Feature: Publishing phenomenon Meike Zievogel dares to express the unorthodox view that modern English novels are “too full of padding and far too long”
Published: 19 May, 2011
by PETER GRUNER
PUBLISHING phenomenon Meike Zievogel dares to express the unorthodox view that modern English novels are “too full of padding and far too long”.
Mother-of-two Ms Zievogel, 44, runs Peirene publishing from her home in Archway and has just won a prestigious Newcomer of the Year Award presented by the Independent Guild of Publishers.
She specialises in translating and publishing European bestsellers in the UK, and works from her front room, cashing in on the success in Britain of Scandinavian authors like Steig Larsson and Swedish TV cop Wallander.
But significantly, none of the books she publishes is more than 200 pages long.
“I really like short books,” she said. “I think many of the novels published in Britain are vastly over written. It seems books have become bigger and bigger over the years. I suppose the idea is to give readers more value for money.
“But I get fed up with page after page of unnecessary dialogue and description.
“If you can’t tell a story in 200 pages than perhaps you shouldn’t be writing it.”
The IPG, representing 560 publishers, who awarded her the prize, also highlighted her modern marketing approach.
“We don’t just publish good foreign reads,” Meike added.
“We also set out our stall, so to speak. We have book evenings at my house attended by up to 50 readers.
“They have to sit on junior size chairs but the evenings are sponsored by the Wine Society. It’s where well known critics interview our writers.
“We also have literary coffee mornings and sell our books at Camden Lock Market and Lauderdale House in Highgate.”
German born, she came to London in 1986 to study Arabic at the London School of African and Oriental Studies.
She later worked in publishing and journalism before marrying a business consultant. They have two children aged 11 and 16.
“I always loved reading” Meike said, “but there’s very little good translation of European literature in the UK. It’s a shame because there are some fantastic books being published in Europe if only readers knew about them.
“Traditionally when foreign books are published in the UK voice rhythms gets lost in translation.
“For my novels I use the best translators who ensure that every nuance is captured.
“A good translation should read as if it was originally written in English.”
Two of her recent bestsellers have been the 20th-century Catalan classic, Stone in a Landslide by Maria Barbal, and one of the most controversial French novels of recent years, Beside the Sea by Véronique Olmi, which sold 35,000 copies in France and a similar number in Germany.