VICTORY in Hong Kong for a Malaysian writer who lives in Cape Town is being celebrated as a triumph for North East literary enterprise.
Tan Twan Eng, winner of the £20,000 Man Asian Literary Prize, is a published author because of the faith shown in him by book-loving Tyneside entrepreneur Ed Handyside.
A minnow in terms of output, Ed’s company Myrmidon Books is gaining a reputation for quality thanks to authors like Tan Twan Eng.
The author’s second novel, The Garden of Evening Mists, was shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize. Hilary Mantel’s Bring up the Bodies eventually won the prestigious accolade, but compensation has come with this prize for Asian authors.
In beating rivals from Japan, India, Pakistan and Turkey, Tan Twan Eng becomes the first Malaysian winner of the prize, founded in 2007.
Mr Handyside wasn’t at the Hong Kong award ceremony but he was in Newcastle yesterday organising a new print run in anticipation of increased demand.
“We’re thrilled for him because he really deserves it,” said the former management consultant, who set up Myrmidon Books in 2007.
That same year he invested in a manuscript by an unknown writer – turned down by other publishers – because he had “an instinct” about it.
The writer was lawyer Tan Twan Eng and the novel was The Gift of Rain, which made the Booker Prize longlist. Novel number two went one better.
“They actually wanted us to enter the book for the Asian prize last time but we didn’t have it ready so it missed out. But if we had rushed it we wouldn’t have qualified for the Man Booker Prize,” said Mr Handyside.
He said the author had been promoting the novel in Asia since it was on the Booker shortlist and it would get another boost following this triumph. He said Myrmidon did not own the translation rights to the author’s work but has an arrangement with a bigger publisher to distribute books in English to countries including India and China.
English is widely spoken in Malaysia where Tan Twan Eng might be expected to sell particularly well.
Mr Handyside said publicity surrounding the Booker Prize could have added up to 100,000 copies to the novel’s total sale figure to date.
Tan Twan Eng has never set foot in the North East but Mr Handyside said he was planning a UK tour for him in the spring and a North East date would be good.
“I’d like to sell more books in the North East. This is a book with a strong story. It’s not a self-obsessed literary book, it’s a popular work of fiction.”
On publishing, he said: “The mental block people have is that all publishers are in London and if you’re in the North East you must do local books. We sell books all over the world but we happen to be here because we like being here.”
Mr Handyside didn’t know when Tan Twan Eng’s next book would emerge. “He’s a perfectionist and I don’t want to push him. But I think he has set his heart on winning the Booker Prize,” he said.
In the meantime look out for a new Myrmidon title, Harmattan, a “powerful” novel set in Africa by Irish writer Gavin Weston and inspired by real events.
