BOSS LADY: KIM KREMER
Kim Kremer is the managing director of Notting Hill Editions. This independent British publisher, founded by her father Tom Kremer, is hailed as 'the shape of things to come'. It brings to print the most surprising thinkers of past and present. In this interview, we took the time to ask Kim about her role, why she loves literature, and which books she thinks everyone should read.
Kim, your father Tom’s aim was to revive the art of the essay and to produce exceptionally beautiful books that could be cherished. He certainly succeeded in that. What inspired you to start working in publishing?
My father had founded Notting Hill Editions at the age of eighty. A few years later, when the company had published several titles, he asked for my help. He wanted to see a future in the company, and it was a good way for the two of us to spend some time together. We’d always enjoyed talking about literature, I studied English Literature at university, and he even attended one of my lectures. We would often exchange books; it was an ongoing conversation. I had worked in Children’s Publishing several years before, so I had a little experience, but it was worlds away from what I had to learn at Notting Hill Editions, and it was a daunting task. He had never worked in publishing before, but was a good businessman, so the two of us felt our way along together.
Notting Hill Editions only print a limited number of titles a year. Why is this?
Our ethos is quality over quantity – quality of writing, quality of production. The world has enough books, and the choice is overwhelming. NHE books are intended to be restful on the eye (no loud cover designs), and to give people a sense of entering a curated library. We specialise in the essay, which is a very particular type of writing, so by its nature the selection is smaller.
How do you decide on what to publish?
Firstly, I have to love it. I hear of publishers who have a keen commercial sense, and are able to predict what they think the public will want to read. I struggle with the concept of a commercial reading public. My guiding principle is that if I have responded to a book, then other readers will too.
Secondly, the book needs to fit into our broad spectrum of ‘essay’. It needs to express an original idea, and untangle the idea through the course of the book.
Thirdly, it must be brief – no more than 40,000 words. There is an adage I like, I do not know who said it, ‘Inside every fat book is a thin one trying to get out.’ Some of the greatest essays express themselves in few words. Our books are designed to be read over the course of a few evenings or train journeys.
Finally, it has to linger. Am I thinking about it long after I have read it? Am I still digesting it like a fantastically filling three course meal?
Have you found a trend in what people are deciding to read at the moment?
I do not look at trends, except in so far that it is natural to absorb or notice the interests of our friends and the people around us. If I tried to follow trends, I would spend my time looking at what everyone else is doing, and follow too late. Instead, I try to look for what is timeless. Sometimes a work will resonate with the times we are living in, that might be a good time to publish a neglected classic. Our recently published ‘Happy Half-Hours’ by A.A. Milne is a good example of that. It just feels like medicine for the pandemic.
What book are you currently reading?
I have just started Wilding by Isabella Tree and I am loving it. I hope to visit Knepp when I am allowed. It strikes me that there is a soft parallel between letting nature go, letting it take its own direction, and the concept of the essay. The essay is wild in thought, it does not always have a destination in mind. When we relinquish control, unexpected things happen.
Which book do you think everyone should read at least once in their lifetime?
Middlemarch by George Eliot.
What effect do you think a good book should have on a person?
A good book absorbs the reader – I love that feeling where the room recedes, and you lose yourself. And in some cases, it might change your view of something. The best books live on inside you, like inner guides, but that is rare.
Why do you think it is important that people find time to read in their daily lives?
Reading gives us greater empathy for our fellow human beings. I do not think it’s possible to be an avid reader who is also judgemental and unforgiving. Books help us to understand others and ourselves, they let us walk in another’s shoes. They make us realise how much we have in common.
Where do you see the future of Notting Hill Editions going?
I am excited to have just expanded our little team with a new publisher, Rosalind Porter. Tom died in 2017 and I have so missed him and our conversations about NHE. It is wonderful to have Ros aboard to help guide the company. The future? Gradually building on our library of books and finding more readers in which to plant them.
What is your favourite literary quote?
There are so many. But here is just one by the inimitable John Berger, from his book Cataract that we published. As his sight returns after a cataract operation, he sees as if for the first time.
‘The light places a hand on your back. You do not turn round because from a long, long time ago, you recognise its touch. It’s what you first saw and never gave a name to.’
Kim is the Managing Director of Notting Hill Editions: https://www.nottinghilleditions.com/
Instagram: @nottinghilleditions