Scott Pack - Editor

I acquire, edit and publish fiction and non-fiction for Eye Books and Lightning Books, two sister imprints. Books include the #1 Amazon bestseller, The Cornershop in Cockleberry Bay by Nicola May, Wolf Country by Tünde Farrand, The Exphoria Code by Antony Johnston and An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire.

I have joined Oxford Brooks University as Associate Lecturer. I teach one day a week as part of the Editorial Management module of their MA in Publishing.

Unbound is the world's first crowdfunding publisher. Our authors pitch their books to readers who can then pledge to support them and help get them published. My role is to acquire new projects for the business and edit them for publication. Authors I have published at Unbound include Brian Bilston, Natalie Fergie, Emma Southon and Kristin Hersh.

I was asked to help Gallic Books set up a new imprint called Aardvark Bureau. I built the initial list of titles, developed the publishing strategy and launched the list in September 2015. Authors I signed to Aardvark Bureau include Dan Rhodes, Fiona Kidman, Charles Lambert, Andrew Kaufman and Tracy Farr.

I joined The Friday Project as Commercial Director but was promoted to Publisher when the business was bought by HarperCollins in 2008. During my time there, books that I published were longlisted or shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize, The Folio Prize, the DSA South East Asian Literary Prize, the Gordon Burn Prize and the Green Carnation Prize. I also published books that won the Bisto Children's Book of the Year, the Thurber Prize in the US, and twice won the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. 'Blood, Sweat and Tea' by Tom Reynolds was turned into the Channel 4 television series, 'Sirens', which was then adapted into a US series by Denis Leary.

Authors I published include Brian Aldiss, Andrew Kaufman, Kristin Hersh, Stewart Copeland, Julie Schumacher, Niven Govinden, Nikesh Shukla, Dr Benjamin Daniels, Dr Nick Edwards, Tom Reynolds and John Lenahan.

As Head of Buying for the Waterstones book chain I was in charge of the team that purchased new books for the 100+ bookshops across the UK and Europe and was responsible for delivering over £100m of sales every year.

Shadowmagic

John Lenahan

A Lord of the Rings for the 21st century. Only a lot shorter. And funnier. And completely different.Conor thought he was an average teenager. OK, so his father only had one hand, spoke to him in ancient languages and was a bit on the eccentric side but, other than that, life was fairly normal. Until, that is, two Celtic warriors on horseback and wearing full armour appear at his front door and... read more

A Lord of the Rings for the 21st century. Only a lot shorter. And funnier. And completely different.Conor thought he was an average teenager. OK, so his father only had one hand, spoke to him in ancient languages and was a bit on the eccentric side but, other than that, life was fairly normal. Until, that is, two Celtic warriors on horseback and wearing full armour appear at his front door and... read more

Wolf Country: A Chilling and Politically Astute Dystopia

Tunde Farrand

London, 2050. The socio-economic crisis of recent decades is over and consumerism is thriving.Ownership of land outside the city is the preserve of a tiny elite, and the rest of the population must spend to earn a Right to Reside. Ageing has been abolished thanks to a radical new approach, replacing retirement with blissful euthanasia at a Dignitorium.When architect Philip goes missing, his wi... read more

London, 2050. The socio-economic crisis of recent decades is over and consumerism is thriving.Ownership of land outside the city is the preserve of a tiny elite, and the rest of the population must spend to earn a Right to Reside. Ageing has been abolished thanks to a radical new approach, replacing retirement with blissful euthanasia at a Dignitorium.When architect Philip goes missing, his wi... read more

The Pinocchio Brief: A gripping, thought-provoking courtroom thriller about Man vs Artificial Intelligence

Silver Abi

A schoolboy accused of a brutal murder. A retired lawyer with secrets to hide…“A taut thriller" - The Times; "First-rate" - Daily Mail; "The unexpected twist is a jaw-dropper" - Saga MagazineA 15-year-old schoolboy is accused of the murder of one of his teachers. His lawyers, the guarded veteran, Judith, and the energetic young solicitor, Constance, begin a desperate pursuit of the truth, reve... read more

