News
The Church of Scientology responds to Fair Game by Steve Cannane
This is how the Church of Scientology has responded to Fair Game by Steve Cannane, which Silvertail is very proud to be publishing in the UK, US and Canada: This book is like a hate crime generating prejudice, malice and potential aggression against members of a...
How and Why I Published Going Clear
By Humfrey Hunter It’s all John Sweeney’s fault. Really, it is. He was the one who, back in 2012, when I was his agent and Silvertail Books was just an idea, told me in his typically bullish way that I should publish his book about Scientology because no matter what...
Exciting new book news – another great Scientology investigation on the way from Silvertail
This great story appeared over the weekend on Tony Ortega's website: London-based Silvertail Books is to publish The Unbreakable Miss Lovely by Tony Ortega, the story of the life of author Paulette Cooper, the most famous victim of the Church of Scientology’s...
2014 – What a Year
It’s been quite a year for Silvertail Books. Planning year by year in publishing is difficult no matter where you are, but when you’re a tiny publisher moving from year 1 to year 2, it’s a serious puzzle. In mid-year 1, when I should have been lining up books for year...
In defence of Amazon
Negative stories about Amazon are pretty popular at the moment. If you believe what they say, you’ll see Amazon as no more than a predatory, destructive monster which kills bookshops with its low prices, impoverishes countries by not paying enough tax, and is...
The Day An Author Made Me Cry
It happened yesterday. I was in a meeting room at the London offices of the charity AfriKids listening to Paul Apowida be interviewed by the BBC and I shed tears - twice. A brief summary of Paul’s life story will help explain why: Paul was born in a remote part of...
The Golden Age of Publishing Starts In Clapham
A very experienced and brilliant publisher recently said to me that he believes publishing is on the brink of a new golden age. I agree with him. This is why. Publishing has always been and always will be about the reader more than anyone else. The reader is, we must...
The Story Behind The Book – A House Full of Books
Starting up a new, small publisher is a romantic thing, of that there is no doubt. The idea of choosing books I love and think other people will love and putting them out there to be made or broken by the market is exciting, a little scary and, so far, great fun. But...
The Story Behind The Book – How The Church of Fear Was Published, Part One
Of all the surprising and memorable moments I’ve had since John Sweeney and I first started talking about his Scientology book more than eighteen months ago, one stands out. It came at The Church of Fear’s launch party last week, when a friendly, middle-aged man asked...
Review of Bombardiers by Po Bronson
Review by Humfrey Hunter @humfreyhunter The first Po Bronson book I read, What Should I Do With My Life?, is a collection of true stories about people who decide to change their lives and move in the direction they truly want to go. I read it in my late twenties and...