In this post Anna writes about her recent trip to Ghent in Belgium with Rosie for this year’s Sociolinguistics Symposium, our first in-person conference since February 2020.
This was my first in-person conference trip in nearly 3 years, and Rosie’s first (of many!) conferences for MM. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces and meet people for whom this was also their first conference. In fact, it was so exciting that we forgot to take many photos!
There was lots of interest in brand new titles Multilingual Perspectives on Translanguaging edited by Jeff MacSwan and Struggles for Multilingualism and Linguistic Citizenship edited by Quentin Williams, Ana Deumert and Tommaso M. Milani, but delegates were very enthusiastic about all of our list; after over two years of sitting at home sending emails, it was really great to be reminded of why we do what we do.
We both fell in love with Ghent and definitely would have stayed for longer had we realised Ghent Festival was starting just as we left, but we did manage to squeeze in a bit of live music on the last evening of the conference. Other highlights included the local beer and a delicious vegan tasting menu. Oh and Bookz & Booze, which is definitely a possible future direction for MM.
Rosie’s heading to EuroSLA in Fribourg soon, and we’re looking forward to catching up with authors and book-buyers in cities around the world in 2023!
This year marks 35 years since we published our first book. Naturally, this has got us all feeling a bit reflective, and in this post we wanted to share how each of us ended up working at CVP/MM, from Tommi’s story that arguably began at the age of 6(!), to Alice who joined us at the beginning of this year.
Tommi
Celebrating Tommi becoming Managing Director
We’ve told the reasons behind the founding of Multilingual Matters several times before, so I won’t go into those details. I have always done some work for the company, whether it was helping to stick labels onto envelopes aged 6, or processing subscription renewals and sales after school aged 15 to earn a bit of pocket money, so the family business was very familiar to me and I was always interested in how the business of publishing books actually worked. On finishing my literature degree at Essex University, I knew I wanted to work in the book trade. I also knew that I didn’t want to work for the family business as that might feel too much like pressure. My parents were also adamant that they did not want to employ their children, for much the same reasons, they did not want us to feel like we were being pressured into the business. As I was living in Colchester at the time, I would often meet Dad at the Independent Publishers Guild monthly seminars in London. It was a nice chance for us to catch up, and for me to learn a bit more about independent publishing. After one of these monthly meetings Dad and I went for a drink in the pub close to the meeting rooms. It was clear that they were looking to recruit someone, and I was still looking for work myself. We avoided the subject for the first few drinks, and after the third drink one of us floated the idea of me coming to work for the family business…we were both a little sceptical as to whether we could actually work together without constant argument or worse, but agreed to give it a go for 6 months and then have a family meeting to decide whether or not it was a good idea…we never got around to having that meeting!
Sarah
Sarah (second from right) in an early staff photo taken in Clevedon
Why it’s Useful to Know More than One Sarah Williams
I am actually a Multilingual Matters’ reject! On a snowy spring day in 2001 I arrived for what turned out to be my first interview with Marjukka, Ken and Mike. I felt I had made a good impression but was concerned that my lack of a coat (it was April and I had a suit jacket?? 😃) and bus timetable may have counted against me! I was disappointed to learn that I’d narrowly missed out on the job. This left me to carry on at my government office job. I also moved house and changed telephone number shortly afterwards.
