The Borderline Press Blog #3 - Caption 2013

I think it would be safe to say that Caption proved to be a good thing for Borderline Press.

Despite disagreements as to when I last attended the small press convention (I thought it was 2004 – Caption is History; most of the others thought it was 2005.) much has changed about the longest running convention in Britain since the first time I came here, when it was in the city, at the architecturally superb Oxford Union and actually felt like some ad hoc convention held in the past. Caption in East Oxford is run down, lacking in new faces and pretty much an excuse to have a big small press pub meet…

If it was my first convention in 8 or 9 years, it was still something I felt a little trepidation about. So did Zombre editor, Will Vigar, who has a kind of Alan Moore-like aversion to large fan gatherings. We needn’t have worried because we knew about a tenth of the people there personally – as in we know them not just as friends on the internet – so we eased back into convention mode in a small room with a zumba class going on overhead. By the end of the day I had secured the deals to publish West, Verity Fair, and The Whale House (for 2015). I had advanced talks with a couple of people I’d communicated with via email. I sealed one deal, but I need to iron out the details before I announce it though. Plus I made inroads on three other 2014 projects, one of which became official last night – again, loose ends before any announcement – but expect one by the end of the week.

I also now have 12 definite and 3 ‘in negotiation’ which are likely to provisionally fill up my publishing schedule until December of next year! This means I now have to forget about signing things up and concentrate on making the business work. It is great fun, but it’s not all conventions and swanning about all over the country in search of a potential money-spinner; oh no… As I am largely a one man band at the moment, I am also chief cook and bottle washer and my wife expects me to housekeep too. I’ve traded the comfort of a 37 hour week for one that sometimes never ends and I pretty much love it. I’m sitting here at the moment writing this knowing that I have so many other things to do that are probably more important. But, you know, sometimes things like this are cathartic. And all work and no play makes Phil a grumpy old git.

The plan is now to have people at all the upcoming conventions. It won’t necessarily always be me, but many of the old Borderline team are still connected to this new project – Martin Shipp, Danny Black, Jay Eales, Mark Emerson, Selina Lock, Andy Winter, Terry Wiley, Andrew Cheverton, Kelvin Green and Dennis Wojda – and a few of them are going to be actively involved, either producing material for us, editing it, even doing some A&R or R&D or even some BMB (which as everyone knows is famous for being Buy Me Beer). Zombre editor Will is going to be at Demoncon, Thought Bubble and the Lakes up in Cumbria. I will be at some of these. If you want to talk to someone in person then there will be someone representing Borderline Press at every major UK event between now and February (beyond that our relationship with conventions will change slightly, but you’ll read more about that later in the year).

The website should be updated and expanded on very soon and at some point this blog will also migrate to www.borderline-press.com. What it will have will be this provisional publishing schedule:

• Dennis Wojda's 566 Frames - October 2013!
• Zombre - the zombie anthology out in November 2013 includes the following creators: Jay Eales, Nathan Castle, Peter Clack, Dennis Wojda, Joanna Sanecka, Daryl Hobson, Richard Worth, Nigel Lowrey, Tom Lennon, Baden James Mellonie, David Metcalfe, Richard Whitaker, Krzystof Ostrowski, Jason Brice, Mat Tait, Gord Drynan, Mitz Prime, Sunny Jim, Craig Sherbert, Sarah Hardy, Phil Buckenham, Kelvin Green, Frederik Jurk, Kim Winter, Si Spencer and covers by Tom Box. 
• West by Andrew Cheverton and Tim Keable - February 2014
• Terry Wiley's Verity Fair - February 2014
• Were-beast anthology - Spring 2014
• Ladies & Gentlemen by Richard Worth and Jordan Collver - June 2014
• Robots anthology - August 2014 
• Lancaster by Daryl Hobson & E.P. Rodway in September 2014
• Robotz by Joanna Karpowicz and P. Hall - Christmas 2014
• Santa Claus versus the Nazis by Ben Dickson & Gavin Mitchell - Christmas 2014
• Christmas Ghosts anthology – December 2014
• The Whale House by Andrew Cheverton & Chris Doherty - coming in 2015...

Plus a few more we don't want to risk losing by announcing them prematurely!