ESCAPE ARTISTS: The Dandy at Dusk- Philip Mann in PostMistress Press Anthology 1

By Ruth Skilbeck, Editor of  'Escape Artists' PostMistress Anthology 

Updated 15 October, since publication of The Dandy at Dusk by Paris Paysan Press.

Today’s featured artist in the 'EscapeArtists' PostMistress Press Anthology 1 is Philip Mann. We are delighted to be publishing a chapter from author Philip Mann’s forthcoming book The Dandy at Dusk: Stories of Elegance and Nostalgia, an elegantly written and provocative work, now published by ParisPaysanPress.  This is the first book to explore in depth the phenomenon of the dandy, in its social, cultural and political ramifications, in terms of gender and the self.

However, our pleasure was tempered by our regret, for Philip Mann, at the series of difficulties for the author in the course of his book contract negotiation with a highly regarded and long-established mainstream publisher. This is the kind of story that is not unfamiliar to those who work in publishing, and of course to the many authors who are finding it increasingly difficult to publish.

Under the title Dandies at Dusk, Philip Mann’s book was going to be published by Flammarion, a long established publisher in Paris. But then Flammarion changed hands. Philip Mann was informed that Flammarion still wanted to publish his book. But then there was unwelcome change. Flammarion, following the trend of many mainstream publishers now, requires that an author have a sponsor to back the publication. They require a sponsor or self-funding of a substantial sum. Even after the book was up on Amazon as a pre-order (where it can still be seen). In January, Philip was told that Flammarion would, regretfully, not be going ahead with the publication, which they have worked on for two years.  Here are the details of the book description from the Amazon site- which even though Flammarion sent Philip Mann a letter in January breaking the contract to publish is STILL on the Amazon website with the details of the book as if it is about to be published:

Author Philip Mann dispels the myth that dandyism centers upon aestheticism through portraits of the first dandy―Regency England’s Beau Brummell―and six twentieth-century figures: Austrian architect Adolf Loos, The Duke of Windsor, neo-Edwardian couturier Bunny Roger, eccentric writer and raconteur Quentin Crisp, French film producer Jean-Pierre Melville, and New German Cinema savant and “inverted dandy” Rainer Werner Fassbinder. He chronicles their style, identity, influence, melancholy, and often untimely demise, using a mélange of photography, biography, and anecdote. Weaving their stories into an extensive and entertaining history of tailoring and men’s fashion, he offers incisive perspectives on the dandy’s aesthetic concerns, pensive nostalgia for the golden Edwardian era, and a nonchalant persona. He contextualizes the relationship of dandyism to decadence and to modernism, while simultaneously portraying the cultural development of a century punctuated by two World Wars and social upheaval.

This volume presents dandyism—the embodiment of aesthetic and intellectual ideals—from its origins with Beau Brummell to its major twentieth-century representatives. Author Philip Mann dispels the myth that dandyism centers upon vanity through portraits of the first dandy—Regency England's Beau Brummell—and six twentieth-century figures.

 Illustration for The Dandy at Dusk by Floc'h, in 'Escape Artists' PostMistress Press Anthology 1

 Floc'h the well known French artist drew the illustration above for The Dandy at Dusk.

postmistresspress.com

ESCAPE ARTISTS' ANTHOLOGY: 

This anthology project, and founder Ruth Skilbeck's author publishing projects of her books, that she has sold mainly via communication with people on facebook, have attracted and drawn together a strong, supportive creative movement of artists and writers whose works are in the anthology.

 

Ruth Skilbeck, PhD, is a widely-published author, art writer, and photographer, and has lectured in several Australian universities.

The Anthology is being published on the Fuguescapes imprint.


FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE ANTHOLOGY HERE

There is now a way you can support the publication of this new anthology here.  
 
 

Help Needed from Daily Fugue Readers!

Dear Readers, 

Can you help? With your support I can make my dream of publication, my own books and books by other authors and artists, a reality. But only with your support can I do this!  Sometimes there are things that we cannot do alone, and I have reached that point. I am deeply and eternally grateful to those who have backed my project so far, but only 10 per cent of the target has been reached!! and there are only 12 days left! Please please help me by donating anything you can to this project- which starts at only $1- every dollar counts- in supporting new literary publishing in Australia, we do not want to be left out of what is happening in many other places in the US and UK and Europe, and India. That is why I am doing this- to create a precedent and work out all the hard stuff to make it easier for others to follow. I am explaining what I am doing on my blog, and here and will write more about this and make it freely available. Please help me to support literature and Art in Australia. 

In respect and gratitude,

Ruth

Dr Ruth Skilbeck
Publisher

Postmistress Press: Notes from the Publisher

by Ruth Skilbeck

 I am now, as an author-publisher, writing and publishing my books, ten books that I have written over the past 15 years, of taking an MA and PhD in creative writng, and lecturing in universities, on contracts and working as a freelance arts writer. I am doing this, as there appears to be no one else in Australia taking this initiative and joining the new global literary movement of author-publishers, which is thriving in other parts of the world. I have wanted to publish my books for several years but held back until now due to the crisis in publishing - and authors not being paid in academic publishing. I have published over 10 articles in leading peer-reviewed research books and journals in my field  (including Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, ERA A listed journal, and a forthcoming article on a photographic research series I made, in International Journal of the Image) and hundred of media articles, in leading arts periodicals, newspapers and magazines (lists available), but still not making any income as an academic writer and blogger over the past years. To keep on writing, and working as a writer, and on encouragement and requests from readers of my works, I am starting up a new author-publisher house, Postmistress Press, in the cottage I own in Newcastle NSW, which was the first post office and telegraphy office in Adamstown, the inner city suburb (which had a postmistress). I plan to publish my own books of literary fiction, critical theory, and collections of my published essays and articles. Then I plan to publish books by authors, in the areas of my research.
     The only way I can do this is through support of readers, and that is why I am starting up by publishing my first two novels with pre-orders from a Pozible crowd-funding campaign. Without financial income support from book sales, I will not be able to do it, so all pledges for book pre-orders are very much appreciated, as sales are required to keep me going with my plans and enable me to publish my books, and then publish new works by authors in Australia, and internationally, if my publishing receives enough financial income from sales, I can do this, if not I will have to go back to contract teaching.

     My income is from publishing, so far as I have not yet published any books, income is nil, so the results of the first book sales, will be critical to the sustainability of the first year of my enterprise, which began in September. I have one year to see if this will work or not. Please help me support new Australian writing and literature by supporting, and buying, my books.

      If contributions exceed the target, the chance of being able to publish my next books will increase as all sales go into the publishing house.  My publishing house is a small literary enterprise that will be reliant on income from sales of books, to survive. I am the main employee at present, but if the house grows, later it will employ others to work in publishing books, as well as contracting for cover design, videos, and editing.

     I also plan to run teaching courses in writing and new publishing later in the year, and the success of this enterprise is critical to that as well. This is the first author-publisher house in Australia which aims to publish original new literary arts books, fiction and critical theory, and PhDs and MA in creative writing books. If it receives sufficient income to keep going, it can make a contribution more broadly to encouraging new Australian literary arts cultures. Postmistress Press, and this enterprise has been enabled by support from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations' funding for small business, which is very much appreciated.

Project sponsors and acknowledgements:

Ruth Skilbeck and Postmistress Press thank:

• Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
• New Hunter Business  

and the book lovers who pre-order books and art,  for their support.



Ruth Skilbeck, November 2013