Friday 12 July 2013

When did Five Leaves actually start?

"Independent publishing since 1966". Really? Only the most sensitive of archivists and bibliographers would care about the starting date of Five Leaves. But was it really 1996? I left Mushroom Bookshop in 1995, taking the publishing wing of the shop with me, which had started in 1994 with The Allotment: its landscape and culture. That title, with others, passed into Five Leaves ownership, and in, due course, livery when reprinted. Since I did all the work it would be possible to argue that Five Leaves started in 1994, or in 1995 when I took over Mushroom's book publishing - the first Five Leaves books actually said Mushroom Bookshop Publications as they were in press when I left, or 1996 when the first books entirely unconnected with Mushroom were published.
Why does it matter? It matters because the twentieth anniversary is drawing near and I can't make up my mind whether to celebrate in 2014, 2015 or 2016.
We had a big celebration for the tenth anniversary in 2005, which had some of our writers arguing that we were too late, though I thought we were too early.
Decisions, decisions.
Anybody who can use the above poster, by the way, inbox me. No - tried typing that phrase and it really is as awful as I thought. Don't inbox me, please. Email me.

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