Yes, completely intentional. I’m trying to roller an uneven literary playing field in which, still, many more awards, prizes and reviews go to male writers.

• Prior to the Orange prize, 11% of authors shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize were women
• 4% of authors who have won the Nobel Prize for Literature are women
• 25% of books reviewed by established national newspapers are by women

Linen Press is a small, independent publisher run by women. Our policy is to encourage and promote women writers and to give voice to a wide range of perspectives and themes that are relevant to women. We rejoice in the differences in female creative voices rather than defining them in terms of a simplistic and one-dimensional genre.

It means a great deal to have this recognition. For me, personally, it’s an acknowledgement after eight years running Linen Press as a one woman band of my choice of publications, my editing skills, my integrity, my passion. For Linen Press it’s an accolade and a validation. We’re thrilled.

I can write. That is my gift. So yes I have written and enjoy writing for children the most, but I have written corporate content, academic papers, to curriculum content and more. I’ve written all genres except science fiction and horror, I think. But—at the cost of sounding arrogant—if I had to I think I will be able to do that effortlessly, too.

I have finely-tuned antennae for linguistic style and know when I’m in confident hands and when the narrative shines through prose that is is fluid, beautiful, rhythmic and assured. Most of what comes into my inbox is badly written or of a mediocre standard. I can tell in a page or two. Sometimes less. Inexperienced writers use the same simple sentence structures, start sentences with And or But and Then, drop adverbs everywhere. I sigh and give up. I’m looking for exceptional writing.

I have done no such thing. I devour books. I have more books in my room than I have all other things put together. So my kids have seen their parent reading all the time. For them reading is as natural as … eating. I think they think everyone is like this. So, no, I did not inculcate a reading habit in my kids. Children follow not necessarily what you say, but very necessarily what you do. If you end up screaming and tearing your hair under stress, then chances are, that is exactly how your kids will deal stress, even if you have told them every single day, that you need to be calm under stress. My point is if you do, they will do, too. That is why most people transform as soon as they become parents. Smoking, swearing, breaking traffic rules… all go out of the window, often after we become parents. We want our kids to emulate us and kids do emulate us.

We work fast. Our next book, Sometimes A River Song by Avril Joy, came in almost ready made and requiring only light editing. It was a pleasure to work with Avril on her poignant novel and we have taken only three months from start to finish. It will be out next month. I work very closely with authors, editing line by line, chapter by chapter. Some books can take four or five months to reach the final stage of being ready to publish. Once I’ve decided on a book for publication, I am keen to get started. Authors only wait a month or so before we press Go. I’m a keen as they are.

I have just moved my back list to Ingram Sparks who print on demand, handle orders, post out books and send me a small profit per copy. For eight years I have guessed a print run for each new publication (between 300 -1000), had the pallets of books delivered to my house, and sometimes watched in despair as the book mountain did not shift. Ingram Sparks cuts my profits but saves trees. There is no more room for boxes of books where I live.

Over the years I’ve built a list of loyal, interested editors in newspapers and online who are willing to review our books. I turn again to reviewers who have loved one of our novels or memoirs. One of my superb interns, Silje Graffer, manages all our social media platforms and has built Twitter followers from 300 to 600 in her short time at the helm. She is bringing visibility to our press and I am truly grateful.

I’m open for submissions and happy to consider any genre. I want to dive into prose that defies the laws of literary gravity. Personally I’d love to find a fabulous, beautifully written thriller with a female detective but very few thrillers come my way and those that do don’t punch hard enough. I like novels with a historical or political back drop so that they are multi-dimensional and many-layered.

With the coming of Amazon bookshops I fear for the future of book shops, especially those wonderful indie shops with many corners and dark stairs whose shelves have been stocked with love and care by a voracious, devoted reader-owner. Go into any store owned by Waterstones and W H Smith and there is the same limited choice of titles which have had enormous marketing budgets thrown at them to get them on the shelves. They want to dictate your reading choices.

The market is swamped with self-published writers, many of whom would not have been picked up by a mainstream or indie publisher. It’s like there’s a lot of literary water sloshing around out there along with the occasional shot of the strong stuff. I acknowledge that some talented writers slip through publishing nets and really should be on the shelves but if your writing is exceptional, you have a good chance of being found. We read every submission that comes in and often send constructive comments.

Read. Read, read, read. Be updated with what is happening in the world of literature. And what is being written is astounding. If you are reading you will know what is trending as much as you will understand that good work is always rewarded. Also when you approach an agent or a publisher, do research on the work they are coming out with. If you know them and understand them, then you will know how to pitch your work.

Also, when you write to them, tell them who you are and why you think they should be reading your manuscript/proposal. Agents and publishers get 20 odd manuscripts per day or more. When they are sifting through tomes of writing, you need to catch their eye and tell then why your work needs another, serious, dekko.

Write about a topic or experience about which you feel passionate. That passion will show itself in the energy of your writing.

If you want to know more about our guest, please visit their website below:

Website: linen-press.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LinenPressBooks