Okay, just a short note for those who don’t know yet, but I’m no longer writing for Macmillan. I won’t go into the reasons here, but the parting is amicable and I have no regrets for being involved in one of the most important author initiatives by a major publisher in the last ten years.However, it will mean less time to blog here as I concentrate more on life after MNW – though I will be visiting from time to time and will certainly not be a stranger to this blog (having spent a huge amount of time here).
For the coming weeks you’ll still find me on the Muskets and Monsters blog, but my permanent home will shift to Wordpress over the new year , and then during next summer my web presence will consolidate at Wordpress under MFWCurran.com - blog and all.
I leave Macmillan New Writers in the capable hands of David and Tim, who have been fantastic since they took over the admin reins. And of course I leave it in the hands of the MNW gang, who have kept the blog going with their experiences (those highs and lows) and sage advice which has pretty much guided us through the whole adventure of being published that first time.
Finally, a massive thanks to you all for making this experience such a great one for me. One of the strengths of the imprint is this community, the ability to support, console and pimp books to everyone and their uncles. With the new wave of MNWers coming through like Ryan and Deborah, this community will keep going strong, and will hopefully have a top 10 bestseller to hang its hat on soon.
Best wishes
Matt
12 comments:
Matt - I felt quite a sense of shock on reading your post. You are so much a part of MNW and this blog, it seems incredibly sad that you're moving on (and away). Do please keep us up-to-date with your doings, and thank you so much for everything you've done for the blog, and for your support for us all. I hope very much that you will have the success you deserve.
Matt, I'm with Frances. This comes as a shock. I'll miss you very much.
I wish you all the best. You're a fine writer.
Matt - once an MNWer, always an MNWer. Wherever your path takes you, you're still one of us!
Matt - I'd like to echo all of the above. This is an enormous shock - though it is good that the parting is amicable and that you will not be deserting us completely. As Tim so rightly says, once an MNWer, always an MNWer, and I would certainly hope to see you at future gatherings. Thanks for your support in the past and good luck with the future projects.
I suppose as MNW grows it is pretty inevitable that the writers will - and should - shift and change. I wish you every success with your writing career, Matt, and I guess following your own instincts and stepping out on your own takes some courage too. Many thanks for paving the way so that others like me can feel the sense of community you've helped to build.
Grace to you, and peace, Brother.
drw
Sorry to hear this news, Matt. Best wishes and all success to you and the family in all your future projects.
Matt, I've posted on your own blog, but I've got to say that I will miss you very much. Thank you so much for all you've done for us and our books via this blog and elsewhere.
Everybody's said it all, already, Matt but I'd just like to add my own thanks for all your support and comments and, most of all, for your setting up of this blog - it is one of the best things about being and MNWer. In fact I'm not sure anybody would think of themselve AS an MNWer if it wasn't for the blog - Macmillan New Writing would just be our publisher. By setting up this blog you have created the community. We'll miss you very much.
Very, very best wishes with your new publisher and the best of luck with future books - you deserve every success.
A huge, huge thanks to everyone for these kind words.
I was determined to face this decision and this announcement stoically, but having read these messages, I’ve now failed miserably. This means a lot to me, and it brought a lump to the throat. This community is everything I’ve wanted publishing to be and dreamt to be, and I know it’s something very rare in publishing. You just don’t get this sense of community elsewhere unless you’re part of a society who commune on a regular basis. We’re united by one common factor – we’re all new, and that’s what’s made this so fantastic. I’m not sure I would have achieved half of what I have without it.
Now it would be easy to feel saddened in light of this and my decision, but as Tim says, “once an MNWer, always an MNWer”. You’ll still find me lurking here on occasion; you’ll still find me supporting the MNW authors (such as yesterday – Dave Budd got me a signed copy of Acts of Violence from Goldsboro Books), and I won’t hear a bad word said of Macmillan New Writing. “It’s a great thing,” as Jonathan Drapes once said to me. And it is. Especially compared to the publishing world outside this door, which is sadly in poor shape.
But as long as I’m doing what I want to do, and I’m writing what I want to write, then I can’t be happier.
After all, it’s why I do what I do.
Best of luck, Matt.
Sheesh--stop paying attention for a week or two and everything turns upside-down.
I've blabbed a little more over on your personal blog, but something that I would like to note here is that everyone pubbed by MNW is a permanent MNWer, but that the imprint itself was never really a permanent home--just a point of departure.
True, some of the writers have moved on to become writers for other Pan Macmillan imprints; but Roger Morris had his debut published at MNW and then moved sideways to a very successful career at Faber and Faber. As time moves on, I suspect the group will be spread out across a number of houses. I expect to be buying your next novel. Just looks as if I won't be buying it from Pan Mac.
What we MNWers need, I suppose, is an old school tie, a secret handshake, and maybe a drinking song. Because chances are we're not going to all end up working at the same firm when we graduate.
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