VP Live: Saturday August 13th

Valley Press was all over Yorkshire this Saturday, attending the first ever 'VP book signing' at the Scarborough branch of Waterstone's, and performing as part of the 'Poetry Showcase' at Bridlington's Spotlight Theatre.  I was there with my camera to capture some highlights, and thus the photo recap below was born...

The Valley Press table - sadly not a permanent feature in the shop - organised on the day by 'merchandising' whizz and all-round genius staff member Sean Lewis.

The day was a big one for collaboration - I left home that morning with two heavy boxes of books, in a superbly designed wheeled suitcase (almost classifiable as a sled) which had been donated to the VP effort by Jo Reed the previous Thursday.  Steve Rudd was also there during the initial trek, to help with another bag containing sellotape, blu-tac, the signage, a small bowl... all the other important items needed for the day's success.  In addition to this, we recieved several lifts from Helen Burke and her partner Phil (star of her poem, 'Why I Fancy Him'), and James Mcloughlin made a four-hour journey from Southport under his own steam, all to aid the VP effort.  This is what Valley Press is about, of course - great authors coming together to be greater than the sum of their parts, to offer a bit of mutual assistance.  As I considered the people I'd published since May, I felt a great sense of pride.  Here's a photo of all of us, taken by the multi-talented Phil:

One for the scrapbook - five VP authors in one place.  Left to right, James Mcloughlin, Jo Reed, Steve Rudd, Jamie McGarry, Helen Burke.

As part of my continuing interest in raffles, there was one held during the signing - visitors were invited to enter in order to win signed copies of all five books; worth 30p of anyone's money I believe.  The raffle was eventually drawn as we departed at 4pm, by Waterstone's staff member John (who pointed out a flaw with my administration of the raffle, which I won't reprint here, thus relegating the flaw into the fog of history).  The winner of the raffle was David Goh, who I have been emailing recently regarding his book about how to improve your skills at lawn bowling using sophisticated mental techniques.  Should that end up being published, you heard it here first!  His victory must be a good omen for that book.

James Mcloughlin explains something; possibly a sophisticated technique on how to improve your lawn bowling.

James and Steve wait for the rush to start.  I attempted to kick it off by personally approaching every person who came in and informing them of the remarkable gathering currently taking place.

With the signing wrapped up, we bid farewell to James and Jo, and the remaining VP-sters headed to Bridlington for the 'Poetry Showcase', which was hosted and organised by yet another one of the fold, Deirdre McGarry, pictured below introducing us with a glowing monologue which allegedly made me blush.  'Even if you don't read the books,' she said, 'just pick them up, have a feel... they're beautifully produced items!'

There was a very healthy turnout for the 'Poetry Showcase' - even the Mayor of Bridlington turned up (that's him in the red tie and blue sash).  He was an unusually cool and hip Mayor by anyone's standards; I've never seen a politican make such a decent attempt at stand-up comedy.  Behind the performers (not pictured) was a dozen full-size original paintings by Nigel Folds, mimicing the Lonely Destiny launch, and meaning every author published by VP this year was involved in the day.

The only slight problem with this event was that Deirdre had neglected to mention the words 'Poetry Showcase' to me in the run up; it had always been referred to as the 'Spotlight Theatre'.  This put Steve in an interesting position, promoting his travel writing (and armed with nothing else), but I think we got away with it by introducing him as 'a poet who on this occasion will be delighting you with some poetic prose.'  Here he is at work:

Steve was bookended by me reading some of my snail poems (after which it was gently suggested that I retire them, lest I be known only for those two poems - 'it didn't hurt Frost!' was my response) and Helen reading from The Ruby Slippers.  She went down extremely well, in fact people were clamouring to pick up a copy before she even took to the stage!  Here she is charming the crowd:

We returned to our respective homes that night, tired and happy - thanks to all the authors for their contributions, and everyone who came to see us at both venues, it was all highly appreciated!  I'm aiming to top all this on the 22nd September with our Valley Press Reading, 6pm at Scarborough Library - more information on that soon.

