At some point in the 1970s there was a Christmas party where the hosts served mulled wine in their flat in Woodstock near Blenheim Palace.

Unfortunately the wine was left to mull for so long that the desired level of intoxication for a successful Christmas party was not achieved. There was a drift to a local pub where several of the partygoers discovered that they shared a common passion for poker. Thus began the first of the publishing investment committee meetings. They still happen.

The cast of characters has changed over the years and I won't list them in full for fear of legal action but perhaps the first names and descriptor may help identification for those versed in the history of British publishing:

Alan (lexicographer), Simon (academic marketing), Jon (international sales), Iradj ( academic publisher), Ivon (managing director), Marshall (educational software), David (legal sales), Stephen (ELT sales), Tim He (author), Adam (philosophy editor), Robert (history editor), Tim H (medical publisher), Tony J (accountant), Anton (actor), David C (academic publisher), Bob C (science publisher), Mike (science and legal publisher), Denis (IT inventor), Andrew S (textbook editor), John D (editor) and many others. A clue - there are three current members of the Publishers Association Council in this list.

Having set the scene I can now share with you the confidential minutes of one of the early meetings as supplied by the Secretary to the Investment Committee:

An Episode of Asquith

Polstead Road, Oxford, Friday, 3 November 1978, 11 pm. Fog.

      A light is dimly visible from the basement window of a large house. The house is otherwise dark. You make your way through the rhododendrons and crouch to look in. To the left you see a heavy Victorian press, its top crowded with bottles. Beside it seven men are gathered round an oval mahogany table that fills most of the room. Each appears to be taking turns at throwing notes into a large pile of money in the centre of the table. There is a pause followed by loud groans. Long arms reach out to gather in the money. They belong to a lanky young man sitting opposite the window. He has a pipe dangling from one corner of his mouth and his features are half-hidden by a black hat tilted jauntily over his forehead.

      Time to go in.

      “Ah, there you are. Nice to see you. Glass of wine? Red OK? Squeeze in here between Washbag and Sharkfin. Need some change? Twenty OK? You know these reprobates? Richard, Simon, Jon, Bob, Alan, Adam. Right, it’s my choice of game I think. A round of Asquith?”

      “Oh not bloody Asquith, Ivon. Sue’s going to kill me as it is.”

      “It’s your choice next Richard. Does everyone know the rules? You don’t? Well, it’s basically two down three up pass the card eights wild high low two changes the first free the second the last bet for an up card and twice for a down. You'll soon get the hang of it. It’s your deal. Don’t forget the ante. Just a fiver at this stage. Oops, no, deal one card at a time. Sorry, yes I'm afraid it’s double for a misdeal. Try again. Well done. Try to keep your voices down Simon and Bob. The landlady’s asleep on the next floor.”

      By the last round of the hand everyone has dropped out except Ivon and Adam. Ivon is now showing a five, a two, and a wild eight. Adam shows a six and an ace, and also has an eight. They appear to be going low. It is Ivon’s bet.

      “I think I’ll pass.”

      Adam opens his wallet and takes out two ten pound notes.

      “Twenty.”

      There is a long pause while Ivon scrutinizes his cards.

      “I’m not sure I believe you. You’ve got a dirty hole. Your twenty and raise you thirty.”

      “O.K. Asquith, just this once I’ll be kind. Your thirty and see you.”

      “Damn. All right then. Under the table.”

      Both take two coins and put their hands under the table. A few minutes pass.           “Get on with it you two can’t you?”

      Eventually each extends one clenched fist across the table and at the same moment they open their hands with a flourish. There is a single coin on both outstretched palms.

      “Good grief. Going high. Hard luck Ivon. Nice try.”

      Adam flips over his two down cards to show an ace and a six.

      “Full house. Aces on sixes.”

      “Oh well done Adam. What a fantastic concealed high.” Ivon turns over his cards. He has an eight and a five. “But I seem to have four fives. What jolly hard luck.”

      Later...

      “You’ve all got to go? So soon? It’s only 3.30. OK who wants notes for coins? Noone has any coins? Yes, I do seem to have rather a lot. I’ll keep them as change for the next meeting, and what about the next? 24th? and what about a pre-Christmas game on 22nd December? Thanks Bob, I did do reasonably well this evening. Luck of the cards.” He takes out a slim black book. “I’ll just note down the total. Oh Jon, I’ve got an IOU here for £30.”

      “I haven’t got £30, Ivon. How’s your hifi?

      “I haven’t got a hifi.”

      “Have mine.”

      “Does it work?”

