Publicists look for new ways to negotiate 'mad' September crush

Publicists say they need to be smart with their new titles, using online events and broadcast media, amid the possibility many books could get lost in a “mad” avalanche of new September releases.

After coronavirus pushed back publication dates, 3rd September is more packed than ever with new releases. Among the big hitters in a list of more than 230 trade titles are Ant and Dec's Once Upon a Tyne (Sphere) and Richard Osman's hotly tipped debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club (Viking).

Andrew Holgate, literary editor of the Sunday Times, has

at the growing pile, branding the release of so many books “quite mad”.

Charlotte Heathcote, literary editor at the Daily Express and Daily Mirror, told The Bookseller: "In spring, it was dispiriting to watch so many publication dates migrate to autumn, when September and October are always packed anyway. Inevitably, there are countless books that would normally get good coverage but I’ll struggle to squeeze them in anywhere. I really feel for all the authors whose books won’t receive the attention they deserve.

"That said, between the Mirror, the Express, and Mirror Book Club, I’m hoping to cover most of the relevant books in some capacity and to shout a bit louder when they come out in paperback too. I just wish more titles could have moved to August or even been held until early 2021, especially debuts."

At Picador, communications director Emma Bravo said it was the “busiest and craziest of autumns” with her team working hard to to secure media coverage and visibility for titles. She said: “We are trying to be highly organised with the things within our control—our organic and paid social media, digital marketing, content on our newsletters and website and YouTube, BookBreak—and communicative, responsive, persuasive and helpful on the things outside our immediate control.”

Jessie Burton's The Confession is the imprint's biggest fiction paperback out on 3rd September and much of the campaign is being taken online, Bravo said, with events, newsletters and podcasts that aim to recapture the hardback's stellar reviews.

The new Secret Barrister book Fake Law was the imprint's biggest hardback to move from the spring to 3rd September. Picador has planned contingency angles for news stories and renegotiated out of home advertising for the title. There is a serial lined up and a high-profile journalist will interview the author on Picador.com. Bravo said: “Broadcast can be challenging for any anonymous author but listener and viewer expectations have changed post lockdown. We hope to benefit from this with items such as the Channel 4 news series with Secret Barrister that is currently running. We have confirmed print interviews and reviews and we are confident that everyone will find space in their pages.”

She added: “Over the past few months in lockdown, we have learnt a huge amount about what makes a good online event—especially from our Virtually Together tour in May. During the autumn, producing quality online events in an already crowded market will be key to maintaining engagement. We are working with media, festivals and charity partners to take our books and authors directly to readers and continue to develop our global audiences throughout the autumn.”

HarperCollins PR director Elizabeth Dawson said her team would have to be “more strategic and inventive than ever” with their campaigns this autumn and agreed on the importance of online events and the potential of broadcast.

“Successful book PR is much more than a good print review, it’s about connecting the author and their work with the right audience and building that relationship and engagement,” she said. “The landscape in which that can happen has significantly changed over the past few months, and it has opened up new channels and opportunities for our authors and their audiences.

“Initiatives like HarperFiction Presents, our programme of online events which showcase authors and publishing experts, was born from an aspiration to fill the gap left by the impossibility of physical book events and has given us a new platform through which we can reach a national and international audience. Through these virtual events and workshops, we are hearing from new voices—both authors and readers—and it’s exciting to be participating in these conversations which are available for everyone to join.

"While space in print media for books is at a premium this autumn, the opportunities in broadcast have expanded as the sometimes prohibitive logistics of getting authors to studios and specific locations are no longer an issue as new down-the-line methods of recording are embraced."

She added: “September will be a challenging time to make some books really stand out, but we are creative people working in a creative industry, and right now that feels more evident than ever.”

Shona Abhyankar, associate director at ed public relations and Primadonna Festival committee member, admitted publicists everywhere took a “deep collective breath” when they saw the packed autumn schedule but were eager to get to grips with it.

“We’re no strangers to vying for precious review space or interview slots, but usually have a little more time to prepare for Super Thursday,” she said.

“At EDPR, strategic forward planning is the norm, and as a small but busy agency, teamwork has always been key. Now, we’re focusing more heavily on opportunities beyond publication to help combat the autumn onslaught and using increased online opportunities to maximum advantage. For example, we’re working on a variety of titles published in September including Duty of Care: One NHS Doctor’s Story of the Covid-19 Crisis by Dr Dominic Pimenta (Welbeck) for which we have plans from just before publication to the end of the year, and The Witch Hunter (Welbeck), a gripping thriller which we will promote on publication and also push heavily around Halloween.

“It is more vital than ever that we stay focused and strategic with what we pitch and who we pitch to—journalists are swamped too. Our job is to place our books in the right place at the right time, be persistent without being pushy, ambitious yet realistic. Our authors have been incredibly understanding, patient and adapted to huge, unexpected changes. If they can do it, so can we.”

So many new books could also be a headache for retailers, although Waterstones fiction buyer Bea Carvalho said it was an exciting prospect and meant the hand-selling role of individual booksellers was absolutely vital.

Titles she picked out included Elena Ferrante’s new novel The Lying Life of Adults (Europa), Raynor Winn's The Wild Silence (Michael Joseph), Ant and Dec, plus Cressida Cowell's Wizards of Once: Never and Forever (Hodder Children's Books) and picture book Oi Aardvark! (Hodder Children's Books). Carvalho said the Osman book had seen an “exceptional” level of online engagement already. “It feels like everything’s lined up for this one to be one of the biggest commercial propositions for the autumn’s fiction list,” she said.

Carvalho added: “September 2020 was already filled with a wealth of literary and commercial treats, and with the shifting sands of the year’s publication schedule it’s now also home to many big-hitters originally destined for release earlier in the year. An exciting time for bookselling, with something to suit ever reader’s taste. This year, bookseller recommendation has been more important than ever, and it’s great that our bookshops will have something to offer for everyone.”