Hodder & Stoughton, Headline & Quercus Publishing 2016 Party

In these challenging times for publishing, it is important for Publishers to get word out of their new releases, both established authors as well as giving their debut writers a little slipstream. The beginning of a new year means that newly commissioned work is being readied for market, and requires the Oxygen of Publicity. So first off the block, was the Hodder, Headline & Quercus publishing party, held last week to celebrate their 2016 Crime, Mystery and Thriller releases. 

Like many sectors, the relentless consolidation in publishing can at times feel somewhat surreal. Quercus Publishing for instance was recently taken over by Hodder and Stoughton, and this resulted in a weird game of musical chairs. An example being the bestselling writers David Mark, and Peter May, for David with his Hull based crime novels were originally published by Quercus Publishing moved over to Hodder and Stoughton, while Peter May, who was originally published by Hodder and Stoughton, is now published by Quercus Publishing. All three publishers form a significant part of the Hachette Publishing Group.

As a businessman, I understand that market forces are at play, and we all know market forces can be ruthless. So rather than allowing the market to force structural changes in the business model, it is far better to make them, prior to the market forcing them upon the organisation, for when the market acts, the results can be far more challenging, than making them yourself.

Publishing in my opinion is critical as a supporting pillar in a functioning society, for some term the publishing industry as ‘the merchants of culture’ as the importance of reading is vital in provoking our cognition and our ability to critically think, and to do so with lucidity and with clarity. Crime, Mystery and Thriller novels; apart from being a welcome distraction from the harsh nature of reality [as we appear to be living in the age of anxiety], also allow us to view the world from the darkest edges of the street, and they help us piece together the reality that surrounds us.

So with these esoteric thoughts buzzing in my head like the angry Bees [that play such a crucial role, as backstory] in Peter May’s COFFIN ROAD [which just broke into The Times Top Ten hardcovers] – I headed to London’s Embankment to see what these three publishers had in store for 2016.  I also enjoy meeting up with my friends and colleagues who share my passion with the Crime, Mystery and Thriller genre, many of whom I have known for more years than I would care to admit, [without my lawyer]. We all lead busy lives, so literary gatherings such as launch parties, are relished, for it allows paths to cross, meeting fellow bibliophiles as well as planning our reading and reviewing priorities for the main enemy we confront is the lack of time, and managing the distractions that make this reality at times akin to finding oneself with grease-paint, as we juggle under the tent of a circus.

So with the car parked I strolled along London’s Embankment, viewing the reflections of the lights of the London Eye and OXO Tower on the obsidian surface of The Thames. I spotted my friend Shot’s Social-Media exponent Ayo Onatade, in the Foyer of the offices of Hodder, Headline, Quercus, and then the ubiquitous [and key figure in the genre] Barry Forshaw arrived, so off we went to join the party.

The party was hosted on the top floor, with access to the amazing view from the balcony of the Embankment and Thames. In terms of publishing and their offices, the two best views in my opinion are from Penguin’s view from The Strand, and at that of Hachette, where we were meeting.

Apart from catching up with colleagues, I was on a mission to see what upcoming publications piqued my interest, and that would resonate. The party was in full swing, as I waved and nodded to colleagues, from the publishers, authors as well as reviewers and booksellers who were mingling, and enjoying the hospitality of Hodder, Headline and Quercus Publishing, with a bar complete with an array of canapes. It was good to meet up with Shots Columnist, writer, book reviewer the talented Mr Mike Ripley, and the best dressed man in town, Chris Simmons of Crime Squad.

Firstly, I met up with Jon Riley of Quercus Publishing allowing me the opportunity to thank him [and his team] for the excellent lunch Quercus hosted at London’s The Ivy where we got to break bead with Peter May. I also remarked that I enjoyed listening to Peter on BBC radio 4’s Front Row, and that their reviewer also picked up upon the theme that Peter May alluded to in Coffin Road, which resulted in his cryptic dedication; one which had an echo of John Le Carre, in his remarkable The Constant Gardner. I am also very intrigued with two upcoming releases from Quercus, namely Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama and BIRDWATCHER by William Shaw, and he hinted at a new work by Peter Spiegelman.

