Brighton and Hove Group: Talk with Stephen Clarke

Join the Brighton and Hove Group on Thursday 10 September from 2pm for a talk with bestselling author Stephen Clarke, whose extraordinary publishing journey began in 2004 with just 200 self-published copies of a novel, sold around Paris from a shopping trolley!

Stephen Clarke is an entertaining speaker with invaluable experience of the international publishing market. He has written 31 books, including the hugely successful A Year in the Merde series and UK number-one bestseller 1000 Years of Annoying the French, and has experienced the publishing world from both sides.

In 2004, after getting an agent but struggling to find a publisher, Stephen took matters into his own hands and self-published A Year in the Merde. He sold copies himself in Paris and online, eventually attracting the attention of literary agent Susanna Lea, who held an auction between major publishers. The book went on to become a million-selling international hit, with publishing rights sold around the world. Its sequel, Merde Actually, reached number one in the Bookseller’s chart. As a result, Stephen was invited to do book tours of Europe, the USA and Australia and New Zealand.

Since then, Stephen has gone on to write fiction, history and humorous non-fiction, drawing on his experiences of Britain, France and life as a writer working in an international market. He has now gone back to self-publishing some of his books, particularly if he thinks there is a niche market to be targeted (eg his latest history book, Charles Frederick Worth, the Englishman Who Invented Parisian Haute Couture). His journey from self-publishing an unknown novel to becoming an internationally published and bestselling author makes this a particularly fascinating opportunity for anyone interested in writing and publishing.

Come along to hear Stephen talk about his career, his experiences of publishing, and what he has learned along the way. We’re sure it will be both entertaining and informative.

We’ll meet downstairs in The Regency Town House, 13 Brunswick Square, Hove, BN3 1EH. Tea, coffee and biscuits, including gluten- and dairy-free options, will be provided by group organiser Rebecca for a donation of £3 via SumUp.

The Regency Town House is a charity and lets us meet here very cheaply, so please make a donation as you leave if you’re in a position to do so.

All members welcome!

To attend the meeting, click the Going button below and fill out the RSVP form. If you do not receive a confirmation email, or have trouble signing up, please contact localgroups@societyofauthors.org.

To ensure that volunteers provide enough chairs from the storeroom for everyone, please email member-volunteer group organiser RebeccaERennie@gmail.com with any last-minute RSVPs or cancellations.