The Penguin Blog

That was almost a nice book prize you had there

You know what I’ve been enjoying lately? On top of more perennial pleasures like good books, fine wines and high fives, I’ve been enjoying the Tournament of Books, an engaging idea for a literary prize, in which sixteen books are paired off one against the other in literary death match until, finally, one book is victorious. A different judge for each pairing has to decide which book progresses to the next round and which is taken around the back of the shed and given the epilogue it deserves.

It’s a fantastic idea because it takes what’s ridiculous about all literary prizes – the attempt to compare entirely dissimilar novels, the pretence that a prize jury can authoritatively pronounce on something so subjective – and turns it all into a spectacle. And by not taking itself too seriously (the original thinking behind the tournament included a plan to award a live rooster to the winner) it lets the good things about literary prizes – that they draw attention to books and provoke discussion about their merits – run free. Instead of coming across as stuffy or elitist it encourages transparency (the judges discuss their reasoning and disclose any connections to competing authors), disagreement (a vote gauges the popularity of each decision) and gambling.

Or I was enjoying following it. It was fun. Then, just now, while I was writing this blog post, Joshua Ferris’ excellent, funny debut Then We Came to the End (you can read the start here) was put out of the running one round short of the final.

Why Tournament of Books? Why? Was it Ferris’s brilliant characterisation, both deeply compassionate and fiercely scathing, or the passages of inspired comedy that put you off? But then, I guess you’re not interested in comedy when you dismiss a book ‘incredibly funny’ (Newsday), ‘savagely funny’ (Observer) and ‘hilarious’ (The New York Times Book Review). I guess perhaps the finest, most sympathetic depiction of life in the modern office just wasn’t your thing? Being ‘that rare novel that feels absolutely contemporary, and that rare comedy that feels blisteringly urgent’ (Time) not good enough for you?

I’m disappointed, Tournament of Books, very disappointed.

Alan
Copywriter

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All about pacing

If you're planning a trip to Paris in the next few days and find yourself on the gorgeous new concourse at St Pancras station, keep an eye out for some seemingly odd behaviour. You might notice people counting their steps, or making strange and random phone calls near the statue of Sir John Betjeman or otherwise looking baffled.

Please, don't be tempted to call the authorities if you see any of this, for it is likely that these individuals are playing along with our newest project, We Tell Stories. Part game, part exercise in digital storytelling, this launched this with Charles Cumming's thrilling Google Maps adventure. A new story, by Toby Litt, will go live next Tuesday and, I can assure you, this will be something completely different. And if you look at the site and still can't work out why people are wandering round St Pancras, then perhaps you are not looking hard enough...

Jeremy Ettinghausen, Digital Publisher

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A select two

 

The Penguin blog clearly needs to step up its output if we are going to compete with our prolific sibling. Not content with merely churning out the posts, the new Puffin blog is also littering them with images of adorable puppies. Soon it’ll be images of adorable litters of puppies, and then we’ll really be outdone.

Since I wrote my acclaimed introductory post (acclaim: ‘Sorry, guys … I'm getting bored of this blog’, BigReader), I have blurbed – with astonishing dedication and the sort of tireless work ethic one can only assume will shortly be rewarded with a substantial pay raise – a pile of books the size of a moderately large pile of books. And one of the best things about the job has been not just being made to read some classics I should probably have got around to long ago, but discovering incredible books of which, poor wretch that I am, I was completely unaware.

Picking favourites would be in bad taste. They are all special in their own way and I love them all equally. That said, here are my two favourites:

I wrote the cover copy for the paperback of The Táin (out in October, though you can get the hardback now), a new translation by Ciaran Carson of the Old Irish epic Táin Bó Cúailnge. That the original is of profound literary importance and dates from around the 12th century makes it sound like you should approach it with a set jaw and the expectation that, while you might not have much fun, you will come out the other end improved. Instead, it is graphically, enthusiastically violent, a breeze to read and absolutely hilarious.

The plot involves the young Cú Chulainn single-handedly destroying an army sent into Ulster on account of a husband and wife tiff. Robert Rodriguez doesn’t begin to take as much delight in bloodshed as there is in the heroically exaggerated havoc he wreaks, and the sense of humour is bizarre and brilliant. After Cú Chulainn throws a spear that drives directly down through the head and body of the man he is fighting, the man responds, ‘Good grief,’ and asks if he can go and tell his sons something before he has his head chopped off ('Fair enough,' says Cú Chulainn. ‘But do come back.'). At another point, Cú Chulainn puts on a fake beard so that a warrior won’t be put off fighting him by his youth. It’s bloody and brilliant.

The other is Yukio Mishima’s Forbidden Colours, the story of an old misogynistic writer who uses a beautiful homosexual boy to torment the opposite sex. There’s a new Modern Classics edition out in October, although there are second-hand copies of the old edition kicking around on Amazon. So cold-eyed you could call it callous, it is astonishing.

While I'm picking favourites, others include Raiders of the Lost Ark (sorry, Last Crusade and Temple of Doom), Dashiell Hammett (sorry Raymond Chandler) and, of course, my brother Iain (sorry David).

Alan
Copywriter

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His first words were free

Last year I gave - hang on, let me count them up - yes, I gave fourteen books as gifts. All of these were books I'd read. Books I'd really enjoyed. Books I thought my friends and family might love or enjoy as much as I did.

How many books did I receive in return? None. Not a one. I've counted. Twice. It didn't take long.

