Thanks to Peirene the British book market has been enriched over the last 18 months by the following:
- a narrative about the dark side of motherhood
- a classic love story set in the mountain
- an analysis of war-time society told in a single sentence
- a clever, well-crafted, psychological mystery
All of these books are best-sellers in their own countries, and some, like No 1, Beside the Sea, and No 2, Stone in a Landslide, have become bestsellers across continental Europe.
But I have to admit none of them sound like the fool-proof bestseller material for the insular English market. And sure enough none of them has yet hit sales figures in the tens of thousands.
However this is about to change – if you trust Maddy and myself. We unanimously believe that we have a true English best-seller at our hands.
Or, to put it more realistically: Peirene No 5, Tomorrow Pamplona by Dutch author Jan van Mersbergen, represents our best shot yet for a best-sellerdom. The book will be released this week.
Here is a list of evidence to support our claim:
- suspense and tension: features a protagonist with a mysterious past
- sex: three fab sex scenes – do I need to say more?
- violence: after all one of the protagonists is a boxer
- value for money: 189 gages, it can’t get much thicker than that in the Peirene “less than 200 page” world.
In addition – and as a little extra so to speak - Tomorrow Pamplona is a fantastic book about men and masculinity - their aggressions, their anxieties and their longing for intimacy.
And all of the above of course without compromising literary quality. The narrative rhythm and sparse style reflects and compliments the subject matter beautifully.
The Peirene Ladies are convinced Tomorrow Pamplona will add heat to the English summer.
The Nymph herself, however, has some doubts. “And what if everybody is going abroad for some sun and fun? They won’t need juicy stories to spice up their lives. They’ll experience it themselves.”
Peirene may be worried but I, for once, am not. “Luckily for us, we live on an island.” I calm her down. “Everyone heading south has to take a plane or ship. And there is nothing better than a two-hour book to ease the boredom of travel.”
the school year.
independent publishing that is the equivalent to the Oscars. And there is no need to titter at the Oscar comparison: The IPG is made up of 560 Indy British publishers, including big players such as Faber & Faber and Canongate. Each year they award eleven prizes, for achievements such as Best Innovation, Best Consumer Publisher, Best International Achievement and this year, for the first time, Best Newcomer. 
for being stoic and resilient when visiting this island. Christian is an author who fills huge lecture halls in Germany. Here he gave a star performance in a bookshop to an audience of seven. And for publicity reasons he revealed it all on twitter: The truth about Paul McCartney & Friedrich D. – based on a real story.
infested by myth. And one of the them asserts that Waterstone’s is a big fat baddy.
recently but none picked up on the story. They probably think the topic is too hot, too controversial. And rightly so, the very foundation of the English book market could be in peril.
respectable company – no office romances. But she’s gone deaf, her head has been turned.
or so they say.
c’est moi – brave and clever because I set up a publishing house to challenge the UK’s homogenous reading culture. And successfully so. Because here comes the second good news of the week: Stone in a Landslide is going into reprint.
dream of mocking her. Or have you never heard of the famous fable of the tortoise and the hare?