Interview With Hawthorn Press Publisher Martin Large

 

1. What type of books (genes) do you publish? We publish series in Early Years Education, Steiner Waldorf Education, Oral Storytelling, Women's and Men's Development, Social Ecology, Crafts and Family Activities, Findus and Pettson children's storybooks from the Swedish, Parenting, Regenerative and Biodynamic Farming. 

2. What goes into your acquisition process to determine whether you will publish a book? We ask: Is it crystal clear who the reader is and how to reach them? How viable is this book? How unique is it and what is the USP? Does it fit our series and values? 

3. What do you feel your company offers authors as a clear inducement to publishing with you vs. another — or even to self-publish? Careful commissioning.  

4. In your role at the publishing house, what do you enjoy the most and least about your job? Working with authors to structure a book that addresses readers’ questions, and which makes a difference e.g. Designing Regenerative Food Systems for farming, and Springboard for women's development over 30 years. Least? Competing with well-funded PR people for limited review and feature space in the MSM. 

5. What are some of the more interesting or important books that your press has released over the years? Lots! We are passionate about literacy and are delighted to be publishing the Seven Secrets of Spontaneous Storytelling this Fall. The author, Danyah Miller, is launching the book with a solo show in the West End, London on 9th July at her gala performance of Michale Morpurgo's I Believe in Unicorns for the Reading Agency.  

6. What trends do you see in book publishing today? The predatory platform capitalists like Amazon will continue to capture more and more income from authors, publishers and booksellers. Unless one has a unique niche, it will be hard to survive. 

7. How can we work together to promote literacy? It's not just about formal literacy and reading, as oracy or telling stories is important throughout childhood. So, Hawthorn is keen on oral storytelling from babies up! 

8. What challenges — or rewards — does AI pose to the book industry? AI will mechandise and hollow out our souls and human spirit if not strictly regulated. Real human creative life will wither unless we push back on all forms of screen time, and cultivate such a lively cultural life as in Waldorf schools or in our families and communities that AI will pale by comparison.  

9. Which recently released or upcoming books should we keep an eye out for?

The Seven Secrets of Spontaneous Storytelling by Danyah Miller (November 2023)

Reflexes, Movement, Learning and Behavior, by Sally Goddard Blythe (Summer 2023)

Fairytales, Families and Forests: Storytelling with Young Children, Georgiana Keable (Summer 2023) Numbers and Shapes: Learning with Findus and Pettson, Sven Nordqvist, (Summer 2023)

Lighting fires, not filling buckets is my publishing motto, and Hawthorn Press' mission is to publish books for a creative, peaceful and earth-caring world. My work is fired by reader's burning questions and author initiatives, such as recently, "How can men be a part of the emerging wave of feminism?". My publishing work informed by several 'lives' in education, business, consultancy, facilitation, writing and lecturing work. Family printing and publishing goes back via my father, who was a master printer, to an ancestor John Large who was apprenticed with William Caxton to a City of London mercer called Sir Robert Large who traded also in paper and books. So lead runs in my veins, as a teenager I used to feed in old lead type to be melted down for new typesetting in the old family print works in Newcastle upon. see us on twitter: @hawthornPressUK or visit www.hawthornpress.com

 

Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

Read This!

How & Why Should Authors Guest-Blog?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/06/how-why-authors-should-guest-blog.html

 

A Book Award Authors Should Avoid!

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/06/a-book-award-authors-should-avoid.html

 

Raising Books To Be Successful

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/06/raising-books-to-be-successful.html

 

Book Marketer Brian Feinblum Interviewed By Book Shepherd Cathy Fyock

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/book-marketer-brian-feinblum.html

 

8 Ways to Market Your Book

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/06/8-ways-to-market-your-book.html

 

Can You Sell Books Through Laughter?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/sell-books-through-laughter.html

 

12 Habits of Highly Successful Authors

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/12-habits-of-highly-successful-authors.html

 

Do You Have A Yes Attitude?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/do-you-have-yes-attitude.html

 

Author Website Do’s & Don’ts

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/author-website-dos-donts.html

 

Should You Write Another 10 Books?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/should-you-write-another-10-books.html

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.