Here is the last interview of my Crimelines Anthology series, and today I’m talking to Editor
Iris Feindt
[©2014 I.Feindt]
You’ve edited the Timelines Anthology, did you find this one easier to do after this experience?
Yes and no. I think with every new anthology come new challenges.
Livi, who edited Crimelines with me, and I are really used to working with each other now, which is great. We are totally on the same page when it comes to editing and we look for similar things in a story. I feel very lucky to be working with her. We collaborated with the Manchester School of Art last time and because of this, it was much easier this time around.
What was harder was the amount of stories we received and read. For Timelines we looked at perhaps 18 stories. 17 ended up in Timelines. For Crimelines we read about 30 stories, 21 making it into the anthology.
What is it you find challenging and exciting when editing a book?
Beacause Timelines did so well (and is still doing well) it was a little daunting to start a new anthology. I really wasn’t sure if it could be as good. But then you get the stories in, everyone is excited and seeing the writers develop and their stories take shape and then eventually all of them melt into the shape of an incredibly strong collection of short stories. That’s what makes all the challenges worth it.
The theme of this anthology is Crime. Is the book addressed to an older audience than the first anthology, Timelines?
Yes, it’s crime in its widest sense: there are a few ‘Who-done-it’- type of stories, some very funny stories and others that dip into the Fantasy/ Horror genre as well as stories that deal with real life issues, such as bullying. Crimelines is aimed at the 11+ market.
What are the difficulty and the joy of working with various authors?
On the whole, it has to be said, we were very lucky with the authors we have worked with. Everyone wanted to write the best story they could and Livi and I wanted the stories to be as good as they possibly could be. Most stories went through three or four rounds of editing. Also, the sheer variety of styles and takes on the same theme was just delightful. The most difficult part was turning people down.
The launch of the book will take place at the Manchester children’s books festival, can you tell us a bit about that?
Crimelines will launch at the John Rylands Library in Manchester on Saturday, 5th July from 12 noon. It’s a stunning venue and we’re so excited to be able to launch Crimelines there. Pretty much all the writers will be reading a short extract from their stories, to give a flavour of Crimelines. That’s going to be such a treat – there’s something very special about hearing an author read from their own work. Copies of Crimelines will also be on sale during the event and the whole of the Manchester Children’s Book Festival.
Thanks you Iris for this interview and good luck for the launch tomorrow.