In 2015, Daphne Tonge started a small "book crate" subscription service out of her London living room, with a tiny pool of subscribers. Today, Illumicrate is a well-known specialist retailer, with a thriving fanbase and strong industry presence, which has laid the groundwork for Daphne's next co-current venture: Daphne Press, an independent publishing imprint run on the same values and with the same marketing savvy. In this detailed, question-loaded interview, Daphne kindly joins us to talk the nitty-gritty of building not just one, but two industry-shaping small businesses, and how it might impact genre fiction in future.
- The founding of Illumicrate, and Daphne’s story
- A bit about book production, what they can or can’t do
- How does IC choose and acquire books for its crates?
- What IS a crate book – is there such a thing?
- Buliding a book community
- “Social media doesn’t help” but it does?
- Crate market in the usa – why so small?
- UK versus USA book culture
- Setting up an independent press, makign the leap from Illumicrate to Daphne Press
- The importance of editors, and why Daphne wanted to get that exactly right
- What exactly do trad editors DO? Scott breaks it down.
- Editors jobs are complex and very poorly paid
- Why Daphne doesn’t acquire world rights atm (it’s a good and noble reason!)
- What Daphne looks for in author submissions
- Daphne’s surprising tip for how you best catch her attention with your submission!
- Why Daphne Press doesn’t currently accept indie submissions (but hopes to in future!)
- Daphne’s love for indie books and authors generally