      “Yes.”

      “OK.”

      “I’ll bring it to the next meeting. I don’t know why I bother. You’ll just fleece me again.”

      “Nonsense. You won last time. OK chaps see you soon. Could you see yourselves orff quietly please? The landlady sleeps.”

Roger Phillips is one of Pan Macmillan's most successful authors/photographers with a number of books on gardening and plants. His latest book on mushrooms arrived on my desk a couple of weeks ago just in time for the height of the mushrooming season. It is beautiful as well as scientifically accurate and will sell very well indeed, I think. However, it caused me to check what progress Roger had made in converting his expertise to the Internet. We have had on-and-off discussions about what to do over the years. Here's the link to the mushroom site and to the Roses one. I'm meeting Roger soon to discuss web trends and how to 'monetise' ( I hate that word) his million visitors a year. I thought readers of this blog might like to see how traditional books and photos can be transformed into wonderful websites with a bit of imagination and web intelligence. Also I'd appreciate any thoughts for improvements which I can pass on to Roger. For those who can't be bothered to click through here are some mushrooms to whet the appetite (but I bet some of these are not to be eaten).

Just back from Munich which is one of my favourite cities.

It also has one of the most beautiful (and efficient) airports.

Amongst other things I was invited to a party at the Haus der Kunst to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the great publishing house of Langenscheidt. It's hard to describe exactly what it is that makes this sort of event in Germany so special - probably the fact that everything is done so well, the serious bits, the fun bits, the setting, the hosts and the guests. It was a great party.

If you read German (which I don't) you'll find this website invaluable. It started life in 1966 and is still going strong run by Christian von Zittwitz whom I met for the first time.

And today there will be great parties all over India to celebrate Diwali. I imagine the celebrations will be very different from the Bavarian ones of yesterday but no less enjoyable.

Next week I'm hoping to put together some words about Alan Maclean who worked for Pan and Macmillan for many years and died recently. For now I thought you might like to see a handsome picture of him.

A formal release of the recently published Palgrave Macmillan book Foreign Capital Inflows to China, India and the Caribbean , took place last week in New Delhi in the presence of the Indian Minister of Defence(and former Finance Minister), Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, in his private parliamentary offices.  Kalpana Shukla, General Manager of Palgrave Macmillan in India was in attendance along with co-authors, Dr. Arindam Banik and Dr. Pradip Baumik. We're hoping that the Minister will write a book for us now. Given India's fantastic growth and success the rest of the world has much to learn from his experiences. 

My friend, Nick Clee was editor of the The Bookseller magazine for several years, after Louis Baum (who got very irked at me once when we added an 'e' to Louis on the cover of his book), and before the incumbent Neill Denny. Nick has become a cookery author with Don't sweat the aubergine published by the small but growing and excellent Short Books. Nick has recently launched The sceptical cook blog. The recipes sound delicious and the advice soundly based on practical experience of an ordinary person. It also makes a change from book trade gossip.

The conference at the British Library yesterday seemed to go very well. The session I chaired was all about the archiving of electronica. If my email filing system is typical, a better descriptor would be chaotica a word already bagged by an electronic rock group. In any event I was reassured that every word uttered and every powerpoint shown yesterday will certainly be archived to the highest standards and I believe the BL is even archiving this blog for the delectation of future generations. Good luck to them.

I spent some happy hours yesterday with our children's books teams from Spain, Mexico, UK and US. It reminded me of the importance and vitality of that part of the publishing spectrum. Take a look at the Priddy Books website or Julia Donaldson's or Macmillan Children's Books. The interface between traditional educational publishing and children's books is blurring and we are publishing books to entertain children and help educate them too. This requires great authors and great publishing teams and across our group we are lucky enough to have both.

Another thing we've been developing is News at Nature which helps explain the latest research and scientific developments to a wider audience than pure scientists. In particular we now have a tradition of in-depth analyses of upcoming elections and the impact of various outcomes on science policy and hence our lives. For the next week or so we are making available a special on the US mid-term elections. Well worth a click.

This afternoon, as I mentioned a couple of days ago I'm chairing a conference session on collecting electronica. Here's the press release for the conference which is also being covered by BBC Radio 4 this morning.

Save our written heritage:

Making UK writers' archives  available to future generations

The Right Honourable Lord Chris Smith of Finsbury  and Poet Laureate Andrew Motion are  addressing an international conference at the British Library, Manuscripts Matter on 19 -20 October 2006 to discuss the importance of UK institutions acquiring the archives of living writers.

