Scottish trade 'concern' over future of Freight Books

Authors and agents have expressed concern about the future of Scottish independent publisher Freight Books following the departure of co-founder and director Adrian Searle earlier this week.

The Bookseller reported on Tuesday (25th April) that Searle had left the publisher abruptly citing "irreconcilable differences". The publisher's former production editor Robbie Guillory has been brought in to assist the publisher on an operational and strategic level, which has reassured some, but others have expressed concern for the future of the publisher, which was considered to be run as a "one-man-band" by Searle.

Agent Jenny Brown of Jenny Brown Associates told The Bookseller that she was "very taken aback" and "concerned" about the departure of Searle, a well-known figure in Scottish publishing.  "As we have a number of writers published by Freight, we’re obviously very concerned about the situation. Although it is reassuring to hear that Robbie Guillory has been brought in," she said.

Brown added: "Freight has been astonishing in its publishing and its support of debut fiction. We represent many Freight authors, and have had a close working relationship with them since the start. It would be really disheartening to see Freight disappear from the publishing landscape – it has been so active, and has done so well in terms of publishing, buying rights, and in terms of prizes. We’ll be keeping a very close eye on developments.”

Juliet Pickering, literary agent at Blake Friedmann, said: "Adrian's abrupt departure from Freight Books is very concerning for us and our authors, and for the indie publishing scene. We're aware that over the last few months the publishing side of Freight Design's business has fast-diminished, and it left our books without the publicity and marketing support that was vital to their success. We're hopeful of finding a way forward with Robbie, but keen to protect the future for writers such as Janice Galloway and Anneliese Mackintosh, both of whom won awards and acclaim for their story collections published by Freight."

She added: "The sharp decline of a promising independent publisher, which had received such strong funding support, is also a great loss; I hope Freight Books can find a way to continue publishing well."

Freight author Kirstin Innes, who wrote the Not the Booker Prize-winning Fishnet, said that although she was shocked to hear the news, messages from the company have been "positive and encouraging".

“To say this was a shock would be putting it lightly", Innes said. "[I’ve] been contacted by former staffer Robbie Guillory, who has been brought back in to try and steady the ship - it's a comfort to know that there's someone trying to work things out, and having worked with Robbie in the past I've got the utmost confidence in him. The concern for most of us is that as Freight Books was a one-man band (Adrian), at the moment it's unclear whether the press will continue at all, and as there's no precedent for something like this. Nobody is entirely sure what happens to the backlist. However, messages from the company this afternoon have been positive and encouraging, so I'm prepared to give them some time to deal with this challenge.”

Innes added: "My novel, Fishnet, was onto its third print edition and had been selling very well - at a purely selfish, personal level I'm hoping not to suddenly find myself out of print, a sentiment I'm fairly sure my fellow Freight authors share!”

J David Simons, whose novel A Woman of Integrity was published by Freight last month, told The Bookseller: “Adrian's departure from Freight has been a huge shock. He very much identified with the publishing side of the business and there are obvious concerns about how the company will proceed from here. Following on from Saraband's recent move from Glasgow to Salford, I imagine there will be a strong desire within the Scottish publishing industry to ensure that a small independent like Freight continues to thrive here. There is a lot of goodwill surrounding the company as it is a strong supporter of debut writers and quality fiction."

Fellow author Merryn Glover said she was “shocked and saddened” to hear of Adrian's departure. “He was a strong force in Scottish independent publishing and Freight was on an exciting trajectory”, Glover said. “We don't have enough information yet to know what this will mean for the future of the company or for the authors, but I sincerely hope that all the good work so far in championing these Scottish voices - many of them new - will go forward.”

Author Carl MacDougall said: "I have really enjoyed working with Adrian, Freight and Gutter [magazine, published by Freight] over the past few years and wish everyone well.  Adrian is, obviously, a very talented publisher and it's difficult to imagine Freight without him.  I think Robbie is an inspired replacement and I am looking forward to further developments at Freight, as well as Adrian's next project."

Marion Sinclair, chief executive of Publishing Scotland, added: “Freight have been a very active member of Publishing Scotland for years, have been at all the book fairs with us, have engaged very strongly with the Fellowship Programme and selling rights initiatives, and we would like to see that continue and for there to be a home for fiction debuts and risk-taking fiction and poetry in the future.”

Freight co-founder Davindar Samrai told The Bookseller: “We are meeting with Creative Scotland, Publishing Scotland and Booksource [today] ... and have Robbie Guillory in to help navigate a path through a circumstance that is not of our making.”

On Tuesday he said: "Given the unexpected events we hope we'll be given time to assess all publishing activities...Aside from Adrian’s unfortunate and abrupt departure — Freight Books fully intends to meet its obligations. Creative Scotland, Publishing Scotland and Booksource have also been incredibly supportive with both help and advice to plot a way forward. We would like to ask for patience at this time."

In an updated statement Samrai said: "I am very keen to reiterate and reassure all our authors and their agents, as well as others with whom we work within the Scottish publishing community, that Freight Books is committed to meeting all our contractual obligations. We continue to have a robust sales and distribution infrastructure in place, that ensures our list remains in the marketplace. We will also be looking at how best to meet our imminent publication schedule in the light of these recent events."

Searle said yesterday in a statement: “Following irreconcilable differences over strategic direction, and after six years as publisher at Freight Books, and eight years as a director of Freight Design, with much regret and a great deal of sadness, I have decided to leave the business I own jointly and resign as a company director to pursue other interests. I wish the team at Freight and Freight Books' talented authors the very best for the future."