Cargo Publishing: A Young Upstart

Cargo Publishing is a recently-launched book publisher that aims to provide books at an affordable price, whilst supporting new writing which might otherwise not get noticed. It’s the brainchild of Mark Buckland, a graduate of Strathclyde University who started running club nights with performances from writers while still a student. I talked to Buckland about how his new venture is going, and he had a great deal to say...

Mark Buckland’s message to Publishers: “Evolve a bit. Because for too long you’ve been too insular, and we all need to look at the wider world.

Buckland says his reason for starting Cargo Publishing is “To put a firework up the arse of Scottish Literature”. Why? “There’s a lot of potential” he says, “and no reason we couldn’t have a great literary scene. We’d contribute to that by trying to support very diverse artists who want to frame Scotland in an international sense”. And what does he mean by that, specifically? He’s pretty sure: “There’s plenty of coverage of literature about what it is to be English, but there’s very little on the Scottish paradigm because the literary scene is very London-centric”. Maybe so. But how do you go about setting up a book publisher in order to change that? Mark put his money where his mouth was. “I thought there were a lot of artists who needed support and a platform to be heard” he says “so I just did it, I just read and researched it. The funds were from my own pocket initially, and later there was support from The Princes Trust”. And so starts the story of Cargo Publishing...

Mark Buckland’s message to Readers: We hope readers will be excited by what we’re doing, and understand that buying locally is how we’ll build a scene.

Buckland says that “the ‘Golden Rule’ with Cargo is ‘thou shalt not bore’”. I press him on this, and so he explains that for him, entertainment doesn’t mean instant gratification. “It’s about the age old cliché of making someone feel something,” he says. “I do believe that a reader might have to work to be rewarded – fiction that’s challenging is no bad thing”. Cargo’s first book is Cancer Party by Andrew Raymond Drennan. It's out now and you can find it in Glasgow’s branches of Borders and Waterstones (though, unfortunately, you’ll have to look hard for it) or order it from the Cargo website. Cancer Party is about a boy from Paisley who supplements his University degree by dealing drugs to the ‘GOMA kids’, who hang out beside Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art. It’s a well realised novel with a nice sense of place and some great set pieces, such as the party that takes place in a shopping mall the kids have broken into. It bodes well for future Cargo publications. Now to find more writers...

Mark Buckland’s message to writers: We want your submissions. But most of all we need your support, because what literary scene we have needs to stand together.

I ask Mark how he hopes to find writers for what he calls, “the label”. He says “Andrew Raymond Drennan was a Myspace find who I asked to perform at the club nights”. But the search for good new writing is “very, very difficult”. His methods are “open submissions, speaking to agents and going to readings – like an old fashioned talent scout”. So far the signs are very positive. Cargo launched in late August, and Mark says “initially we were getting very little. But now we’re starting to see some good submissions and there are a few interesting projects in the pipeline – hopefully including some collaborations with some big names.” It was a slow start, but now things are speeding up for Buckland, whose job “was and continues to be very stressful. But we’ll get there”. Where’s there? “5 years today,” Buckland says that “the plan is to have a label of very varied, strong artists that’s renowned for important works. Important in the sense of inspiring and defining” he says, adding “all controlled from my island in the Bahamas.”

I think he’s joking about that part...