‘I have the freedom to follow my intuition’: Juliet Mabey on winning the Booker Prize three times

You only began publishing fiction in 2009, starting with Marlon James’ The Book of Night Women. What made you want to expand beyond non-fiction? 

In the early 2000s I read so many novels that I would have loved to publish if we had had a fiction list. I’m thinking of novels like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, and most of the novels in the first year of Richard & Judy’s TV book club, like Monica Ali’s Brick Lane and William Dalrymple’s White Mughals, which I absolutely loved. So I began to think that if I could find novels like these, they would fit well with the international approach we bring to our non-fiction at Oneworld, and give us the opportunity to champion underrepresented voices. After some hesitation, I took the leap at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2008 and began telling agents what I was looking for. The first agent to respond was Claire Roberts at Trident Media, who said, I think I have just the novel for you. It was Marlon James’ The Book of Night Women, which I published in the autumn of 2009. 

What do you look for in your fiction acquisitions? Can you spot a novel with prize potential at an early stage? 

I have quite an eclectic taste – I studied Social Anthropology at university, and love to discover new voices from around the world. I’ve just published a Chinese time-slip novel by Pim Wangtechawat, The Moon Represents My Heart, that is about to become a Netflix series, and a feminist historical pirate novel by Katherine Howe, A True Account, that will be the Radio 2 Book Club pick this month, while last year a standout novel on my list was Tess Gunty’s The Rabbit Hutch, a literary masterpiece set in poverty-stricken urban America that won the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize and the National Book Award. However, what I generally look for is strong writing, an interesting voice, and a novel that takes me somewhere unexpected, or looks at the world or a particular issue in interesting ways. I have a penchant for novels that have something to say, that speak to readers and move them, and if they are also commercial, and also attract the attention of prize judges, then that is of course wonderful. 

You have also published two of Paul Lynch’s other novels – Grace and Beyond the Sea. What initially drew you to him as a writer? 

I absolutely fell in love with Grace the minute I started reading it; Paul’s language is lyrical and mesmerising and the story itself is incredibly moving. In Grace Paul explores the metaphysical aspects of the human condition, and he introduces us to the Irish Famine through the eyes of a young girl making her way in the world in extremely challenging circumstances. The Washington Post described reading it as ‘like a hybrid of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road’, both really powerful books that I loved. It went on to win the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year and was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Beyond the Sea, Paul’s fourth novel, was a compact, sublime philosophical study of two fishermen marooned far out at sea pushed to the brink, a hallucinatory and immersive read. 

At what point did you think Prophet Song could win the Booker? 

I thought it had a chance from the moment it was picked for the longlist. From the judges’ comments it was clear they ‘got’ the novel and what Paul was trying to do with it. However, I’m also very aware that even being selected for the shortlist is no guarantee, and I genuinely felt that any of the brilliant shortlisted novels could win. While some of the bookies picked it as the favourite, that isn’t always a good indication of likely success – in the past many bookies’ favourites have been passed over for a novel that is more under their radar, so to speak. And while online readers gave it a very high rating, some reviewers had their doubts, so I think it was always going to come down to the wire. 

Based on your Booker Prize experiences with Marlon James and Paul Beatty, what do you think the future has in store for Paul Lynch? 

I think Shehan Karunatilaka gave very good advice to Paul in his speech, which is that Paul is in for a very, very busy year, and is unlikely to have the time or peace of mind to work on his next novel. He has already received multiple festival invitations, including to the Auckland and Sydney Writers’ Festivals next May, and I encouraged him, as I did Marlon and Paul, to take advantage of the opportunities this year will bring, to accept as many as he can, and to really enjoy the experience, tiring though it will inevitably be. In addition, his agent, Simon Trewin, has sold 15 language rights, with three offers in the pipeline and interest from a further nine territories, so Paul will find himself very busy discussing his book with translators from all over the world, and attending launches when the foreign editions are ready for publication. This prize is utterly transformative for authors, and nothing expresses that as much as the sudden surge in interest in foreign rights that Simon has had to deal with, in addition to the ongoing media frenzy. 

Oneworld is an independent publisher and a very successful one at that. What role do you think indies play in the industry? Is it harder now than when you started? Or are people more appreciative of what indies can do? 

I think as the industry has consolidated with multiple acquisitions, independent publishers have proved themselves both ambitious and nimble in seeking out new authors and breaking new ground. I’m thinking of indies like Profile, whose new Viper imprint has made a huge impact on crime publishing in a few short years, and Fitzcarraldo, which boasts a phenomenal five Nobel Prize for Literature winners. Often fielding lower overheads, they can sometimes take risks that corporates perhaps avoid. I don’t think it is harder today, but I do wish I knew in the Eighties and Nineties what I know now. I think we could have done some of the things we are doing today much earlier! 

And finally, what’s next for Oneworld? 

We have never been ambitious to grow larger, or to acquire other lists or publishers, but we have always been ambitious to learn more and to publish better, and that ambition drives us today.