Penguin Day at Foyles
Penguin Day at Foyles on Charing Cross Road was a celebration of the world-famous publishing house’s 75 years in the business. There were talks, presentations and unexpected treats including homemade cakes, a limited edition Penguin tote and a sneak peek at a new small book series that showcases recipes from a range of historical and contemporary cookbooks. When senior designer at Penguin Coralie Bickford-Smith took us through her designs for the series, her gorgeous book covers inspired by ceramics drew gasps of admiration and rounds of applause. Lovely though they are, I prefer her designs for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novels (above)—stunning Jazz age patterns embossed in gold or silver that made me want to rattle up a cocktail and dance the Charleston.
Editor and originator of phenomenally successful Great Ideas essay series, Simon Winder, told us of its genesis from an off-the-cuff idea to a product that sells hundreds of thousands and is responsible for bringing neglected writers like Ruskin and Hazlitt to a new generation of readers. I’ve had a soft spot for this series since it first began and the consistently brilliant covers are great examples of how style is just as important as substance. Yet the rather lovely Mr Winder told us that Ottakars (remember them?) demanded Penguin replace the original minimalist design with eye-popping neons more suited to cycling safety gear. Somehow sanity prevailed and Great Ideas was released fluorescent-free to become a publishing sensation. And as Simon Winder said, ‘Where is Ottakars now?’
Following an interesting debate on the role of non-fiction in the 21st century, came a session on how to get published featuring debut author Rebecca Hunt, her publisher Juliet Annan from Fig Tree Books and her literary agent Jane Finigan. Hunt’s story is the dream-come-true writers hope for: excited agents blown away by her first chapter, an auction with publishers clamouring to offer ever-sweeter deals, all ending in the happy-ever-after of a two-book deal with Fig Tree. Jealous much? I’ll say and I wasn’t the only one. Others were also gritting their teeth and gripping their pens in consternation as they were forced to listen to the assembled panel wax lyrical about how fantastically original Hunt’s novel, Mr Chartwell is. But after gobbling up the book up in one sitting, I’m afraid I have to agree.
In the final session of the day, award-winning author David Vann — appearing alongside one of contemporary literature’s greats, Colm Toibin— bucked up the envy-wracked audience by explaining that it took him twenty years to publish his first novel, Legends of a Suicide. During that time he lost heart, stopped writing and ran away to sea before finally entering the much-rejected manuscript into a competition. Hope for us all then. Not surprisingly, his advice was to never give up, keep writing and keep sending your work out no matter what others say. Colm Toibin also had wise words for ambitious scribblers: trust the process and understand that staring into space and lying in bed for hours is all part of it – a writing technique I’m happy to practice almost daily.
Although there were times when I feared the all-day event might degenerate into a back-slapping high-fiving fest between Penguin employees, I left Foyles in awe of the passion, commitment and thought that goes into each Penguin product. The publishing house may well be a septuagenarian but as the innovative Great Ideas series and Bickford-Smith’s wonderful designs demonstrate, it remains at the cutting edge of book production from content to cover in the UK and beyond. Happy birthday Penguin!
Post by Kerry Ryan
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