarry, VP Publisher

This week at Valley Press: 'Reward for Winter'

Dear readers,

I'm pleased to report that, as of today, the wait is over: Valley Press is once again open to general submissions. We're looking for new works of poetry, fiction and non-fiction for publication in 2017; you can find out exactly how to go about sending us your work here.

There are a couple of changes to the process this time round, as part of our year-long Arts Council project (thanks again folks!); the first is the length of the window, which will be open from today right through to November 30th without closing (so plenty of time to consider what you'll send). The second is that, instead of the usual 'covering letter', we're asking you to fill in a short paper form; these will be sent out with all book purchases through the website from today, and also distributed at special 'author outreach' events we will be organising throughout the year. Details of those will be in future newsletters, so keep watching this space. And, best of luck!

This week's title isn't a reference to the re-opening of submissions (though it may feel like it for those waiting since December), nor is it a comment on the improving weather (though we're getting there) – it's actually the title of our next book, as pictured above, the first collection by poet and smallholder Di Slaney.

Due for release this coming Thursday, Reward for Winter was inspired by Di's 'life change', ditching her high-powered urban existence to become custodian of an ancient farmhouse in the village of Bilsthorpe, Nottinghamshire. There's a lot more to it than that though; a third of the book is a biography of a single chicken, and there are Vikings, witches, coal mining, King Charles the First hiding in the farmhouse's cupboard (true story), and tales of the other 150+ animal residents.

I could go on (a lot) – and I haven't described how great it is (take that as a given) – but you can get the gist on the book's homepage, the rest of the backstory in this article from the Nottingham Post, and read a sample poem on our site titled 'How to knit a sheep' (which is a must, if you have a spare moment). I'll talk more about this book next week, but Nottingham residents need to know about two launch events happening before then; one at Five Leaves from 7pm on Wednesday, and one at Bilsthorpe Heritage Museum from 6pm on Saturday.

We're a bit link-heavy this week, but I'll take advantage of that and end with a few more: a brilliant write-up of the launch event we had last week for Malene Engelund's The Wild Gods; an enlightening (yet enigmatic) interview with Malene; and the second part of my series of articles on small press publishing are all out there in the world – I don't want to hear any subscribers saying they are stuck for things to read in the next seven days!

The clocks go forward next Sunday, so the next time I speak to you spring will have definitely, unquestionably, sprung. See you on the other side.

All best,
Jamie McGarry, VP Publisher

This week at Valley Press: 'A labour of love'

Dear readers,

Let me start by wishing a happy Mother's Day to all of you, especially my mother of course (always VP's number one fan), and any mums-to-be who might be reading – we've got a lot of time for them at the moment. You know how it is: you labour for nine months to bring something beautiful into the world, then delivery day comes, and everyone involved is anxiously pacing, waiting for news ... but then it arrives, you open the box, and find it's every bit as wonderful as you imagined.

Oh, hang on – I'm thinking of publishing. But that's good too!

Our latest 'labour of love' is due out this coming Thursday: The Wild Gods by Malene Engelund. You can see part of the extraordinary cover art for this book in our header image, and of course the full thing on the book's homepage here. Thanks to artist Polly Morgan and photographer Tessa Angus for letting us use that work, titled 'Blue Fever' – find out more about the artwork here, if you wish.

The contents of the book, which strictly speaking is a 'debut pamphlet', are equally impressive. Just reeling off the key subjects – birds, the voices of women, Denmark, art and artists – doesn't touch the surface; this one is all about the language, the very best of ambitious, modern poetry. I've added a sample poem to the website here, one of the most 'immediate' pieces, and if you like that I'd definitely encourage reading more.

Long-time Valley fans may remember Malene, and her poem 'Scold's Bridle', from our 2013 anthology Pocket Horizon, which has proven an extraordinarily fruitful source of talent – Malene is the third 'graduate' from that book to have a solo publication with Valley Press. As a tribute, I'll make that our half-price paperback of the week; use code 50POCKET at the checkout to get the deal.

We'll be launching The Wild Gods on Monday 14th March, at the Genesis Cinema on Mile End Road in London, from 7pm – hope to see some of you there. Don't forget we have a launch this week too, for Mr Jolly; that one is on Wednesday 9th, from 6pm at Cafe Society in Huddersfield. No shortage of literary events at the moment!

If you think the books are coming thick and fast this year, you're right – and they won't be stopping, we are aiming for at least twenty-one titles in 2016. And don't worry; we'll be looking for 2017 submissions soon, I'm planning to open the floodgates two weeks today. Come back next Sunday too, though, for some more exciting news.

All best,
Jamie McGarry, VP Publisher