But let's hold back those cries of 'tight-fisted, illiterate buggers!' There is a good reason for this unfortunate state of affairs. You see, the trouble with working in publishing is that everyone who doesn't is too scared to buy you a book on the somewhat unlikely grounds, considering how many books come out each year, that either you have read it, or, if you haven't, you already know all about it and have decided you'd rather stick pins in your eyes.

Even if you're not in publishing, people are often wary of buying you something on the much more sensible basis that they can never be sure that you'll like it.

This is a shame since receiving a book from a friend by an author you've never read is usually the best way to discover something wonderful, new and unexpected. Especially if you are anything like me and have become increasingly risk-averse in your reading habits. These days I will on no account buy a book unless I've read some of the writing within. No really. I don't give a damn what the blurb writers - a pack of miserable, tricksy curs (I know, I live inside the head of one) - have written. Or what the FT thinks about it. Even what Martin Amis has penned on the matter. Sure, all those words - if they're good - together with a decent cover have a great chance of getting the book off the 3-for-2 table and into my hands. But I want to get a taste of what's within if I'm going to commit.

This is why you'll find me at lunchtimes in bookshops, cracking open the covers and reading the first few pages of any old rubbish. If I'm going to devote some time to a book then I want to hear the author's voice, I want an idea of what sort of story it is right from the start. Surprise me, thrill me, have me begging for more.

Which brings me to Penguin Tasters. From today (or actually from six months ago if you were sniffing around some of our new novels on the Penguin website) you can download the opening chapter (or chapters) of all Penguin's new fiction for free. Yes, that's right. FREE. For nothing. In pdf form - which you can print, email, view on your PC screen or a Blackberry, Palm or iPhone - these Tasters offer you the very beginnings of Penguin's latest novels. You can get your mitts on some great stories without having to give a jumped-up calculator the keys to your bank account. It's an entirely risk-free way to discover new authors, to read new stories (and to pass them on to your literate friends).

New Tasters will be added as each title is published. Currently, we have 53 up there for you already. So if you've been tempted by Marina Lewycka's novels, but haven't yet been persuaded to take the plunge - and BTW why not? I worked hard on that blurb - then just click here and you can download and read the opening 25 pages. What are you waiting for?

If you like it, you've discovered a wonderful new author for yourself. If not, then there are 52 other titles for you to try. And more coming every month.

Let book-drool commence.

Colin Brush
Senior Copywriter

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Stories and Games

I'm sitting in Austin Airport trying to digest what has been a really interesting SXSW Interactive festival. Last year the big buzzy items were twitter and Second Life, but this year, while every single attendee seemed to be twittering furiously, I heard nary a mention of Second Life. How fickle the tech world is! There seemed to be a few more publishing types in attendance this year, but still a very tiny number relative to the amount of chatter in the book world on the impact that technology is starting to have on our business. The big talking point in Austin this year wasn't actually a technology announcement, but the controversial interview of Facebook CEO (and the world's youngest billionaire) Mark Zuckerberg.

By far the most thought provoking session I attended was Jane McGonigal's session on Reality, Games and Happiness; 'Reality is broken. Why aren't game designers trying to fix it?' is her basic question. She began by talking about research into 'happiness' which showed that there are four basic needs that promote a happy life; fulfilling work, the experience of being good at something, time spent with people we like and the chance to be part of something bigger. Multiplayer games, she proposed, deliver all these things whereas, unfortunately, real life often cannot. Game designers, she argued, were in a good position to deliver increased happiness in real life, because they already have the experience of creating 'happiness engines' in the games they develop. (There was lots more meaty stuff in this talk - check here for a full transcript).

This chimed with the session of Henry Jenkins, who when asked about the growing issue of internet addiction, argued that a) addiction was not a helpful word to use and b) that people spend so much time online and in alternate realities because they don't have sufficient opportunity to express themselves creatively in their day to day lives and work. An increased amount of attention is being given to the roles of games and play in encouraging creativity and developing skills and as our tools for online exploration and collaboration continue to develop, it is certain that we will see some exciting, challenging and, well, game-changing blendings of the real world and alternate realities in the months and years to come.

Jeremy Ettinghausen, Digital Publisher

PS Penguin's own foray into games that are stories and stories  that are games (produced with game designers extraordinaire Six to Start) starts next week. Sign up here to be alerted when the game begins...

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With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility

This morning parents all over the land were slapping their heads with annoyance at having forgotten about World Book Day until being reminded that a costume would be needed five minutes before setting off to take their children to school. Or maybe that was just me.

Lack of preparation necessitated a fudge - a Nemo mask instead of a proper costume - but once inside the school gates there was little need to be embarrased. Sure, some parents (who are these people?) had really gone to town - I saw a passable Oliver Twist, what could have been a Jim Hawkins from Treasure Island and what looked like a refugee from Les Miserables. But these literary pretenders were seriously outnumbered by the Spidermen, Sportacuses and Disney Princesses, which I did feel was a little bit of a sad indictment of what our 4-6 year olds consider as characters from books.

Still, World Book Day cannot be a bad thing - children will spend the day listening to, reading and talking about books which is a cause for celebration. And, speaking personally, to make up for forgetting a costume and thinking that Nemo is a literary character, tonights' bedtime story will be a scene from Crime and Punishment.

Jeremy Ettinghausen, Digital Publisher

PS Over the next few days I'll be at the annual SXSW interactive festival. If you happen to find yourself in Austin, Texas on Sunday, come watch me try to sound intelligent talking about Stories, Games and Your Brand.

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Remember that by posting a comment you are agreeing to the website Terms of Use. If you consider any content on this site to be inappropriate, please report it to Penguin Books by emailing reportabuse@penguin.co.uk

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