We first came accross Jasper Joffe as part of an artistic double act with Harry Pye who did great art things together. But as Harry stayed in and around the art world Jasper went digital and into the publishing world were he’s become pretty successful we at FAD wondered why and how he achieved that success.
How did you move from painting to publishing
I was always interested in how you reach more people (projects like The Free Art fair, where we gave away art for free) and the way in which the market and taste and the art world functioned in establishing value (my show 24 paintings in 24 hours at The Chisenhale). Surprisingly (perhaps), I found a lot of skills transferred from being an artist to being a publisher, for example putting on my own shows was basically like running a business (which made very little money when I was a painter!). Also in the early days I designed all the covers myself. And I’ve always loved reading and even wrote a not very good novel once. Not to mention, my mother had, among other things, been a proof-reader/editor and written an unpublished Mills & Boon romance, that I eventually published. And of course I began all this just as it became possible to publish eBooks really easily on Kindle. And finally my first publishing adventures were with my friend Erik, who had edited magazines, and we learnt a lot together.
2 Can you tell us more about Joffe Books
I started it in 2014, and we’ve grown to become one of the largest independent publishers in the UK. We’re known for publishing some of the top mystery writers like Joy Ellis and Faith Martin. We now have over 20 full-time staff and published 500 books last year in a range of genres. We are recognized for the high quality of our books and our passion and commitment to our authors. We’ve been shortlisted for independent publisher of the year at the British Book Awards, five or six times.
3 How do aspiring authors get in touch and are you looking for illustrators at all?
We have open submissions for authors. I really love the fact we can maintain this (I don’t like gatekeepers and hierarchies) and any author just needs to go to joffebooks.com/submissions and send us their book. Similarly talented/experienced cover designers can send their portfolios to us at work@joffebooks.com Please don’t just send a CV, show us some examples of great book covers you’ve designed.
4 Are you concerned by AI-driven books is this already affecting what you do?
I see AI like the internet or mobile phones. It’s going to change things in ways we can’t yet imagine. I think it’s really hard to write a really good book and AI will struggle to achieve that, but who knows. As a tool for improving efficiency in mundane tasks we are already finding it really helpful.
5. Are there any books you would recommend FAD readers should keep an eye out for in the early part of 2025?
All our authors are brilliant, of course. I’m proud of the work we put into every book we publish. But I am excited about a couple titles this month alone. Including “Horrible Husbands” by Jessica Huntley and “If She’s Found” by Alesha Dykema They are both utterly gripping psychological thrillers.
