Bookbuyer's
Bookend
You learn something new every day. In order to publicise their main July novel, Forrest Webb's The Snowboys, Tandem Books produced an arresting double-crown poster in two colours; it featured a photograph of one snow-laden face in black and white, with some immodest wording in red. From the photo it is clear that a bullet has just pierced the gentleman's snow goggles and, as might perhaps be expected in the circumstances, there is a small trickle of red blood travelling down the face.
Tandem, who had booked space on London Underground and buses to display 500 of the posters, have just been toldby London Transport that they will not display posters showing blood. This concern for traveller's sensibilities — unmatched, one might add, by any such apparent concern for their comfort — is quite commendable. However Bookbuyer finds it hard to believe that with so much Flesh being displayed on the walls of London's underground, there has never been any Blood to go with it. Out-of-London travellers would appear to be less squeamish: British Rail have accepted 500 of Tandem's posters without demur.
As an hors d'oeyre to Bookend's annual August attempt to write the Christmas bestseller lists, Bookbuyer this week offers the following candidatesfor Excrutiating Title of the Year. From Messrs William Kimber comes a 'funny' by Captain Jack Broome, victor in the famous Convoy PQ17 libel case: it is called Services Wrendered. Robson Books are to publish a collection of pieces by actor Robert Morley: title, A Musing Morley. Hamish Hamilton have a children's book by Michael Foreman called War and Peas. But surely the favourites must be Michael Joseph and Ernestine Carter, high priestess of the fashion pages. Her autobiography will be called With Tongue in Chic.
Meanwhile nookmen may be comforted to know tha,t the winter publishing programmes lack none of their customary colour. Macmillan' and Collins provide the year's classic clash when they both publish major, studies of Dr Johnson. John Wain's Samuel Johnson (Macmillan) will appear in October, whilst Sir Arthur Bryant's Dr Johnson: A Study in Courage will follow in March. Collins are also involved in the Case of the Moving Author — this year, Morris West who has transferred from Heinemann, despite the fact that they managed to make his previous novel The Salamander one of the bestsellers of 1973. Collins will be publishing West's Harlequin later this year and Bookbuyer hopes they get their money back. (You win them, you lose them. Two years ago Heinemann took on Catherine Cookson from Macdonald, and have done very nicely too.) And there are two splendid examples of 'getting in on the act.' Mindful no doubt of the impact likely to be made by Michael Holroyd's biography of Augustus John, clever old Cape are to reissue John's Autobiography (with introduction by Michael Holroyd) whilst Seeker are publishing The Art of Augustus John by Malcolm Easton and.., yes, Michael Holroyd,
I am relaibly informed that wunderkind George. Weidenfeld has decided to put more of his money where his mouth-piece is. He has just bought back 39 per cent of the equity of the Weidenfeld group from Encyclopaedia Britannica, anti he now owns some 90 per cent of the business. This may have something to do with the fact that W & N's profits continue to rise: the profit from 1973 will be in the region of E100,000, and it is expected to go even higher this year. There is no truth in the rumour that Sir George is to be offered a peerage.
Finally, and at the risk of usurping Private Eye's 'Pseuds Corner,' Bookbuyer offers the; following extract from Underground Film which has just appeared in Penguin: "A curious thing about the simple anamorphic phenomenon as produced by photography is that, whether a figure is flattened and fattened (vertical compression) Or flattened and elongated (horizontal compression), we feel the quality of gain rather than loss in each case; that is; the figure has gained either height or bulk: the corresponding loss • is overlooked. It is a plus phenomenon."
Previous page
