You may or may not know that I publish books too. I am the proud owner of Nasty Little Press, which I run with my wife and editor-par-excellence Sally Roe. We’re here in case you’re wondering: www.nastylittlepress.org.
This week we published our second book, What If Men Burst In Wearing Balaclavas? by John Osborne. Last night we had our Norwich launch at the delightful Book Hive. It was a great event and John read very well indeed. Not sure people were that keen on the actual balaclava I wore as I handed out Nasty Little Press badges at the door, but all in all I think everyone had fun.
It’s been great publishing John. His work is so refreshing. It’s honest, funny and I don’t think I’ve ever seen poetry like it. When I was sending out review copies today I opened the book at the first poem and re-read it. It was exciting to think,”yeah, if I picked this up in a book shop I’d want to read more.” So much poetry tries to challenge its reader, and I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but John’s work, and I hope mine too, is direct, it is what it is and delights, amuses and gives pause for thought in turn.
Nasty Little Press is dedicated to publishing poetry like that – direct, entertaining poetry. I’m loving the job so far. Next up is Byron Vincent’s debut collection in May. From what I’ve seen of it so far we’re in for a real treat.
Our books are only a fiver and they look very pretty too. Why not treat yourself and support a fledging press at the same time?