Will your book travel? The Global Journey of Books: A View from Jaipur

Plus new signing announcement! These Are the Things We Have Lost by poet Janice Warman

A very happy Friday Scribblers,

I am now in Jaipur, India, for my publishing fellowship at Jaipur Literature Festival, and as I write this I’ve just finished day one of networking and panels. Before we get into it, I’m pleased as punch to announce the first writer we have signed from our November mini submission window!

Fly on the Wall Press to Publish Janice Warman's Powerful Debut Poetry Collection on Apartheid and Feminism

These Are the Things We Have Lost (12 January 2026) is a groundbreaking debut poetry collection by award-winning journalist and novelist Janice Warman. Exploring the complex landscape of apartheid-era South Africa through a feminist lens, this collection promises to be a powerful literary contribution to understanding personal and political memory.

These Are the Things We Have Lost, revisits a childhood spent under apartheid in South Africa while encompassing a rich tapestry of experiences and emotions. From the intimate moments of love and loss to reflections on war, motherhood, illness, and the fleeting beauty of everyday life, the collection explores identity, resilience, and belonging. With a journalist’s precision and a poet’s sensitivity, Warman captures both the personal and the universal, creating a testament to the enduring power of memory and words—a celebration of life’s joys and an elegy for what inevitably slips through our grasp.

Janice Warman comments: “Growing up in apartheid South Africa affected me profoundly; this world has fed into my work as a journalist, non-fiction and Young Adult writer, but has never penetrated more deeply than into my poetry. Being a feminist in a country that was inherently violent towards women, particularly black women – birthing and growing your own children and how that takes you back to your own childhood in that faraway place – grieving your mother while she is still alive and suffering with dementia thousands of miles away. Poetry is the means by which I write most deeply and passionately about my real life, the life that runs below my work life like an underground river. The things that demand that I take up my pen.”

Janice Warman is an award-winning writer of YA fiction, non-fiction and poetry, financial journalist, and a creative writing tutor at Share Community for disabled adults, based in East Sussex. Her poetry has been published in magazines in the UK and South Africa, in The Hey Nonny Handbook, the women’s literary survival guide (Harriman House), in Ballet, a poetic and photographic tribute to her mother (Susakpress/Spiralbound) and in English textbooks in South Africa. She is a past winner of the Kent & Sussex Poetry Society Folio Competition.

Welcome Janice!

Now, while a full report on my extraordinary experience at Jaipur BookMark will follow in next week's newsletter, today I'd like to explore a fascinating aspect of publishing that's particularly relevant to my upcoming rights meetings: What makes a book succeed (or struggle) in international markets?

The Art of International Rights Trading

Picture this: At major trade fairs in London, Frankfurt, and Bologna, publishers and agents engage in an intricate dance of meetings, pitches, and negotiations. These interactions aren't merely transactional—they're about building relationships and understanding each publisher's unique DNA:

• Their editorial philosophy

• Target audience demographics

• Future publishing strategies

• Cultural sensitivities and market preferences

The process often begins with "test" pitches—carefully selected titles that help gauge compatibility. Publishers review these submissions, considering how they align with their catalogue and market demands. This relationship-building continues across multiple fairs, growing stronger with each interaction. After all, we're more likely to do business with those who share our values and vision.

What Makes a Novel "Travel-Ready"?

But how does an independent publisher decide what to pitch? They have a full backlist and frontlist to choose from!