17 November 2022

Member news:

Scotland’s National Book Awards 2022 shortlists include titles from National Galleries Scotland, Canongate, Saraband, Edinburgh University Press, Acair, Studies in Photography, 404 Ink and Leamington Books, a fantastic array of diverse titles and publishers, congratulations all! The Fire People from Canongate Books was the winner of the Poetry Award at the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards 2022; Charco Press have three books listed for prestigious translation awards for Spanish to English translations. Two have been shortlisted for the 2022 Queen Sofía Spanish Institute Translation Prize, Byobu and Elena Knows; and Brickmakers is shortlisted for The Warwick Prize for Women in Translation 2022; and it was lovely to see Scottish author Sara Sheridan's title The Fair Botanists, published by Hodder named as Waterstones Scottish book of the year.

Saraband have launched Food Bank Book Bundles as part of their Christmas online shop, in aid of the Trussell Trust, a charity that supports a nationwide network of food banks who provide emergency food and support to people facing hardship, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK. Visitors to Saraband’s website can combine purchasing a book for a loved one with making a donation to the Trussell Trust.

More.

• Ballot papers for Board election - please return by 22 November
• Notice of AGM - RSVP for 14 December 2022
• Audiobook project and Open Book session, 29 November - sign up now
• EIBF childrens programme pitching 23 November - sign up now
• Members Christmas drinks reception, 12 December - RSVP to attend
• Send new title information to Lomond Books by 9 December
• Gardners Trade Fair and bookshop database update
• Waterstones and Bookspeed critical path schedules for 2023
• Top 20 bestselling Scottish books in Scotland chart
• Translation fund - round two open for applications
• Training news and committee
• BooksfromScotland issue Beyond Borders, submit for next issue
• Scottish Universities press call for proposals
• News and events
• Opportunities
• Jobs

Best wishes,

Lucy

Lucy Feather

Membership Services Manager

Ballot papers for Board election - please return by 22 November

A ballot paper has been sent to every member. If you intend to vote for a network member and publisher members to take up a place on the Publishing Scotland board, we need these ballots returned to us, by post, by Tuesday next week - 22 November.

Any queries contact Marion.

Notice of our AGM - 14 December 2022

Notice of Annual General Meeting 2022

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company (Publishing Scotland) for 2022 will take place on Wednesday 14 December 2022, 1.30pm for the purpose of transacting the following business:



1. Minutes

To receive and approve the Minutes of the previous AGM held 25 November 2021. (Resolution 1)

2. To receive and adopt the Financial Statements, including the trustees’ report for the year ended 31 March 2022. (Resolution 2)

3. To re-appoint the auditors, Wylie and Bissett of 168 Bath St, Glasgow, G4 2TP and to authorise their remuneration. (Resolution 3)

4. To approve the appointment and co-option of trustees. (Resolution 4)

5. Other Business

To transact such other business as may be properly transacted at an AGM.

The meeting will be hybrid. When you register you will be sent a zoom link if you don’t want to attend in person. RSVP ESSENTIAL.



If you are able to attend, please rsvp to [email protected].

For more details on our governance see here.

Publishing Scotland Audiobook Project - Open Book session and funding opportunity

 

Publishing Scotland will fund the production of 5 audiobooks for publisher members. More information on this opportunity will take place at our Open Book Audiobook session on Tuesday 29 November at 11.30am. 

We will be hosting Laurence Howell, formerly of Audible, who will give a presentation on the state of play for the audiobook market - top genres, audience feedback, key trends and players - as well as providing top tips for audiobook marketing.

This will be a hybrid event, so you can attend in-person and online. 

If you are interested in attending then get in touch with Vikki by Friday 25 November.

Sign up for pitching to childrens programmers at Edinburgh International Book Festival

The pitching session with Rachel and Catherine for the childrens programme will be held on Wednesday 23 November from 9.30am - 2.30pm.

This pitching session will be hosted via Zoom. Each pitching slot will last 20 minutes.

To sign up for a pitching slot, get in touch with Heather McDaid.

Please also send Heather the AIs for the titles you will be pitching as we will be putting together a package for them after the session is over.

Members Christmas drinks reception, 12 December - RSVP to attend

We are hosting our annual drinks reception for Publishing Scotland members and colleagues at the New Library, Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh, on 12 December at 6.30pm.

We would be delighted to see you there. Please RSVP to Patrick.

Send new title information to Lomond Books by 9 December

Lomond Books are one of Scotland's leading wholesalers specialising in the non-traditional market. They are putting together their New Titles sales material in time for the Gift Trade Fair in the SECC in January, and these sales materials will also form the bulk of their Spring/Summer sell in to their accounts for next year. 

They are looking to receive new title information from publishers of their Spring/Summer titles for 2023. To be considered and included in their 2023 lists, please send AIs and any other supporting sales materials for your titles to be released between January 2023 and July 2023 to Jenny McGaw by Friday 9 December. She can be reached at [email protected].