A schoolboy accused of a brutal murder. A retired lawyer with secrets to hide…“A taut thriller" - The Times; "First-rate" - Daily Mail; "The unexpected twist is a jaw-dropper" - Saga MagazineA 15-year-old schoolboy is accused of the murder of one of his teachers. His lawyers, the guarded veteran, Judith, and the energetic young solicitor, Constance, begin a desperate pursuit of the truth, reve... read more

Self & I: A Memoir of Literary Ambition

Matthew De Abaitua

A unique, remarkable and hilarious portrait of one our most talked-about and controversial literary figures. 1994. Matthew De Abaitua, fresh out of university, is being interviewed for a job. The interview involves discussing literature, honking on a special cigarette and shooting at empty whisky bottles with an air rifle. The job in question is that of amanuensis, or live-in personal assistan... read more

A unique, remarkable and hilarious portrait of one our most talked-about and controversial literary figures. 1994. Matthew De Abaitua, fresh out of university, is being interviewed for a job. The interview involves discussing literature, honking on a special cigarette and shooting at empty whisky bottles with an air rifle. The job in question is that of amanuensis, or live-in personal assistan... read more

Blood, Sweat and Tea: Real Life Adventures in an Inner-city Ambulance

Tom Reynolds

A beautifully written insight into the stresses, strains and successes of working for the London Ambulance service.Is there anyone who hasn't wondered about the state of the occupant of an ambulance, screaming along with its sirens on and blue lights flashing? Have you? And have you wondered about the other people inside the ambulance, maybe fighting to save the patient's life? Or have you con... read more

A beautifully written insight into the stresses, strains and successes of working for the London Ambulance service.Is there anyone who hasn't wondered about the state of the occupant of an ambulance, screaming along with its sirens on and blue lights flashing? Have you? And have you wondered about the other people inside the ambulance, maybe fighting to save the patient's life? Or have you con... read more

The Exphoria Code: The explosive new thriller from the creator of Atomic Blonde

Antony Johnston

NEW SPIES. NEW RULES.Brigitte Sharp is a brilliant but haunted young MI6 hacker. When she decodes encrypted online messages, which she believes are connected to her best friend's murder, Bridge uncovers evidence of a mole inside a top secret Anglo-French military drone project. Forced back into the field by MI6, after three years deskbound and in therapy, she discovers that the truth behind th... read more

NEW SPIES. NEW RULES.Brigitte Sharp is a brilliant but haunted young MI6 hacker. When she decodes encrypted online messages, which she believes are connected to her best friend's murder, Bridge uncovers evidence of a mole inside a top secret Anglo-French military drone project. Forced back into the field by MI6, after three years deskbound and in therapy, she discovers that the truth behind th... read more

Mission: Possible: A Decade of Living Dangerously

Ash Dykes

At the age of 23, Ash Dykes became the first person to walk, solo and unsupported, across Mongolia. His journey took 78 days and saw him trek over the Altai Mountains, the Gobi Desert and the Mongolian Steppe. It was an expedition filled with danger and extreme conditions. He almost didn't make it.A year later, Ash spent more than five months traversing the length of Madagascar via its eight h... read more

At the age of 23, Ash Dykes became the first person to walk, solo and unsupported, across Mongolia. His journey took 78 days and saw him trek over the Altai Mountains, the Gobi Desert and the Mongolian Steppe. It was an expedition filled with danger and extreme conditions. He almost didn't make it.A year later, Ash spent more than five months traversing the length of Madagascar via its eight h... read more

Agrippina: Empress, Exile, Hustler, Whore

Emma Southon

Agrippina the Younger held a unique position in the first Roman imperial family. As great niece of Tiberius, sister of Caligula, wife of Claudius and mother of Nero she stood at the centre of power in the Roman empire for three generations. Even in her own time, she was recognised as a woman of unparalleled power. From exile to being hailed empress, across three marriages and three widowhoods,... read more

Agrippina the Younger held a unique position in the first Roman imperial family. As great niece of Tiberius, sister of Caligula, wife of Claudius and mother of Nero she stood at the centre of power in the Roman empire for three generations. Even in her own time, she was recognised as a woman of unparalleled power. From exile to being hailed empress, across three marriages and three widowhoods,... read more

Gradient

Anders Cahill

"A heroic cosmic odyssey... that approaches the sublime in sci-fi lyricism... Textured with the stuff of legend, stirring and ultimately melancholy." - Kirkus ReviewsWould you leave behind everything you know to start a new world? Would you destroy that world to save everything you believe in?Born on the moon of Verygone, on the distant edge of the galaxy, Oren Siris is a loner and a dreamer, ... read more

