Category: live publishing projects

International Women’s Day: Violet Jacob

A little about Violet Jacob for International Women’s Day

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There is little I can think of that is more tragic than a fantastic story that gets lost in time. For this reason, I have decided to reproduce Flemington by Violet Jacob for my Book Project this term.

Violet Jacob was a Scottish poet and novelist who lived between 1863 and 1946. She holds a special place in my heart not only because she was a born and bred Angus girl, like myself, but also because Flemington was surprisingly ahead of its time for a novel published in 1911. I know that that’s a phrase that we use all too often at the moment, but Flemington is a novel about a Jacobite and a Crown Spy who meet and after one night together have a connection so strong that the spy, Archibald Flemington, abandons his loyalties.

It was claimed to be ‘the best Scots romance since The Master of Ballantrae,’ by John Buchan, and while I haven’t read The Master of Ballantrae but I am happy to vouch for Flemington as the best romance I read in 2017. The fact that it was an Angus woman writing gay Jacobite romance only makes it something fonder to my heart.

Upcoming Release: A Hardy Woman by Violet Jacob

“She was a hardy woman now,” Violet Jacob writes in her story “Thievie,” describing the character Janet: a woman “unremarkable in feature, yet remarkable in presence,” determined to take her future in her own hands. As part of my Publishing Production project, I decided to collect seven short stories and a novella by this wonderful – and largely forgotten – twentieth-century Scottish author, all featuring her most unconventional and fascinating female characters. Titled A Hardy Woman, this collection will include fiction from The Fortune-Hunters and Other Stories (1910), Tales of My Own Country (1922) and The Lum Hat (published posthumously in 1982).

The book will be edited and designed by Alice Piotrowska. Feel free to contact and follow me on Twitter and check out my Goodreads profile.

Why Margaret Oliphant deserves to be on your bookshelf

As part of our Publishing Production project, each student was tasked with selecting an out-of-copyright Scottish author to republish. Admittedly it took me a while to settle on a specific author, but ultimately I chose Margaret Oliphant. Now, half way through the project, I am can’t imagine a better choice. Oliphant published over 170 novels and short stories between 1855 and 1897 – a testament to her skill and popularity – and became well known for her ghost stories.

For my project I decided to produce a small collection of these ghost stories; this collection would include Earthbound, Beleaguered City and Old Lady Mary. I have always enjoyed a good ghost story, and Margaret Oliphant’s works did not disappoint! Her stories were so different from what I had come to expect from ghost stories of her era. They have been unexpected, bizarre, and an absolute pleasure to read. Although I’ve only read a small fraction of her works, I look forward to diving into more of them and I can’t wait to help bring her stories to new readers.

About the editor and designer

I’m Georgia, an MSc Publishing student at Edinburgh Napier University. I’m also an avid reader of sci-fi, fantasy and supernatural stories.

Upcoming release: The Library Window by Margaret Oliphant

I chose The Library Window as my Publishing Production project as I wanted to publish a book in the supernatural genre. Margaret Oliphant, a Scottish author, was well-known for writing ghost stories in her day, so I looked into a few of her stories. What intrigued me about this specific story, was the combination of two supernatural themes. The very obvious ghost theme, and the more indirectly mentioned cursed diamond ring theme.

About the editor and designer
I’m Sinead, an MSc Publishing student at Edinburgh Napier University. My blog Huntress of Diverse Books focuses on reviewing and promoting diverse books. I’m also a co-host at Lit CelebrAsian, an initiative aiming to uplift Asian voices in literature.

#NapierBigRead book launch on 1 March

As you might have seen, the #NapierBigRead is well and truly underway and we are ramping up activity in the lead-up to our book launch on:
World Book Day – Thursday 1 March.

Copies of Detective McLevy’s Casebook will be available for all students and staff across the whole university!

More details can be found on our website: www.napierbigread.com, where you will see information on our recent activity, including an event at the National Records Office, a presence at the ALIEN conference, and even a mention on the BBC.
Our most recent endeavour, the #bookstohomeless initiative, is also proving to be a great success. See the video below for more details.
All books are going to the Edinburgh charity, www.streetreads.org.
Thanks to all of you who have donated your books!

 

We have a very special event planned for our book launch on
Thursday 1 March (World Book Day) – so please watch out for further details.

 

 

Forgotten Female Writers, 2018

In honour of the centenary of some women getting the vote in the UK, we are proud to reveal some of the new books that we are publishing in 2018.

Mona Caird

Catherine Carswell

Mary Findlater

Violet Jacob

Lorna Moon

Willa Muir

Margaret Oliphant

Felicia Skene

All Scottish, all amazing women, all talented writers. Mostly forgotten.

We are proud to be bringing their work back into the light.

We are also publishing some male writers this year, but we will tell you about them another day…

 

Projects & Placements, we have the skills you need!

We are now in the third week of the new trimester and things are moving fast!

We have submitted all our book title ideas and are keen to share them with you… soon!

We are also excited to be publishing a full-colour magazine! This will be the all-signing, all-dancing new incarnation of Publishers Inc. The article proposals are undergoing scrutiny as we write and we will be revealing all to you very soon!

But we don’t want to keep you waiting – if you have any relevant placement opportunities, please get in touch NOW.

We are an industry-accredited programme, and we can help you!