Increasingly, manuscripts of modern and contemporary UK authors are being sold abroad, despite the best endeavours of UK public institutions and funding bodies. Public institutions find themselves unable to compete with organisations abroad, primarily in the United States, in terms of readily available and accessible funds. The Working Group aims to ensure that authors know that UK funds may be made available if enough time is given and that they should approach UK libraries and archives to discuss the sale of their works.

The cultural benefits of retaining the archives of pre-eminent UK authors within the UK for research, educational and creative use are significant and wide-reaching. As well as national collections, regional and university libraries collect papers with local connections and international reputations. The acquisition of significant modern literary papers enhances the reputation of collecting institutions throughout the UK, raises their profile worldwide, and in turn encourages new writing as the nation is seen to value its writers.

Primary sources are increasingly valued to inspire young writers; there is no substitute for being able to consult manuscripts first-hand to gain an insight into the processes that created the most important modern works of literature.

This conference is an opportunity for authors, publishers, dealers, funders, academics and collecting institutions, and other experts to discuss a range of issues:

·         the perception and reality of UK markets,

·         the national funding position and tax incentives

·         the value of manuscripts as a research resource

·         developing a national and international policy for collection, preservation and access to archives both nationally and internationally

 Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury said “Despite wishes of authors that their manuscripts are available to UK institutions, the financial allure of selling abroad is often too great as they depend on this income to continue writing. Living authors are not eligible for current tax incentives. Funders such as the HLF make a significant and valuable contribution, but the process can be lengthy in the face of international competition. “

 For further information or images from the collection, contact Catriona Finlayson at the British Library Press Office: 020 7412 7115 or Catriona.finlayson@bl.uk or Eileen Kinghan:

NOTES FOR EDITORS

The UK Literary Heritage Working Group was established in March 2005 to develop and implement a national strategy to benefit the UK cultural and intellectual environment by ensuring that archives of pre-eminent modern and contemporary authors are retained and made accessible to UK audiences. Led by Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury, its members drawn from across the sector, including authors, publishers, dealers, funders, academics and collecting institutions, and other experts join as guests. It works with the Group for Literary Manuscripts and Archives (http://archives.li.man.ac.uk/glam/index.html), who are carrying out a survey into collection development policies throughout Britain and Ireland, are encouraging collaboration and making these policies more widely known. The activities of the Working Group focus on three main areas of concern

-        Funding available nationally, and the funding processes

-        Tax incentives to benefit living writers who sell papers to public institutions

-        Provision of guidelines for authors selling papers, on financial incentives currently available, and on appropriate collecting institutions.

In November 2005, the Working Group formally submitted two proposals to HM Treasury which, it believes, will encourage pre-eminent UK authors who are considering selling their literary archives to choose to approach UK institutions:

-        To extend the douceur arrangement with regard to inheritance and capital gains tax to income tax for living authors selling their papers to a designated UK public institution by private treaty

-        To extend the Acceptance in Lieu of tax scheme to living writers

These proposals, although of minimal cost to Treasury, would benefit intellectual and cultural life beyond literary heritage, as they would apply equally to the archives of contemporary historians, scientists, economists and political scientists. Support for the measures has also been found among these communities. No formal response has been received from HM Treasury. The working group continues to pursue the proposals.

The issues were raised during debates in the House of Lords on 13 December 2005 and on 24 July 2006 (^{http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds05/text/51213-01.htm#51213-01_star0} and ^{http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldhansrd/pdvn/lds06/text/60724-1052.htm#06072410000015.}).

It's been a while since I've written about our experimental model for discovering new fiction talent. Here's an update prepared with the help of the MNW team. Several things didn't go as planned. I wanted uniform jackets but was over-ruled. We didn't succeed in persuading Ryanair to lend us a plane in which to hold the launch party. None of the authors has won the Man Booker Prize or hit number one in the best-seller lists (yet) but neither has Jonny Geller's prediction - 'I don't think there's a hope in hell of this succeeding' - come about. Apologies for the varying typefaces/sizes below - I don't know what I did wrong.

This month sees the launch of the twelfth debut novel to be published under the New Writing imprint, Macmillan’s streamlined publishing scheme for first-time novelists. The imprint’s launch in April induced some unusually shrill denunciations from the broadsheet press – apparently, Macmillan was not only abdicating cultural responsibility but taking advantage of “vulnerable young authors” – but six months down the line, MNW has become established as part of Pan Macmillan's mainstream publishing operation, submissions continue to pour in from around the world (well over 5000 complete novels in the past year), and the list itself is going from strength to strength, with some excellent review coverage.

