Confingo. Creating

By Olivia Boileau

‘Before I had always lived according to the principles of the Methodist Church. After reading it, I viewed almost everything differently and began to explore life in ways that had always seemed closed to me.’

Birthed in a newsagent’s in April 2014 by Tim Shearer, Confingo began as a biannual magazine publication featuring fiction, poetry and photography. As it developed, it started to include other kinds of art, as well as reviews and interviews. By 2017, Confingo Publishing was so well-established that they published their first collection of books, Ornithology by Nicholas Royle, a well-known and highly regarded novelist and short story writer. Encouraged by the positive response that book received, Confingo have now published more than a dozen books, including the first English translation of Vincent de Swarte’s classic novel Pharricide and a series of small-format books on art and culture – Art Decades – by the legendary DJ Dave Haslam. Today, Confingo is a well-regarded and influential magazine. In 2018, It was voted one of the best five literary magazines in the UK. From his early twenties, Tim had dreamt of starting a literary magazine but never quite got round to doing it until much later in his life. We asked Tim some quick-fire questions on the progression of his career in the hope of reassuring readers about their careers and choices.

What would you describe your career role as?

Book and magazine publisher. I do most of the editing/copy-editing/proofreading involved in preparing the books and magazine for publication. I also read and review the bulk of the sub- missions we receive, although various other people help me with this, due to the sheer number of submissions we now receive.

Before creating Confingo what other jobs had you had and how do you feel they benefited you in the role you have now?

Before starting Confingo about ten years ago, I did many jobs, most of them on a freelance basis. My first job after leaving university was as a computer programmer. That proved more or less disastrous for me and the company I worked for. After that, I began proofreading, for universities and companies, and gradually I began to be offered editing and copy-editing work – by the BBC, BT, the Home Office, the Metropolitan Police. I also wrote a number of ‘white papers’, particularly for BT. All of the skills I developed in these roles – how to write clearly and concisely, how to read with close attention – were immediately useful when I started Confingo. It meant, for instance, that I was able to produce the very first issue of the magazine (Confingo) more or less by myself – the only assistance I needed was with layout and design.

Confingo Publishing primarily focuses on contemporary fiction and creates new fiction, poetry and art. How do you decide on which works you want to release?

The authors and artists we publish are based in Manchester and the north of England, which is also where Confingo is based. We receive more submissions from authors and artists based in the north than from elsewhere. The fiction and poetry we select for publication is chosen for its originality, distinctiveness and literary quality. We publish established writers alongside unpublished writers. We are open to submissions from anyone and everyone – our selection procedure is based purely on literary or artistic merit. Nor do we attempt to influence the subject matter of the submissions we receive. We consider anything – any subject, any genre.

What advice do you have to give to recent graduates who want a career in the publishing industry but don’t know where to start?

Read as much contemporary fiction and poetry as you can. Read as much classical fiction and poetry as you can. Visit bookshops and libraries (where they still exist). Collect books. Discuss books. Join a book group. Start a journal in which you keep a record of the books you read, and describe your responses to them. Contact publishers and offer to read submissions for them.

What goals do you have next for Confingo?

In its first ten years, Confingo grew rapidly, from publishing a bi-annual magazine to publishing a biannual magazine and up to a dozen books each year. We received about 50 submissions to the first issue of the magazine; to the most recent, we received over 1,000. We’ve established a reputation for publishing some of the most exciting and innovative contemporary fiction, including work by David Rose, Sophie Mackintosh, Wendy Erskine, Toby Litt, Nicholas Royle, Livi Michael and Eley Williams.

Our focus is on contemporary fiction, poetry and art, and many – though not a majority – of We’ve also published work by celebrated photographers such as Lucy Ridges and Guille Ibañez. But we also want to publish more work by writers and artists who are just beginning their careers. Another aim is to publish our first collection of poetry and our first collection of photography in the next couple of years. In addition, we intend to publish more translated work, following our publication of the first English version of Pharricide by Vincent de Swarte four years ago.

What book have you read that you felt changed your perspective on life and would help those in their early 20s and unsure of what to do next with their life?

When I was 16, I read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. It changed my life, virtually overnight. Before reading it, I’d lived according to the principles of the Methodist Church. After reading it, I viewed almost everything differently and began to explore life in ways that had always seemed closed to me. The Catcher in the Rye not only changed my perspective on life – it changed the entire structure and purpose of my life. It’s regarded as something of a controversial book now, although that’s true of most books published before 1960.

What would you like to see more of in the publishing industry and can you reveal any upcoming trends in the industry?

I’d like to see more robust resistance to the attempts by certain publishers to alter texts to make them fit with beliefs and opinions which the (deceased) author did not adhere to – more often than not, for crassly commercial reasons. The most recent case in point is that of Roald Dahl whose works have been bowdlerised by his (estate’s) publisher in an effort to make them palatable to contemporary tastes. As for trends, I have no idea. I find it impossible to predict. A few months ago, the use of ‘sensitivity readers’ appeared to be sweeping the publishing world. But following the Dahl debacle, a number of publishers are reviewing the role of such readers.

With a rise in AI programmes, the general public are able to explore their creativity through generated art. Many of these programmes are in the early stages of development, using art from independent artists as a way of teaching the AI how to produce images. However, when scraping images from platforms such as DeviantArt, many people speculate whether this practice infringes on the copyright of these works, as many were used without the consent of the original creator.

Artists Kelly McKernan, Karla Ortiz, and Sarah Andersen have filed a lawsuit against the AI art generator, Midjouney, on this basis. The lawsuit will discuss the legality of fair use laws in relation to AI generators, considering whether these generated images can be considered transformative works or not. These programmes are taught to reproduce the data within the images, rather than using elements from the pieces directly. This is therefore why the lawsuit is considered a cornerstone in the future of fair use and copyright law.

With generators, such as this, being able to produce endless content, using stolen art, it has been speculated that issues could arise for the future of art related industries, with the influx of fast produced illustrations. With it unable to create unique pieces and instead reproduces derivative works countless times, people are speculating that the programmes could cause an oversaturation of the market rather than pushing the industry forwards. This could be especially alarming to those whose art has been used to train the AI to produce specific art styles, as this directly impacts their ability to make commission. Allowing an already overlooked labour easier access, in a much cheaper and less time-consuming way, further incentivises companies not to hire artists when producing bespoke pieces for their product.

With the development of new technology, many see these advancements as a tool to enhance creativity, however, artists should be reassured that their industry will be protected from copyright infringement.

By Rida Khalid