"A heroic cosmic odyssey... that approaches the sublime in sci-fi lyricism... Textured with the stuff of legend, stirring and ultimately melancholy." - Kirkus ReviewsWould you leave behind everything you know to start a new world? Would you destroy that world to save everything you believe in?Born on the moon of Verygone, on the distant edge of the galaxy, Oren Siris is a loner and a dreamer, ... read more

Confessions of a GP (The Confessions Series)

Benjamin Daniels

THE UK’S BESTSELLING EBOOK OF 2011.Benjamin Daniels is angry. He is frustrated, confused, baffled and, quite frequently, very funny. He is also a GP. These are his confessions.A woman troubled by pornographic dreams about Tom Jones. An 80-year-old man who can't remember why he's come to see the doctor. A woman with a common cold demanding (but not receiving) antibiotics. A man with a sore knee... read more

THE UK’S BESTSELLING EBOOK OF 2011.Benjamin Daniels is angry. He is frustrated, confused, baffled and, quite frequently, very funny. He is also a GP. These are his confessions.A woman troubled by pornographic dreams about Tom Jones. An 80-year-old man who can't remember why he's come to see the doctor. A woman with a common cold demanding (but not receiving) antibiotics. A man with a sore knee... read more

Finches of Mars

Brian Aldiss

‘My final Science Fiction novel’ - Brian AldissBrian Aldiss has announced that this book, Finches of Mars, will be his final science fiction novel. And what a way to end one of the most illustrious careers in the genre.Set on the Red Planet, it follows a group of colonists and the problems they have in setting up a new society. Life can be sustained but new life will not prosper - the women on... read more

‘My final Science Fiction novel’ - Brian AldissBrian Aldiss has announced that this book, Finches of Mars, will be his final science fiction novel. And what a way to end one of the most illustrious careers in the genre.Set on the Red Planet, it follows a group of colonists and the problems they have in setting up a new society. Life can be sustained but new life will not prosper - the women on... read more

Meatspace

Nikesh Shukla

The second novel from Costa First Novel Award shortlisted author Nikesh Shukla.'The first and last thing I do every day is see what strangers are saying about me.'Kitab Balasubramanyam has had a rough few months. His girlfriend left him. He got fired from the job he hated for writing a novel on company time, but the novel didn’t sell and now he’s burning through his mum’s life insurance money.... read more

The second novel from Costa First Novel Award shortlisted author Nikesh Shukla.'The first and last thing I do every day is see what strangers are saying about me.'Kitab Balasubramanyam has had a rough few months. His girlfriend left him. He got fired from the job he hated for writing a novel on company time, but the novel didn’t sell and now he’s burning through his mum’s life insurance money.... read more

All the Days And Nights

Niven Govinden

From the author of ‘Black Bread White Beer’.The East Coast of America, 1980.Anna Brown, a dying artist, works on her final portrait. Obsessive and secretive, it is a righting of her past failures; her final statement.John Brown, her husband and life-long muse, has left; walked out of their home one morning to travel cross-country in search of the paintings he has sat for.As their stories unfol... read more

From the author of ‘Black Bread White Beer’.The East Coast of America, 1980.Anna Brown, a dying artist, works on her final portrait. Obsessive and secretive, it is a righting of her past failures; her final statement.John Brown, her husband and life-long muse, has left; walked out of their home one morning to travel cross-country in search of the paintings he has sat for.As their stories unfol... read more

Nerve Endings: Selected Lyrics

Kristin Hersh

Since forming the seminal art rock band Throwing Muses while still in her teens, Kristin Hersh has been at the forefront of alternative music, acclaimed for her raw, visceral and poetic songwriting.Here, collected for the first time, are the lyrics to one hundred songs, curated by the woman who wrote them. From Throwing Muses classics like 'Bright Yellow Gun' to solo material such as 'Your Gho... read more

Since forming the seminal art rock band Throwing Muses while still in her teens, Kristin Hersh has been at the forefront of alternative music, acclaimed for her raw, visceral and poetic songwriting.Here, collected for the first time, are the lyrics to one hundred songs, curated by the woman who wrote them. From Throwing Muses classics like 'Bright Yellow Gun' to solo material such as 'Your Gho... read more

