Triskele's Launch Party

In the immortal words of Russ Abbott, I love a party with an atmosphere. And this one had it in abundance.


Foyles Bookshop, London, Saturday 1 June


Triskele Books and Words with JAM collaborated to throw an enormous great launch party!

Jane Dixon-Smith

Words with JAM editor Jane Dixon-Smith launched An Earthless Melting Pot, the anthology of winning stories from the Bigger Short Story Competition. Judges included Jane Fallon, Ben Myers and Zoe Fairbairns.

The cover was a talking point in itself. 

Ruby Cowling

Ruby Cowling, winner of the 2,500 section, read her touchingly beautiful Abhra, The Cloud.

Ken Elkes

 Ken Elkes read his bittersweet 250 word story Busy Lizzy, and Zoe Fairbairns (who judged the Flash Fiction section of the competition) couldn't wait to shake Ken by the hand!

The Triskele Authors

 Triskele launch authors chose to talk about their books in a series of brief interviews with Liza Perrat, whose book Spirit of Lost Angels was published in the first wave of Triskele releases.

Gillian Hamer explained her fascination for Anglesey and why her third book, Complicit, is set on the wild North Wales coast. Jane Dixon-Smith confessed her love for all things historical as the driver behind her retelling of the Tristan and Iseult legend. Jill Marsh talked about Tread Softly, her crime novel set in the Basque Country, and her research into Spanish wines. Catriona Troth discussed her novella Gift of the Raven, and how she identified with the main character's quest for his heritage.

Annemarie Neary and Polly Courtney with JJ Marsh

All four authors reiterated their satisfaction at going the independent publication route, a fact which delighted one of the guests in particular. Polly Courtney famously dropped her publishers, Harper Collins, after their marketing her as chicklit, and became a self-publisher. She is a huge champion of independence and creative control. Indie authors were well represented by members of The Alliance of Independent Authors, such as Helena Halme and Lorna Fergusson.

But as we're fond of saying, there is no Them and Us. Traditionally published authors also turned up to support us and join in the fun, such as Guy Saville and Annemarie Neary.

Both Triskele Books and Words with JAM grew from writers who had met online. Thus Saturday was one of those occasions when people who'd 'known' each other for years, actually met for the first time.

 

The corks popped, the nibbles were nibbled and the chat flowed.It was over all too quickly and as we sat in stunned silence among the debris, we looked at each other, blinked, smiled and said, 'We did it!'.