Republic of Consciousness Class of 2021: Lote by Shola von Reinhold (Jacaranda Books)
Between March 8th and March 19th we will be posting ten pieces on our blog celebrating the Republic of Consciousness Prize 2021 longlist. There will be interviews, extracts and articles, with each piece focussing on a longlisted book.
Below is an interview with Valerie Brandes of Jacaranda Books, which publishes Lote by Shola von Reinhold. Brandes discusses Jacaranda’s origin story, the experience of running a Black, female-owned small press, and — of course — von Reinhold’s magnificent debut novel.
Who is Jacaranda Books, and what’s your story so far?
Founded in 2012, Jacaranda was created to address the issue of a lack of diversity within publishing. We are dedicated to publishing ground-breaking books from diverse writers, with a diverse team. Building an award-winning backlist through translation and UK rights to titles from various territories, Jacaranda won the Inclusivity in Publishing Award at The International Excellence Awards 2019 and Small Press of the Year at the British Book Awards 2020. We have and continue to show how publishing can be a space for diversity and inclusion.
LOTE is an extraordinary book by a completely accomplished new voice. How did you discover Shola von Reinhold and what drew you to the book?
Shola's work was submitted to us as part of the #Twentyin2020 call for submissions. It was a standout among the many submissions as the author had created such a unique world in which they pictured Blackness and Queerness in a literary milieu that in Britain is all too familiar, but within which neither blackness (and more specifically black queerness) is rarely if ever depicted. Shola's work looks at a hugely significant time for the development of art and creative expression, especially among the still outlawed British gay community of the twenties and thirties. It is considered, detailed and layered, with sharp observations on society and culture combined with incisive humour. We found it to be a wonderful read from a talented debut Black British author.
LOTE was part of #TWENTYIN2020, an initiative which saw you publish twenty books by Black British writers. Can you say a bit more about this project, and what you achieved in an admittedly difficult year?
Jacaranda's objective is to take up space with our business and with our books. We had grown fatigued with the lack of diversity in publishing (and it continues to become even less diverse), with the notion that there is no market for our books and with the knowledge that while we have our literary giants and stars, we need to let more shine. Many of the #Twentyin2020 authors now have agents and have begun second and in one case third books; which was the exact intention of the whole campaign. Black British writing can take up space, these works and their authors can continue to grow and develop, and build a canon that truly represents our own diverse experience as mixed race, Queer, African/Caribbean/European descended Black Britons.
Having begun the planning for the year of 2020 publishing some two years earlier, we quickly realised that all of the outlets we had planned for the delivery and exposure of the works and the authors literally disappeared. The sheer ambition of the initiative and the fact that we all knew what we were going to be bringing out with their works meant that we had no choice but to push through. We reached out for support and were able to raise funds through a highly successful crowdfunder; with which we were able to support 10 other small presses financially, and also keep ourselves afloat to fulfil the remit of our very ambitious project. The year ended with our first Black Book Festival which was again accomplished out of our sheer drive, passion and the ambition of #Twentyin2020.
If you could be a bigger press, would you like to be?
The only answer to this is we would be our bigger selves. We occupy a unique space in the publishing industry that combines our presence as Black women with broad tastes and huge ambition; there really isn't another press quite like us. We are constantly arguing for financial inclusion and the opportunity for the real chance to properly grow a business. The numbers are dismal for small businesses in general, but Black and female owned and operated businesses are routinely excluded from any kind of financial support that allows them to grow.
If we have to pick a press however, it would be Faber and that's because we are also highly ambitious about wanting to exist 100 years from now.
What does 2021 and beyond hold for Jacaranda?
We have many exciting publishing prospects coming up this year and the next; the roll out of A Quick Ting On, a series of books on key aspects of Black British culture written by young Black Britons who have much to add to the discourse. We have key fiction titles coming from Anni Domingo and Bernice L McFadden and powerful nonfiction from Iggy London and UK reggae great Tippa Irie of Saxon sound system. Our mission is stronger than ever, to take up space on the bookshelf, in the marketplace, in the boardroom and in the literary works. We have built a special press that occupies a unique space in publishing and we want to continue to grow by continuing to publish the excellent kinds of books we do, ones that inform and drive culture forward.
Lote is available to buy from the Jacaranda Books website.