Twitter / IFWGPublishing

Wednesday 28 July 2010

A reminder of what we do, and don't do (sort of)

This blog is new and it occurred to me that stuff we posted in Twitter, FB, our web site and also our wiki site, is not reflected here. I don't want to go entirely granular, but there are important messages to give. Perhaps to begin with, a catalog of our services might be a good starting point.

  1. We are a traditional publisher. We started as a hybrid publisher but we quickly grew and turned to traditional publishing only (in fact the growth was so quick, we actually ONLY published traditionally).
  2. We started off publishing almost anything, "as long as it was good". It is changing fast now, again, because it is part of our growth. Basically, we publish speculative fiction, children's fiction, and non-fiction (if is it is good). We also publish magazines, with no real need to be genre specific. 
  3. We are a small and vibrant team. We believe in loyalty. Authors who published outside of our descoped genres/types, will be supported for as long as they want to be.
  4. Twice a year we run the Story Quest Short Story Contest. For the two contests this year (one already completed), the main prize is an automatic journey to title publication with us. There is a similar subcomponent prize for illustration.
  5. Twice a year we publish SQ Magazine, which is a literary journal that runs as an extension of our team, our authors, and the finalists of the Story Quest Contest. One is about to be published, and it is chock full of great short stories and articles (not to mention a super cover).
Over time we have learned much. Sometimes the hard way. It also sometimes seems to act against our main mission, which is to give upcoming authors a chance at being published, to make good writers better. For example, we have had to develop a policy on authors who were self-published, who wanted to transition to traditional publishing - this was never directed at any one author, but just reflected some commercial realities that we have had to learn.

Nevertheless, we have had an enjoyable ride and are publishing very worthwhile titles, giving authors an opportunity to get a 'leg up' toward their goals and aspirations. We have already revealed on this blog one of our authors, we will fairly rapidly show the others in the next few weeks.


Gerry
Chief Editor

Sunday 25 July 2010

Writer Profile: Biola Olatunde

We thought we would provide author profiles here and there, just so you get a feel for who is up and coming. We decided to start with Biola, whose inaugural novel will be published in the next month or two.


With more than 30 years experience as  a scriptwriter and producer, Biola has written more than 200 stories for both radio and television.

She is an alumnus of the Dramatic Arts department Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

A professionally trained newscaster, she went independent some 23 years ago. She got involved in intervention drama to help change attitudes towards behavioral change and so created a series for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on teenage reproductive health, “I NEED TO KNOW” It was so successful that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) got involved and had it adapted into radio as well as in two of the major languages. It was shown on national, state and private television and radio in the country as well as on a satellite television.

Biola has always been interested in bringing social issues to public attention using drama and has thus written for USAID on maternal health, Democracy and Governance, Womens issues, and HIV/AIDS.

She was given a distinguished alumni award from the Dramatic Arts Department of her alma mater O.A.U Ife, in recognition of her contributions to the growth of the legacy of Dramatic Art.

She is also a poet.


It really was by good fortune that we met Biola through Facebook and she decided to chance sending her manuscript to us. We saw great potential, and the rest is history. Biola's novel is a short novel, against the norm, but it is a wonderful work. It is an action adventure, set in an exotic location, and the characters are all real. What especially attracted us to the story, however, is the extent to which Biola drew from real life settings, and her probing interest in social issues. This is not a clinical novel, but it is based on what is happening in Nigeria today. In other words, Blood Contract is a social commentary.


This is current proof of the cover of Blood Contract. It pretty much sums up the adventure of the novel. 

Finally, Here is the current blurb for the novel:

Ken (Kenawari) left his village in the Niger Delta region many years ago, carrying with him emotional scars. However, he did make a life for himself in the city and built a reputation as a slick troubleshooter in inter-village disputes, of which there were many. He was one of the best operators on the books of the private security firm he worked for.

Then it happened. There was trouble in his tribal home. Reluctantly he agreed to return. Not only has he got to settle a dispute that resulted in kidnapping, and tread gingerly through the political minefield of the region - including local robber barons, but he also has to face the most fearsome obstacles of all - his past.

Blood Contract is not just an adventure set in the dangerous swamps of the Niger Delta, it is also the story of a man who is imperfect and must finally find some reconciliation with his past. Most of all, Biola Olatunde provides the reader with a vivid social commentary of the lives and challenges of those who live in this most neglected of corners of the earth.

Monday 19 July 2010

Welcome to the IFWGP Blog

Welcome to all!

This is the brand new IFWGP blog, where (hopefully) we will have short blurbs of our up and coming books, guest blogs by our authors and editors, and news about the company and what you can do to get involved.

I hope everything on here will be useful to our followers - including any short rants about my own authorial failures, if only that you learn from my mistakes!

Good to have you on board. Hope it's a smooth journey!

Your friendly blogger,
Esme Carpenter
Customer Relations