What a night

07.03.11 | Tom Tivnan

It is 11.00 a.m. on Saturday 5th March and I am smack bang in the middle of Hoxton Street Market, with my 48 copies of World Book Night-branded The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in a bag, ready to spread the good news about literature.  
 
Now, when you hear Hoxton, you probably think more of the gentrified, arty, trendy area around Hoxton Square—that Hoxton is a stone's throw, but also a million miles, away from where I'm standing. The stalls in the market are full of knock-off designer gear and bootleg DVDs. The area is multicultural, and has a true neighbourhood, ungentrified feel. And though there have been significant efforts at regeneration by Hackney Council in recent years, it remains one of the most deprived parts of London (Hoxton Street itself is bordered by two massive council estates).
 
What better place, then, to give out a novel about 1930s middle class Edinburgh!
 
Things do not start out smoothly. Have you ever tried to give away something for free? Everybody sails past me suspiciously, assuming, I presume, that I am a Scientologist or Hare Krishna. Indeed, one guy asks if he has to join a cult to get the book. I say: "In a way, yes", a smart-ass answer that has him scuttling away.

The first book I give out is to a young fella in a hoodie, New York Yankees cap jauntily angled on his head, with massive earphones around his neck. I say it is for World Book Night, and start to explain what WBN is all about. He interrupts me, looking pointedly in the direction of the sun. "World Book Night? This is daytime, innit?"
 
Things start to pick up as I get my patter down. When I explain I am taking part in a nationwide initiative to give away one million books today, people stop to hear more. Some know the book, or of it ("This is the one Maggie Smith's in, isn't it?" one asks). People are engaged, interested, keen to talk about the book, asking me why I chose it, and take it away happily.
 
Interestingly, I would say about one in five people I talked to are aware of WBN—not necessarily the name of the project, but had heard something about it on the news. "You're one of them, the book givers," one man says with something like awe in his voice. The recognition is no doubt down to the Herculean efforts of Jamie Byng, who after this weekend has a media profile approaching Kate Middleton's (though with far, far better hair).
 
WBN givers seemed to be out in force in the East End on Saturday. One man I gave The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie already had a WBN All Quiet on the Western Front. And twice during the rest of the day I was approached by two other book givers (Fingersmith and Agent Zigzag).

I'm done in less than an hour, with only the tiniest bit of aggro: I was told to eff off twice, a rather inebriated fellow guzzling a can of Special Brew harangued me for a while, about what I'm still not sure. Yet, being able to chat to strangers about books—people who seemed genuinely interested—was heartening.

As to the question whether it will ultimately help the trade, I am optimistic. Indeed, we have reported already in The Bookseller that the majority of the WBN books have already had some sort of sales boost. Plus, it should be noted that of the 25 titles on the list, most have deep backlist. I did make a point of talking about Muriel Sparks' other books to everyone I spoke to (you're welcome Penguin and Virago!).

Indie booksellers' concerns about giving away a million books are perhaps understandable, but I think we need to take a long view and see how the initiative pans out [and, incidentally, we do need to put in perspective that yes, one million books is a lot, but the library service "gives out" 310 million books for free a year].

Anecdotally, I would say the main concern, that giving out books for free somehow "devalues" the book is way off the mark. In my little corner of Hackney at any rate, the people I spoke to and were the recipients of my WBN book, valued it all the more.

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