In the summer of 2002 MM/CVP had another opening but no way of getting in contact with me. Around this time I bumped into the other Sarah Williams from the government office in the supermarket (she lived on the same road, had the same middle name and her sister was also called Catherine). She told me that some place ‘possibly beginning with M’ were trying to get hold of me about a job. I called the MM office, spoke to Marjukka and the rest is history! 😃
Anna
Anna (far right) on her first day in the office
I have always loved books, so a career in publishing should have been an obvious choice. However, in idiotic early-20s fashion I thought it was a bit of a cliché for someone with an English degree and so I loftily avoided all the publishers at the university careers fair (I have no idea what else I imagined I might do!) I met my partner at University and as he was staying on do a PhD, my main concern was to find a job that allowed me to stay in Bristol. Being utterly unqualified for and uninterested in the main Bristol industries of finance and engineering, I applied for every job in the local paper that I thought might have me, including training as a librarian at UWE and setting the crosswords for the Bristol Evening Post. One of those jobs, and in fact the only one to even ask me for interview, was journal editorial assistant at Multilingual Matters. I made my way out to Clevedon on the bus, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Laura
Laura’s first office photo shoot
Coming from a very rural area, options for graduate level work experience were severely limited, and I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do when I left university. One day, I was sitting in the university library completing the references section on an essay, when the place Clevedon caught my eye. I had a feeling that Clevedon might be near Bristol, just about a commutable distance from my home. I looked up the company Multilingual Matters and promptly wrote to Tommi, asking if there were any work experience possibilities. I was immediately (and politely!) turned down flat – the company was too small and they didn’t need any extra help. A couple of months later, out of the blue came another email saying that they’d reconsidered and might be willing to have an intern. Naturally, I jumped at the chance and spent 2 months over the summer doing the work experience, as well as commuting 4 hours each day to get there and working evenings and weekends in a pub! I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the office, learnt a great deal and headed back to university with an interest in publishing and new skills, but also the knowledge that my placement wouldn’t lead to employment as the company was too small. The following February, as I was back in the library, another email from Tommi popped up. This one had the title “An Enquiry” which I thought sounded quite ominous and deduced that they were trying to sort out some mistake I’d made back in the summer! Luckily for me it contained a job offer, which I didn’t need to think long about accepting. I went down to the lobby to call my mum and stood next to the machine where users return books. On top of the stack of returned books was one of ours, Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, which I’ve always thought as a very strange but good sign!
Flo
Flo’s first London Book Fair
I had just graduated with a degree in French and Russian and not quite knowing what to do with myself, I decided to move to France. I found a job teaching English to adults, got a CELTA qualification and lived there for two years. But I missed Bristol and eventually started to think about coming home and what I could do once I got there. Although I had enjoyed it, teaching wasn’t quite the right fit for me, so I began to think of other options – casting around for ideas, publishing was something I kept coming back to. Once back in Bristol, I did some work experience with a literary agent, but I was doubtful that there would be many opportunities in publishing for me in my hometown, having heard that ‘all publishing was in London’. Then one day my mum, an avid Googler, came across Channel View’s website. I sent Tommi a speculative email, not knowing that there did actually happen to be a (rare!) vacancy for an internship at exactly that time. To my surprise and delight, I was invited to come in for an interview and a couple of days later I was in the supermarket when I got an email offering me the internship. That was over three years ago now – time has flown!
Alice
Alice’s first week in the office
I graduated from the University of Bristol just over two years ago, with a degree in History. Following my graduation I decided that I couldn’t leave lovely Bristol so stuck around and considered what I’d like to do job-wise. I had publishing in mind but couldn’t find anything that suited, so for the first year I tried a few different odd jobs – working in a pet shop, as well as for The Green Register (a not-for-profit organisation who promote sustainable building) and volunteering for a number of charities, before finally moving to London to give marketing a try. After a 3 month internship I headed off to India and then came back to Bristol with a fresh head. This time I was lucky – in my search for academic publishing roles I came across Multilingual Matters… I applied and got the position! I was particularly drawn to the small size of the company and the topics of publication, as I’d just begun a TEFL course. First impressions told me I’d come to the right place, with lots of quirky questions, tea, biscuits and entertaining playlists.
The nights are drawing in and autumn has officially arrived, but before we say goodbye to summer altogether, here’s a look back at what the CVP/MM team each got up to on their summer holidays…
Tommi
I spent a month in Finland and spent most of that time offline, especially wonderful in places like this where I could be on my own and not even see other hikers, and enjoy the quiet and the mysterious sounds of nature…
Laura
This photo was taken late in the evening in Spain, when it was still over 30 degrees. By day we found it too hot to do anything but swim and read – a perfect way to spend a week and I came back feeling completely relaxed!
Sarah
I return to my hometown of Dawlish every year for carnival week and during a walk this year I found the perfect road name nearby! Sadly I think houses on this road might be out of my price range!
Alice
This summer I’ve been making the most of the ‘glorious’ British weather by heading out on a number of camping trips. My favourite one involved borrowing a campervan and driving down to Megavissey in Cornwall, where I swam in the sea and ate lots of pasties!
