Books Ireland Industry News—a catch up on what’s happening
This month’s Industry News is supported by Westchester Education UK & International
Publishing Ireland annual conference
Publishing Ireland held a lively and informative conference on Friday 10 November as part of the Dublin Book Festival, which saw the whole spectrum of Irish publishing under one roof, from small independents to larger organisations, with booksellers, literary agents, and other industry professionals also attending the event at The Printworks in Dublin Castle.
Among many highlights of the day was an entertaining exploration into AI by leading voice in the field, Dr Andres Guadamuz, who spoke about the speed at which AI is developing, what training an AI might mean for publishers and authors, and the complex implications of copyright.
The conference hosted keynote speaker Richard Charkin who shared anecdotes, advice and encouragement from his decades of experience in publishing, saying that in his opinion the biggest sea change in the industry has been its transformation from a male dominated profession.
There was illuminating and comprehensive sales analysis from Nielsen’s Sara Mulryan, with both encouraging book sales data and room for thought that many bestselling charts are not led by Irish publishers or authors. Interesting questions were raised about how data is gathered for the sale of children’s books and Irish language books.
There was a fun, interactive, and accessible overview of open access publishing from The Royal Irish Academy, the low-down on copyright from Samantha Holman of ICLA, and reflections on something many publishers struggle to harmonise—work-life balance—from author of Total Reset, Sinéad Brady.
A day full of introductions, networking, ideas and information sharing, the conference concluded with the popular Books for Screen event with a glass of something to follow.
Stephen Reid joins Lilliput Press
Following the departure of Ruth Hallinan from Lilliput Press to a new role with the NIVAL library at NCAD, Stephen Reid joins the Lilliput team as the new Publishing Manager. The role follows Reid’s previous positions as Assistant Editor with HarperCollins Ireland, and Assistant Editor with New Island Books.
Following his appointment Dana Halliday on behalf of Lilliput said that the team were thrilled to have Stephen Reid joining as Publishing Manager.
“Lilliput is so lucky to have him on board, bringing his expertise and enthusiasm to our small but mighty publishing team.” Lilliput Press is one of Ireland’s leading independent publishers, and the winner of Small Press of the Year in Ireland 2020.
Mercier Press acquires language rights to Judith Hermann novel
Mercier Press is thrilled to announce the acquisition of all-Ireland English language rights for Wir hätten uns alles gesagt/ We’d Have Told Each Other Everything by Judith Hermann.
Speaking to Books Ireland, Dee Collins said that Mercier is proud to have acquired this important and beautiful book.
“Drawing from Judith’s childhood experiences in a divided Berlin, her narrative echoes a sentiment familiar to Ireland, as many of our readers too hail from a divided nation. The Frankfurt Book Fair has always held a special place in our journey; our early successes can be traced directly back to this prestigious event. Now, as we look towards our 80th anniversary, we find it apt to spotlight a German novel—a nod to our roots and a celebration of our continued love for powerful narratives.”
The sale was made with the assistance of Regal Hoffmann & Associates LLC. Mercier are long admirers of Hermann and are delighted to work with renowned translator Katy Derbyshire on the project and thank the Goethe-Institut and Literature Ireland for their support.
Little Island pull trigger for new queer verse novel from CG Moore
Little Island Books announce the acquisition of Trigger, a YA verse novel by KPMG–Children’s Books Ireland Book of the Year winner CG Moore. Publisher Matthew Parkinson-Bennett acquired world rights in all languages directly from the author. Trigger, an own-voices LGBTQIA+ work, will publish in Ireland and the UK in March 2024.
CG Moore’s previous YA novel Gut Feelings, described by Heartstopper author Alice Oseman as “a raw and powerful exploration of chronic illness”, won the KPMG–CBI Book of the Year award in 2022.
In Trigger, Moore draws on personal experience of trauma and recovery to explore questions of memory loss, self-doubt and self-acceptance experienced by victims of sexual assault. Tackling the tough topic of male-on-male rape, an underexplored issue, Trigger will make an invaluable contribution to YA discourse around sexual assault and trauma.
