Recently I have been revisiting the printer’s art. I’m about to launch a new quarterly called The Chapter-Catcher with a hopefully relevant strap line: ‘Towards a revolution in reading’.
‘Revolution’ is one of those words that can be applied to almost anything, if a promoter is determined to use it. When I was about 21 and only recently converted to progressive, non-racist thinking ‘revolution’ came via the handsome example of Che Guevara; only then to see a Che Guevara shop in Kensington High Street, around the corner from one of Richard Branson’s first attempts at selling stuff to the public.
Branson and other shopkeepers wanted to tap into the implications of the angry student movements that were breaking out all over the world. The youthful zest for change had cash tills ringing, and a shop called Che Guevara seemed sexy and smacked of sincerity; or so it would seem.
So I am on the phone to printers about paper and page numbers. And I’m hoping I can utilise the term ‘revolution’ without making it sound like a hollow sales pitch. And the reason I say “towards” a revolution in thinking is because we’re not there yet.
The Chapter-Catcher will do exactly that. It will bring together chapters to be read. No recommendations, no doing the reading for you. You read and decide for yourself if it’s crap or not. It’s audience participation.
We also want the readership to suggest books that chapters could be extracted from and that would encourage people to read. And if you have a novel in you, and you want to share a chapter pre-publication, you can send it in to us.