A few weeks ago the very hard-working CEO of our
company, Rebecca Smart, walked up to the editorial part of the office and asked
me and my wonderful friend Emily if we’d be interested in helping to arrange a
publishing network event on behalf of BookMachine. Assured it was just a matter
of finding a venue and arranging a date, we happily agreed despite our sizeable
workloads. Within a matter of days we had our venue (All Bar One on the High St)
and the date (Thursday 28 June from 5.30) sorted.
The publicity that has since been pouring
out on Twitter has been remarkable. The dedication of Laura at BookMachine is
impressive, we’ve all been retweeting and promoting enthusiastically, and Emily
and I – now referred to as the “hosts” of Oxford’s first-ever BookMachine shindig
– have even been interviewed for the occasion (check us out on the BookMachine website). Emily sounds
more corporate and professional than I do, but in her words, “I’d rather be
friends with you!”
In short, what started as a brief request
from our CEO has blossomed into a fun and exciting challenge, and I cannot wait
to see how it turns out. Writing this an hour and a half before England’s
quarter-final match against Italy I can’t help but think that the event’s
success – scheduled for the night of our semi-final if we win – might be
dependent on that of the English football team tonight. But either way I think
we will get a great turnout, with over 50 registered attendees already, and it
will be a superb chance to network and meet a whole range of Oxford publishing
types. If you’re reading this, work in publishing, and want to come along for a
Mangotini, click here: http://bookmachine-oxford.eventbrite.com/
Added bonus: I’ve bought a nice new smart
frock. Feel free to compliment me on it on Thursday (insincere compliments
welcome too).
