Last Tuesday, some of the participants of Bridging Literary Divides and Power of the Pen (our other creative writing mentoring program at Arkbound) attended a Q&A session with George Spender, the director of Salamander Street.
George, who is the former Editorial Director of Oberon Books, founded his publishing house in 2019 in Leith (Edinburgh). Its name honours one of its streets. Now, the publisher is based in Glasgow and Bristol. They publish books about the arts, music, photography and counterculture. One of their most recent publications includes a book called Brickwork, which tells the story of the Glaswegian nightclub The Arches.
Here are a few quotes from George from the meeting:
‘Do your research about each of the publishing houses you’re writing to. Prepare a good synopsis (one page or less), a good bio, take the time to really prepare’
‘An agent should never charge you for reading your work’
‘I’m thoroughly interested in politics and in seeing a better world and I believe literature can be a way of doing that, so I think a book that manages to tap into people’s understanding and empathy of other people’s lives can only be a good thing’
About finding a literary agent: ‘make sure you’re highly tailored in your approach […] you can start by looking at authors you connect with, who represents them […] it’s a lot of googling but it should help you remain focused’
‘If you’re trying to write what you think other people are going to want, you’re probably going to put yourself in sorts of knots whereas if you’re writing what you want, you will find it easier and a rewarding process’
‘I highly recommend to structure your story before you write – it’s like driving a car, you wouldn’t be setting off on a long journey without any idea of where you’re going because you would be driving for a very long time before you work out where is it you’re supposed to be’
For more information about Salamander Street, visit the website or email George at george@salamanderstreet.com
If you have any questions about the project or Arkbound, contact Matisse Lefebvre at matisse@arkfound.org
ML