“We couldn’t be happier that CG Moore is coming to Little Island with his next YA novel,” Little Island’s Parkinson-Bennett said. “As an Irish author living in the UK, Chris is perfectly placed for a publisher that operates in both countries. He has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting young voices in Irish YA and Trigger will sit comfortably in our list alongside books by Deirdre Sullivan, Louise Finch and Meg Grehan.”
“Trigger is inspired by my own personal experiences with sexual assault, and those of friends,” said author CG Moore. “It’s deeply important to me and I hope that telling this story will enable more open discussions around consent. I couldn’t be happier to publish Trigger with the amazing team at Little Island Books!”
New Island Books acquires Nuala O’Connor’s Seaborne
New Island Books is thrilled to announce the acquisition of Nuala O’Connor’s new novel, Seaborne. Aoife K. Walsh, commissioning editor at New Island, acquired English-language, Ireland, UK and Commonwealth rights from Gráinne Fox at United Talent Agency (New York). Seaborne will be published by New Island in April 2024.
After the success of her 2021 novel, Nora: A Love Story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce, O’Connor’s sixth novel offers crisp, shimmering prose to conjure an unexpected portrayal of 18th century pirate of lore, Anne Bonny.
Seaborne is the thrilling and sensuous imagining of the loss, frustration and desires that steer this lonely daughter of a plantation owner towards elopement, two marriages, two pregnancies, violence, trial for piracy and legendary status.
Commenting on the acquisition, O’Connor said it was a pleasure to be publishing with New Island again. “They’ve always been great champions of mine and they take such warm, meticulous care with the books. I know the team will safely steer Seaborne, my tribute to pirate Anne Bonny, into reader’s hands.”
Walsh said that everyone at New Island Books was hooked at the first mention of pirates but also soon captivated by O’Connor’s rich, complex and sensual portrayal of Anne Bonny.
“As an independent Irish publisher, it feels right to be publishing this Irish origin story and we can’t wait for today’s readers (wherever they may be) to meet this fiercely independent, queer, neurodivergent, brave and passionate 18th-century pirate.”
The Indie Press Network seeks to connect independent publishers, harnessing collective power
There is interesting news for independent Irish publishers with the launch of the Indie Press Network, a new initiative which welcomes independent publishers from the UK and Ireland.
Following statistics from Sara Mulryan of Nielsen BookData at the recent Publishing Ireland annual conference, which showed that of all books sold in Ireland this year just 13% were published in Ireland, this initiative may prove welcome for small Irish presses.
The Indie Press Network aims to connect small presses across the UK and Ireland, “to build on the brilliant work being done by other membership organisations to decolonialise publishing and to raise the profile of smaller presses who don’t have big marketing budgets.”
Open to all small publishers with five or fewer employees, the Network offers promotion opportunities, encouragement and support, with an open source bank of resources and information for fledgling presses.
the best antidote to an increase in damaging insular attitudes the world over is surely friendship and networking
Will Dady, founder of the Indie Press Network
Speaking to Books Ireland, founder of the Network Will Dady of Renard Press said that in an age when publishers across the industry are falling by the wayside, it has never felt more important to forge links and foster an attitude of support between and around indies.
“Following the all-round disaster that was Brexit, increasing industry communication between the UK and Ireland is surely of utmost importance, for only together are we considered the ‘home market’, and the best antidote to an increase in damaging insular attitudes the world over is surely friendship and networking. The Network hopes to harness the combined passion and power of presses in all of these isles, and to forge a lasting and robust line of communication across the Irish Sea.”
Stephen Reid of The Lilliput Press welcomed the move. “The founding of the Indie Press Network and the opportunities it looks to provide for small but mighty independent presses like The Lilliput Press is a much needed development in a rapidly changing and rapidly centralising publishing environment. Indie presses have always been the essential lifeblood of publishing, and hopefully working together through projects like this will be of benefit not just to those presses, but to the publishing landscape in general. All one needs to do is look at the success of projects like the Independent Alliance in the UK to see the potential if indies band together to promote and support one another.”
The Network wants to harness the collective power of established presses to help them achieve their goals, and also to encourage and nurture fledgling publishers. Through its free, open-access Indie Press Network Guide, it offers an introduction to the industry and the answers to common start-up questions.
The Network has an inaugural ten presses involved, and prospective members are encouraged to get in touch.
