Ian Alexander Martin is the enthusiastic force behind Atomic Fez, a fledgling (but prolific) publisher that hit the ground running with a variety of titles released over the past year. Martin’s unique taste and vision inform everything about the specialty publishing house, from its eclectic mix of titles to its retro-funky website (www.atomicfez.com).

Recently, Martin was kind enough to take a moment away from preparing material for 2011 to give us a peek behind the scenes at Atomic Fez.

HW: Okay, I have to ask right off the bat – what’s the story behind the name Atomic Fez?

IAM: Sometime I have to come up with a quick-and-quotable answer to that question – in the meantime, here's the long version, complete with background details perfect for Freudian analysis.

When thinking about a name for this effort of mine, I thought it was best to create a name that brought to mind the material I wanted to publish. Because that material is a broad spectrum of content, anything specific to a particular category was a non-starter. Likewise, there's a huge glut of small press publishers who chose names using the words blood, horror, and other things indicating — and thus limiting — themselves to that particular material, even if some of what they publish could be considered  mystery, thriller, or even literature. If that really is all you're going to concentrate on, then it's excellent to state that specific limitation: "If you're looking for this kind of book, then we're the place to look!" However, Atomic Fez was always designed to be a broad tent of literary content, so something non-genre specific was key.

The so-called 'atomic age' was a period from the mid-‘50s to the mid-‘60s when men's jaw-lines were as sharp as their lapels and their wit, incomes were ballooning, and popular fiction was a diverse and ever-present cultural force. That time was one of optimism and of goals of literally sky-high proportions. All stoves, cars, and jet-packs were to be nuclear powered. What could go wrong with that clean, compact, and reliable power? "Atomic" meant "the future"!

During that same period, the beginning of the fascination with Foreign Lands, which began with the post-WWII popularity of Hawaiian music and 'Oriental' culture, took off to more Mediterranean climes with the North American introduction of the fez. While the fez was often associated simply with secret clubs, the brimless headgear also found its place in the original 'Lounge Culture' alongside shawl-collar tuxedo-jackets, leopard-skin pattern upholstered hassocks, and martinis so dry a buzzard would cry for mercy.

So, with that sort of fashion-sense, positive outlook, and ubiquitous nature of the book, who wouldn't call their publishing house Atomic Fez?

Also, whenever I told people the name, they smiled; never a bad sign.

What were you doing before Atomic Fez?

Just how personal is this interview? Oh; you mean 'professionally'! Ah!

Prior to creating the house, I was the acting head of Humdrumming, Ltd., with whom I was involved for a little over three years.

Prior to that, I was running a Vancouver-centric theatre news-site called "The Boards", which included reviews, features, editorials, and event listings about theatre in my area. As a stage and screen actor/director, I was dissatisfied with arts coverage in the area by the traditional print media, and recognized that the only practical thing was to take up the coverage slack myself. In the later-half of the life of "The Boards", the content broadened to include much of the USA's Pacific Northwest, Ontario, and England. The UK content is what resulted in me getting to know Guy Adams, who lured me into this career in the first place, and then proved he's a complete booby by encouraging me to start the house which came to be called "Atomic Fez Publishing". It's all his fault.

You mention Humdrumming – what happened there? I was one of the lucky few to snag a copy of Tim Lebbon’s The Reach of Children, and it was beautifully produced as well as beautifully written. The other books they put out were equally well-received. Can you shed any light on why that company went under?

The reason I left Humdrumming was mostly due to it being nigh-on impossible to get accomplished some of the basics for a business: billing, shipping, and getting answers to questions such as "Has that been shipped/invoiced?", "Can I get a copy of that bank statement?" or even "Can you be more specific about how we're doing financially?" As a result of my leaving, and as there was no desire from those left to continue running it (which explains why I wasn't able to get anyone else to do anything), the company was slowly wrapped-up. There are a few people to whom I cannot apologize enough for my liking, due to the fall-out inflicted on them (no respectable author should be required to hand-sell their book in order to receive payment for their writing), especially the formative brains behind Humdrumming: Guy Adams, a gifted author and excellent man in my opinion (and someone who had left Humdrumming, Ltd. about a year earlier).