Mega Week: A VP News Roundup

Quiet periods on the blog usually mean the inverse is true for Valley Press, and this week has been no exception!  In fact I hardly know where to start.  I feel bullet points might help.

• This week, the 2000th Valley Press book was sold, which has me most pleased!  Of course, the big publishing houses are disappointed if they sell less than 2000 copies of one book, but we all have to start somewhere.  In fact more than 100 books have been sold this week, through all sorts of avenues... thanks to anyone reading this who bought one, it's much appreciated.  The great thing about the grand sales total is that it can only go in one direction!  (So, yeah... no refunds.)

• This week has seen the release of our latest publication, Steve Rudd's Pulse, which you can read all about here.  The book is being launched in Driffield, East Yorkshire, this Friday (5th), so if you happen to be in town do come along and see it.  Running to 312 pages, Pulse is the longest and most elaborate book published by VP so far, and it's also the first one which I've attempted to sell directly to the public through the VP website - I'm delighted with how that's gone so far. There's a few blog posts upcoming on the subject of Pulse, so stay tuned...

• There have been a couple of VP events this week.  With some help from Felix Hodcroft and Catherine Boddy, I read the entirety of The Dead Snail Diaries in Scarborough Library, and I was delighted by how it went.  Perhaps the most ingenious idea - inspired by my inability to find a cheap projector for hire - was me re-creating the book's illustrations on a flip-chart, in the midst of the performance, in a style that some have compared to Rolf Harris (though this is probably an insult to poor Rolf.)  I had a great night anyway, thanks to everyone who turned up!  VP was also present at the 'Coastival Picnic', organised by one of Scarborough's foremost arts organisations - I was pleased to note the picnic took place behind 'Woodend', so actually in the valley which Valley Press is named after.  A photo of Valley in the valley can be seen above; as well as books I offered a poetry competition, where you had to re-write a classic poem to be on the subject of picnics.  A lot of fun (particularly when an assistant arrived with two bottles of wine). Roll on next year's picnic!

• I can announce two events are upcoming in the near future.  Both on the 13th August, in fact!  There will be a VP book signing in the Scarborough branch of Waterstone's, featuring myself, Helen Burke, Jo Reed, and Steve Rudd - something (or perhaps someone) for everyone.  It will be between the hours of 1pm and 4pm, you can see a nice poster I made for it to your right.  Later that night, me and Steve will be appearing at Bridlington's Spotlight Theatre as part of a 'revue' of the local arts organisations.  Apparently this event has been sold out, so it's a case of either you already know about it and are going, or you don't so you can't!  I guess we'll see you there, if the first case is true.

• Our call for short-story submissions is now closed. Thanks to everyone who sent in stuff - I'm sure Dan Formby (editor) is surrounded by them as we speak, sweating over what can and can't go in.  Look out for more news on that soon, especially if you submitted something.

• Finally, you may have noticed a new book on the homepage... the next Valley Press publication will be The Border by Miles Cain, another first full-length collection by an exciting Yorkshire-based poet, by far my favourite sort of book!  Check out the cover, featuring a stunning photograph by John Illingworth, to your right.  Also coming up this Autumn (and in the exact same genre) are Love Letters & Children's Drawings by Hull poet Norah Hanson (who is in the process of planning three launch events!) and Phobia by Leeds-based poet (until recently) Jo Brandon, who I believe is still recovering from a move to London, where she's destined to hit the big time in short order.  Look out for lots more on those three in the months to come, and also news of a Leeds Writer's Circle anthology which I am due to start working on tomorrow.  Assuming this next week is a bit quieter!

Lonely Destiny: Launch Photos

I've just returned from the launch event for Lonely Destiny, and you'll be pleased to hear it was a big success - for starters, we raised £115 for Comic Relief, thanks to the auction of Nigel's paintings and a surprise last-minute decision by the authors to donate a pound from every book sold on the night.  A big thank you to everyone who came; if you missed out, you can still help the VP Red Nose cause by going here and donating a few spare pence.  You can catch up on what you missed by viewing some of the charming photos below...