Some MNW titles have reprinted several times and have sold thousands in the UK market. A US distribution deal is to follow next year. Roger Morris (author of Taking Comfort) has – wisely or unwisely – published the contents of his first royalty statement on his blog. Audio, large print and translation rights have been sold in several titles; one is about to be optioned for film rights; and the German rights to a forthcoming title have just been sold for an advance which would have many established authors breaking out the champagne.

Highlights for 2007 include a crime debut by young Northern Ireland author Brian McGilloway. Borderlands (April) is set on and around the Irish border, and is the first in a projected series, “The Inspector Devlin Mysteries”. August 07 will see the publication of a novel which is already causing a buzz at Macmillan: The Great North Road, by former professional vocalist Annabel Doré, is a beautifully written literary saga set in post-war northern England.

Today in the UK is National Blog Day when people are invited to record their day for posterity - and the duller the better. Here's mine which I'll post at the British Library later today (just in case something unpredicted happens).

Got up 5.30, lamented the passing of the BBC Radio 4 British folksong theme which used to open the day and lift the spirits, did 300 kcals on the exercise bike, shower(s), breakfast, bus to Tottenham Court Road, walk to King's Cross, email while I walk and listen to Janacek's Lachian Dances. Write blog.

Meetings this morning with various Macmillan directors and a brilliant editor who has decided to move back into selling rights for another company. I think it's called an exit interview. Lunch in Islington with an old friend, Bob Gavron, who is or has been involved in all aspects of the book trade - printing (St Ives), publishing (Carcanet), retailing (Folio Society) and much else.

This afternoon a catch-up session with our personnel director and then a discussion with new joiners. I try to get to meet all new joiners in the UK to share with them some of our aims as an organisation. One of the main (and beneficial) changes of the last thirty years in publishing is that people have become more specialised and professional. The downside is that it's very hard for anyone to understand the full scope of the company which employs them. I'll try to redress the balance.

Finally a dinner with the past and current managing directors of the Macmillan English Campus to say thanks for what's been achieved so far and good luck for what will be achieved.

And so, in the words of A.A.Milne, to bed. I went to check that it was A.A.Milne and you may be interested to know that a Google search on that phrase throws up Hot hotels to take your lover.

Back in the office today I was greeted by a pile of management accounts for our various companies. I get approximately fifty separate sets of accounts a month and nearly all of them have different formats. The formats are in line with the needs of the company but serve to make my life doubly hard - are these dollars or yen, is that last year or this year, is that profit or contribution, is that cash or sales?. C'est la vie. However, I managed to postpone the accounting ordeal by scanning the pile of new books which arrived. This was much more fun and probably more enlightening too. I've deliberately selected books which most readers are unlikely to come across in the normal course of events.

From Ireland comes the number one hardback bestseller This is Charlie Bird, having ousted U2 from the perch. We have sold 20,000 copies so far which would be pretty good for a UK hardback non-fiction title let alone in a country with a population of only four million. Charlie Bird has been the face of RTE news for the last 25 years and clearly has a dedicated fan base.

And from Australia an outstanding scholarly book The Great War by Les Carlyon. The joy of this book is that it is written by a 'writer' not by a 'scholar' although the scholarship shines through. It makes a change to read about a familiar story from an alternative perspective. World War I was Australia's (as well as Europe's) greatest tragedy and they suffered 179,000 dead or wounded and they still remember. The book is not published in Australia until 1 November and it's not listed on the Bantam website (who published his previous book) or on Amazon UK. The desire to sub-divide territorial rights on this sort of book seems to me an absurdity of value to no-one least of all to potential readers.

Also in my in-tray was Picador Asia's first book February Flowers by Fan Wu. I have yet to read the novel but it is getting rave reviews across Asia but I can say that the paperback edition I have been sent is one of the most beautiful productions I've seen in years which is why I've linked to the Asian edition. I think British publishers and printers are going to have to up their game in production standards as well as everything else if we wish to compete and attract more book buyers. I've asked Fan Wu's literary agent to contribute to this blog to describe the whole process of being published out of Asia rather than the traditional Western route.

Finally a doorstep of a book from Rodale whom we represent in many territories. It is The Encyclopedia of New Medicine from the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine in the USA. I am deeply sceptical about all forms of 'alternative' health regimes but for once there is a book which objectively tries to offer solutions from all sources and tries to deal with the person as an integrated system. It deals with 200 conditions and all the ones I checked out have been totally sensible and helpful.

Enough books - back to the accounts.