Anna
Here’s a photo of me bodyboarding with my elder daughter Alys in the (very cold) sea in Pembrokeshire.
Flo
I went to Lisbon for my holiday this year, where I spent most of my time exploring the narrow streets of the historic quarter and eating Portuguese custard tarts. Here’s a picture of me taken just before sunset at the Castelo de São Jorge, which sits on top of a hill and offers one of the best views of the city.
This month Anna and Sarah are celebrating their 15 year anniversary working at Channel View/Multilingual Matters. In this post we ask Anna a few questions about the last 15 years…
What made you apply for your first job at MM?
I’d love to say that it was a burning desire to work in publishing and a long-held interest in multilingualism. However, the truth is that I finished my degree and knew I wanted to stay in Bristol, so I applied for every job in the local paper that I thought might be interested in an English and Philosophy graduate, including setting crosswords and training as an academic librarian. Multilingual Matters invited me for an interview, and the rest is history!
Anna on her first day
Do you remember your first day?
My first day was spent ‘celebrating’ the departure of my predecessor Berni, who had worked for Multilingual Matters for 17 years (such a long time!) I made a banner out of old printer paper, and then we went for a very nice lunch with plenty of wine. So not an especially taxing day, but quite a good introduction to the culture at MM.
How has your job changed over the years?
I started as an editorial assistant for the Multilingual Matters journals. The office was very paper-based at the time – we printed out everything – and emails came in once an hour. I can still remember the excitement of the day the internet was on all day for the first time! We used t-cards to keep track of what was where at every stage in the process, which involved scissors and Pritt Stick, and I did some typesetting using an MS-DOS program that was probably older than I was.
Gradually I managed to badger my way into being allowed to work on the books, and when we sold the journals and Marjukka retired in 2008 I took over as Editorial Director. Now I commission books for 12 book series, as well as overseeing the strategy for our whole publication programme, and keeping an eye out for new and exciting things for us to publish. I also attempt to make Tommi do his editorial admin occasionally!
While the nature of my job has changed quite a bit since I first started, I’m still working with a lot of the same authors and editors: Colin Baker, Viv Edwards and John Edwards have all been constants throughout my 15 years, and authors whose journal papers I worked on 15 years ago are now writing books and editing book series for us.
What has been your biggest achievement/success?
That’s a really hard question! The recent publication of the 6th edition of Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism represented the culmination of five years’ work and it’s a book I’m very proud of, although the authors are both such a dream to work with that my input was minimal. It’s always nice when books you’ve worked on win awards, or we publish something really ground-breaking and innovative. But actually what gives me the most satisfaction is the smaller, on-going successes: when I talk down an author who is on the point of giving up because of a critical peer-review and help them see a way through it; or when we’re overwhelmed at a conference by people wanting to tell us how great our books are and how important it is that we as a company continue to exist. I also love doing workshops/talks for PhD students and it always seems like a real success to get lots of follow up emails and book proposals as a result.
Anna and Sarah celebrating 15 glorious years at CVP/MM
What’s your favourite part of the job?
My favourite part of my job is my lovely colleagues, some of whom I have now known for a VERY LONG TIME. It’s an absolute joy to work in such a friendly, supportive office where all kinds of eccentricity are positively encouraged, and where the tangents go on for longer than the meetings. As with all groups of people who spend a lot of time together in a confined space, there are days when I could cheerfully murder the lot of them, but those days are few and far between. If they fired me I would probably keep on turning up for work anyway!
What’s your favourite memory (together?) of the last 15 years?
One evening in Frankfurt that may have involved a bottle or two of wine springs to mind, or a karaoke session in Leeds that got hijacked by an entire conference. To be fair there is never a dull moment sat next to Sarah! She once crushed a wine glass with her bare hands, her driving rage is terrifying, and she can run 100m faster than Usain Bolt if there’s a pigeon anywhere near her…
Here’s to the next 15 years! Check out Sarah’s interview here.
This month Sarah and Anna are celebrating their 15 year anniversary working at Channel View/Multilingual Matters. In this post we ask Sarah a few questions about the last 15 years…
Sarah at Frankfurt Book Fair
What made you apply for your first job at MM?
