“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

Posted on 30. Apr, 2009 by Chris Matney in Book Publishing, Front Page Posts

For a couple of days, I have pondered what words I would use for an opening salvo for Trapdoor Books. Then, I realized that I am not a writer, but a publisher. Why try to write a great opening line, when there are already thousands of them out there? “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen,” is – as you may remember from high school – George Orwell’s opening line in 1984 (1949). BTW, the American Book Review has 100 of the best opening and closing lines here. Let me know what your favorites are.

It is both bright and a bit nippy here in Lyons, the temperature is hovering around 50 degrees, but my office window is open, as I am willing the arrival of spring.

But why a quote from 1984? As you will find out by reading this blog – and I can’t really hide it – one of my pet peeves is censorship in all its forms. I don’t believe fiction should be written to the lowest common denominator, avoid subjects because they make us uncomfortable, or be reworked by overzealous publishers utilizing the Ministry of Truth’s novel-writing machine. It is ironic that 1984 is itself one of the most challenged books in American literature. One of the goals of Trapdoor Books it to discover new writers and publish good literature that is not mainstream – just entertaining and maybe a bit thought-provoking.

BTW, I must admit that “A screaming comes across the sky”, Thomas Pynchon’s opening to Gravity’s Rainbow (1973), is what I’m hoping for with the launch of the website next month. Until then, there are a few things that need to be done.