Penny Thomas, Publisher at Firefly Press, was the first editor I ever worked with, and I’m delighted to be able to share this interview today to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the publication of our first collaboration – my debut YA novel, Blackfin Sky.
(This interview was first published in my newsletter earlier this month – sign up if you’d like to be the first to find out about all my latest book news, giveaways and interviews.)
Kat: Blackfin Sky was among the first titles you published in 2014, and was your first ever YA novel. What made you choose it from all your submissions?
Penny: We just fell in love with everything about Blackfin Sky: It had an incredible hook – a girl called Skylar who turns up in school and is told she died three months ago – and a wonderfully weird and uncanny world. And a great voice: it was a no-brainer really.
Kat seeing Blackfin Sky in a bookshop for the first time ever 10 years ago
My particular favourite elements, as well as Sky herself, were the fact the gulls would never land there, no one went in or out, and the wishing well that stole coins from your pocket as you walked past – awesome! I remember negotiating with your agent, Molly, as I was on the train to London. It was the first time I’d had such a conversation for Firefly, and was trying so hard to sound professional and not like I was swaying backwards and forward at the back of the carriage!
Kat: It’s now 11 years since you established Firefly Press – and it’s been wonderful to see Firefly going from strength to strength over the years! What made you decide to set up your own publishing house? And what are some of the highlights you’ve experienced since then?
Penny: I think children’s books were always my favourite read – I have an English degree, I can read adult books – but reading, and also editing children’s books was where I was happiest; I was probably only pretending to be an editor of adult books before that. There was no publisher in Wales at the time dedicated to only children’s and YA books in English, and I didn’t want to move back to England/ London with my kids in school in Cardiff etc. Luckily while thinking about it, I met Janet Thomas at Honno Welsh Women’s Press who also wanted to try a children’s list, having worked in children’s books in London previously. So as no one else was doing it, we decided to have a go ourselves. The Books Council of Wales got wind of our thoughts, and by a happy coincidence, there was some Welsh Government money available for some children’s books from Wales at the time. We tendered for this and were successful, and with this and some family backing were were able to get underway! We really did start from scratch, but the wonderful authors and colleagues who came our way made it all work from the start!
Highlights have been Blackfin Sky, obviously – I still remember the first review coming in and how delighted we were that other people felt the same as us!
Our first Hay Festival, seeing actual children actually queueing up to meet our authors and buy our books was wonderful too.
Also publishing Jennifer Killick, who went from unknown to bestselling author of Crater Lake, was a privilege. The award wins for the Carnegie and the Branford Boase were highlights of course, as is winning the Wales small press of the year award at the Nibbies four times in the last five years! But really, every book is a joy – and working with all our talented and really hardworking authors is just the best job there is!
Kat & Penny at the Firefly Press 10th Anniversary party in March 2024
Kat: With your books having won the Branford Boase Award in 2016 (Aubrey and the Terrible Yoot by Horatio Clare; illustrated by Jane Matthews) and the Carnegie Award in 2023 (The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Stefan Ros), Firefly Press is clearly publishing books which make an impact. What trends are you seeing in YA now, and what kinds of submissions are you looking for?
Penny: We’ve seen a few trends since we started, but at the moment I think YA is on an upswing, which is lovely to see, as I think it has been in the doldrums for four or five years previous to that. People are looking for ‘romantasy’ and diverse and own voice writing, and it’s so important to include as wide a range of experience and subject matter as possible in YA lists going forwards. Personally I think that people want fun reads, spooky, romantic, epic etc, but also real quality writing, such as Nebo, or Grow and Play by Luke Palmer. It’s not a market that needs to get overstuffed with look-a-like books or issue books, as readers may tire of these, but quality will always come through!
Kat: What’s on the horizon for Firefly Press in 2024 and beyond?
Our list is bigger and I think better than ever, and we have increased our staff and office space, so with the Carnegie win just last year we are ambitious for the future. But I think Firefly will remain a small, but hopefully beautifully formed independent publisher from Wales, publishing real quality and fun fiction, with a huge commitment to reading for pleasure, and encouraging new readers this way. Forthcoming titles range from the 7-9s Snails of the Unexpected, by Terrie Chilvers (of Michael the Amazing Mindreading Sausage Dog fame) to a terrific Port Talbot-based YA from Zillah Bethell called Vanishing Edge, with some terrific middle grade in there too, such as Flame Chasers from Julie Pike and Starspill by Catherine Fisher… I’m hoping we can keep doing what we are doing and enjoying publishing great books!
Kat: For the writers out there, what’s the best way to submit a manuscript to you?
Penny: We are often closed to new manuscripts as we are so oversubscribed. However like everyone else we keep our eyes open. Best for everyone to watch our website to see if we have submissions windows or competitions, which do come round every so often! Then work out if your book really would fit with the Firefly list and send in your covering letter, synopsis and first few chapters, and we will do the rest!
More about Penny Thomas
Penny has always been a compulsive reader and was never out of the library at school or in Harpenden, Herts, where she grew up. She took a degree in English Language and Literature at Keble College, Oxford, and worked as an editorial assistant in London before moving to Cardiff to train as a journalist in 1988. After fourteen years in regional journalism, and two kids, she took a proofreading course and realised publishing was for her. She has since freelanced for many great presses and was fiction editor for literary publisher Seren Books for 11 years. She never got over that early love of books, so Firefly is a long-cherished ambition. Books for children and teenagers have moved on since those dark ages of course, although classics remain, but she is determined that Firefly books will inspire readers in just the same way.
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