MY BACK PAGES (MY BACK PAGES: An undeniably personal history of publishing 1972-2022)

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I suspect my hair length will go back to pre-COVID-19 days and I’ll have to get used to shaving daily again.

Richard Charkin: Ten Publishing Things That Will Never Be The Richard Charkin: Ten Publishing Things That Will Never Be The

Smoking was de rigueur, women relegated to the typing pool, luncheon vouchers provided, letters carbon copied, and tea ladies omnipresent.

During the Covid lockdowns, the company did “all sorts of menschlich-type things” to help struggling tenants, says Charkin, who acts as a director. The handsome hardbacks he holds up at various points cover a gamut of subjects, including the Second World War, the real-life experiences of a cardiothoracic surgeon, an investigation into the alleged dark side of MCC, and a memoir of a chaotic former Etonian that has been optioned for TV. However, perhaps there’s another question we should ask: What is the point of establishing separate territorial rights for English-language titles? Charkin thinks the Oxford English Dictionary definition includes descriptors such as “upstanding and decent”, but suggests that an element is missing: imperfection.

Richard Charkin: A prince of publishing looks back on the Richard Charkin: A prince of publishing looks back on the

Charkin has an MA in natural sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge; was a supernumerary fellow of Green College, Oxford; attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School; and is a visiting professor at the University of the Arts London.It would be good if others in the book business—particularly the larger firms where the size of data makes results more reliable—did the same. Any skepticism I harbored about whether people would really work as hard and as well in a domestic environment has been shattered.

Richard Charkin: On Becoming an Author - Publishing Perspectives Richard Charkin: On Becoming an Author - Publishing Perspectives

We’ve published 14 titles, the bulk of them having been supported admirably by Bloomsbury’s sales, rights, and production teams and MDL’s distribution. As Australia’s nominee to the IPA, I observed members, particularly the Europeans, wrestling with the issue. We should now progress beyond the typical editorial or marketing meeting to (a) greater empowerment for the key decision-maker with (b) input from as few people as necessary resulting in (c) quicker and more focused decisions. Mensch was his attempt to find a model that would allow the “rest” to reach their market, “in the hope that one or two might actually become bestsellers”.In our 30s, we were each given responsibility and freedom to act way above that justified by our experience. When Richardson was appointed CEO, I suspect the university thought that he would bring good academic economic thinking to business. A fascinating and hugely entertaining personal history of the last half century of British publishing.

My mum thought I’d be sent to jail’: Hackney author’s new ‘My mum thought I’d be sent to jail’: Hackney author’s new

Six months later, after 20 meetings and three drafts, we had a Word document of 65,000 words—a book. I worked in the publishing industry and related fields for the last 30 years, and loved viewing my career in these contexts that he describes so well.Although he was a prince of publishing, he doesn’t dwell on the British obsession with class, although he registers latent anti-semitism among colleagues.