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Editor Interview: Weatherglass Books Novella Prize

Describe what you publish in 25 characters or less.

Sentence led literary fic

What other current publications (or publishers) do you admire most?

I'm particularly fond of the properly maverick Tangerine Press. My favourite small press novel of the last year is Ghost Driver by Nell Osborne published by Moist Books

If you publish writing, who are your favorite writers? If you publish art, who are your favorite artists?

My personal favourites are Edith Wharton, James Salter, Gustave Flaubert and of course Dostoyevsky. Currently reading a lot of Truman Capote.

What sets your publication apart from others that publish similar material?

Partly it is the rigorous editing - great books need a strong edit. It might be a kind of paradox, but it's true.

What is the best advice you can give people who are considering submitting work to your publication?

You must read at least 3 of our books. How else will you know we're a good fit for your work?

Describe the ideal submission.

Care at the sentence level;
Know your characters;
Story should subsume plot.

What do submitters most often get wrong about your submissions process?

By sending novels or novellas that start with the main character waking up and looking in the mirror.

How much do you want to know about the person submitting to you?

Not really. Everything happens on the first page of the submitted work. Can this person write?

If you publish writing, how much of a piece do you read before making the decision to reject it?

Answering the other way round. I once read a first sentence and thought: We're going to publish this.

What additional evaluations, if any, does a piece go through before it is accepted?

Only that writer is open to editorial intervention. That the process is collaborative.

What is a day in the life of an editor like for you?

I like to read submissions on transport - I can concentrate better. That's it.

How much do you edit an accepted piece prior to publication?

See previous answer. But it tends to be ... a lot.

Do you nominate work you've published for any national or international awards?

Yes, every award it's eligible for.

How is your project funded?

By sales - we're a commercial business.

How do you promote your project and published authors/artists?

We use a range of very experienced and successful publicists.

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