Deirdre taking names for the 'open mic', filled with pre-launch excitement.



Nigel and Deirdre get into the 'Red Nose Day' spirit - fortunately they'd only been able to find two noses.

Nigel brought along evidence of the photo-session that came before he produced the paintings; I photographed the photos, for posterity.

Nigel with a Mrs. Palmeira, the proud owner of a Lonely Destiny original, post-auction.

A reluctant photo of myself, flanked by Deirdre and Nigel brandishing books.



...and finally, a shot of my local railway station as I caught the train to Bridlington.  I thought it looked sort of mysterious and cool - any takers?



Lonely Nose-tiny: Comic Relief News

As the date for the launch of Lonely Destiny gets ever nearer, it has occurred to those involved that the launch falls on the same day as the British institution that is Red Nose Day.  So with this in mind, I can announce that during the launch we will be auctioning five of the original Nigel Folds paintings from the book, and giving the proceeds to Comic Relief.

If you're not familiar with Comic Relief, consult their homepage here, or better still, have a look at the page I've set up specifically to do with VP's charitable efforts.  If you're going to donate anyway, why not do it through the VP page and give us all an extra inner, charitable glow?  And if you're not going to donate anyway - now you've a good reason to!

So if you're free this Friday, let me just confirm the details for the launch: 7.30pm, 18th March, at 'the Old Parcels Office' on Bridlington Railway Station.  There will be an open-mic section (so bring your own poetry!) and plenty of other fun stuff.  Hope to see you there!

Lonely Destiny: First Look

The time has come for a post introducing the world to the eleventh Valley Press publication, due out on the 14th March.  Lonely Destiny is a book where unique, lovingly-reproduced paintings stand alongside handwritten poetry; part of a fascinating genre which seems to be enjoying a resurgence in England - the art/poetry book (I've seen at least four in as many days.)

The poetry has been written by Deirdre McGarry, a friend of mine but (as I keep telling puzzled onlookers) no relation, as far as we can identify.  There are a lot of McGarrys in this world - and on the Yorkshire coast, they just happen to be poetry kingpins.  Deirdre is a founding member of local cultural group 'Fish Pie & P.E.A.S.' (which allegedly stands for 'Poets, Entertainers, Artists and Songsters'), and has been published in many anthologies, local and otherwise.  She is perhaps best known for her 'Writers Open House' events, where writers of any background, genre or stature are invited to visit her Flamborough home for as long as they wish over a two-week period, in order to enjoy uninterrupted writing time, regular workshops, useful networking with other writers and publishers, and putting a hand-print on a large piece of paper (but wash it off quick, that paint ain't soluble!)

Nigel 'working' on a painting from Lonely Destiny

Nigel Folds is a neighbour of Deirdre's - it appears Flamborough is something of a retreat for creative and interesting folk (like this blog, in a way), but he is also a very talented painter who is regularly exhibited in the region.  I first saw his work on the 6th June 2010, when I headed to Gallery 49 in Bridlington's 'Old Town' for the grand opening of the 'Lonely Destiny' exhibition, which at that point included the full-size original paintings, the poems written on A3, and a CD of specially composed music - it was a truly impressive experience, and remains one of few occasions where I have drunk wine in the morning.

Nigel's latest exhibition (also featuring artist Mark Lozynskyj, who modelled for the Lonely Destiny paintings) opens at the Bridlington Spa on the 14th (hence the book release date), and will be open to the public throughout the week.  On Friday 18th we are having a launch event for the book, please consult the flyer below:

If you're in the area we'd love to see you; you can find a map to the station here.  Please also check out the book's page on the Valley Press site, and note you can pre-order it from Amazon, if you're feeling flash.  Stay tuned to the blog for more news on VP0011, as well as photos from the launch and of happy people reading the book - see you again shortly.

- J.M.