I then managed to have a good chat with Nick Sayers of Hodder and Stoughton, as I was excited to see the return of John Hart, with Redemption Road. John had been awarded the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger a few years ago, but hadn’t published in close to 5 years, so a new work by Hart is widely anticipated. I also mentioned to Nick that I had a great time seeing John again recently during Bouchercon Raleigh, held in John’s home state of North Carolina. Redemption Road will be out from Hodder and Stoughton in a few months, and for those impatient for a new work by Hart, can download the opening chapter here. Nick and I agreed that one of the recent delights has been seeing Stephen King hit an amazing resurgence with new work such as the crime trilogy which started with Mr Mercedes which gained a CWA Gold Dagger nomination last year, and the final volume of trilogy being readied for publication.

Hodder and Stougton’s Ruth Tross then took to the front, with her colleagues, Vicki Mellor of Headline and Jane Wood of Quercus to welcome everyone to the party and introduce their authors, as well as ensuring everyone had a drink, because the gathering had been titled ‘Warming the Blood’.

So after Jane’s toast to the legendary publisher Lord George Weidenfeld, who passed away recently, we cheered for the long shadow he cast over publishing; and then the party resumed.

So with much mingling and discussing literature’s dark streets that are crime, mystery and thrillers, we also laughed a great deal, for bibliophiles in my experience are a good natured group. It was lovely to meet up with some of the authors who attended and enjoyed Bouchercon Raleigh, such as novelist Sarah Ward, and CWA Gold Dagger winner Mick Herron, CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger winner Philip Kerr, who incidentally has his 11^th Bernie Gunther novel The Other Side of Silence due out later this year.

So for our readers, please find an array of photographs of the evening, hosted alongside the Embankment of London’s river Thames.

More information about the upcoming work from these three publishers can be accessed from the following link Crimefiles, a link you should bookmark as it has many new features, as well as keeping you updated on upcoming work, and also keep watch on their blog, because as little can exist in a vacuum, and the art of observation brings reality into view, or so the Quantum Physicists tell us.

So next stop, we have upcoming parties from Penguin-Random House UK and Orion Publishing to look forward to; to plan our reading and our reviewing. If you need any help in selecting what to read; then head off to our book review pages, and our bookstore – as the Shots team wish all our readers every best wish for 2016; and no matter what is thrown at us, we will always have literature to help us cope. 

Talking about Quirke with Benjamin Black

Benjamin Black is the pen name of Irish author John Banville.  He is the author of seven novels in the acclaimed Quirke series. He agreed to be interviewed for Shots.

What made you decide to write the Quirke series and where did the character of Quirke come from? What made you decide to make him a pathologist?

BB:  Many years ago I was commissioned to write a television mini-series set in 1950s Dublin. I did three one-hour episodes but, as with so many of these projects, they never got made. Then I began to read Georges Simenon, was greatly impressed, and had the idea of turning the screen series into a novel: the result was Christine Falls, the first Quirke book. Why did I make him a pathologist? I don’t really know. But I know I didn’t want to write about a detective.

Your latest Quirke novel is Even The Dead.  How did the storyline come about?

BB:  I start with a very vague notion of a plot and just begin to write. Often I have no idea where I shall end up--with Vengeance, for instance, I was almost at the end before I decided who the killer was. As Raymond Chandler said, it doesn't matter a damn what a book is about, all that counts is how it is written. He also said he didn't care who killed Professor Plumb with a lead pipe in the library, and I agree with that, too.

There is very much an elegiac tone to Even The Dead. Loose ends are being tied up. Is this the end of Quirke?

BB:  Not at all. It's true that every time I finish a BB book I think I won't do another one, but the characters are too interesting for me to let them go, and always I'm drawn back to them. In Even the Dead the most significant happening is Quirke's falling in love at last--and with a psychiatrist, at that. I hope he will be happy. We'll see.  

How much does religion specifically Catholicism play a part in your writing?

BB:  Well, I was brought up as a Catholic, which meant I was brainwashed from an early age. When I came to realise the pernicious influence that religion wields in human lives I became extremely angry. Some of that anger remains, so of course I transferred it to Quirke.

How important is place, in this case Dublin in your novels?

BB:  Extremely important. I think of Dublin, and specifically 1950s Dublin, as a central character in the Quirke books.

