When we set up Ignite we had bags of enthusiasm, and no real idea where our adventure would lead us. The one thing we were absolutely determined of was that absolutely all our publications – whatever their subject matter, and whoever wrote them – would have one thing in common: that they’d be books we’d want to read. We took that decision, we’ve stuck with it ever since, and we’ve never regretted it. Every single one of our titles is a book that we’re proud of, and we believe the stories and the writing we’ve put before you can stand their ground with work put out by anyone. We’ve the reviews to back it up, and – thankfully – we’ve the sales to prove that enough of you think so, too.
Picking and choosing our titles so carefully can mean that there’ll be months when we publish nothing, not because the offers haven’t been there, but simply because we haven’t found anything quite right, haven’t come across manuscripts we simply can’t put down, or writing which leaps off the page. As soon as we find something we think is worthwhile, though, we spring into action, and right now we’re on a bit of a roll….
At the start of this month, we published ‘more bees bigger bonnets’, the latest volume of poems from Steve Pottinger, and – we think it’s fair to say – his best yet. it’s already had one glorious review from the music and culture website Louder Than War (you can read it here) and another on respected poetry website Write Out Loud (you can read that one here). These come in addition to the praise from leading poets Tony ‘Longfella’ Walsh, Joelle Taylor, and Attila the Stockbroker among others (all of which you’ll find here). And now, the ‘21st century poetry’ column in the Morning Star has rated it as ‘a strong and timely mix of rant and ridicule, condemnation and comedy’. Here’s the link to that one. In the meantime we’d simply point out that ‘more bees…’ continues our tradition of publishing top-notch work, costs about the same as a couple of pints of beer, and that we’re more convinced than ever that this is poetry you really owe it to yourself to read.
Steve’s book was our first publication since City Baby – although it’s fair to say that its success has been enough to keep us busy over the past eighteen months – but we’re pleased to say you won’t have to wait another eighteen months for our next one. The proofs for ‘Kiss & Make Up’ are already at the printers, and with any luck we’ll have it with us by the start of May, well before its publication date of 21st June. We’re excited about the prospects for this book. Very excited. Expect a blog all about it very soon.
Two fresh titles in a matter of weeks, each of them confirming our reputation for putting top-quality writing and story-telling before you. Ignite may still be small in the grand scheme of things, but so what? We’re small, but beautifully formed.