Introducing Romilly Morgan, Founder and Publishing Director of Brazen Books
Romilly Morgan, founder of Brazen Books [photo credit: Bo Morgan]
Meet Romilly, founder of Brazen Books. Join us as she shares her ambition for the brand, her top tips for budding authors and her perplexity over city schedules…
Brazen Books is an imprint of Hachette UK’s Octopus Publishing Group. Romilly’s mission is to publish “books with bite.” Her list includes “OPEN: Why Asking for Help Can Save your Life” by the bestselling author, Frankie Bridge, bestselling and record-breaking Florence Given’s “Women Don’t Owe You Pretty” and Aja Barber’s “CONSUMED: The need for collective change; colonialism, climate change & consumerism”
brazen: @Brazen.books | personal:@romilly.morgan
“My name is Romilly Morgan, I am 32 and the founder and publishing director of Brazen, a brand-new imprint within Octopus Publishing, whose ethos is to publish books with bite; across non-fiction, fiction and poetry.”
Small on Motherhoods - Claire Lynch
What is Brazen’s mission?
‘A book should be the axe to break the frozen sea inside us’*
I want Brazen to be a right battle-axe.
*thanks Kafka
What are your future goals for the brand?
I’m ambitious! So, for Brazen to be one of the defining imprints in the industry. And for Brazen to be a community for writers who want to embolden readers to question themselves and the world around them with their words.
Who are your typical authors and the stories that they tell?
There is literally no typical author nor story. That’s part of the most exhilarating and challenging aspects of running your own imprint. There is no mould or precedent to rely on, at least not one I am interested in following.
Girl Crush, a Novel - Flora Given
What were the main steps and drivers to setting up Brazen?
I wanted to create a list that was known for being a hotbed of stories and writers that speak to a new generation of readers. I felt I needed to stand out in order to do things a bit differently and shake publishing up.
How should an aspiring author take action to get published?
Write. Write. Write. Sit on it. Then ask someone you trust for their opinion. Think on it. Edit and kill your darlings (even if its thousands of words or your main protagonist). Think about what makes your book different. Approach literary agents. Submit your work to various schemes that can help mentor and nurture you. But above all else, write.
What are your most valuable business resources?
My peers’ wisdom and experience.
Women Don’t Owe You Pretty - Florence Given
What are your go-to tips for running a business?
You can never be too ambitious
You can never ask too many questions
You can never ask for too much
You can never be too pushy*
What do you wish you had known before you started?
You get really good by making really bad mistakes.
Consumed, the need for collective change: colonialism, climate change and consumerism - Aja Barber
W E A L T H
How do you define wealth?
How many books you have read.
What is the best financial decision you have ever made?
Every book I have bought for Brazen.
What has been a financial ‘mistake’ that you have made, and what did you learn from it?
I got a credit card to improve my credit rating and then had a serious break-up. My emotional bankruptcy led to emotional spending and near financial bankruptcy! I have paid it off now and am never getting another one (the credit card not the partner…).
What tools do you use to manage your personal finances?
Nutmeg is where all my tiny savings are. I like how it means I am investing in the stock market whilst also being able to manage how much I put in each month.
Which area of finance do you wish you knew more about?
How is it that suited men drink every Thursday / Friday afternoon and don’t work like the rest of us?
What’s your guilty pleasure purchase?
Books, can’t go into a bookshop and not buy a book. Oh, and I love a pint, a packet of crisps and an intense conversation.
What’s your money secret?
Making it is hard.
Romilly Morgan, founder of Brazen Books [photo credit: Bo Morgan]
W E L L - B E I N G
What is your typical wellness routine?
Anything that sets my mind free; hot yoga, running, pilates currently. And kimchi.
What’s next for you?
To write more. I have booked a wild cottage by the sea at the end of February to go and write with no Wi-Fi or phone.
What are you currently reading and listening to?
My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley
Self Esteem’s PRIORITISE PLEASURE
Top 5 Instagram accounts to follow?
1. Brazen.books
2. Brazen.books
3. Brazen.books
4. Brazen.books
5. Brazen.books
(please refer back to my answer ‘you can never be too pushy!’*).
