In the 12 months ended March 2020, the UK’s most acquisitive B2B publisher the Mark Allen Group (MAG) managed to match the £51m revenue/ £8.5m of its prior year, despite the loss of two exhibitions. In 2020-21, MAG profit is expected to grow by up at least 5%, even after the Covid loss of 26 events. Better than most.
Chairman Mark Allen, the journalist turned entrepreneur who founded the 36-year-old group, is obviously feeling a bit more relaxed than many of his peers because he has spent the Covid lockdown writing his first novel.
He describes “Life Term” as a dark, psychological thriller which just happens to draw on his own experiences in journalism and publishing: “some facts but a lot of fiction”. Brace yourself. It’s about a six-year-old boy who is sexually abused and, years later, comes face to face with his attacker while working as a psychiatric nurse. His decision to take revenge eventually lands him in prison “despite forging a successful career in journalism…”
You will find Allen’s novel captivating and disturbing. It can hurt. You might choose to reflect on the penultimate paragraph: “I have now come to believe that my parents were good people, but they were not good parents and they were responsible for my emotional insecurity which has been a major part of my life, but which has also provided me with a drive and determination to succeed, as well as being the trigger for my self-destruction”.
Those who know the effusive Mark Allen will want to read the book if only to pick out the strands that might connect with one of the UK’s most successful publishers. You won’t have to wait long because it’s published early in 2021, by Colenso Books, price £12.50. Go on.
Email: customercare@markallengroup.com
