A Salt book on the Booker longlist

I'd have bought this for the cover
alone! Isn't it beautiful?

A couple of weeks ago the Booker longlist was announced, and there were a few shocks; there were four first time novelists on the list for exampl - plus, a personal shock of seeing a book by Salt - The Lighthouse by Alison Moore - also included.

I can't remember when I first became aware of Salt, but I think it was a couple of years ago when I was randomly searching writers and publishers on Facebook. Yes, I was procrastinating, but I came up with a few gems, including Salt. I checked them out, bought a couple of books, liked them on Facebook - and was subsequently friended by owner Chris - and decided they would be a great publisher to submit all my work to. But I didn't. I had a crisis of confidence and stopped submitting anywhere for a while.

Soon after, they lost their Arts Council funding - and shared their grief and confusion via Facebook. I read their statuses every time they wondered how they would cope without that pot of money, what they should cut, how they could move on. I followed their path to downsize and reinvigorate their lists and their business. They had great ideas. In fact, just a few days before the Booker announcement, they made their own announcement about some new short fiction and poetry prizes they are going to establish.

And then... POW!!!!

Everything has changed for them overnight. They have been featured here and here and here. How amazing is that! All that hard work to keep the business running has paid off. They have become sensations. I don't follow Alison Moore, but I imagine her life too has turned upside down - and all before the original scheduled publication date... which was obviously scooted forward pretty quickly

I haven't read it yet, but it's on my list of items to buy this week.

This story has restored my faith in publishing (print and digital), fiction and literature that the whole 50 Shades thing (oh, I know there's a better word to use here, honestly I do!) was slowly eroding. I also think I should have submitted to them when I first thought about it, because surely now, everyone will want to be published by a small family press whose owners really care about each and everyone of their authors.