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Table of Contents ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????October Editorial
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Reviews
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Feature Articles
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Introducing the Original Dangerous Books for Boys
Nostalgia: Things are what they used to be!
Nostalgia Central: Carlton Books
Elizabeth Chayne's Reading Room
Personalised Noddy Books from Harper Collins
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Stories and Serials
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Phyllis Owen: A Soft White Cloud Chapter Four
Paul Norman: Heraklion ~ Outcast
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My Editorial for October
The big news in publishing right now is RETRO, or nostalgia. Penguin have just published their "700 Penguins", reviewed in this issue, and Century's Bumper Book of Look and Learn is this month's non-fiction book of the month. In June Hodder republished five of their "Yellow Jackets". The DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS YEARBOOK will be a certain best-seller over Christmas, while James Delingpole's splendid COWARD ON THE BEACH fills a gap in our knowledge of WWII. Carlton Publishing have a number of "retro" books out now or appearing in the coming months ~ read about them in this issue. Another major publisher may also be about to publish a volume of their book covers from the 1950s/1960s. It's a big business, but it's not all plain sailing.
Observers from the touchline could be forgiven for thinking that it all began with that most splendid volume, THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS, but it didn't. Naturally enough, it's not possible to keep track of every single book that's published each month - I walk past my local bookshop each week and for every book I get to review in Gateway, there are at least fifty other titles I never get to see, some of which I would like to have seen, others not really of anything but a passing interest, still others that I wouldn't want to see under any circumstances, of which more later in this column.
If I tell you that I am in contact with and regularly receive books from, the top five UK publishers (plus a couple of US publishers) you could argue that I'm only touching the surface of the published world. This I freely acknowledge. Were I to broaden my horizons and really set my cap at providing a comprehensive review of everything that's published in the UK each month, I would need a staff of a couple of dozen people, and the resources to write and fill a magazine that would be a hundred times bigger than the issue you now hold in your hands.
The point is that people have been pushing the retro-nostalgia thing for a lot longer than Harper Collins and Dangerous. It is simply the fact that Dangerous came at just the right time, backed by huge promotional support and fantastic distribution. People seized on its charm, its innovativeness (is that a word? I don't mean innovation, that's something different, I think), its innocence, and they wrote about it. I don't recall anything negative being said about Dangerous, and the rest, as they say, is history.
But one publisher in particular, Titan, has been fulfilling people's needs for nostalgia for a few years now. The thing about Titan is that these particular books, though they get terrific reviews, and not only from me, are not widely available. You could find Dangerous in Tesco, even a small Tesco like mine. Titan's DAN DARE and CHARLEY'S WAR series, on the other hand, though available from online booksellers like Amazon, Tesco, HMV and Play, would not find their way into a Tesco. Or a modest high street bookseller, for that matter. Neither can I remember ever seeing one in a W H Smith. They're beautifully produced books, and they almost certainly appeal to the same people who bought Dangerous. But unlike Dangerous, you'd have to actively seek out a Dan Dare or a Charley's War, whereas you can pick Dangerous straight off the shelf. This is not to say that Titan have failed to support Dan Dare.
Though their marketing assistants would deny it, Harper Collins have a huge budget by comparison, and they put it to good use. Had Titan had the same resources to push Dan Dare, the series might be even more successful than it already is. From the same era comes LOOK AND LEARN. This time published by Century, a division of Random House, the same thing applies. Dan Dare books are no less attractive than THE BUMPER BOOK OF LOOK AND LEARN, yet fewer people (unless you read Gateway, of course) will get to know there's an eighth Dan Dare out now than will get to know about LOOK AND LEARN. And that's a real shame, and one of the reasons you're right to pick up this magazine. I can't cover everything in the publishing world, and often only get to cover things that interest me. But I cover what I can, and will continue to do so as long as the publishers continue to send me books to review.
Some of them, like the ones mentioned above, are superb to look at and hold, let alone read, and that brings me to one of my feature articles this month, which is about cover art. I have very strong feelings about cover art; read the article and see if you agree with what I say. And while we're on the subject, cover art is a factor in the current round of retro publishing with particular reference to the "classics". I ask the question "What makes a classic book?" in my second feature article. Again, it would be good to have your views on that.
This month is another huge one for nostalgia - there's an article on Carlton Books, who publish a huge range of fantastic titles, such as BEST OF JUNE and SCHOOLFRIEND, BEST OF GIRL etc., then there's an article on the newly-launched HEADLINE REVIEW WWII books, and a feature article on nostalgia publishing, which is big business in the publishing world. Watch out for a regular monthly nostalgia page starting in the November issue. Until then, I hope you find something of interest in this month's Gateway ~ happy reading!
Paul Edmund Norman
EDITOR
Next month is a BIGGLES SPECIAL, plus: the LIFE ON MARS 2 book hits the bookstores*, the Gateway nostalgia feature homes in on Sergeant James Bigglesworth, and ?there's a feature on a terrific new fantasy role-playing game! Don't miss it, book now to avoid disappointment...
*If you can't wait for the LIFE ON MARS 2 book, check out this month's "Popular" page for news of a splendid book by DCI Gene Hunt: The Rules of Modern Policing - 1973 edition, out now from Bantam, so buy it. Don't get caught with your trousers round your ankles, you don't want one of Hunt's armed bastards coming after you!
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Gateway is published by Paul Edmund Norman on the first day of each month. Hosting is by Flying Porcupine at www.flyingporcupine.com - and web design by Gateway. Submitting to Gateway: Basically, all you need do is e-mail it along and I'll consider it - it can be any length, if it's very long I'll serialise it, if it's medium-length I'll put it in as a novella, if it's a short story or a feature article it will go in as it comes. Payment is zero, I'm afraid, as I don't make any money from Gateway, I do it all for fun! For Advertising rates in Gateway please contact me at Should you be kind enough to want to send me books to review, please contact me by e-mail and I will gladly forward you my home address. Meanwhile, here's how to contact me:
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