I had done an English degree so publishing was one of the more obvious routes to take. I remember seeing the ad in the paper that specified a ‘seaside office’ which appealed to me as I’m from a seaside town. The ad also promised the possibility of travel which seemed very exciting!
Do you remember your first day?
Hmm, not the details but first impressions – everyone was very friendly and welcoming, it was a very quiet office and it was very nice to have a walk along the seafront at lunchtime! I also remember being excited but slightly awed by the amount there was to learn and how global the company was.
How has your job changed over the years?
I was a journal editor for my first few years and it was a good way of getting to know a lot of people in the field. I started helping with some proof-checking on the books and eventually took over supervising the cover design process and ebooks. I was also doing admin for some of the book series. When we sold the journals in 2008 I became production manager and commissioning editor for Tourism and Cultural Change. I’m now also commissioning editor for The Future of Tourism, currently looking after all the tourism series while Elinor is on maternity leave and get to one or two conferences every year.
What has been your biggest achievement/success?
When I worked on the journals the biggest achievement was getting all issues published in the year they were meant to come out! With book production (and this involves the whole company not just me!) steadily increasing our output from 39 books in 2008 to 60 books in 2016 felt like a big achievement. On the editorial front, I think any time you’ve actively commissioned a title and it goes into production is a great feeling!
What’s your favourite part of the job?
Production and editorial is a nice balance of detailed work with a more creative side. This is pretty much a dream job working with and for amazing people, so hard to pick one thing. Obviously getting to travel to conferences and hanging out with all our authors across the world is very cool!
What’s your favourite memory (together?) of the last 15 years?
Ha, Anna and I don’t get to travel together much (I have no idea why??!) but we have had one or two memorable trips – including one particular evening in a bar in Frankfurt and a karaoke-session in Leeds with a few of our authors/editors! We’re very good at celebrating at MM/CVP so any occasion is pretty memorable!
Congratulations Sarah! Watch this space for an interview with Anna about her experience of the last 15 years.
Earlier this month, Anna and Laura left Bristol in the midst of a heatwave for rainy Ireland and the biennial International Symposium on Bilingualism, which was hosted this year by the University of Limerick. In this post Laura tells us what they got up to.
A very busy coffee break
The theme of the International Symposium on Bilingualism conference this year was ‘Bilingualism, Multilingualism and the New Speaker’ and delegates enjoyed a packed schedule of presentations, either linked directly to the theme or to any other aspect of bilingualism and multilingualism research. Clearly the topic of the conference lies right at the heart of Multilingual Matters and we were pleased that there was plenty of interest in our books. So much so that we often had a queue of keen customers at the stand during the breaks and were very glad to have each other to share the workload.
Accompanying Jean-Marc Dewaele as other plenary speakers were Ana Deumert, Alexandre Duchêne, Elizabeth Lanza, Tina Hickey and Lisa Lim. The keynotes were all very well-attended and we were glad to be able to slip away from a quiet stand in order to hear them.
Laura and Anna putting their free conference umbrellas to good use
Aside from the packed academic schedule, delegates were treated to a drinks reception, Irish BBQ with traditional Irish music and dancing and a Gala Dinner, featuring a live band and welcoming dance floor. Needless to say, we returned home utterly exhausted from an excellent and enjoyable conference and already looking forward to the next one in Canada in 2019!
With the recent publication of the 6th edition of Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, we hit a real milestone and published our 1000th book since the company began. In this post, Tommi reflects on the last 35 years leading up to this point and discusses how the company and wider world of publishing has changed over time.
Tommi and David Singleton at the MM drinks reception at AAAL
At the recent AAAL conference in Portland, OR, we celebrated the publication of our 1000th book, the 6th edition of Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, co-authored by Colin Baker and Wayne E. Wright. Since I remember the publication of our very first book in 1982, Bilingualism: Basic Principles by Hugo Baetens-Beardsmore, this led me to reflect a little on what has changed at Channel View Publications/Multilingual Matters (CVP/MM), in the world of academic publishing, and attitudes to bilingualism since then.