Tim Lebbon's The Reach of Children was, with no reservation, the finest piece of writing I had the pleasure of reading that year. So taken with it was I (and feeling guilty for having left when I did), Atomic Fez attempted to get the trade edition rights for it from Mr. Lebbon, but he already had his eye on it being included in a larger volume. (Note: According to Tim Lebbon’s website, The Reach of Children will be part of a 2011 collection from PS Publishing tentatively titled Ghosts and Bleeding Things.)

Why decided to start up a publishing company now, during a time in which the business is undergoing such tumultuous change?

I'm tempted to say "I'm insane," or "After being an actor, owning a photo-lab, and running a website, I located the next industry to croak and became a publisher," or to simply repeat "it's all Guy Adams' fault".

Mostly it seems to be a matter of this being something which encompasses my myriad of unrelated talents: an understanding of storytelling, my status as a technology geek, and being particularly picky about apostrophe use.

Much of my work experience has had to do with sales in some way, and that has a great deal of help with publishing. The technology is a big help now, but having spent a bunch of experience in the darkroom, as well as at a traditional printing business, there's a good base in my understanding of not only what the Kindle and iPad are able to do, but also what they're replacing at various levels of success.

As for the tumultuous nature of the industry, you're right. This is easily the most revolutionary period in books since Gutenberg created a reliable printing press using movable type. As Warren Buffet points out, however, "when everyone is doing something, it's time to do something else instead".

You’re just wrapping up your first calendar year with Atomic Fez –how has it been? What were your biggest accomplishments, and your biggest obstacles?

Possibly the biggest accomplishment was simply getting things manifested in a physical form. Attending World HorrorCon (the first world-level event for me) and having four titles simultaneously available in Brighton was pretty damned fantastic. People even parted with money for copies of them! I’d had the chance to travel to the UK twice before then, but this third trip was made particularly spectacular by it being the double launch of the publishing house and the books themselves; both of which being entirely on my own terms, serving as a sort of public demonstration of abilities.

Probably the biggest obstacle to overcome has been the economic hurdles. No one is immune to this, the worst suffering area seemingly being the UK.

Beyond the lack of money rolling in – which, like the poor, will always be with us – was the matter of getting a distribution agreement. Chapters/Indigo Books and Music, Ltd. is reportedly responsible for 85% of all books sales in Canada. Once you realize they’re the only real national chain of bookstores, and the next one down in size probably doesn’t even have locations in three major cities, it’s not too surprising. Getting into their catalogue is far more difficult than Amazon in Canada, because Amazon.ca is only web-based, obviously, while Chapters/Indigo operates both its online and store stock-lists the same way. To get into their market you can only do so through a distributor, and not in the same “Sales Association” method as Amazon.

In late November, thankfully, Atomic Fez signed a deal with a Canadian-based distributor and has succeeded in being placed in their catalogue, as well as getting the Amazon data entries corrected for a few titles that previously were listed as “no longer in print” shortly after they were first available.

What’s the biggest thrill you get as publisher? What’s the toughest challenge?

The biggest thrill is probable hearing from people after they’ve read the books. Feedback of any sort is welcomed, as it tells me that people have used the items for their intended use: reading. It’s what we go through all this for, after all.

The biggest challenge is getting people to actually purchase them and read them, I suppose.

Your books are available not only in the traditional print format, but digitally as well. How important was it for you, as a new publisher, to offer your books digitally?

It was extremely important, being the way of the future. As far as I’m concerned, people should be provided with the words of the author in whatever form they want to read them. On paper or electronic files, both contain the imagination of the writer, and get transferred to the imagination of the reader.

Due to it being so “tomorrow” in its format, the provision of electronically-formatted words from Day 1 seemed to be the best way to start things.

Is there a significant difference in how well the print line is doing versus the digital line?

Yes: the print versions seem to be far more popular than the electronic ones. This is at least partly due to the adoption resistance of e-books (some see them as “book replacements,” when they’re simply “alternate bindings” in my mind), and there’s also more of the market which I am connected to which is more collector-oriented. While I see books primarily as something to read, I recognize that many collect them as objects, and purchase them with that in mind.

The sales figures after this past Christmas ought to reflect my recent drop in e-book pricing of last September meeting-up with the iPad, Kindle, Nook, and Kobo gifts received by people. That’s certainly what I’m hoping at least.