The Tiny Wife

Andrew Kaufman

A remarkable short novella, a modern fable that is weird, uplifting and romantic all at the same time.A robber charges into a bank with a loaded gun, but instead of taking any money he steals an item of sentimental value from each person. Once he has made his escape, strange things start to happen to the victims.A tattoo comes to life, a husband turns into a snowman, a baby starts to shit mone... read more

A remarkable short novella, a modern fable that is weird, uplifting and romantic all at the same time.A robber charges into a bank with a loaded gun, but instead of taking any money he steals an item of sentimental value from each person. Once he has made his escape, strange things start to happen to the victims.A tattoo comes to life, a husband turns into a snowman, a baby starts to shit mone... read more

Why Do Birds Suddenly Disappear? 200 birds, 12 months, 1 lapsed birdwatcher

Lev Parikian

At twelve years old, Lev Parikian was an avid birdwatcher. He was also a fraud, a liar and a cheat. Those lists of birds seen and ticked off? Lies. One hundred and thirty species? More like sixty.Then, when he turned fifty, he decided to right his childhood wrongs. He would go birdwatching again. He would not lie. He would aim to see two hundred species of British bird in a year.Why Do Birds S... read more

At twelve years old, Lev Parikian was an avid birdwatcher. He was also a fraud, a liar and a cheat. Those lists of birds seen and ticked off? Lies. One hundred and thirty species? More like sixty.Then, when he turned fifty, he decided to right his childhood wrongs. He would go birdwatching again. He would not lie. He would aim to see two hundred species of British bird in a year.Why Do Birds S... read more

A Long Shadow

Caroline Kington

‘Brilliantly weaves the past with the present…I couldn’t put it down’ – Joanna Lumley When farmer Dan Maddicott is found shot dead in one of his fields, he leaves behind a young family and a farm deep in debt. Although the coroner records accidental death, village rumours suggest he has taken his own life so that the insurance payout can save his family from ruin. Dan’s wife, Kate, refuses to ... read more

‘Brilliantly weaves the past with the present…I couldn’t put it down’ – Joanna Lumley When farmer Dan Maddicott is found shot dead in one of his fields, he leaves behind a young family and a farm deep in debt. Although the coroner records accidental death, village rumours suggest he has taken his own life so that the insurance payout can save his family from ruin. Dan’s wife, Kate, refuses to ... read more

An Isolated Incident: Shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award

Emily Maguire

SHORTLISTED: Miles Franklin Literary AwardSHORTLISTED: Stella PrizeSHORTLISTED: Ned Kelly Prize for Best Crime NovelWhen 25-year-old Bella Michaels is brutally murdered in the small town of Strathdee, the community is stunned and a media storm ensues. Unwillingly thrust into the eye of that storm are Bella’s beloved older sister, Chris, a barmaid at the local pub, and May Norman, a young repor... read more

SHORTLISTED: Miles Franklin Literary AwardSHORTLISTED: Stella PrizeSHORTLISTED: Ned Kelly Prize for Best Crime NovelWhen 25-year-old Bella Michaels is brutally murdered in the small town of Strathdee, the community is stunned and a media storm ensues. Unwillingly thrust into the eye of that storm are Bella’s beloved older sister, Chris, a barmaid at the local pub, and May Norman, a young repor... read more

When the Professor Got Stuck in the Snow

Dan Rhodes

Everybody at the Women’s Institute in the village of Upper Bottom is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a very special guest speaker: the world famous evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins. But with a blizzard setting in, their visitor finds himself trapped in the nearby town of Market Horten, with no choice but to take lodgings with the local Anglican vicar. Will the professor be able... read more

Everybody at the Women’s Institute in the village of Upper Bottom is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a very special guest speaker: the world famous evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins. But with a blizzard setting in, their visitor finds himself trapped in the nearby town of Market Horten, with no choice but to take lodgings with the local Anglican vicar. Will the professor be able... read more

You Took the Last Bus Home: The Poems of Brian Bilston

Brian Bilston

You Took the Last Bus Home is the first and long-awaited collection of ingeniously hilarious and surprisingly touching poems from Brian Bilston, the mysterious ‘Poet Laureate of Twitter’.With endless wit, imaginative wordplay and underlying heartache, he offers profound insights into modern life, exploring themes as diverse as love, death, the inestimable value of a mobile phone charger, the u... read more