Marjukka and Mike at Frankfurt Book Fair
Many of you will know that CVP/MM is a family business, founded originally by my parents in response to being told by our family doctor not to speak Finnish to my brother and me, stating that “they didn’t know what damage they were doing”. Fortunately, being a formidable combination of a stubborn Finnish mother and an entrepreneurial Essex-man father, they not only refused to take such unwelcome advice, they took it as an opportunity to find and publish world-class research focusing on the many positive benefits of bilingualism. Although we now publish in a very wide range of topics – including applied linguistics and sociolinguistics, educational research, language disorders and translation studies under our Multilingual Matters imprint and, under our other imprint Channel View Publications, tourism studies – language rights and positive attitudes to bi- and multilingualism remain at the heart of what we do. We believe that no mother or father should ever be told not to speak the language of their heart to their children without extremely well-informed reasons for doing so.
Although in many cases attitudes towards bilingualism may have switched towards the more positive and even aspirational, this is often only the case if the languages you speak are privileged western languages, and in many cases only if you are of the majority population. It is fine and admirable to learn Spanish or Arabic if you are white, but society might be less positive about you retaining your Spanish or Arabic if you are an immigrant. There is still much work to do in changing attitudes towards languages where these languages are associated with immigration or are minority indigenous languages.
Some of my first memories include sitting under our dining room table, “helping” my parents stick the mailing labels onto envelopes that would carry our first catalogues out into the world. Among the many addresses we sent catalogues to, 252 Bloor Street West stuck in my mind. As a 6 year old child I struggled to understand how so many people lived in this one house! In the years since then I have come to know the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) well, and have got to know the very many authors and friends who are based there. We no longer pack and mail our catalogues ourselves, this is one of those tasks that computers and automation have simplified, but as the editor of my local orienteering club newsletter I have to pack and mail all the copies to our members, so I like to think that I have retained those valuable skills!
The office in Clevedon before everything was done on computers
In 1982 we were already using computers for journal subscription processing, but all correspondence with authors and editors was by mail. We used to do so much mailing back and forth that the local post office gave us our own postcode! All of our records were kept in large filing cabinets and a system of racks, T-cards and folders would track the process of book and journal manuscripts from initial proposal to published book. Sales reports from our distributor would be couriered once a month to us in a large box, and even as recently as the late 1990s we would wait with excitement to go through the monthly sales reports and see how well our books had been selling. These days everything we do is reliant on computers, the internet and data. We only have to log in to our distributors’ reporting sites to get the sales figures from the day before, and we can communicate easily even while travelling. This availability of data and immediacy of communication brings with it a new set of demands and challenges. There is a sense that we must respond to everything as quickly as possible and that we absolutely have to know how many books were sold in the last 24 hours. A lot of time is taken up by responding to queries that in the past would have waited for a single letter, and of course we put the same pressures on to other people.
In the early days of our company the only reliable way to purchase books was via the bookshop, or to put a cheque in the post with an order form from our catalogue. These days the rise of companies like Amazon, Books etc. and the Book Depository, as well as our own website, means that wherever you are you should be able to order a print copy of our books and have it posted to you quickly. If you choose to purchase an ebook, you can place an order now and have the full text, even in some cases with embedded video files and links to relevant websites and resources, delivered direct to your computer, tablet or reading device within seconds.
Libraries are able to buy one multi-user license of a digital book, which does not degrade with age and usage, and are able to share this with multiple users of the library, even off-site users of the library, at the same time. Shelf space is making way for more computer spaces and learning environments, and university campuses are changing accordingly. Of course the downside of this is that the number of copies required to service the same population has fallen, and so in general across the publishing industry we have seen the total number of sales of any one academic title fall quite dramatically in the past 10 years or so. Since the majority of overhead and fixed costs of publication have not fallen, this means that book prices have risen much faster than inflation in order to cover those costs.
While it is interesting to look at what has changed, it is also very instructive to consider what has stayed constant over all this time. Digital technology and distribution has meant that the barriers to entry into the publishing industry have fallen dramatically. In a world where anyone can write, typeset and publish a book relatively quickly, easily and inexpensively, the role of the publisher in providing a measure of review, revision and quality control is just as important as it was in 1982. It is arguably even more important now, given the recent attention to fake news stories and alternative facts. CVP/MM has always believed in reviewing manuscripts thoroughly and as transparently as possible, and while peer-review is not a flawless system, it is a vitally important step in ensuring that the books we publish can be trusted by students, researchers, parents and policy-makers.