Gardners Trade Fair and bookshop database update

Last month Publishing Scotland attended the Gardners Book Fair and BA Conference after it had been postponed because of the Queen’s funeral. We took a stand at the fair and met many booksellers from across the country, giving away samples of books published by our members as well as other sales materials and sharing information on the vast range of books published here. It was great to connect with booksellers, and many passed on their details, and have given us permission to share with our membership.

To that end, we have updated the UK and Ireland Bookshop Database in the members area of the Publishing Scotland website. We have added columns for email addresses we have been given permission to share as well as the names of managers and booksellers in the stores.

We will work towards getting permission to add more contact names and email addresses on the database, making sure we keep to GDPR rules, and we encourage you to download the database and add details you may already have through your own research.

Waterstones and Bookspeed critical path schedules for 2023

To give your publications the best sales potential, publishers should adhere to key accounts critical path deadlines. Make sure you present your new titles at these times to become a trusted sales partner.

You can download the critical path schedule for Waterstones and Bookspeed. See below for the schedules. Any queries contact Vikki Reilly.

Waterstones.

Bookspeed.

Top 20 bestselling Scottish books in Scotland chart

Welcome to this week's Top 20 Bestselling Scottish Books in Scotland chart. Forget Coleen Hoover, it’s Oor Wullie that’s sooking up the most sales round our way! He remains in the top spot.

We have only one new entry this week, and that’s the paperback edition of Stuart Macbride’s No Less the Devil. Slightly worrying is that in comparison to November 2021, this months qty and value sales are down in Scotland. This could be because we lack the obvious BIG Christmas title as we did last year with Billy Connolly’s Windswept and Interesting, but we can keep an eye on this as the weeks progress to Christmas.

NB. At the moment, these spreadsheets are for Publishing Scotland members only, and will only be shared via this bulletin. Please do not circulate. You can, however, use the information in them for marketing purposes.

Chart Criteria Reminder: Publishing Scotland receive the Top 250 bestselling titles across Scotland. We then curate chart to feature Scottish interest books by Scottish authors, or authors based in Scotland, books of Scottish setting and/or subject, and books published by publishers based in Scotland.

See the chart.

Translation fund - round two open for applications

This fund is administered by Publishing Scotland on behalf of Creative Scotland. The purpose of the fund is to support publishers based outside the United Kingdom with the payment of translation fees to translate Scottish writers. Funding will be offered in the form of a grant and it is for translation costs only. 

The next round is open with a deadline of 23 January 2023, please share this with your international counterparts.

More.

Training news and committee

The next free Harper Macleod webinar is on 22 November and is on Factual Publishing which covers crucial issues from defamation to data protection, and privacy law to rights clearance. There are still places on Introduction to Proofreading (28 November, 1, 5 and 8 December) which is the last of this year’s editorial courses. Next year’s sessions will take place over two days instead of four and the first few are on the website now for booking. The final Harper Macleod session of the year is Books and Borders (on selling books outside the UK) on 13 December.

The Training Committee met on 3 November 2022 to review this year’s programme and look forward to 2023. This year has been a transitional one as people adjust to returning to offices as well as further financial constraints. Looking ahead Publishing Scotland will continue to offer as much free and discounted training as it can with an emphasis on sales and business. Other training events planned for 2023 include a rights day, negotiation, introduction to print, InDesign, and structural editing . We are currently working on setting up and finalising these new sessions so please do get in touch if you have suggestions.

For details of all our courses, see the Publishing Scotland website. See also Events.

BooksfromScotland Beyond Borders - and submit for the next issue

This month's book recommendations inspire readers to get up and go beyond. Thank you for your submissions.

Read the issue.

Submit for the final issue of 2022

• November/December – Festive Reading and Gifts

To submit or for enquiries please contact Vikki Reilly.

Scottish Universities press call for proposals

The Scottish Universities Press (SUP), a not-for-profit open access publishing platform, has launched its first call for monograph proposals.

SUP is a library-led initiative coordinated by the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL) and with participation from 18 higher education institutions. 

The Press aims to offer researchers at participating institutions a high-quality and cost-effective solution for satisfying funder requirements in relation to publishing open access monographs. In 2024 UKRI policy will require monographs to be published open access within 12 months, with REF likely to follow a similar path. This initial call aims to attract monographs for publication in 2023/24 and is open to academics at participating institutions who have completed, or nearly completed, manuscripts which are not under contract elsewhere.  

Books published by SUP will be available as ebooks and in print, meaning that authors will still earn royalties on any print copies sold. Authors can expect a full-service publishing experience with open communication and transparent processes from peer review through to promotion. SUP is community-led and aims to be responsive to the needs of the academic community in Scotland that it serves. 

Proposals should be submitted using the proposal form on the SUP website by Wednesday 18 January 2023. Decisions will be communicated to authors by the end of March 2023 and manuscripts should be delivered within two months of acceptance being confirmed. 

All proposals will go through a full peer review process which will be managed by the SUP Editorial Board, comprising 14 academics from participating institutions and two external representatives. More.