You Took the Last Bus Home is the first and long-awaited collection of ingeniously hilarious and surprisingly touching poems from Brian Bilston, the mysterious ‘Poet Laureate of Twitter’.With endless wit, imaginative wordplay and underlying heartache, he offers profound insights into modern life, exploring themes as diverse as love, death, the inestimable value of a mobile phone charger, the u... read more

Ten Little Astronauts

Damon L. Wakes

The U.N. Owen is adrift in interstellar space. With no lights, no life support, no help for ten trillion miles, it seems as though things can't get any worse. Then, they find a body.Ten astronauts are woken from suspended animation to deal with a crisis on board their ship.Selected from a crew of thousands, none of them knows any of the others: all they know is that one of their number is a mu... read more

The U.N. Owen is adrift in interstellar space. With no lights, no life support, no help for ten trillion miles, it seems as though things can't get any worse. Then, they find a body.Ten astronauts are woken from suspended animation to deal with a crisis on board their ship.Selected from a crew of thousands, none of them knows any of the others: all they know is that one of their number is a mu... read more

Falling From the Floating World

Nick Hurst

When Ray is sacked from his job in London, he goes to Japan hoping to start his life afresh. Things begin well: he lands work as an English teacher and strikes up a relationship with the beautiful, intriguing Tomoe. But his world is turned upside down when Tomoe’s father is found dead.Convinced that his death was a murder, Tomoe sets out after the killers, and when she goes missing Ray is forc... read more

When Ray is sacked from his job in London, he goes to Japan hoping to start his life afresh. Things begin well: he lands work as an English teacher and strikes up a relationship with the beautiful, intriguing Tomoe. But his world is turned upside down when Tomoe’s father is found dead.Convinced that his death was a murder, Tomoe sets out after the killers, and when she goes missing Ray is forc... read more

Oh, I Do Like To Be...

Marie Phillips

Shakespeare clone and would-be playwright Billy has just arrived in an English seaside town with his sister Sally, who was cloned from a hair found on the back of a bus seat. All Billy wants is a cheap B&B, an ice cream and a huge hit in the West End. Little does he know that their fellow clones Bill and Sal are also residents of this town. Things are about to get confusing – cue professional ... read more

Shakespeare clone and would-be playwright Billy has just arrived in an English seaside town with his sister Sally, who was cloned from a hair found on the back of a bus seat. All Billy wants is a cheap B&B, an ice cream and a huge hit in the West End. Little does he know that their fellow clones Bill and Sal are also residents of this town. Things are about to get confusing – cue professional ... read more

The Industry of Human Happiness

James Hall

A tale of love, murder and obsession in the early days of recorded sound.Set in the murky backstage world of late Victorian theatreland, The Industry of Human Happiness is about the obsessive characters who dreamed of bringing recorded music to the masses. Max and his younger cousin Rusty have a vision of launching the gramophone industry from a Covent Garden basement. But a renowned opera sin... read more

A tale of love, murder and obsession in the early days of recorded sound.Set in the murky backstage world of late Victorian theatreland, The Industry of Human Happiness is about the obsessive characters who dreamed of bringing recorded music to the masses. Max and his younger cousin Rusty have a vision of launching the gramophone industry from a Covent Garden basement. But a renowned opera sin... read more

The Shadowmagic Trilogy

John Lenahan

A Lord of the Rings for the 21st century. Only a lot shorter. And funnier. And completely different.The complete Shadowmagic trilogy. Including Shadowmagic, Prince of Hazel and Oak and Sons of Macha.Shadowmagic is a fantasy adventure for young adults (although grown ups will like it too). Written by one of the most popular magicians in the country it brings a fresh approach to the genre and wi... read more

A Lord of the Rings for the 21st century. Only a lot shorter. And funnier. And completely different.The complete Shadowmagic trilogy. Including Shadowmagic, Prince of Hazel and Oak and Sons of Macha.Shadowmagic is a fantasy adventure for young adults (although grown ups will like it too). Written by one of the most popular magicians in the country it brings a fresh approach to the genre and wi... read more