This wonderful interview recently posted in Late Night Library exemplifies Laura's mission as a small, independent publisher. I encourage you all to read it, but I had to highlight a particular line that just took my breath away. Her definition of what, exactly, a quiet novel is:
"Quiet books are character-driven and rich with language and story. The hero’s journey is an interior one, where the protagonist is changed by the world, rather than charging out to change the world. Quiet novels explore the fractures in society and the gulfs between people that keep growing wider—and less reparable—in this digital age."If you had your own publishing company, what would your mission be?
Such a great question. I think my publishing company would focus on neo-noir: dark, subversive, reality-based books without heroes.
ReplyDeleteWhat would yours be, Suzy?
Neo-noir. So cool! And hero-less. Even better.
DeleteMine would feature unlikely heroes and heroines. Those nuanced and complex characters who fall out of the predictable bell curve of logical & normative emotional reaction.
to build a nation of readers. i would do everything possible to make carrying a book as common as carrying a phone. they would be in every impulse buying sections of every major dept. store and no celebrity would be caught dead w/out one...books would be how they define themselves and/or their mood, "jennifer lawrence was spotted leaving LAX with Alice Close Your Eyes, obviously wanting audiences to take notice of her darker side..." i would do whatever i could to make my book-purchasing habits seem...normal.
ReplyDeleteYou noble gal, you! It must be working, because I hauled a couple of books around in my purse today. Did a bunch of Christmas-related retail crap, and rewarded myself (as I am wont to do) with the unapologetic purchase of a hardcover. It was the latest Eggers. I played the "What's my line" game that I sometimes do, choosing ten buzzy books and reading the first line of each and falling in love at first sentence. "The Circle" won with it's hot, "My God, Mae thought. It's heaven." Okay, that was two sentences, but what a line of flight, right?
DeleteThanks for the shout out, Suzy! I'm enjoying hearing what everyone has to say about what they'd publish. I've been thinking a lot about dreams, and how becoming a publisher isn't something I expected; being an author has always been my dream, but I love where I landed, and I love drawing attention to quiet novels.
ReplyDeleteI think all of your dreams will come true, Laura!
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