The Friday Project: Difference between revisions
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In 2006, The Friday Project announced that it had hired Scott Pack,<ref>{{cite news | In 2006, The Friday Project announced that it had hired Scott Pack,<ref>{{cite news | ||
|title=The Bookseller | |title=The Bookseller | ||
|url= | |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/apr/15/featuresreviews.guardianreview36 | ||
|work=The Guardian | |work=The Guardian | ||
|date=15 April 2006 | |date=15 April 2006 | ||
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| first=Joel | | first=Joel | ||
| last=Rickett | | last=Rickett | ||
| | | access-date=2010-05-25}}</ref> then Buying Manager at bookshop chain [[Waterstones]], as TFP's Commercial Director. Pack took up the post in September 2006 at the end of a six-month notice period. In his job at Waterstones, Pack was once described by a newspaper as being seen by 'many' otherwise unidentified people as 'the most powerful man in the books trade'<ref>{{cite news | ||
|title=Authors try to turn Waterstone tide | |title=Authors try to turn Waterstone tide | ||
|url= | |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/nov/27/books.booksnews | ||
|work=The Guardian | |work=The Guardian | ||
|date=27 November 2005 | |date=27 November 2005 | ||
| location=London | | location=London | ||
| | | access-date=2010-05-25 | ||
| first=Alice | | first=Alice | ||
| last=O'Keeffe}}</ref> for his ability to decide which new titles will be successful. | | last=O'Keeffe}}</ref> for his ability to decide which new titles will be successful. | ||
The Friday Project also | The Friday Project also had an audio arm, which was responsible for the CD ''[[Fitness to Practice]]'' by [[Amateur Transplants]]. The album included "[[London Underground (song)|London Underground]]", which has spawned a popular {{Citation needed|date=July 2007}} viral video. | ||
During 2006, The Friday Project's Commercial Director Scott Pack courted controversy with his Me and My Big Mouth blog. Positioned as an irreverent commentary on the UK book trade it sparked a number of national press stories<ref>{{cite news | During 2006, The Friday Project's Commercial Director Scott Pack courted controversy with his Me and My Big Mouth blog. Positioned as an irreverent commentary on the UK book trade it sparked a number of national press stories<ref>{{cite news | ||
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Following losses in excess of £1,700,000, the Friday Project went into liquidation on 30 March 2008.<ref>{{cite news | Following losses in excess of £1,700,000, the Friday Project went into liquidation on 30 March 2008.<ref>{{cite news | ||
|title=Friday Project in administration | |title=Friday Project in administration | ||
|url= | |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/mar/12/news.lindesayirvine | ||
|work=The Guardian | |work=The Guardian | ||
|date=12 March 2008 | |date=12 March 2008 | ||
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| first=Lindesay | | first=Lindesay | ||
| last=Irvine | | last=Irvine | ||
| | | access-date=2010-05-25}}</ref> | ||
After much speculation, in May 2008 [[HarperCollins UK]]<ref>[http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/News/Pages/Friday_Project.aspx bought certain assets] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627113338/http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/News/Pages/Friday_Project.aspx |date=27 June 2008 }}</ref> bought certain assets of The Friday Project from its administrator, hiring Scott Pack and also Clare Christian (no longer employed by them), and taking on several front and backlist titles; the first title to be published under the new Friday Project imprint was the critically acclaimed novel ''The State of Me'' by Nasim Marie Jafry. | After much speculation, in May 2008 [[HarperCollins UK]]<ref>[http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/News/Pages/Friday_Project.aspx bought certain assets] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627113338/http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/News/Pages/Friday_Project.aspx |date=27 June 2008 }}</ref> bought certain assets of The Friday Project from its administrator, hiring Scott Pack and also Clare Christian (no longer employed by them), and taking on several front and backlist titles; the first title to be published under the new Friday Project imprint was the critically acclaimed novel ''The State of Me'' by Nasim Marie Jafry. | ||
=== Closure === | === Closure === | ||
In 2014, the Bookseller magazine reported<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thebookseller.com/news/scott-pack-leaves-harpercollins-new-venture|title=Scott Pack leaves HarperCollins for new venture|website=thebookseller.com|access-date=2016-04-12}}</ref> that Scott Pack was departing the Friday Project and that the imprint "will now be wound down." After leaving ''The Friday Project'', Pack worked with Eye Books and later joined Unbound, a crowdfunding-based publishing platform that | In 2014, the Bookseller magazine reported<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thebookseller.com/news/scott-pack-leaves-harpercollins-new-venture|title=Scott Pack leaves HarperCollins for new venture|website=thebookseller.com|access-date=2016-04-12}}</ref> that Scott Pack was departing the Friday Project and that the imprint "will now be wound down." After leaving ''The Friday Project'', Pack worked with Eye Books and later joined [[Unbound (publisher)|Unbound]], a crowdfunding-based publishing platform that enabled authors to secure funding directly from readers before publication. Clare Christian co-founded RedDoor Press, an independent publishing house that operates on a hybrid model, combining elements of traditional and self-publishing. | ||
Although ''The Friday Project'' ceased operations, its approach to publishing—particularly its focus on adapting online content into books—reflected an early shift towards digital-first publishing models. The imprint experimented with innovative strategies, including offering free content and alternative pricing models, which were later embraced by digital-first and hybrid publishers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The New Publisher: The Friday Project |url=https://thewritingplatform.com/2014/08/the-new-publisher-series-the-friday-project}}</ref> | Although ''The Friday Project'' ceased operations, its approach to publishing—particularly its focus on adapting online content into books—reflected an early shift towards digital-first publishing models. The imprint experimented with innovative strategies, including offering free content and alternative pricing models, which were later embraced by digital-first and hybrid publishers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The New Publisher: The Friday Project |url=https://thewritingplatform.com/2014/08/the-new-publisher-series-the-friday-project}}</ref> | ||
