Musings of an Editorial Intern

I don’t mean to skite, but life is good when it’s all about books. When I’m not working with words in my role as editorial intern for Green Olive press, my other job is as a bookseller at Ariel, in The Rocks. Are you jealous? I’m sorry, but it is as delicious as it sounds. Not a bad balance for an obsessive reader. Especially since for both jobs it is a requisite to read. Can you imagine? Now I’m not messy, I’m busy.

Every day is different at the bookshop. Sundays are crazy and busy and fun; people from all over, and Walter the Farting Dog the biggest seller. Monday nights are lovely and peaceful; fellow booklovers quietly browsing, unconscious half smiles on their faces. Monday nights I dust and polish and tend to my books and chat, all of us in the same place of gentle bliss. Book chat turns to life chat, strangers join in, and we’re commiserating and communing and fixing the world. And then chat turns back to books.

That’s the normal turn of events. Christmas is special. Christmas at Ariel sparkles. I like to get there early and stay late to fight any dust that might deflect the shine. The shop is full and fat with luscious books. Customers enter with a bounce in their step. They come to me juggling armloads, asking advice. I love those conversations. Even though first instincts are always right, we talk them through and I learn all I can about granddad and mum and nephew and child and sister-in-law. They leave with bags crackling, full of festively wrapped perfect gifts, each so thoroughly discussed they can’t possibly be wrong. The bounce would be a skip if they weren’t so laden.

Christmas parties I’m not so sure about. The Society of Editors’ (NSW) Christmas party was a winner. Have you been to the Flying Squadron Club at Milsons Point? You must. What a view. Who cared about the weather? Caroline, Mandy and I had a great time, and everyone sitting near Caroline won prizes. I didn’t, but that would just be greedy, wouldn’t it?

- Belinda Holmes

And here's where we went...http://www.sydneyflyingsquadron.com.au/restaurant-bar/

Review of Le Pain Quotidien: Poems on the Pleasures of Life, by David Wansbrough

"In this book of poetry, David celebrates the senses, especially that of taste but also touch and sight.

Epicurean that he is, he has savoured roast sheep skull ears in Marrickville, Madeleines in Paris, wild boar and kumara in New Zealand, caviar in Moscow, wild strawberries in the Russian countryside, shark on the Black Sea, iced mint water in Istanbul, coffee and cakes in Vienna, carp with ginger sauce in China, clam chowder in San Francisco, as well as turbot, oysters, coffee, many different varieties of breads, marmalade, eel, hedgehogs, honey, sardines.

Every meal for David is a sacrament, to be relished with every touch of lip and tongue, appreciated with heart and mind and yes, the soul.

He knows the origins of the fare before him on marble or wooden table and, like indigenous peoples the world over, expresses gratitude for the bounty that the earth yields up before consuming it with reverence.

And let’s not forget David delightful sense of humour in poems such as “Salad Afternoons” where he pokes gentle fun at the “Ladies who lunch like salads”

Caroline Webber is to be congratulated for producing such a lovely volume under her imprint Green Olive Press, and I commend the book to you."

IRINA DUNN, Director, Australian Writers Network

Le pain quotidien is available from: www.greenolivepress.com

Local Writers' Word Festival

Two beautiful Green Olive Press publications were shortlisted for awards at Woollahra Library’s Local Writers’ Word Festival on Saturday 26th November — David Wansbrough’s Le Pain Quotidien, and Olives by Bhavna Khanna. Torrential rain could have dampened enthusiasm, but not ours. I attended Irina Dunn’s workshop, Getting published, while Caroline enjoyed a discussion on challenges facing the modern author with Allen and Unwin’s Publicity Director, Andy Palmer. So absorbed were we, that despite French doors facing the harbour, we failed to notice sunshine glinting off the water. It truly is a wonderful site, and I’m so glad it’s a library. Can you imagine the joy of browsing the shelves, finding just the book you want to read, and getting lost in it? And all the while trees and sunlight and little boats on the harbour your backdrop. More details on the Festival to follow…

The usefulness of old books

Just wondering if anyone read the article in the Life & Style supplement of the Sydney Morning Herald on 18 June... a rather interesting article about Nicholas Jones, a Salvadore Dali-looking book sculptor. He makes sculptures out of old books, and some of them a very attractive looking!

www.bibliopath.org

Spaghetti with olive and herb

Here's a great recipe from 'Olives' by Bhavna Khanna...

3/4 cup green olives, pitted

2 garlic cloves, chopped.

1 handful fresh mint leaves, chopped

1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 cup pecorino cheese, grated plus extra shavings for serving

1 cup olive oil

400g spaghetti

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cup pine nuts, toasted

Rinse and drain the olives then pulse in a food processor with the garlic, mint, parsley, cheese and oil until roughly chopped. Season with pepper.

Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking water.

Return the pasta to the pan, add the pesto, toasted pine nuts and enough of the cooking water to form a smooth sauce. Serve topped with shaved pecorino cheese.

Enjoy!

'Olives' by Bhavna Khanna is available from Green Olive Press (www.greenolivepress.com) and is a limited edition, hand-bound recipe complete with illustrations.

Olives launch

Here are some pictures from the launch of Olives by Bhavna Khanna. Enjoy!

How to build your online brand for next to nothing

I recently participated in a webinar presented by Paul Wallbank called 'How to build your online brand for next to nothing', part of the NSW Government Micro Business Week.

Despite the few technical hiccups and the appalling sound quality, I was able to glean a few tips and thought I'd share them with you here...

• Use as many social media networking sites as possible: Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs (Paul recommended Blogger as it can also be sued as a website management tool)
• Develop an online profile - and regularly update it
• There are lots of free web hosting services out there, all varying in quality. Getting Aussie Business provides very basic website templates free of charge so could be an ideal place to start if you are a little short of cash
• Think about the key words you use to describe your product or service - these are picked up by search engines and determine how highly your site is ranked
• Register your business with Google places
• Submit your business details to True Local, Yellow Pages and other directory
• Develop a company LinkedIn profile page
• Keep your personal and professional pages separate if possible - or make sure you moderate what goes on the pages. Potential customers may not want to see you dancing on tables at your best friend's stag do
• Register for Google alerts and keep up to date with developments in your industry
• Add toggles to your website for Blog Digger, Ice Rocket, Four Square, Twitalyser and Technorati, for example

Of all of the points that Paul raised during the seminar, keeping your content updated and current is the most important. The more active a website is, the higher it is ranked.