I’ve never been a great fan of Will Self. However, I have finally found something written by him which I quite like. It’s a review of Nigel Farage’s book THE PURPLE REVOLUTION, which my company Biteback has published this week. Self has written a typically idiosyncratic review which, while not wholly favourable, is not quite the full scale denunciation I had expected. I was slightly surprised to read that I too got a mention.
Some people on the left, I realise, cleave to the view that Farage’s ascent to the national political stage is little short of extraordinary. I had dinner with one such last night, who assured me The Purple Revolution was part of a careful strategy of manipulation aimed at voters in Thanet, where Farage is standing for Ukip in the general election. She drew my attention to the fact that Biteback, the book’s publisher, is run by Iain Dale, the influential rightwing blogger and former Tory wannabe, and further suggested that the entire Ukip advance over the past couple of years owes more to clever media manipulation than any real upsurge in nationalist feeling. “Granted,” she said, “there’s always 10-15% of the electorate who are prepared to vote for a third party – but 30%? I don’t think so.”
Well that made me laugh. Me. A member of the vast right wing constituency. I don’t think so. I published Nigel’s first book back in 2009 when he was, shall we say, slightly less popular than he is now. Yes, I regard him as a friend, and I am an admirer. But to posit that I would have any great interest in promoting UKIP in South Thanet is as preposterous as it is idiotic. When I take on a book I take it on because I think the author has something to say and hopefully I can turn a profit on it. This book has been in Amazon’s top 100 since Saturday , reaching No 26. That’s quite an achievement for any non fiction book, let alone a political one. In only six years Biteback has established itself as the go-to publisher for political books whether you’re on the left or right. It really does amuse me that some people still look at these things through a prism of party politics. I never have. In these six years here are some of the people on the left who I have published. I imagine every single one of them would find Will Self’s friend’s comments as ridiculous as I do.
Jad Adams, Andrew Adonis, Shahrar Ali, Yasmin Alibihai-Brown, Francis Beckett, Charles Clarke, Simon Danczuk, Parmjit Dhanda, Paul Flynn, Peter Hain, Tom Harris, Mehdi Hasan, John Hutton, Dan Jarvis, David Lipsey, Guy Lodge, James macintyre, Denis Macshane, Deborah Mattinson, Damian McBride, Jim Murphy, Paul Richards, Geoffrey Robertson QC, David Sainsbury, Mark Seddon, David Seymour, Joan Smith, Stuart Thomson, Valerie Trierweiler, Zoe Williams, Tony Wright.
Enough? Or are they merely a deflection tactic designed to throw people off the scent of my vast right wing conspiracy. You decide :)
You can read Will Self’s review HERE and buy THE PURPLE REVOLUTION HERE
