International Publishing Fellowship (IPF): Day 1.1 VISITING ONE OF THE BIG 5

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Day one started with a big bang. We visited one of the Big 5: the headquarters of Penguin Random House in the UK. I will now give you a moment to exclaim in awe and excitement on my behalf.

Now that you have gotten over it, the story continues.

What my fellow Ugandans need to remember is that there are no bodas in London, so most people use buses, trains, and do a lot of walking. We walked to a station then took the Tube to the station closest to the Penguin Random House offices, and walked there. Please do not ask me about street names, I simply followed the leader because everything else was overwhelming.

Molly Slight welcomed us at the PRH lobby and the tour began. Like every other building in London, the PRH offices are massive. With so many divisions and imprints, it was impossible to see everything. We visited Molly’s division, Vintage, then Transworld. We met staff, saw meeting rooms, lunch halls, and other fancy, creative spaces. I was excited to spot a framed photo of NoViolet Bulawayo’s ‘We Need New Names’. After they talked us through their roles, we settled in one of the meeting rooms for questions over coffee or tea and British snacks.

What did I learn from this part of the tour? Africans are not the only ones struggling to get published by the Big 5. The competition is extremely high worldwide. This is why Independent Publishers are filling a big gap and why many believe they are the future of the global publishing industry. The Big 5 are very commercial. Numbers must make international sense before they acquire you, and fresh voices are thus often overlooked. Independent Publishers discover these voices first, and sometimes one breaks out and is later picked up internationally.

I left with many questions. Is Penguin Random House South Africa doing enough to find strong authors from the continent? Why must our authors be published off the continent to go international? What can a small publisher like me do to grow into a continental house? This last question inspired me to ask Molly to compare her previous experience in independent publishing with her current role in PRH.

Molly noted one key difference – resources. PRH has the means to turn its publishing dreams into reality. As a small publisher always stretching limited resources for distribution and marketing, I understood that deeply. At least I thought I did, until she led us to PRH’s in-house audio studios. Selah

Written by

Crystal Butungi Rutangye

I delight in the power of the written word to share ideas, thoughts, stories, memories, and other aspects of humanity. With over 14 years' experience, my expertise includes editing fiction and non-fiction trade books, ghostwriting, book production management, and training new writers/editors. I lead a team of zealous book editors, graphics designers, and illustrators at Scribe House.

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