However much Irish publishers may pussyfoot around it, the fact is that being published in Britain is almost uniformly desired by all Irish writers. Why? The answers are simple: higher profile, bigger print runs, wider distribution, and (almost always) more money.
Many writers would say that a necessary link in the journey towards publication in Britain, or anywhere outside this country, is a literary agent. Writing in the Books Ireland Irish Writer's Guide 1998- 99, Jo O'Donoghue, commissioning editor with Marino, says: "I feel that Irish publishers are likely to consider a manuscript submitted by the author just as seriously as one submitted by an agent, but this is certainly not the case in London."
The question of exactly who or what is a literary agent is not easily defined. There is no handy list to refer to in the Golden Pages, for instance, which is an obvious port of call for information. David Marcus, who for many years edited the New Irish Writing page in the Irish Press, is not officially an agent, but he has been acting as "literary advisor" to one of the largest and most prestigious British agencies, Curtis Brown, for three years.
Marcus now edits the annual Phoenix Book of Irish Short Stories as well as judging a number of story competitions, and has recommended a number of writers who have gone on to make publishing deals with London publishers, such as Colum McCann and Katy Hayes. One of Marcus's latest discoveries, Claire Keegan, will have a collection of stories appearing from Faber this year.
From 1986 until last year, Jonathan Williams operated as Ireland's sole literary agent. "It took about seven years to establish myself," he says. There are some 80 writers on his books; among them Maurice Craig, Emily O'Reilly, Ben Kiely, Susan McKay, John Montague, John Waters, and Maureen Gaffney. "Non-fiction has been the staple of my agency," Williams says, "although most of what I get sent in the post is fiction."
What does he think of the two new literary agents in Dublin, the Lisa Richards Agency, and the Books Bureau, both of whom set up in business within the last year? "I wonder. I don't know. I don't have an easy answer," offers Williams cautiously. "This is not an easy profession; it's a bit of a tightrope. It takes time. Yes, I am being sent more manuscripts than ever before - a lava flow - but the standard has not really improved since I started.
"There are more scripts and more people writing, but the numbers of good writers haven't increased with it. And I am more conservative now then when I started off; I won't take chances with scripts, but I have a good strike rate with publishers as a result."
Before branching out into literature, the Lisa Richards Agency had already been in business for eight years as an actor's agency. Among those actors on their books are Pauline McLynn, Donna Dent, Colin Farrell, Mark Doherty, and Ruari Conroy.
Faith O'Grady acts as the literary agent for the new branch of the agency. "It's good to be under the umbrella of an agency which already has a profile, because it takes a long time to build up a reputation," O'Grady says. She was able to keep going for almost a year without making a single deal, which is not unusual for a new agency, with financial help from the other part of the business. Last week, she sold Headline Publishing a two-book contract by Pauline McLynn. "It was a six figure sum," she says, but declines to reveal the exact amount. This being Ireland, circles connect closely and helpfully: Pauline McLynn is married to Richard Cook, whose sister Lisa runs both agencies.
O'Grady has 15 or so writers on her books, all Irish, except for one American. Newspaper advertisements brought them "a huge response. I was inundated with manuscripts." She has four readers, and also spends one day a week reading herself. There is minimal editorial input from the agency into the work they are sent. The agency takes a commission of 10 per cent for Irish rights, and 15 per cent for UK.
What does she feel an Irish-based agency can offer writers here that a British agent can't? "Personal contact. People can get hold of us easily here. They feel more nurtured. Having an agent in Britain means long-distance phone calls, plane journeys, and not seeing someone very often. We're accessible."
However, while an agent based in Dublin may be more geographically accessible to Irish writers - although writers not living in the capital will still have to make a journey of some kind - it can also be argued that Irish agents are not on the ground where it really matters: moving and shaking among the mainstream publishing houses in London.
"Put it this way," says the director of one of London's major agencies, "if I was an Irish writer looking for an Irish agent, I'd want to know that their contacts in London were fabulous. Otherwise, why bother? English agents based in London can offer authors better deals because they're on the ground and they know the market inside out."
It is exceptional nowadays to be published in Britain without having an agent pitching on one's behalf, but are manuscripts submitted by agents treated differently by Irish publishers? "It makes no difference to us whether manuscripts arrive unsolicited or through an agent," says Philip MacDermott, publisher at Poolbeg. Poolbeg have published several best-selling authors in recent years, among them Cathy Kelly, Sheila Flanagan, Patricia Scanlan, and Marian Keyes. "We treat everything that's sent to us in exactly the same way. Most of what we publish comes unsolicited in the post. I am aware of those two new agents and good luck to them, but they have yet to prove themselves," MacDermott says.
Edwin Higel, the managing director of New Island Books, takes a different tack when looking at manuscripts sent by agents. "The material is coming in at a higher level of sophistication," he says. "Agents are professionals working in the field and if they're good, they'll know the right editors to approach for the particular manuscript they have." Up to now, most of New Island's books were referred to them or commissioned.
Geraldine Nichol, who has a background in selling rights for various London publishers, is now co-running the Books Bureau agency here. "There's always room for competition," she says. She has taken five writers on since opening for business last May. She employs two freelance editors to work on manuscripts before sending them out to publishers.
Like the Lisa Richards agency, last week she negotiated her first deal: a two-book contract with Hodder and Stoughton for new Cork novelist, Bill Murphy. "It was a nice little sum," Nichol says. The Books Bureau takes 10 per cent commission for both Irish and UK rights. Neil Belton is the Publishing Director of Granta Books. "It's good to see more representation of all aspects of publishing taking root in Ireland, " he says. "The international market for Irish books is certainly robust, but the part of the equation I've never understood about Irish publishers is why they are so overwhelmingly focused on the local market. It's a narrow focus on books of almost exclusively Irish interest."
The Irish market, as Edwin Higel points out, "is the size of Manchester." Sinead MacAodh, the Arts Council's Literature Officer, confirms that there are no entirely commercial literary publishing houses in Ireland. All houses which publish books of literary merit receive grants of varying amounts from the Arts Council, "but for specific titles," MacAodh stresses. "We don't fund commercial titles, such as Poolbeg's commercial fiction."
Carole Blake is a director of Blake Friedmann Literary, TV, and Film Agency in London, which represents Joe O'Connor and Sheila Flanagan, among many others. She is an ex-President of the Association of Authors' Agents. "I'm not surprised to hear new agents are setting up, because Ireland has so many good writers. Irish agents will be closer to their authors there, but not close to their market - the publishers, services and contacts."
Why does she think Irish writers want to bypass Irish publishing? "Irish publishing is very vibrant and exciting," Blake says, choosing her words with care. "But because they are good at doing something in Ireland doesn't mean that they are good at doing it elsewhere. And if a publisher tries to hold onto someone unfairly, they are only building disappointment into the situation for themselves and their authors." She points out that this is a difficulty for small publishers worldwide, when they try to control worldwide rights, without being in the best position to negotiate those rights.
The bad contract - one from which a writer cannot take advantage of bigger offers elsewhere for the rights of the book published in Ireland, or for future unwritten books which they are contractually bound to offer first to the Irish publisher - still exists. Litigation and arbitration as a result of bad contracts are currently pending in at least two high-profile cases of Irish writers. Neither had agents when they first signed contracts.
"There is a level of paranoia in some Irish companies - as in all small publishing companies," Carole Blake says, "a perception that literary agents are bloodsucking vampires out to steal writers. Yes, I have been told that - in Ireland."
