Think of it as a Dragons’ Den for writers. Twelve aspiring novelists will pitch their work to a panel of industry representatives at the 2015 Novel Fair at the Irish Writers Centre on Saturday. Chosen from 250 applicants, the novelists have the opportunity to bypass the slush pile, pitch their ideas and place their synopses and sample chapters directly in the hands of publishers and agents.
Now in its fourth year, the annual event is run by the Writers Centre and takes place at its headquarters on Parnell Square, Dublin 1. This year’s fair will host publishers Penguin Ireland, Hachette Ireland, Transworld Ireland, New Island, O’Brien Press/Brandon, Liberties Press, Poolbeg/Ward River and Tramp Press.
Literary agents will also be on the lookout for talent with The Book Bureau, Marianne Gunn O’Connor Literary Agency, Jonathan Williams Literary Agency, Lisa Richards Agency, Feldstein Agency and Mulcahy Associates each sending a representative.
Previous years have resulted in seven publishing deals to date, among them Niamh Boyce's award-winning debut The Herbalist (Penguin Ireland, 2013), Janet Cameron's Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World (Hachette Ireland, 2013) and Daniel Seery's A Model Partner (Liberties, 2014). Titles to watch for in 2015 are Caitriona Lally's debut Eggshells (Liberties, May), a black comedy about a woman who thinks she's a changeling, and Andrea Carter's Whitewater Church, due to be published in the autumn by Little, Brown.
“There was a great buzz in the room, a constant supply of coffee and encouragement from the staff,” says Kildare author Niamh Boyce of the inaugural 2012 event. “You had to think on your feet. After a few pitches you became used to getting the essentials across fairly quickly. It was interesting to see someone’s reaction to your novel immediately, very different to writing a synopsis and sending it off. It was more exhilarating than nerve-wracking.” Boyce says she found it hard to switch off after the jam-packed day: “I pitched to the poor taxi driver on the way back to the train station.”
The judges who chose this year’s finalists are the writer and editor Anthony Glavin, writer Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, who receives the 2015 Irish PEN Award this week, and Jane Alger, director of Dublin UNESCO City of Literature.
High standard
“There’s a good mix of genre this year,” says Glavin, who has judged three fairs. “There’s no tilt any particular way. There was a smaller tranche of submissions than last year but they are equally strong, with some very fine writing. I was heartened by the high standard. We view 10,000 words of a submission so you’re dancing in the dark to some extent but you’re able to get a sense of the book.”
The 250 entrants for this year’s fair represents a decline in figures from previous years, from a high of 600 applicants in one unspecified year. “We put this down to the fact that lots of novels which have been hidden away in drawers, gathering dust over the years, have been submitted at this stage,” says Amy Herron, events co-ordinator at the centre. “Novels take time to draft and redraft, so the number of applicants will vary. This year we were pleased to notice an increase in international entries.”
Patricia Deevy, editorial director at Penguin Ireland, has attended every fair so far. Has she noticed differences over the years? “One year there was a lot of historical fiction or turn-of-the-last-century material,” she says. “I think the judges were being mindful of the kind of fiction that had been selling. The trouble is that you can’t really plan for marketability and afterwards most of the industry people were – perhaps unfairly – bemoaning the ‘sameness’ of the entries.”
Last year provided a wider variety of writers and approaches, according to Deevy, which she hopes is the case with the 2015 finalists. “It’s an opportunity for writers across a range of genres to meet publishing professionals so it’s a sort of speed-dating exercise to see if there are matches. At least half a dozen books have reached the bookshelves as a result, a pretty decent hit rate. Even if the novel that authors pitch on the day isn’t quite right, if you like their writing you’re going to keep an eye on them.”
The 12 writers this year range in age from early twenties to fifties. The gender balance leans slightly towards female writers, with seven women and five men chosen. Their novels are drawn from a variety of genres, including literary fiction, young adult, historical, thriller, crime and dark comedy. Settings vary from Dublin to Belfast, Monaghan to Clare, Los Angeles to Croatia. While all of the finalists are based in Ireland, this year saw an increase in international entries from the UK, France, Australia and New Zealand.
Sallyanne Sweeney, a literary agent with the London-based Mulcahy Associates, says she's looking to be blown away by the story: "I want to be taken on a narrative journey and I'm looking for a project I don't feel I've seen before, that moves me in some way, a novel I'll want to press into editors' hands." Her agency represents Irish authors such as Róisín Meaney, short story writer EM Reapy and Lisa McInerney, whose debut novel The Glorious Heresies is out in April.
Faith O’Grady from the Dublin based Lisa Richards agency is hoping for work with a distinctive narrative voice. “I don’t mind what kind of genre,” she says, “as long as the author knows how to create dramatic tension and pace.” Paul Feldstein, a director of the Feldstein Agency in Belfast, says that Irish fiction is stronger than ever: “From literary fiction to crime fiction to romance, it’s punching above its demographic weight. I’m looking to find an original voice who we can help build a career.”
Bootcamp for writers
Irish publishers are also well represented at this year’s fair, including independent publishers such as O’Brien, New Island, Tramp Press and Liberties Press. After finding two matches last year, Liberties’ representative Sam Tranum says he’s on the hunt for more: “We're focusing on literary fiction and crime fiction, so we'll be looking for those genres, but we might also be interested in a great YA manuscript. For better or worse, being a professional writer isn't just about writing. The Novel Fair helps teach people who write how to be professional writers. It's like a little bootcamp for writers.”
Of the 250 submissions received this year, Glavin says the judging panel gets a fair idea of the books they want to read from the accompanying synopses. Any tips for aspiring writers on what not to do? “Bear in mind that a synopsis, whether you’re submitting to a publisher, agent or fair, is not a blurb,” he says. “You have to address the conclusion of your book, which goes against the storytelling grain but needs to be done nonetheless. A good synopsis is informative, engaging and well written.”
One such synopsis was Ruth McKee's The Jealous Wall, which tells the story of Ada Belvedere, an artistic woman locked in an attic on Rathlin Island by a jealous husband who goes to serve on board a WWI submarine. A briefing earlier this month at the centre for the 12 participants helped McKee to hone her pitch. "I'm going to follow the advice I received from the writer and judge Éilis Ní Dhuibhne," she says. "Be succinct, talk about the hooks in my story, about its marketability, but above all speak spontaneously and with passion about my project."
Another finalist, Kealan Ryan, is taking a different approach for his novel The Middle Place: "I'm going to try to talk about it as if it's not mine, as if it's someone else's book that I love and want everyone to read. The list of reps are really diverse so I'm keeping an open mind for the fair. The way I see it, if it's meant to be we'll find each other on the day."
Initiatives like the Novel Fair benefit Irish writing on the whole, according to Glavin. “It incentivises people to sit down, engage and actually finish books they might not otherwise. It also gives those writers who might have a book in a drawer the chance to take it out and look at it in a new light, perhaps go through another draft or edit.
Citing an essay by Jacob Epstein, a former editorial director at Random House, Glavin says a country the size of Ireland is well suited to schemes like the novel fair. “Epstein viewed Irish publishing as a cottage industry. He regarded its informality and close-knit community as a boon. Such a community works well for the fair. Could you imagine a similar initiative in the US or UK? It wouldn’t work on that scale.”
Glavin says there are still scripts circulating from past finalists that he believes will find a home eventually. “Certainly from this reader’s perspective, I would think that we will see other books emerge from previous fairs. Getting published and finding the right deal as a writer, particularly a debut writer, can be a slow process. The Novel Fair helps to circulate work and get things flowing.”
