My Job in 5: Danny Pearson

1. Describe your role

An impossible task that I fail to do every time when asked. If you ask my family and friends they would tell you that I make books. I can honestly say I don’t sit at a desk and glue pages to a cover, so making books isn’t quite right. I think it would be better to say that I assemble a team of talented individuals and together we piece a book together. The printers, they are the ones who make the physical books. My job here at Badger varies. We are a small but very successful publishing house. Being small means the whole team have to chip in with jobs and I suspect other publishers don’t get the chance to get so involved.

2. What do you like best about your role?

I love working so closely with the authors and artists. There is nothing better, or stronger, than a great working relationships with ‘the talent’. I have had over thirty of my own books published and I continue to write for other publishers outside of work, which I feel helps. The children’s book industry is a magnificent beast to be part of. Almost everyone I have met at various book launches, events and seminars are genuinely interested, and invested, in this industry. We are all here to help one another.  So much so that I have been lucky enough to be able to put on a local book festival here in ‘The Shire’ (Hertfordshire) – The Hitchin Childrens’ Book Festival.

3. Which new projects or titles are you working on at the moment?

I am always juggling more than one project. At the moment I am helping to put   the final touches to our 2019 catalogues. I’m also working on a new six book horror series, Papercuts, due out in spring 2019, Guided Reading material and getting the brief together for another set of modern reluctant reader books.  These books will focus on subjects that young adults are struggling to deal with - domestic abuse, racism and establishing sexual identity.

4.  What skills do you need for your role?

Many awesome skills are needed, but I would say the top one would be the ability to work on several projects all at once and to be able to keep track of everyone. I work with a small army of authors, designers, proof readers and artists and it’s vital that I am available to all of them... at any time!

5. What advice would you give to those looking to work in the industry?

Don’t join this industry if you are looking for money. You won’t find it. Unless you discover the next J. K. Rowling OR you are the next J. K. Rowling. Join this industry because you love it and you want to push it forward.