How would you explain Dublin to someone who has never been there?

BB:  I'm not sure that one could 'explain' something so intricate and diverse as a city. What I loved about the Dublin of my youth was its peculiar mixture of gaiety and melancholy; it's this ambiguous aspect of the place that I have tried to capture in the Quirke novels.

What made you decide to set the Quirke novels in the 1950s?

BB:  Since I was setting out to write noir fiction, 1950s Dublin seemed the ideal milieu: all

that repression, all that guilt, all those dark secrets deeply buried: perfect material. The Dublin of those days reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke and sadness. 

Raymond Chandler is my favourite crime writer and I very much enjoyed reading Black-Eyed Blonde. How much of an influence did Raymond Chandler have on your crime writing and are there any other crime writers that have influenced you?

BB:  I read Chandler as a teenager and was greatly impressed to discover that crime fiction could be stylish. Before Chandler I had read mainly Agatha Christie, whose lumpen prose made me feel I was chewing on sawdust. Chandler by comparison was the epitome of elegance, wit and sophistication. Much later I discovered Simenon, a true genius. And of course the great Richard Stark, whose Parker novels are superb.

Which five noir novels would you say are your favourites and why?

BB:  The Long Goodbye, Raymond Chandler. Not his best, perhaps, but certainly the darkest and most compelling.

Dirty Snow, Georges Simenon. This was the first Simenon I read, and I was utterly bowled over by it.

The Postman Always Rings Twice, James M. Cain. A compellingly nasty piece of work.

The Hunter, Richard Stark. The first of the Parker novels, and still one of the best. John Boorman made a wonderful movie from it, Point Blank.

How's the Pain? Pascal Garnier. Simenon's son, John Simenon, considers Garnier to be his father's literary heir, and he's right.

You have been writing fiction now for quite sometime both as Benjamin Black and also with your real name John Banville.  How much has your writing changed and do you have a different way of writing the Quirke series as opposed to when you are writing as John Banville?

BB:  Yes, they are two entirely different writers. Even their working methods are radically unalike--Banville writes with a fountain pen, Black types direct on to the screen. I always say that what you get from Banville is the result of deep concentration, while from Black you get pure spontaneity.

What do you think of the state of Irish crime writing at the moment? Including yourself there are a quite a number of excellent Irish writers that are writing really good books.

BB:  I haven't read enough contemporary crime fiction to comment.

Crime fiction especially contemporary crime fiction is said to be very good at social history. Is there anything you won’t write about?

BB:  Serial killers, rapists. Crime fiction, especially on television, exploits women dreadfully.

What one question would Benjamin Black like to ask John Banville and vice versa?

BB:  Do you like being Benjamin Black? Why?  I tolerate him. He keeps me busy.

There was a BBC series made of Quirke featuring Gabriel Byrne.  Are we likely to see anymore?

BB:  Well, I certainly hope so, but at present there is nothing in production.

What are you working on at the moment

BB:  A crime mystery set in Prague in the late 1500s.

Even the Dead by Benjamin Black

A suspicious death, a pregnant woman suddenly gone missing: Quirke's latest case leads him inexorably toward the dark machinations of an old foe.

Perhaps Quirke has been down among the dead too long. Lately the Irish pathologist has suffered hallucinations and blackouts, and he fears the cause is a brain tumor. A specialist diagnoses an old head injury caused by a savage beating; all that's needed, the doctor declares, is an extended rest. But Quirke, ever intent on finding his place among the living, is not about to retire.

One night during a June heat wave, a car crashes into a tree in central Dublin and bursts into flames. The police assume the driver's death was either an accident or a suicide, but Quirke's examination of the body leads him to believe otherwise. Then his daughter Phoebe gets a mysterious visit from an acquaintance: the woman, who admits to being pregnant, says she fears for her life, though she won't say why. When the woman later disappears, Phoebe asks her father for help, and Quirke in turn seeks the assistance of his old friend Inspector Hackett. Before long the two men find themselves untangling a twisted string of events that takes them deep into a shadowy world where one of the city's most powerful men uses the cover of politics and religion to make obscene profits.

More information about Benjamin Black and his work can be found on his website.

Interview ©Ayo Onatade/ Shots January 2016