The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-22


 thors took enough pains with their work, and had a broad enough outlook, to at tract international notice The writers of fairly good novels in England could turn out better work than the corresponding class of writers in America. It may not have been so vigorous, but it was more experienced and more finished, and the result was that such English writers had steady sale in the United States. In the last decade the tide has turned the other way. The fairly good English nov elist has practically no market in the United States. and the fairly good Amer ican novelist has not only filled his home market. but has progressed enough to compete with his British compeer in the market here.
 How Authors Are Established
 "On the other hand, one after another the American magazines nave stopped trying to get an English circulation, and the few still sold on the English news stands probably will have to give up the fight before long. To be successful in America they have to contain too large proportion of purely American ma terial to make them interesting as a
 
 of them contains matter-especially fic- tion--of great interest here. and the new custom of giving English editors an op- portunity to buy what they like from these American periodicals has had an influence in the establishment of Ameri- can authors here that is even yet scarcely recognized.
 script direct to English editors, and asked American prices, not one in 100 would have achieved a sale, unless their names were already know nto English readers. Coming in easily-read and admirably-illus- trated magazine pages. and with the pres tige of acceptance by shrewd American editors, and at tempting rates, English editors have found it hard to resist them. Once such authors have made friends of the English readers. they become necessity to the editors-and then the harvest begins.
 Likewise, up to certain point the American author can do better for himself by leaving his foreign book rights in the hands of his American publishers They can establish him here better than he can establish himself-and to sell well in England in 999 instances out of 1000 you've got to be established. Once the American author has got his foothold here he is in a position to break loose from his American editors and publishers and sell here, Independently, for himself. It is only lately that he has discovered this fact, thanks largely to the activities of the Authors League of America, of which apparently about all the American writers worth mentioning are members.
 'Of late, the contents of nearly all of the American magazines have been sold here to English editors, and to an in- creaslng extent in translation to continent tal editors. These contents are sold at For. tl.1 1fas,f ffs.,, they have appeared in America. I don't know whether or not the American editors have shared with their authors the modest sales, but l do know-and this is where We get back to the point we started from that the result has been the great discov- cry by readers here and on the conti- nent that there is a whole lot of hitherto unknown American writers, especially of fiction, whose work is uncommonly good
 Their names have been remembered and watch for and how at last the har- vest is beginning to come in and the authors concerned are beginning to find that they can count on a steady European market, to which they can sell direct if they know how. Except for absolutely top-notch English fic- tion, like that of May Sinclair Hew- lett, Locke, Galsworthy, Bennett, Mrs. Humphry Ward (when she confines herself to English higher life love stories aud doesn't attempt to be di- dactic) and a feW others, there isn't anyone on this side of the Atlantic who can compete with the work of the keen young American novelists who are coming up so fast and who, if they will only take more time, get more balance, and not try to become rich too quickly, will. believe. conquer the field before many years"
 AS the speaker looks after the in taraGtE n nat nF 1no 1ippr Ar,,A authors in Europe and probably knows more of the subject than anyone liv- ing, the statements I have quoted seem of unusual importance.
 Hanshew's Death Widely Regretted
 1t Is with deep regret that the death in London of T. w. Hanshew has to be recorded. Every magazine editor in Amer ica, except maybe some of the newcomers knew him well. His capacity for turning out skilful, popular stories was unlimited, and likewise his capacity for doing a god turn to every friend. He came over from New York and settled down to live here some years ago and presently in- vented "Cleek. the Man of Forty Faces'
 Cleell was a high-born criminal who in time saw the error of his ways and became a detective, thus combining the Vaccinations of Rallies and Sherlock Holmes. First an English magazine took up "Cleek' and ran him through adven- ture after adventure; then an American discovered him and began to run him simultaneously with the English then it was discovered that the stories could be knit together into a novel, and "Cleek, the Man With Forty Faces" appeared in book form here and in Amer ca last year.
 Then one of the big American publishing houses made the further discovery that the "Cleek' stories were by no means mere pot-boilers, but were marvels of in- genuity and clever in characterization They took over the American magazine and book rights of yet another Clcel< series, and made a deal with a film com pany to spread the fame of Hanshew's invention in the movies" throughout the world. The resultinug book, entitled ''Cleek of Scotland Yard" has just meen published, and the first copy of the Amer lean edition of 1t reached England on the day it's author died. broken down from overwork in the effort to keep up with the sudden and overwhelming de- mand for "Cleek," and yet more "Cleek" He left behind him a complete "Cleek', novel. which Is yet to be published Mrs. Hanshew, also an American. is connected with the principal literary agency here and has charge of its Amer ican magazine department, selling to English editors the contents of practically all of the leading American weeklies and She is known, by name at least to hundreds of American authors and editors.