Monday 14 January 2008

Arts Council funding cuts for publishers

So much for not buying any more books! I've just spent nearly £40 on Amazon after reading Nicolas Lezzard's piece on today's Guardian Books blog.

I've been thinking how strange it is that I go out of my way to support independent bookshops but that I don't really seek out works by small independent publishers. And I do often check who's publishing what I'm buying (I worked in publising for a number of years, for two of the large mega publishers, so I retain an interest in the industry). My plan was to rectify this by starting with Persephone Books, as the bookshop's near where I work and it combines independent bookshop and publisher in one tidy package. But then I read a comment to Lezzard's piece along the lines of "well, how about supporting independent publishers by actually buying their books". So I have. I've bought:

At the Water's Edge by Pradeep Jeganathan (South Focus Press - I can't seem to find a website for them, so if anyone knows it I'd appreciate it)
The Crime of Father Amaro by Eca de Queiros (Dedalus)
The Maimed by Hermann Unger (Dedalus)
The Class by Hermann Unger
When Memory Dies by A. Sivanandan (Arcadia Books)

While I bought these on impulse, they do fit with some of my nebulous reading aims (more short stories, more works in translation, more new authors). Now I just want them to arrive so I can start the process of discovering if there are any jewels in this haul!

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