The August doldrums were livened up considerably with the surprise announcement on Tuesday that Penguin is to set up a new publishing venture in Ireland. It was a double-sided surprise because Penguin simultaneously announced that the operation already had an MD: none other than Michael McLoughlin, veteran public relations book representative, who has acted for numerous international publishers in Ireland for years.
To be based in Dublin, McLoughlin, who has worked with Penguin teams here, will now set upon the task of establishing a team of editorial, publicity and marketing people to launch a list of fiction and non-fiction titles for publication in autumn 2003. The fiction, incidentally, will be literary and commercial.
Helen Fraser, managing director of Penguin, wasn't exaggerating when she praised McLoughlin's understanding of the market and the media and his instincts for what people want to read. He has 11 years of Irish book trade experience behind him, having worked with Irish publisher Poolbeg Press. Hodder Headline, Random House, Transworld, Orion and Faber & Faber are among the other overseas publishers his agency currently represents.
The question of who will take over these other accounts is a hot topic in the Irish book world this week. He will be a hard act to replace, yet other British publishing houses will know that having an expert on the ground is essential if their titles are to get widespread exposure here.
Penguin Ireland, meanwhile, will provide challenging competition for Irish publishers, committed as it will be to becoming a leading conduit of Irish interest material to a home - as well as an international - audience. Competition is obviously in the air and Sadbh wasn't at all surprised when the day after Penguin's announcement Hodder Headline announced they had made Breda Purdue managing director of their new division, Hodder Headline Ireland. Another book person with a background in Poolbeg, Purdue has worked for Hodder since the mid-1990s. She will now set about publishing a locally acquired list of Irish fiction and non-fiction titles with bestseller potential and to that end, will be recruiting an Irish editor shortly. Talk about growing the market, Irish writers won't know themselves for the choices they will soon have.
IS there such a thing as a serialisation too far? You'd have to wonder after seeing the acres of newsprint some media are devoting to chunks of Roy Keane's autobiography. Publishers Penguin have alerted us that the serialisation continues tomorrow and next Sunday. Will there be anything left to read by the time the book is delivered to other media on August 26th? More to the point, will the book-buying public feel the need to actually buy the book, ghost-written by Eamon Dunphy, when it's in the shops? The answer, of course, is still probably yes. People may feel they've heard it all, but it will still be on Christmas lists all over Ireland.
Certain reviews from these pages are available at: www.ireland.com/dublin/entertainment/books/