| |
| SCBWI
France |
| |
| Meet
the Pros |
| |
| SCBWI France publishes interviews
both in the SCBWI France Expression newsletter
and on-line. These interviews offer an insider's
view of the international children’s
publishing market. |
| |
|
| DAVID FICKLING |
MEET
DAVID FICKLING FROM DAVID FICKLING
BOOKS. David Fickling
worked at Oxford University
Press, Transworld (Doubleday),
and finally at Scholastic (UK)
where he published such highly
popular series as Horrible Histories,
Point Horrors and Goosebumps
alongside such award-winning
books as Phillip Pullman’s
HIS DARK MATERIALS TRILOGY,
Tony Mitton’s RED AND
WHITE SPOTTED HANDKERCHIEF,
and Adele Geras’ TROY.
David went on to form his own
imprint at Scholastic- which
is now based with Random House.
Sandra Guy interviewed him in
May of 2003. |
|
 |
 |
|
1.
Please tell us a little about your background
and what brought you to children's publishing.
I read Medieval
History at Cambridge University, taught
English in Zaragoza Spain, and worked in
a bookshop. My first job in publishing was
with Oxford University Press, where I spent
ten years, originally as a Reader's Adaptor
- rewriting classic novels for English Language
Teaching texts - and later alongside the
Children's Book editor. Having worked on
individual books at OUP with authors such
as Philip Pullman, Ian Beck, Nick Sharratt,
Gillian Cross and KM Peyton amongst others,
I then moved to Transworld, where I established
the first UK children's hardback imprint
(Doubleday). Amongst numerous other projects,
I teamed up Jacqueline Wilson and Nick Sharratt
for the first time with The Story of Tracy
Beaker. I then moved to Scholastic as Publishing
Director which gave me the chance of publishing
mass-market paperbacks for the first time
- Point Horror, Goosebumps, Horrible Histories...while
also publishing their first ever Hardback
Fiction, which just happened to be Philip
Pullman's His Dark Materials. |
2.
What is your all-time favourite book?
That I have
read? Oh heavens. At the age of seven, The
Island of Adventure by Enid Blyton, at twelve
The Lord of the Rings, at eighteen, Madame
Bovary, in my twenties, One Flew Over the
Cuckoo's nest, and today, maybe, The Diary
of Samuel Pepys. (Sorry I can't say one,
that's not the nature of books and I'm even
beginning to change my mind about these
as I think about it....) and I haven't mentioned
any poetry more's the pity |
3.
What book(s) are you proudest of having
worked on? Why?
Almost
certainly Northern Lights (in US The Golden
Compass) the first part of the His Dark
Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, because
it is ferociously original and daring as
well as being a gorgeous rich involving
narrative. And today Ted Dewan's Bing Bunny
for toddlers. |
4.
How would you describe the publishing program
at David Fickling Books? What kind of books
do you publish and how many new books do
you acquire each year?
Varied.
Something different every month. Ideally
I'd like to keep readers guessing, and for
them to wonder (and look forward to) what
might come along next. We must keep it to
twelve books a year and not a book more.
It's a cast iron rule. I know to my cost
the dangers of publishing too much. One
book a month then, one project a month.
That's it. Forever or until they close us
down |
5.
What opportunities are there for projects
other than novels and picture books? (short
story collections, poetry, anthologies etc)
Every opportunity,
I hope. We shall be publishing the poet
Tony Mitton's new anthology The Cloak soon.
I've also been asked to publish an anthology
of Wine poems, of all things. And like the
idea. We just published a completely adult
book too - The Half that Works by Laurie
Horner. There's a full colour non-fiction
book on the stocks, called You-never-saurus!
by Professor Potts. And I'd like very much
to publish a popular history of Japan in
English, because I can't find one. I truly
regret not publishing more translations
in my career and would like to correct that.
But I am ashamed I don't speak enough languages. |
6.
Is there such a thing as an ideal David
Fickling book?
If there is
then I think it would be a waste of time
to try and describe it - much better to
concentrate on the book than the imprint.
I don't think the world cares or should
care about imprints. |
7.
What do you look for in book? What thrills
you?
Immersion.
To be taken by a book somewhere I have never
been before and shown something new, and
to never want the book ever to end. |
8.