Flo, Sarah, Anna, Tommi, Elinor and Laura
We continue to grow as a business, this year we will publish 60 titles across all of the various subject areas, where just 10 years ago we would schedule 30 titles. But we remain a small and friendly operation with approachable staff. We have fostered an atmosphere where we can thrive and grow within our jobs, and so our staff turnover is extremely low. It is highly likely that you will deal with the same people through the life of your book project, if not your whole career! You will have seen me at every AAAL for the past 19 years, but you may not be aware that Sarah and Anna will this year celebrate their 15th anniversary of working for Multilingual Matters, and Elinor and Laura are not that far behind. Our most recent full time colleague, Flo, already feels like part of the family, and our intern, Alice, reflects the values that we all share.
Although my father, Mike, is no longer around to see the progress we have made since he and my mother, Marjukka, retired, he would still recognise everything that we do and be proud of how we have continued to build on what they started 1000 books ago. We would not have been able to publish 1000 books if it wasn’t for the many authors, series editors, reviewers and readers who have contributed in so many different ways. There are too many to name here, but I hope you know just how important you are to us. It has been a pleasure to work with you all and I hope that you will continue to partner with us, to work with us and to hold us to account when we do occasionally get things wrong, so that as we go on to publish books together we can all grow and improve, and look back on the next 1000 books with just as much pride!
In this blog post we get to know Anna, our Editorial Director, a bit better. Anna has recently returned to the office following the birth of her second daughter and subsequent maternity leave. We’re very happy to have Anna back in the office, not least because she often brings us delicious goods which she and her two girls have baked together!
Anna with her daughters Elin and Alys
Anna has an extensive range of cookery books and likes food from around the world, so we wonder what’s the most ambitious or exotic thing you’ve ever cooked yourself?
Ha ha yes, my extensive cookery book collection, which has now grown too big for my house and is finding a second home as the Multilingual Matters cookery library! My partner and I went to Japan for 3 weeks for his 30th birthday, and after we came home I went through a stage of trying to recreate the beautiful meals we had eaten in the ryokan we stayed in – lots of beautiful, elegantly-presented one-or-two-mouthfuls of fish, tempura, vegetables… Something I’m sure no Japanese home cook would be mad enough to attempt on a regular basis, especially if you have to make everything yourself (pickles, dashi etc.) as you can’t buy them here. I don’t have a huge amount of time for adventurous cooking at the moment, as my two small daughters would happily live on spaghetti bolognese and fish fingers given the chance. Alys (3) is a very enthusiastic baking assistant though, and I do have a sourdough starter that I manage to produce a couple of loaves a week from.
I’m looking forward to borrowing a few of your cookery books from the MM library! Your Japan trip sounds pretty epic, would it be too much to ask for a single highlight from a 3 week trip?
Funnily enough what we talk about the most is not the temples, or the bullet train, or even the food, but a little bar we stumbled across in Tokyo where the owner was an enthusiastic collector of whiskey and jazz vinyl, and we sat for hours discussing music and being allowed to try all the drinks. My favourite bar in the world, and I’d probably never be able to find it again. So either that, or the musical Christmas tree in Kyoto station!
Anna with Alys and Elin
I like the sound of the Christmas tree and agree – it’s so often the way that you can never find a place again in foreign cities! Would you like to return to Japan one day, or are there other countries which are higher up your ‘must visit’ list?
We are planning a return trip to Japan in 2020 for the Olympics. There are so many places I’d love to visit, but my dream trip would be to go all the way from London to Vladivostok via the Trans-Siberian Railway. I’ve never been to Russia and I’ve always been fascinated by it. Possibly because I watched Dr Zhivago too many times at an impressionable age!
I’ve never seen that film but it must be good if you’ve seen it several times! I’m guessing you don’t go to the cinema much now that you have children, but are there any other films that have left an impression on you, either recently or when you were younger?
