Random House Imprint Umuzi

I'm still excited about yesterday's big news, that Knox Robinson contacted me conveying their interest to  publish John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu. Truth be told, I'd be very happy with them publishing that book. But my first choice of a publisher for that book would be Umuzi. Umuzi is the South African imprint of Random House, and Random House is one of the Big Six. Actually, Random House merged with Penguin, (another Big Sixer,) so that means the Big Six is really the Big Five now.

And a Big Six (or Big Five) publisher is every author's goal. It's like being what the media calls an "A" list actor. The Big Six/Five publishers are the "A" list publishers. It's like MGM, Disney, or Paramount Pictures compared to the many independent film makers out there. It doesn't really matter, though, because those independent film makers can make movies just as well as the "A" list movie companies, and so too can independent publishers make just as good books.

But the thing is John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu is a story about South Africa because it deals mostly with the Zulus, takes place mostly in Zululand, and features a pivotal event in Zulu history--the Zulu War. So Umuzi, (which is a Zulu word, by the way, it means hornet or wasp) being a South African publisher, would be the ideal publisher for a book like John Dunn, Heart of a Zulu.

Still, Knox Robinson is located in London, and that fact bodes well for the John Dunn story, because the British and their colonies in South Africa are the other major players in the story. And John Dunn is the son of a Scottish immigrant. The fact that Knox Robinson also has offices in New York bodes well, too, since I'm an American author, and the international thing won't be a factor. So whichever way the wind blows is the way I will sway. I heard a variation of that saying somewhere. It definitely applies to me.