A PAIR of twin brothers from Glasgow are gearing up to launch a brand new Scottish publishing house.
The brainchild of John Gerard and Michael Anthony Fagan, Tantallon Tìr was created to publish the works of Scottish and Scottish-based writers.
Speaking exclusively with The National, John Gerard explained the origins of the venture.
“The first iteration started about 20 years ago as a proofreading business for student essays and dissertations before Michael and I went off to become teachers,” Fagan said.
“I went off to Japan to teach creative writing at universities, and Michael became an English teacher. The name Tantallon Tìr comes from the house we grew up in. Its original name was Tantallon, so we thought ‘aye, we’ll use that’.
“I’m not actually sure about the origin of Tantallon, but Tìr is Gaelic – it means land or place. We wanted to make it a little bit more Scottish.”
The Fagan twins are both experienced writers, with John Gerard having both his memoir and debut novel, Silent Riders Of the Sea, published by London-based firms.
He explained that the book was originally written in Scots, but there “wasn’t really much of a demand for Scots novels” at the time.
Fagan said trips south of the border pushed the pair to take the idea of Tantallon Tìr off the “backburner”.
“I’ve always thought that we should start a publishing house, but then Covid and everything got in the way so it was postponed”, he continued.
“A lot of publishing houses were closing down, and there’s been less demand, but speaking to other Scottish writers, we realised there was an issue of not many Scottish publishers not wanting to take on Scottish stories.
“We thought this is probably a good time to do this and see if it works. We got together with Phillip Clark, who is a great editor and illustrator, and decided to start Tantallon Tìr for Scottish and Scottish-based writers.”
The firm’s first publication, 274 Miles, will debut on September 30. The anthology contains stories from 40 authors, including Lisa Ballantyne, Margaret Elphinstone, Philip Paris, and Callum McSorley.
Curated from submissions from writers across Scotland, each story was limited to 274 words as a nod to the length of the country’s mainland, from the Mull of Galloway to Cape Wrath.
Fagan told The National they were “inundated” with submissions and decided to create a novel that was short enough to draw new readers in but long enough to form a good story.
“There were so many submissions coming through, a lot more than we thought there would be, which is great”, he said.
“We have 40 stories in it – some from famous Scottish authors and some not-so-famous, up-and-coming ones. It was mainly the quality and stories that weaved all the way through that formed the selection process.”
Tantallon Tìr has already started accepting submissions for a second anthology collection, titled Call of the Isles. Stories are to be set on any island but must have a Scottish element.
Fagan said they had already received more submissions in one week for the next book than the first did in three months.
With a follow-up novel already in the works, Tantallon Tir has identified a clear gap in the literary market. Fagan explained that there was an element of “risk” for publishers when taking on novels specifically written in Scots.
“It’s a risk to take on Scots language novels and stories that are set in Scotland. Apart from your Outlanders and your Trainspottings, everything else kind of gets swept to the side”, he said.
“There aren’t many Scottish publishers for a start, and they’re not taking exclusively taking Scottish stories, and if they do, it’s a big, massive risk to them.
“Because a lot of Scottish publishers are closing down as well, there’s a need for Tantallon Tìr.
“There’s a missing voice isn’t there, and that’s something I believe we can fill. That’s why it’s going to be a good idea in the long run because there are so many talented writers who have gotten in contact with us already.”
Tantallon Tìr’s first anthology will be published on September 30 with a celebratory launch event held in Glasgow’s Grosvenor Café on October 1.
274 Miles is available to pre-order here.
