Lit Lunch
Last Wednesday Peirene and I went to a lunch time event at the Jewish Book Week. German Jenny Erpenbeck and Russian-Austrian Julya Rabinovich in conversation with BBC’s Henrietta Foster. The Nymph...
View ArticleFinnish Rain Gutters & Other Goodies from Helsinki
Last week I went to Helsinki for an international editors week. The Finnish Literature Exchange invited 12 international editors to meet Finnish publishers. I’ve never been to Helsinki before. Here...
View ArticleText Trading
Last week was London Bookfair. There is nothing creative or glamorous about this fair. It’s an industry trade fair. Texts are traded for money and the international rights centre on the second floor in...
View ArticleIstanbul
I am at the Istanbul bookfair this week and will return with a new episode of ’The Pain & Passion of a Small Publisher’ on 25th of November. (Illustration by Giulia Morselli for Peirene.)
View ArticleTurkish Delight
Last week the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the British Council invited seven British publishers to the book fair in Istanbul. I asked Peirene to accompany me. But I didn’t reckon with...
View ArticleMeeting in Pyjamas
Running a business from home has clear advantages. You save time on commuting and don’t have to look impeccable each morning. On the days where I have no meetings and it’s just the Nymph and me in the...
View ArticleA New Man
Last week was Frankfurt bookfair. It was a wonderful fair. One of the best. Because I met a new man. It’s been a long time since I felt this kind of attraction. Schopenhauer in fact was the last. A few...
View ArticleLiving With A Star
The Nymph’s first ever UK tour kicked off last Wednesday. In a sparkly gold dress with long fake eyelashes and satin purple elbow glovesshe headed for Oxford to throw a Peirene Coffee morning and...
View ArticleBookfair Chic
I had a manicure on Saturday. I look at my red fingernails adoringly. They are undoubtedly the highlight of my otherwise gloomy week. The distributor has raised their charges. Peirene’s designer would...
View ArticleMicro Genre Success
Regardless of whom I met last week at the London Bookfair, not once did I need to explain what Peirene is or does. Our reputation in the book world is now global. Even international publishers and...
View ArticleOut Alone
On Wednesday evening I was invited to be part of an historical event: the greatest gathering of authors in the largest bookshop in Europe. Waterstones Piccadilly asked 36 writers to hang out in the...
View ArticleCareer in Space
Every now and again a pointless engagement turns into an unexpectedly fascinating meeting. Back in December I met an agent. The meeting didn’t start well because, a week before, we both realised in an...
View ArticleNew Order
Peirene and I are both creatures of habit. In addition, I’m a (young) middle-aged woman and she’s an (ancient) Greek Nymph. This means change equals challenge. I will give you a simple example. If we...
View ArticleBack to Dhaka
In Spring I visited Bangladesh for a literary conclave. A few weeks afterwards I received an email inviting me to the Dhaka Lit Fest this month. I accepted the invitation in June. Since then a lot has...
View ArticleRuby Red Nails
‘Ooh, we really are leading exciting lives.’ Peirene is clearly thrilled as the taxi is driving us to Liverpool Station to catch the Stansted Express. We have been invited by Literature Across...
View ArticleBaltic Treat
‘I’ve worked out our diet plan for the next days,’ Peirene announces. We are sitting in a café in the old town of Riga. In a couple of hours we are flying back to London. ‘Soup without bread for lunch...
View ArticleA Cold Dip in the Irish Sea
‘I’m wondering if what you are doing to me is actually illegal.’ I can hear Peirene panting behind me. It’s 7.30am on a beautiful sunny morning in Aberystwyth, a picturesque little Welsh seaside town....
View ArticleSaving Peirene’s Heart
‘I think there is something wrong with my heart.’ Peirene stops in her stride, bends forward, both hands on her heart. ‘We don’t have time for this. We are late.’ I grab the Nymph by the arm, trying to...
View Article