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*[http://corporate.harpercollins.co.uk/imprints/the-friday-project The Friday Project] The Friday Project page on HarperCollins' site | *[http://corporate.harpercollins.co.uk/imprints/the-friday-project The Friday Project] The Friday Project page on HarperCollins' site | ||
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130520142612/http://thefridayproject.co.uk/ The Friday Project] | *[https://web.archive.org/web/20130520142612/http://thefridayproject.co.uk/ The Friday Project] | ||
*[ | *[https://tfpsgirlfriday.blogspot.com/ TFP's Girl Friday] (Now closed) | ||
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070427042630/http://meandmybigmouth.typepad.com/scottpack/ Me and My Big Mouth] | *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070427042630/http://meandmybigmouth.typepad.com/scottpack/ Me and My Big Mouth] | ||
*[ | *[https://the-friday-project.blogspot.com/ The Friday Project Discussion] (Now closed) | ||
* [http://www.fifthestate.co.uk/author/thefridayproject/ The Friday Project articles on the 5th Estate blog] | * [http://www.fifthestate.co.uk/author/thefridayproject/ The Friday Project articles on the 5th Estate blog] | ||
Latest revision as of 20:18, 1 December 2025
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The Friday Project was a London-based independent publishing house, founded by Paul Carr and Clare Christian in June 2004. It evolved out of The Friday Thing, an Internet newsletter taking an offbeat look at the week's politics, media activities and general current events, originally written together with Charlie Skelton.
The Project was wholly concerned with finding material on the web and then turning it into traditional books, to the exclusion of normal publishing models. Additionally, they made a large amount of their output available free to download as part of the Creative Commons license. Template:Fact[1]
History
In 2006, The Friday Project announced that it had hired Scott Pack,[2] then Buying Manager at bookshop chain Waterstones, as TFP's Commercial Director. Pack took up the post in September 2006 at the end of a six-month notice period. In his job at Waterstones, Pack was once described by a newspaper as being seen by 'many' otherwise unidentified people as 'the most powerful man in the books trade'[3] for his ability to decide which new titles will be successful.
The Friday Project also had an audio arm, which was responsible for the CD Fitness to Practice by Amateur Transplants. The album included "London Underground", which has spawned a popular Script error: No such module "Unsubst". viral video.
During 2006, The Friday Project's Commercial Director Scott Pack courted controversy with his Me and My Big Mouth blog. Positioned as an irreverent commentary on the UK book trade it sparked a number of national press stories[4] and was highly critical of lead retailers Waterstones and W H Smith. He also launched personal attacks on journalists he claimed had reported on his time at Waterstones incorrectly. These included Nick Cohen, Norman Lebrecht and D. J. Taylor.
In December 2006, it was reported[5] that Carr – along with Online Editor, Graham Pond – had left The Friday Project with Carr leading a buy-out of the company's Internet media arm to create a new company, Friday Cities.
In 2007, Clare Christian announced the launch of Friday Fiction, a new imprint for original fiction discovered on the web.
In March 2007, The Friday Project was shortlisted for two industry awards (or Nibbies), one for Innovation in the Book Industry for their commitment to making their books available under a Creative Commons license and Managing Director Clare Christian was shortlisted for a second for the company in the category of UK Young Publisher of the Year.
On 1 May 2007, The Friday Project's Managing Director Clare Christian won the Nibbie for UK Young Publisher of the Year.[6]
Liquidation and sale
Following losses in excess of £1,700,000, the Friday Project went into liquidation on 30 March 2008.[7]
After much speculation, in May 2008 HarperCollins UK[8] bought certain assets of The Friday Project from its administrator, hiring Scott Pack and also Clare Christian (no longer employed by them), and taking on several front and backlist titles; the first title to be published under the new Friday Project imprint was the critically acclaimed novel The State of Me by Nasim Marie Jafry.
Closure
In 2014, the Bookseller magazine reported[9] that Scott Pack was departing the Friday Project and that the imprint "will now be wound down." After leaving The Friday Project, Pack worked with Eye Books and later joined Unbound, a crowdfunding-based publishing platform that enabled authors to secure funding directly from readers before publication. Clare Christian co-founded RedDoor Press, an independent publishing house that operates on a hybrid model, combining elements of traditional and self-publishing.
Although The Friday Project ceased operations, its approach to publishing—particularly its focus on adapting online content into books—reflected an early shift towards digital-first publishing models. The imprint experimented with innovative strategies, including offering free content and alternative pricing models, which were later embraced by digital-first and hybrid publishers.[10]
Footnotes
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ UK Young Publisher of the Year Template:Webarchive archive:
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ bought certain assets Template:Webarchive
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
External links
- The Friday Project The Friday Project page on HarperCollins' site
- The Friday Project
- TFP's Girl Friday (Now closed)
- Me and My Big Mouth
- The Friday Project Discussion (Now closed)
- The Friday Project articles on the 5th Estate blog