A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
Michael Cannings is the Publisher at Camphor Press, a British-Taiwanese publishing house focused on notable books about Taiwan and East Asia, that he co-founded with John Grant Ross and Mark Swofford, in 2014. Profit was not the motive for setting up Camphor Press, but promoting books, especially those about Taiwan was. Michael spoke with me about how they weathered the challenging, early years of Camphor Press, and shared some insights about the publishing industry. Camphor Press has been responsible for rescuing notable books such as Formosa Betrayed and A Pail of Oysters– among the must-read books for those wishing to understand Taiwan.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- What brought Michael to Taiwan
- Michael’s time in Taiwan
- How Michael met is Camphor Press co-founders
- What motivated him personally to start Camphor Press and why he saw the need for a publishing company that focused on books about Taiwan
- How he witnessed the re-election of Chen Shui-bian as President of Taiwan and the Sunflower Movement during the time he lived in Taiwan
- The Red Shirts Movement after the re-election of Chen Shui-bian in 2006
- The book that led to the idea to start a publishing company
- How they choose the name of the publishing company
- Michael’s co-founders John Grant Ross, Mark Swofford and how they work together
- Advice on how to work with your friends on a business
- The initial challenges after setting up Camphor Press in 2014
- How Michael has been working on Camphor Press full-time since the beginning of the pandemic
- How the pandemic has affected Camphor Press
- How Camphor went from publishing e-books to also publishing print books
- How Camphor Press acquired EastBridge Books and the rights to several previously out-of-print books about Taiwan including Formosa Betrayed
- The oldest book in Camphor Press’ catalog
- How Michael and his co-founders were able to persist with Camphor Press during the most challenging first years
- Michael’s book recommendations for people interested in learning more about Taiwan
- Joe Henley’s book Migrante
- The new Taiwan-related books that Camphor Press will be publishing
- Discount code: talktw for Talking Taiwan listeners to get 15% off any online purchase from Camphor Press: https://camphorpress.com/
- Tin Gate, the hybrid publishing company that Michael is starting and how it is different from Camphor Press
- Michael’s advice for authors wanting to get their books published
- The changing stigma of self-published books
- The podcast Formosa Files that John Ross co-hosts with Eryk Michael Smith
- Mark Swofford’s website: http://pinyin.info/and his work with the Sino-Platonic Papers
Related Links:
Camphor Press website: https://camphorpress.com/
Camphor Press Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/camphorpress/
Camphor Press Twitter: https://twitter.com/camphorpress
Michael Canning’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/formosaphile
921 (September 21, 2009) Earthquake: https://bit.ly/3uychlo
ECFA (Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Cooperation_Framework_Agreement
Red Shirts Movement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Voices_Against_Corruption,_President_Chen_Must_Go
Shih Ming-teh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shih_Ming-teh
Taiwan in 100 Books by John Ross: https://camphorpress.com/books/taiwan-in-100-books/
Green Island by Shawna Yang Ryan: https://www.amazon.com/Green-Island-Shawna-Yang-Ryan/dp/1522651284
Why Taiwan Matters by Shelley Rigger: https://bit.ly/34FE1tc
The Lost Garden by Li Ang: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Garden-Modern-Chinese-Literature/dp/0231175558
The Butcher’s Wife by Li Ang: https://amzn.to/3B4MZw9
The Stolen Bicycle by Wu Ming Yi: https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Bicycle-Ming-Yi-Wu/dp/1925498557
Camphor Press’ Taiwan Book Bundle: https://camphorpress.com/books/taiwan-paperback-bundle/
Bu San Bu Si by Joe Henley: https://camphorpress.com/books/bu-san-bu-si-taiwan-punk-tale/
Formosan Odyssey by John Grant Ross: https://camphorpress.com/books/formosan-odyssey/
Taiwan in Time: The camphor dispute (an article from Taipei Times): https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2020/11/15/2003746932
Ketagalan Media: https://ketagalanmedia.com/
New Bloom: https://newbloommag.net/
EastBridge Backlist Acquired by Camphor Press: https://www.eastbridgebooks.com/2017/08/08/eastbridge-acquired-camphor-press/
Formosa Betrayed by George H. Kerr: https://camphorpress.com/books/formosa-betrayed/
A Pail of Oysters by Vern Sneider: https://camphorpress.com/books/a-pail-of-oysters/
The Jing Affair by D.J. Spencer: https://camphorpress.com/books/the-jing-affair/
The Hell Screens by Alvin Lu: https://camphorpress.com/books/the-hell-screens/
Instructions for Chinese Women and Girls by Ban Zhao: https://camphorpress.com/books/instructions-for-chinese-women-and-girls/
China lashes out at U.S. for supporting Lithuania in feud with Beijing over Taiwan (an article from NPR): https://www.npr.org/2022/01/06/1070856065/china-lashes-out-at-us-for-supporting-lithuania-in-feud-with-beijing-over-taiwan
Ma Ying-jeou: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Ying-jeou
Seediq Bale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seediq_people
Seediq Bale film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2007993/
Wushe Rebellion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musha_Incident
Migrante by Joe Henley: https://camphorpress.com/books/migrante/
Mark Swofford’s website: http://pinyin.info/
Sino-Platonic Papers: http://www.sino-platonic.org/
Formosa Files podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/formosa-files-the-history-of-taiwan-season-2-coming/id1588477096
Chen Shui-bian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Shui-bian
Sunflower Movement: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement
The 228 Massacre: https://www.taiwandc.org/228-intr.htm