Tinder Press Publisher Mary-Anne Harrington explains why Headline’s Tinder Press is opening its doors to open submissions for two weeks this March:
One of the lovely things about launching a new imprint is that it forces you to focus on debut fiction. At Tinder Press we have a stable of very established authors, including Andrea Levy, Maggie O’Farrell, Sarah Winman, and Eowyn Ivey, and it is the most enormous thrill to welcome Patrick Gale on board this March with A Place Called Winter. But a new list will stand or fall on its ability to discover and launch new authors, which is one of the most memorable experiences this industry has to offer.
During the fifteen years or so that I have been working as an editor, it has been harder and harder for me to make the time to read submissions that haven’t been sent through an agent. Make no mistake, I think agents are an essential support to authors, and I would always advise any author offered a book deal to seek representation. But it does strike me that because agents and editors work so closely that a perfectly natural drift to a certain kind of voice and subject matter might be taking place, which could leave other fresh and distinctive voices struggling to be heard.
I’m hugely looking forward to setting aside a couple of weeks to reading the work of writers at the outset of their careers, and am really hoping to feel that spark of excitement. I love the fact that we have no idea what to expect, but we’re taking this seriously, and hoping we can find an author to work with in the future. At the very least we’re hoping to find a few authors we can offer some advice and mentoring to in their journey to publication.
We are particularly pleased to be working alongside the Reading Agency during this ‘open door’ period. We want to spread the word as widely as possible, and by promoting this in libraries we hope they will help bring it to the attention of the broadest possible range of writers.
More information about the open submission can be found at the Tinder Press website