What, for you, is the role of the "ideal
editor?"
To help the
writer write and transmit to the reader
want they want to write but not to get in
the way. |
9.
What do you perceive as the role of the
books you publish in the lives of contemporary
children?
Very slight.
But with any luck they entertain and encourage
a sense of wonder. |
10.
Are you aware of any trends in children's
publishing at the moment? How do you feel
about them?
There is far
too much concentration on paying big advances
and ballyhoo marketing. This creates endemic
fear within the publishing company (hidden
from the public), unfair valuations between
and division of rewards and attention for
authors, and lots of copycat safety first
publishing. But perhaps it was ever thus.
I think there are two kinds of publisher
- shoppers and cooks. I am on the side of
the cooks. But then the shoppers never cease
to impress me. |
11.
What say does the sales/marketing department
have in the look or type of the book you
produce?
A lot but not
too much, I think. For a David Fickling
book, it's a team effort and the team includes
the author. |
12.
David Fickling Books is the first bi-continental
children's publisher, publishing simultaneously
in the US and the UK. Can you tell us a
little about what that means for writers
you represent and the books you publish?
This is what I would like it to mean: A
sense that their books are free things,
containing liberty at their heart, which
freely cross international boundaries without
let or hindrance. And, that they are judged
on their own merits, not on their origin.
|
13.
You work with writers from both sides of
the Atlantic. Are you aware of any differences
in the choice of material or subject matter
by American/European writers? Are there
any differences in the way that material
is handled?
Of course there
are many differences but David Fickling
Books is far too small for anyone to draw
useful conclusions. It is, in my view, the
differences in how the work is received
by the different cultures that is likely
to be the more pronounced and influential.
However, good work, in my experience, is
valued and praised and admired the world
over, great work revered. Bad writing is
reviled wherever it goes. So when it comes
to national borders or differences, we try
to be like British Admiral Nelson who put
a telescope to his blind eye and said "I
see no ships". We see no borders. We
don't see Americans or British we just see
readers.
It is for others (critics, commentators,
experts!) to comment on the differences
between US writing and UK writing. I feel
much too close to the stories we publish
to draw any useful general conclusions.
And it would be the work of a lifetime.
Anyway,
a writer's imagination does not usually
stop at the national border. As a group,
writers are, of course, rooted in their
own cultures, but then again remarkably
international in outlook. They can't necessarily
be made responsible for the preferences
and obsessions of their own countries, though
prevailing culture, economics and market
must perforce play a large part in a writer's
choices. Readers and writers tend to be
fascinated by national differences but as
much other people's as their own. Publishers
should follow suit. For all of us Readers,
Writers and Publishers there are no international
barriers or territories and if it's not
too pompous to say so , that is how David
Fickling Books would like to operate. |
14.
How different are the American/European
markets? What would you consider the strengths/weaknesses
of each? Do you think they are becoming
more similar or less so?
Very different.
And the USA is so big that it is composed
of many, many different markets. Just like
Europe in fact. It would take me many lifetimes
to discover how to publish in the US or
in Europe for that matter. I don't like
to think of these places as homogenous.
All we can do is send them the best of england
made in england. England with a small 'e'. |
15.
Are you accepting unsolicited manuscripts
at the moment?
Yes. I think
publishers have a duty to be open to the
culture. Besides I have found some brilliant
things on the slush pile. But you can't
read everything and so people who send things
should be prepared to be patient. In the
case of sending to David Fickling Books
very, very patient. Sometimes it takes months. |
16.
What do you see as some of the common mistakes
authors could AVOID making when submitting?
Sending in something that they really know
they wouldn't buy themselves. Writing long
synopses (which are horrible and no fun
to read). But definitely the worst thing
is to not have worked hard enough or been
critical enough of their own work. The very
best authors in my experience are reluctant
to send anything in until they are sure
it's good. The worst, finish something and
send it in immediately without even reading
it again. And then they're the most impatient
when you haven't read it. Perhaps if publishers
charged by the hour to read unsolicited
typescripts it would be different. |
David
Fickling will be speaking at this year's
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators'
International Conference, "Oceans Apart,
United by Story, 4-6 July, in Madrid, Spain |
|
| Top
of page |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