One film I can remember really unsettling me when I was younger is ‘The Red Shoes’, although thinking about it I now own lots of pairs of red shoes…. I can really clearly remember my first ever trip to the cinema, to see ‘Return to Oz’ (I must have been about 4), we lived a long way from a cinema, so it was a big event. Upsettingly the last two films I saw at the cinema were ‘Penguins of Madagascar’ and ‘Postman Pat: The Movie’, neither of which have left a lasting impression!
Ah yes, the perils of taking younger viewers to the cinema! Now for your last question of the interview, if you could choose an actress to play you in a film, who would you choose and why?
How to answer this without sounding deluded? I’d like to think it would be Cate Blanchett or Tilda Swinton, with Jane Russell doing the song and dance numbers!
And finally, some quick-fire questions!
High heels or trainers? High heels. Ketchup or mustard? Mustard. Ketchup is like putting jam on your bacon sandwich. Crosswords or sudokus? Crosswords. Stripes or spots? Spots. Bath or shower? Bath. Scrambled eggs or fried eggs? Poached eggs all the way. Printed book or ebook? Printed book.
Thanks Anna! We’re looking forward to hearing more from the rest of the team soon!
In today’s post our editorial director, Anna Roderick, gives us an insight into her job as our Editorial Director.
Anna – our Editorial Director
I’ve opted to describe a “week in the life” rather than a “day in the life” as there isn’t really a typical day in the editorial department. A large part of any day is spent responding to emails (and the occasional letter!) and so what I do is largely dictated by what arrives in my inbox. This can be anything from tentative enquiries about a new proposal, a reviewer submitting a report on a manuscript, an author checking something before submitting their manuscript, or a series editor suggesting I offer someone a contract. We’re very proud of our relationships with authors and series editors here at Channel View, and so it’s vital to us that we get this bit right, even though when I say I spend a large part of my time answering emails it doesn’t sound that important or exciting!
About once a week we have an editorial meeting, where we discuss new proposals, as well as titles, prices and print runs for books about to go into production. So another chunk of my time every week is spent preparing proposals for the meeting: reading through proposals and doing any necessary research, and working out how many copies I think we can sell and for what price (and if the figures don’t add up but I want to publish the book anyway, working out how I can persuade my colleagues that the figures don’t matter).
One of the nice things about working in a small team is that as commissioning editor I can get involved in all stages of a book, from proposal to publication (and beyond!). Therefore some time every week is spent looking at sales figures with Tommi and discussing how they affect our commissioning in the future, or thinking about additional content in ebooks with Sarah, or writing book blurbs with Ellie and Laura. I really like the continuity of having talked to an author about a vague idea for a book before they’ve even got as far as a proposal, and still being involved with the book several years after it has been published.
Anna celebrating 10 years working at Multilingual Matters
Until I went on maternity leave just over a year ago, I spent a lot of time ‘on the road’, attending conferences and visiting universities around the world. I’ve had to delegate this part of my job to my very capable colleagues for the time being, but getting out and about and meeting new and existing authors is one of the most essential (and interesting) parts of my job and I’ll be getting back to it as soon as I can.
And then there are the intangible parts of my job: I read around the subjects we publish in, I spend time looking at our lists and making sure they represent the priorities of the academic communities we serve, I keep an eye on what our fellow publishers are up to and much more.
With my editorial director hat on, I spend time every week looking even further into the future, and trying to work out what we should be publishing in 2, 5 or 10 years’ time. My aim is to make sure that we continue to publish innovative and important books in the subject areas we’re already active in, as well as providing the very best service we can for our authors, reviewers and series editors. And while doing that I’m always on the lookout for exciting new publishing opportunities, whatever they may be…
We’re very pleased to welcome back our colleague Anna from maternity leave today. She’s been away for a year and we’ve missed her! So from today onwards you will be able to contact Anna about editorial queries again. While Anna was on maternity leave she celebrated her 10 year anniversary of working at the company. We’re really glad to have her back for the next 10 years!
This was my first in-person conference trip in nearly 3 years, and Rosie’s first (of many!) conferences for MM. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces and meet people for whom this was also their first conference. In fact, it was so exciting that we forgot to take many photos!
Channel View Publications and Multilingual Matters 