Marius du Plessis 🦚’s Post

Yay for our second publication over at Mirari Press! I'm particularly fond of Waypoint Seven, which features a transgender protagonist, nuanced world-building and just the right blend of tech and magic. It's a novella - perfect for a quick read. Enjoy!

I won't lie - I have often been swayed to buy a book because of quality physical components. In this instalment of Book Guild, I talk about what these components are in part 1 of the anatomy of a book series. Enjoy!

Listen, let's be honest. Running a small business is a *rollercoaster*. What I'm learning as I continue to grow Mirari Press is that there is satisfaction and joy and peace (and stress and uncertainty and worry) to be found in the full spectrum of what needs to be done: Yes, the stimulation of high-level thinking and strategising and forecasting and all those oh-so-serious things they teach us in grad school. But maybe more importantly, there is so much joy to be had in the little things. Like physically packing a batch of books and couriering the parcels to readers who placed pre-orders months ago. There is joy in sealing each envelope with gratitude that a stranger believes enough in this dream of mine to buy one of our books. There is joy in signing the delivery note from a printer and unboxing a quantity of books that a big publisher would write off as an insignificant variance on their balance sheet. There is joy in knowing that this is not just about me. Publishing is a community industry - there are typesetters and editors and proofreaders and literary agents and printers and warehousing staff and marketers and publicists and bookstores and e-commerce retailers and libraries and cover designers and beta-readers and publishers and authors and readers and so many more who touch each and every single book. There is joy in knowing that in my small way, I am leaving something tangible, something real, something meaningful on this Earth. So thank you, to every supporter so far. Know that you are the fertile soil of a million-million seeds starting to germinate, here in the heart of winter.

June is Pride month, and I've always found comfort and allyship in books, reading and the industry. Happy reading!

An intriguing take - publishing, by definition, is an industry of gatekeepers. Someone has to say yes, and someone has to say no. So, who should be saying yes - and why? Does a universal definition of ‘taste’ not lead us to a homogeneous ooze of barely readable schlock? Asking for a friend (it’s me. I’m the friend).

Jenny Erpenbeck has just scooped the prestigious International Booker Prize for her novel ‘Kairos’! It’s the first book originally written in German to win, and its translator is the first man to win. More below >

I thoroughly enjoyed Yellowface - the ‘insider’s perspective’ on the publishing industry was quirky, chilling and all too accurate (unfortunately). Kuang is a supremely talented author who can write across genres (her Poppy Wars fantasy series and Babel, a dark academia historical fantasy, are equally good). If you’re looking for a good read, you know where to go! Jonathan Ball Publishers distribute this bad boy in South Africa.