|
FIDRA BOOKS Newsletter
COMPETITIONS IN THIS ISSUE
|
Win a copy of this fabulous new children's adventure story illustrated by the great Mike Ploog - full review on the children's books page - e-mail now for a chance to win! Just answer this question: "What is the name of the second volume in the series - you'll find the answer in this issue!" Prize copies supplied by Harper Collins Childrens' Books
Katherine Roberts' Seven Ancient Wonders series concludes with this fantastic adventure story featuring Zeuxis, who helps to keep the Pharos lighthouse burning. Full review on the children's books page. Prize copy courtesy of Harper Collins Childrens' Books. Just e-mail me and tell me the names of the other books in the series.
These two titles are up for grabs in the Crime Supplement competition.
 
|
|
Fidra Books Newsletter
All material in this supplement is © of and reprinted with kind permission of Fidra Books (www.fidrabooks.com)
It has been a busy few
months since our last newsletter! We have published two more books and
signed contracts with two new authors – Victoria Walker who wrote the
incredibly hard-to-find books: The Winter of Enchantment and The House Called Hadlows,
and K M Peyton, one of my favourite writers, who is the author of over 60
books. Initially, we will be publishing two of Kathleen’s pony books
– Fly-by-Night and The Team. In this issue we have
an article about Victoria Walker, author of our Christm as title: The Winter of
Enchantment, details of our forthcoming books, a
description of my trips to meet Elinor Lyon and to the Persephone book launch
for their Joanna Cannan title. Best wishes, Vanessa Robertson
Fidra
Books– about us
In the last few months lots of
people have asked about us and our background so, whilst not appearing to be
vain, I thought I’d introduce Fidra Books properly. Prior to becoming a publisher I
was a bookdealer specialising in rare and collectable children’s books – I still am actually, my website can found at www.robertsonbooks.co.uk
– and I knew that there were plenty of books that collectors and readers had little chance of
finding unless they were incredibly lucky or had very deep pockets – sometim
es both! Fidra Books grew out of a belief in the work of certain authors, the
knowledge that there is a demand for their books and a rash declaration that
‘It can’t be that
difficult!’ If pressed, I would have to admit that, when
the aforementioned rash declaration was made, alcohol may have been taken…
Without this somewhat cavalier
attitude I would never have taken this project on, and at times it was only
sheer bloody-mindedness that kept me going. Tracking down the families of
our mostly deceased authors was an interminable job, involving poring over
records and Wills, and searching electoral rolls. The relative who inherited the rights to
Mabel Esther Allan’s work has an unusual name and in the
end, I used the on-line directory enquiries and simply rang everyone I could
find with that name. As it happens, I didn’t find him , but I found someone
with that name, who knew someone else with that name who knew the right
person with that name! W e also agreed terms with Olivia Fitzroy’s husband
only for him to sadly pass away before we had signed contracts, leaving me to
start from scratch trying to find the new copyright holder.
Although Fidra Books is mostly me – Vanessa – in true Hollywood manner I couldn't do it without my
husband Malcolm who deals with typesetting technicalities, designing and maintaining the website and all the other technical bits that I don’t
understand. I also have an accountant friend who patiently keeps my record-keeping
on the straight and narrow, a meticulous friend who proof-reads for us and
another friend who is a talented designer and does our covers for us –
squeezing us in between much more high profile commissions. That explains
why I regularly refer to ‘we’ rather than simply ‘me’. I am also lucky in that
the printers we use are very patient about answering m y daft questions and
very speedy to rectify any errors. There are also a number of people who have
rallied to the cause copying text, scanning
dustwrappers and tracking down authors.
Our desire was to reprint
unjustly neglected books and bring them to a wider audience rather than have
them be only enjoyed by a small band of dedicated collectors. We have been delighted by the
enthusiastic response our readers to this and hope that they will continue to discover new writers and to
revisit old favourites.
And the name? Fidra is an
island off the East Lothian coast which struck me the first time I saw it as
having all the qualities of a classic children’s
fiction island – a natural granite arch, rare seabirds and a lighthouse. As you
look at it from the vast empty beach at Yellow craigs, smugglers and secret passages
seem completely feasible. Every time I look at Fidra my heart lifts and that
makes it seem a highly appropriate name for a venture that similarly thrills me.
Now you can search Gateway Monthly! Just type in what it is you want to find in the box below, and Google will find all the relevant Gateway Monthly pages for you.
Gateway is published by Paul Edmund Norman on the first day of each month. Hosting is by Flying Porcupine at www.flyingporcupine.com - and web design by Gateway. Submitting to Gateway: Basically, all you need do is e-mail it along and I'll consider it - it can be any length, if it's very long I'll serialise it, if it's medium-length I'll put it in as a novella, if it's a short story or a feature article it will go in as it comes. Payment is zero, I'm afraid, as I don't make any money from Gateway, I do it all for fun! For Advertising rates in Gateway please contact me at paulenorman@yahoo.co.uk Should you be kind enough to want to send me books to review, please contact me by e-mail and I will gladly forward you my home address. Meanwhile, here's how to contact me: paulenorman@yahoo.co.uk Gateway banner created by and © Paul Edmund Norman
Home : Contents
: Features
: Reviews
: Galleries
: Archive : E-Mail
Web hosting and domain names from Vision Internet
|
