If you live in Edinburgh and have never heard of Transreal Fiction, then consider yourself duly educated, as of right NOW. You are in for a treat. This fantastic bookshop is dedicated to genre fiction – SF, Fantasy, Horror etc. Making it pretty unique amongst Edinburgh bookshops.
Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Calder, the proprietor and owner of Transreal Fiction.
Andy Jamieson, Editor
Andy Jamieson: What is the story behind Transreal Fiction? How, when and why did the shop start?
Mike Calder: Years ago, I used to work for Forbidden Planet and before that the Science Fiction Bookshop in West Cross Causeway. As time went on FP were lessening the emphasis on books, which was the section I dealt with, and I eventually realised working there wasn’t for me anymore.
Any office skills I had from previous employment were quite rusty and computerisation was making them redundant at least as quickly, but my retail knowledge was up to date so carrying on as a book seller seemed the logical choice and having my own shop the best way to do it as thought it should be done!
I opened Transreal Fiction in April 1997, calling it after a term coined by Rudy Rucker to describe his style of fiction. I don’t think much of what I sell really fits his meaning of the term, but ‘transreal’ as in the opposite of real, or beyond reality seemed apposite. Rudy was perfectly happy for me to use the word as a bookshop name.
AJ: After fourteen years on Cowgatehead, what prompted the recent move?
MC: I was perfectly happy with the shop at Cowgatehead but the lease was up and the landlords were very keen on a large rent increase so I felt I had to move. After all, a business should support the owner, not the other way around!
AJ: How do you feel about the current state of the book industry, at large, and particularly in Scotland?
MC: To be honest, I don’t follow the publisher news, etc. very much at the moment and have no strong opinions on the trade in general. In sf & fantasy there seems as much as ever being published although there’s a huge increase in urban fantasy titles at the apparent expense of more traditional fantasy books. Dozens of series being launched, very few of which seem to sell particularly well. I guess the publishers are all hoping that one of the series will be the next Anita Blake or Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood).
There’s also a drive in the UK towards publishing the books in ‘B’ format paperback size instead of as regular mass market paperbacks, which I’m not so keen on. It makes books a little less portable, which is a drawback I’d say, especially when they’re competing with digital editions.
The Americans seem to be resisting this trend so far.
AJ: Transreal Fiction is unusual amongst bookshops in that it is dedicated to selling SF, Fantasy, Horror and so on. Is the market strong at the moment for such genres? Are sales increasing?
MC: It’s a difficult market with on-line and digital options available to readers, but I find that there are still plenty of people who’d prefer to actually see the books before buying, and own more than just digital files.
AJ: Do you read much of what you sell? What have you read recently?
MC: I read a fair amount of sf & f, but also other genres and non-fiction. You’d be surprised at how many history books are at home!
Recent books I’ve enjoyed include –
Reamde by Neal Stephenson (still reading it, actually)
The Dervish House by Ian McDonald
Zendegi by Greg Egan
The Realms Thereunder by Stephen Lawhead
The Edinburgh Dead by Brian Ruckley
AJ: Favourite books? Authors?
MC: Favourite authors include Jack Vance, Kim Stanley Robinson, Michael Swanwick, Jonathon Carroll, M. John Harrison and Neal Stephenson. At least, they’re the authors I tend to buy in hardback!
AJ: Do you do many author events through the shop?
MC: I can arrange for certain authors’ books to be personally signed, but I don’t put on signings for touring authors.
The shop is too small for readings or q&a sessions, which is the accepted format now.
In any case, very few authors would be a big enough draw, except possibly on a Saturday, when it would be more disruptive than useful, I’m afraid. I have a lot of previous experience with signings, etc. and have no wish to put on events that are almost guaranteed to be disappointing to the author and to myself.
I’m more than happy for authors to drop in and sign their stock and have a chat; I just don’t feel it’s worth doing formally.
AJ: Do you have many fond memories of your time running Transreal?
MC: Oh, yes. The location (either one!) has meant that I get a lot of tourists coming in (sometimes year after year) and hardly a week seemed to go by without being told that it was a ‘great shop’ or ‘wish our town had a shop like this’ or similar. That’s always encouraging. And the annual exhibitions for the Fringe were good fun, although sadly the new shop doesn’t have the display space to carry that on.
AJ: What do you think makes Transreal Fiction stand out as a shop compared to Waterstone’s or Blackwells, for example?
MC: They’re both chains and general booksellers. It’s almost inevitable that a small specialist can do better in it’s chosen area. It’s impossible for me to do what they do, and almost as hard for them to do what I do!
A big thanks to Mike for taking the time to answer my questions. AJ
Transreal Fiction is based at 46 Candlemaker Row (a wee lane running off George IV Bridge down to the Grassmarket in central Edinburgh).
Check out Transreal’s website: www.transreal.wordpress.com
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