![\"Amy](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/centreforcreativewriting\/files\/2014\/06\/IMG_20140528_182957496.jpg\")
<\/a>Amy Sackville, Lee Brackstone<\/p><\/div>\n
Of few words before the event, Brackstone had plenty to say when given his ground. He has seen vast changes in the publishing landscape since he cut his teeth in the offices of Faber and Faber in 1996. Having fallen in love with the \u2018handsome black livery\u2019 of Faber\u2019s literary list of the ’80s and ’90s – \u2018those incredible authors like Milan Kundera\u2019 \u2013 he found his first secretarial job there, reading the slush pile, aged 21. Stepping into this circle of privilege \u2013 he studied in Manchester, \u2018not Manchester, Cambridge\u2019 \u2013 Brackstone was one of few \u2018outsiders\u2019, signifying a seachange due since TS Eliot\u2019s editorship. He is now an institution himself: or, as he put it, institutionalised. He worked alongside Ted Hughes on The Birthday Letters<\/i>. He spotted the genius of Jeet Thayil\u2019s stunning debut novel Narcopolis<\/i>. He now is Editor of Faber and Faber\u2019s Fiction and Music lists.<\/p>\n
So what advice did he have for the writers in the room? He admitted that \u2018publishing is intimidating\u2019 and can seem \u2018like a guarded fortress\u2019. Although there are no secrets to unlocking that tower, some ways are better than others. Firstly, Brackstone\u2019s list is pretty full these days, and the chances of being acquired on his fiction list are slight. He may publish only one new author a year, and he never touches \u2018commercial\u2019 fiction. Most books he takes on come through agents; there is no slush pile any more, although exceptions do occur. He looks for \u2018that spark\u2019 in a manuscript that sets it apart, and responds \u2018at the level of the sentence\u2019. Working on sentence-level writing is key: a writer, he said, should be \u2018like a carpenter, learning to plane a table\u2019. Brackstone expects \u2018technical virtuosity\u2019, and writing by authors \u2018that take risks but are in control\u2019. He likes to know \u2018from the first sentence\u2019 what the moral compass of a book will be. The title, first sentence and opening paragraph are, for Brackstone, \u2018the blueprint of a novel\u2019. Authenticity is essential: he can see through those who write to pay the mortgage, rather than those who simply \u2018have to\u2019 write. \u2018I read for style; it\u2019s the style that excites me.\u2019<\/p>\n
Balancing his high expectations of literary fiction with the demands of the Sales Director and financial targets is a major part of Brackstone\u2019s job. Many of his acquisitions go on to be prize winning successes, so he is known to have a good scent for talent. Despite this, he has his \u2018war stories\u2019, those missed opportunities that he never got to sign. His first acquisition for fiction didn\u2019t get the go-ahead, so someone else signed up Dave Eggers\u2019 AHWOSG<\/i>. He hounded colleagues with a 600 page masterpiece by \u2018a dead Chilean writer that nobody else believed in\u2019, and watched as another house enjoyed the acclaim of publishing Roberto Bolano in translation. There are other times when he has failed to spot things himself. \u2018Sometimes the reading doesn\u2019t go right.\u2019 And there is always the matter of taste, which is why Brackstone has fellow fiction editors to pass books to that have potential but just don\u2019t appeal.<\/p>\n
So, supposing a writer has fulfilled these criteria, what route does he recommend for publication? Firstly, finding an agent: the right one. \u2018Find out which agent represents the kind of writing you like. Publishing works on every level on the basis of sycophancy and flattery.\u2019 An element of showboating is essential, while maintaining that vital authenticity. \u2018You need to get their attention. It\u2019s all about showing you are smart enough and you care, and that what you do is true.\u2019<\/p>\n
So you\u2019ve read your work and survived. You\u2019ve got a script. You\u2019ve read Lee Brackstone\u2019s recommended fiction highlights (The Sun Also Rises<\/i>; Tender is the Night<\/i>; Something Happened<\/i>; White Noise<\/i>). What next?<\/p>\n
Bring your notebook along to Keynes SCR on Wednesday 4th<\/sup> June, 6pm, and find out What Agents Really Want. David Miller of RCW Literary Agency will be ready to answer your questions.<\/p>\n See you there.<\/p>\n Sonia<\/p>\n