Its raining hard. So really my first day outfit options are limited. Tights and boots, umbrella, cagoul. Okay, I'm not making the most stylish first impression but hey, at least I'm not late. As an intern, your only real task on the first day is to make sure to arrive in good time and remember people's names. Anything other achievements are added bonuses and should be privately celebrated.
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I spent most of this afternoon organising the Fox Mason website, ensuring that all the author information is up to date with photos, and information about any prizes the books have won. I'm glad I decided against taking next term's 'prize culture' module now - I've had a crash course today. Thankfully Becky is more than happy to answer all of my annoying tech questions whilst balancing a dozen other things. I admit that I was positively awestruck this afternoon as I watched her book a launch party venue, text a potential client and negotiate foreign rights ALL AT THE SAME TIME. To be honest, I'm not sure how helpful I'm actually being to the company. I am however learning an awful lot about the business just shadowing my boss and feeling really inspired, both by Becky herself and the writers she's been introducing me to. I keep hearing that a good agent has an eye for talent, and the fact that Becky and I appear to have similar tastes has given me a bit of a confidence boost. This morning she began talking to me about an artist who she's particularly proud of representing, the multi-talented Kate Tempest, (poet, playwright, performer to name a few skills) who's profile, even in the three years she has been with Fox Mason has skyrocketed from underground rapper to established artist and writer. 'She's just really amazing', Becky tells me. 'And she was so shy about the book that I had to get her drunk and almost trick her into sending me it'. I know better than to trust this self-depricating account of acquiring the multi-book deal. In the last few days I've learned Becky has a certain way of encouraging her writers that never fails to get the very best out of each and every one of them. I've heard of Kate Tempest before, I remember reading somewhere about her winning the prestigious Ted Hughes prize but mostly i know her name from hearing people rave about her work. Performance poetry is kind of a big thing right now in Bristol, particularly amongst students, because there are so many little theatres/venues who host nights and Kate is a major inspiration for loads of performers in that scene. I pinch a copy of 'Brand New Ancients' from the office to read at lunch. Funny enough, poetry has never really been my thing, which is weird because I like novels that are really densely packed with symbolism, mirrored metaphors etc. (all that A-level English crap - love it!) but I find that there is something really exciting about Kate's work. Maybe its cause she's a musician or maybe its because of her urban style, but in any case, her work is far from the stuffy books of straight poems which I'm used to passing over. Brand New Ancients reads like a beautifully visceral string of stories, and I think that the poetry gives them this real sense of fluidity as she moves between different characters and action. You can't just pick it up and put it down, its a book that demands to be read from start to finish. Thankfully its pretty slim, you only have to disappear into it for an afternoon. What I've found really interesting about reading Kate's book and then talking to Becky, is that I've started thinking about modern poetry in a totally different way, and the potential for performance or slam to translate to the page in ways that are entirely new. I'm not going to try and summarise Brand New Ancients, there are so many important elements that I would butcher in explaining. You're better off just watching the video of her performance. So, before I came to Fox Mason (when I should have been revising for my exams) I was completely obsessed with Viv Albertine's memoir 'Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys'. Okay maybe I wasn't obsessed, but I did read it two and a half times (half way through my third read through I stopped to climb Mt. Revision) and for about a fortnight it was all I talked about. When my flatmates (who are lovely but are more likely to listen to Ed Sheeran than the Slits) politely indicated that they sick of me quoting Viv in everyday conversation, I actually got twitter for the purpose of tweeting my favourite of her quotes! Its here if you're interested. FYI I no longer just post about my Vivsession.
The funny thing is that I'm pretty sure the advanced copy was sent to me by mistake, but I'm so glad it found me because it was a shot of inspiration when I was really in need of it. Anyway, as luck would have it Viv Albertine is actually represented by Fox Mason AND is being published by Faber and Faber. I mean, what are the chances that I'd be getting to work on her for both internships?! To be honest, being around the office and helping out with its release is probably the thing I've been most excited about in the weeks leading up to summer. So...when I went on her website to try and buy her new album 'The Vermillion Border', (the Double Vinyl no less) and I found that she had listed a contact email, I thought 'I'm going to write her a fan letter, because why the hell not?!' I couldn't believe that I got such a personal and punctual reply (within the hour!) cementing my belief that Viv Albertine is hands down the coolest woman alive. Check it out. So I said.... Dear Miss Albertine, I have just finished reading your book. Technically, I’ve been re-reading your book, because after the first time I regretted not highlighting all the stories and aphorisms which resonated most with me and so on reaching the back page I immediately flipped it over and started again! Now anyone who wants to borrow my copy will have to work through my mess of gel-pen underlines and margin stars. Apologies if this reads as a little gushing, but I just want to say I found ‘Clothes clothes clothes, Music music music, Boys boys boys,’ completely inspiring. I think its brilliantly written, incredibly positive and really important for 'young people' who are looking for some direction, creative confidence and lets face it, a role model in a way. I can honestly say that picking up your book as a 19 year old girl is like finding a tenner on the floor, or the perfect leather jacket in Oxfam. Sincerely, Sonny And this was her reply..... Hi Sonny Your letter means so much to me. I wanted more than anything for my book to resonate with young girls. And I am so glad you found it positive, because in many ways it is a catalogue of mistakes. But that's what I think young women need to do, make mistakes, fail, make fools of themselves, redefine what is 'feminine'. Until we do these things over and over again, we will forever be functioning at half our potential and even worse, possibly living a lie our whole lives. I look forward to meeting you. Viv x Please take a second to consider how Viv has, in one brief email relayed exactly what every teenage girl needs to hear. Also, how incredible is it? that after so many years being a public figure, Viv still makes the effort to connect with her young fans. I might actually love her. Who am I kidding? I totally love her. I expect this is the first of many blogs about Viv Albertine. Get used to it. At my Godmother's flat about an hour ago. It was raining in Manchester, it was raining in Bristol and its raining in Islington. I don't care though, I couldn't be more excited about my summer working in London. Its still technically term time at Bristol University, but second year English Students have the luxury of finishing for summer on the 20th of May and instead of hanging around for the end of term summer balls, barbecues, sports socials (which are all excuses for getting drunk and not going home to small towns and pub jobs) I packed up my flat, dumped my laundry at my parents' house in Manchester (sorry mum) and hopped on the train to London.
For the next two months I will be interning, crashing on friends' sofas and documenting my experience here on this blog. Like thousands of other English students, I'm thinking about a career in book publishing. I have had this conversation countless times with people who say that they’ve also thought about ‘getting into it,’ but talking our discussion any deeper proves difficult when it becomes clear that no one really knows a thing about what a publisher or agent actually does. Lucky for me then, I have secured summer work placements with both (literary agency) Fox Mason and one of the last great independent publishing houses, Faber and Faber. Most of the people I’ve told about my work placements have marvelled at what invaluable ‘networking,’ opportunities they will be, and thats a fair assumption. I’ll be honest though, I’m still only 19 and so networking isn't exactly at the forefront of my mind. At this point in my life I’m looking to be inspired by people who are successful in their field and am planning on using the next couple of months as an opportunity to learn all I can about the actual business of book publishing and figure out if the career I have chosen is actually right for me. I am Sonny the Summer Intern. This is an experiment. |