There’s a real retro vibe to your website, from the logo and colors all the way to the old ads you include in some of your news posts. How does your appreciation for things vintage inform your work as a publisher?

The principle way is as previously mentioned: it was a time of massive potential, and creativity was celebrated. The positive and inclusive quality of the period is something that I wish more people in any creative industry embraced, frankly. While literary publishers can be known more than some for looking down their noses at “popular culture,” it’s just as easily found in music or even technology. Who’s to say that Apple, due to their massive sales of iPhones, is less “good” at making mobile phones than Research in Motion’s Blackberry? Or vice-versa? Is there something incredibly noble about buying a Samsung Galaxy Tab instead of an iPad, because the Apple-made tablet is more popular? Is there something inherently wrong with a particular book or song because it’s sold millions of copies?

Basically, we are all attempting to get works of some sort – objects or intellectual creations – into the hands of the public in one way or another. Lately it’s got so that the large-selling ones are immediately branded as “critically invalid,” merely because of that popularity. If, in fact, they’re actually badly made on a quantifiable level and not a subjective one, then it is correct to say “this is bad,” but this declaration is made far too freely purely on the basis of personal taste. I might not care for Karen Carpenter’s singing, but I recognize her talent. It’s that differentiation that makes for a broad tent, and people seem too limiting these days in some fashion.

If there’s anything else that really drives me as a publisher from the retro-stuff, it’s the fun quality of things, as well as the ability to mix cheekiness with business. It matches me and the way I conduct myself, if nothing else. Only one’s martinis should be very dry.

Tell us about some of the books you’ve published so far. How are the books and authors you are working with helping to define the Atomic Fez brand?

If there’s any pattern, it’s that I publish stuff I like. The best description so far was one provided by someone doing a pitch at WHC in Brighton, when the books literally hadn’t yet hit the table: “I was talking to the lads, and they say you publish ‘weird stuff’.” Given I barely had an actual publishing house at this point, hearing that the outside world had sorted out what I was doing already was a bit off-putting. In theory, you figure that out on your own before other people even know you exist.

However, “weird stuff” and “highly eclectic” is about right. There’s the detective story The Terror and the Tortoiseshell that I think is filled with humor, but other people focus on the horror and semi-dark events (which may say more about me than the book, frankly); meanwhile there’s The Beautiful Red, which is a collection of the darkest and bleakest material I’ve ever read. Wicked Delights is another collection, this one of tales which all include at least a vague reference to sex, but is supremely classy, witty, and intellectual throughout; while Twisthorn Bellow is a novel that occasionally revels in its own puerility while delivering groan-worthy puns and sight-gags.

Possibly the best volume to encapsulate everything that is Atomic Fez is the most recent one: Ponthe Oldenguine. Incredibly mad, slightly off-putting, sociological satirical, and some of the finest crafting of a story that suddenly shifts about four notches to the left just as you think you know what’s happening. That mix of intellectual stimulation, imagination, humor – all located on a bit of an emotional journey – is exactly what gets published here. Atomic Fez, the Lousiana Gumbo of book publishers.

As a publisher, I’m guessing you’re a reader first. What kinds of things attract you to a piece of fiction, both from a personal enjoyment standpoint and from a business standpoint?

For the personal selection, I’d say it could be a mystery, humorous, a bit scary, sarcastic, or simply weird. Something with a bit of odd content to make you say “what... but, if you... how does that work, exactly?” Warren Ellis’s “Transmetropolitan” series, Terry Pratchett’s “Discworld” series, Christopher Fowler’s work, and Cherie Priest’s “Clockwork Century” material. Whatever it is I read has to have an element of humor running through it. It’s the light which better defines the point at which you enter the darkness.

When selecting material to publish, it’s much the same thing, but with less requirement for humor. I’m going to easily read the material in its totality four times by the time books hit the inside of a box. Logically, it’s going to have to hold my interest somehow through each of those readings. As someone who lives with clinical depression, I do have to watch getting too firmly pushed into the “bleak and hopeless” end of the spectrum. As long as it’s extremely well-written, then that’s something setting it apart from some material already.

What’s coming up from Atomic Fez?

Extra-special things! Ooooooh!

I’m looking at 2011 having about four titles in it, two in the first half (both Canadian authors, one of them a brand-new author), then two more in the autumn (both of whom were part of the first titles).