Contact Gillian Daly, Press Manager [email protected]

News

Book Week Scotland, 14-20 November

The annual celebration of books and reading that takes place across the country. Now in its eleventh year, during Book Week people of all ages and walks of life come together to share the joy of reading. Together with Scottish Book Trust’s curated programme, their partners deliver hundreds of unique, exciting events and activities that celebrate the transformative power of reading. They are joined in this celebration by Scotland’s authors, poets, playwrights, storytellers and illustrators to bring a packed programme of events and projects to life.

More.

Scottish Book Trust Christmas campaign - gift books through food banks

SBT has launched its campaign seeking donations so it can gift books through food banks this Christmas.

They are fundraising to ensure everyone in Scotland has access to books and the many benefits reading brings. They will use the money raised to give books to families visiting food banks and support year-round work with children, families and adults in Scotland. Please get in touch to donate.

More.

Scottish Government publishes Charities Bill aimed at increasing transparency and accountability

Legislation to update and strengthen existing charity law has been published by the Scottish Government. The Charities (Regulation and Administration) Bill aims to increase transparency and accountability and improves the powers of the Office of Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

More.

Shuggie Bain to be adapted for TV

Douglas Stuart, author of the 2020 Booker Prize-winning novel Shuggie Bain, is adapting his novel for BBC One in his first television series.

More.

The Kelpies Prize

The Kelpies Prize is for writers in Scotland who want to start a career in children’s books. If that sounds like you, visit the website for everything you need to know in order to enter the Kelpies Prize for Writing. The aim of the prize package will help the winner take their first steps as a children’s author. Deadline for entries is 28 February 2023.

More.

Mental Health for Creative Freelancers - comic launched to help creative freelancers with their mental health

Designed as a practical guide to surviving the ups and downs of freelancing in the cultural sector, Mental Health for Creative Freelancers is a comforting antithesis to run-of-the-mill mental health advice.

More.

Events

FutureBook: 18 November, online and in-person

Audiobooks, podcasts, recruiting and retaining talent, working with the tv industry, specialist markets, net zero, turning bookshops into community activists. Just some of the topics that will be discussed at this London and hybrid conference organised by The Bookseller.

SYP Annual Autumn Conference: 26 November

Scottish Young Publishers London will be hosting the 2022 SYP Annual Autumn Conference on Saturday 26 November. Several virtual panels will launch in the week commencing on the 21 November. This year’s conference theme, “Publishing Inside Out: Reflect, Engage, Grow”, will explore the challenges and opportunities for the future of publishing through a range of pre-recorded, live and physical panels.

More.

Tarbert Book Festival: 26 November

Polly Pullar, Olga Wojtas, Morgan Cry, and Graeme Macrae Burnet are the authors taking part in this year's festival.

More.

Opportunities

Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship - apply by 5 December

Applications for Scotland-based writers to apply for the prestigious Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship are now open and will close on Monday 5 December. Hosted by The Edinburgh City of Literature Trust, the selected Fellow will receive a £20,000 National Lottery funded bursary through Creative Scotland, private workspace, and tailored professional development opportunities through the international UNESCO Cities of Literature network.

More.

The Publishers’ Publicity Circle (PPC) mentoring scheme 2023 - apply by 30 November

The PPC is opening applications to its mentoring scheme, which will begin in January 2023.  

Publicists of all levels are encouraged to apply to “brainstorm, develop and unlock their full potential” on everything from campaign planning and skill honing to career and personal growth.

More.

Board Member Appointments: National Library of Scotland - apply by 25 November

Do you have a passion for Scotland’s cultural heritage and a desire to share your skills with the National Library of Scotland? The National Library of Scotland is looking for up to three new Members to join its Board.

More.

Call for Applications: Funded Residencies 2023/24 at Cove Park - apply by 5 December

Cove Park's annual open call for applications to its programme of funded residencies in 2023/24 is live. National and international artists working in all art forms are welcome to apply.

More.

London Book Fair Trailblazer Awards - apply by 30 January

Applications are now open for this year’s Trailblazer Awards. Created to celebrate the next generation of the UK publishing industry, those blazing a trail, you can now enter or nominate someone.

More.

Author International Travel Fund - applications ongoing

There is no deadline, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis while there is an available budget for the quarter. With support from Creative Scotland, this fund has been established by Scottish Books International to support writers who have been invited overseas to promote their work.

Visit our opportunities page for more.

Jobs

Hodder Education: Senior Commissioning Editor

Apply by the 18 November 2022 for this full-time permanent position based in London, Edinburgh, Newcastle or Sheffield.

Edinburgh University Press: Desk Editor

Apply by Monday 21 November 2022 for this full time, permanent position in Edinburgh.

Witherby Publishing Group: Editorial and Quality Control Assistant. Apply by Friday 25 November 2022 for this full time, permanent post based in Livingston.

Wigtown Book Festival: Guest Festival Programmer

Apply by 12am on Sunday 4 December 2022 for this full-time, temporary role based both remotely and in Wigtown.

Visit our jobs page for more.