Fox Spirit Books have been carving a name for themselves for over four years now, and their hard work is showing results. For three consecutive years they’ve been nominated for Best Indie Press in the British Fantasy Awards, and won the award in 2015. Their publications snatch up the zeitgeist in their prose.
You’d think they would be happy with their achievements. Perhaps sit back and count their chickens… but is a fox ever content? Fox Spirit recently announced more schemes for bookshelf domination with the launch their imprint, Fennec, aimed at the 9-12 age group. The talented Geraldine Clark Hellery will be overseeing the mayhem. Aunty Fox and Kit have managed to find a way through SFFWorld’s perimeter fencing to share more details on their plan.
The 9-12 age group is a fiercely contested market. What does Fennec offer the younger reader that they can’t find in Goth Girl or Immortal Guardians?
Kit: Fox Spirit has firmly placed itself at the forefront for promoting diversity and encouraging new, fresh writers. You can guarantee to discover something a little different with a Fox Spirit title and we hope to bring that quirkiness and quality to our Fennec titles.
Aunty Fox: For me it was really about making the Fox Spirit style of story available to younger readers, we’ve always been a little offbeat, keen on blending genres and we think that kind of storytelling should be available to cubs too.
Most of us can remember the first book which captivated our imaginations. What novel or series caused you to become the book fanatic you are?
Kit: I was a firm Nancy Drew fan as a child and remember wanting to be a detective for the longest time. I then 
discovered the ‘Point Horror’ series and still remember staying up most of the night reading ‘The Lifeguard’. They were such a good series and I know some of the themes and ideas have crept into my own work.
Aunty Fox: I was more Christopher Pike than Point Horror, but I think it was as much that books were always part of the furniture growing up, I never considered ‘not reading’ to be a normal thing.
We’re constantly being told kids don’t read (Blah, blah, blah! We know this isn’t true!) but how do you plan on reaching the readers you’re aiming to engage?
Kit: I think children, and adults, respond to fun and passion and we’ve got that in bucketfuls at Fox Spirit. As our tagline goes, we’re ‘Fearless Genre Warriors’ who love reading books which feature horror, comedy and the craziness of life all set in a fantasy or science fiction based world. Hopefully through our excitement at what we’re reading and being able to interact with readers via our book club, Facebook, twitter and Instagram, they’ll become as excited about reading as we are.
Aunty Fox: I think as well a lot of the existing skulk have cubs, but some of what we put out just isn’t suitable for them, Fennec means they can be raising the next generation of skulk.
An issue many young readers have is the lack of the freedom to explore, when every adult and influencer around them demands they read something nowhere near as interesting as the shiny thing on the shelf. The power to be able to put aside a book they don’t like is an important part of discovering what we enjoy, and not just in reading. At the same time, not loving the most popular thing doesn’t do much for your credibility. Is Fennec going to be joining the chorus of withered voices telling younger generations what they should be reading?
Kit: I’m a firm believer that learning is a 360degree thing – I’ve discovered so many great books by listening to children and young adults. We’ve also seen changes in reading habits. For example, titles raise to popularity very quickly (for example The Hunger Games) but also trends cycle quickly, so we’ve had vampires, zombies, dystopian futures all come and go in the last ten years. Genre fiction is constantly pushing boundaries which is fabulous. A lot of what we’re seeing, while primarily aimed at young adult readers, is being picked up by adults as well.
Aunty Fox: I really hope not. We are trying to get stories we love as readers out, in a format that doesn’t have the sex and swearing; that’s all. These are the books that we think are the shiny thing on the shelf, we shall see if the younger readers agree with us I guess.
Reading can be quite a solitary thing. The Fennec Book Club allows readers to share their experiences and love of characters without having to attend a convention. What other advantages are there of being part of Kit’s pack? (AKA *shifty eyes*: What’s in it for me?)
Kit: Well, you get to become an honorary member of the Skulk, one of the best groups around! We’re also planning on giving members badges for the books they read, offering exclusive sneak peeks at upcoming titles and the chance to win Fox Spirit YA and Fennec titles and merchandise.
‘The best stories show us that a spirit may live on if its tale is told with skill and passion.’ Fennec announced its first submission window in July. What are you hoping to find in the submission pile from the Skulk?
Kit: As we said, we’re all about diversity and new voices so we’re looking for someone to give an old idea a new twist or drags us into the world they’ve created, taking us on an incredible journey that leaves us sad to go back to the real world when we finish. Very very keen on diversity and will hopefully have writers and main characters who are female, POC, have differing abilities or ideas, who generally reflect the world we now live in.
Are there any books available at the moment?
Aunty Fox: The main line has some YA titles in it, but the first Fennec book comes out late this year.
And finally, for the many writers hoping to join the ranks, do you plan on opening submissions to authors (young and old) outside of those with Fox Spirit experience?
Kit: We’re still growing and learning which is why we’ve limited our submissions to Skulk members this time. However, Fox Spirit’s aim is to shine a light on new writers and we’re hoping to do the same by running another open door submission period some time next year.
Aunty Fox: Yes, we thought while we get into the swing of things it would be good to work with people who already know us a little and restrict the size of the submissions pile, but that’s a one off, just to dip our paws.
Look, we managed to get through the entire interview without a single reference to sly foxes. How clever.
Thank you for taking time out of your day to answer our rather nosey questions. I hope to see many Fennec fans wandering the halls of schools in the coming years.
You can find out more about Fennec on their website, or track Kit down on Twitter. Geraldine’s actively sharing snippets on her own Twitter account, and Adele, ever the dutiful Aunty is keeping a watchful eye on things here.
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Interview by Shellie Horst – SFFWorld.com © 2016
