Interview with Andrew Buckley of Curiosity Quills

Here's a reminder of what he's looking for in a manuscript at this time.

I’m looking for adult fiction be it paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy and/or anything quirky or humorous. No YA or NA please. I like strong protagonists with a unique voice and wonderfully evil antagonists. Please, please, please, no in-your-face sword and sorcery type pieces. They’ve been known to cause sharp pains in my posterior. I’m also looking for cookies. Oatmeal raisin are my favorite.


1. How did you decide to get into editing/publishing?

My journey is currently a short one as I’m fairly new at editing and acquisitions. However, as an aspiring author attempting to market different pieces of work, I’ve been doing this for over 6 years just from a different end of the spectrum. When I finally signed a novel with the publisher I’m with they thought I was weird and quirky and fit well into their mold (the defined shape, not the green stuff that makes houses smell funny) and they asked if it was something I’d be interested in doing and offered me the position. I dived at the opportunity and am happily sinking my teeth into it every chance I get.

2. Why did you choose the publisher you are working with now?

Curiosity Quills Press is a fantastically innovative publisher, self described as ‘literary marauders’, and have their hands in EVERYTHING when it comes to publishing and marketing. I discovered them over a year ago and started my relationship with them by publishing some short stories on their site about a deranged cat I used to own. I chose them because the landscape of publishing has changed over the past five years and Curiosity Quills is not only at the head of those changes but they’re also working on new and exciting industry technology and processes. They’re also a full service publisher that works with the author’s best interests in mind which, as an author, I can truly appreciate. Not to mention they’re social media gurus of the highest order (picture a small Tibetan Monk floating in the air...above the Google logo).

3. What's your favorite part of the job?

Reading the queries. I love to be sold right off the query before I ever see a sample or full MS. I don’t think storytelling has to be a grandiose thing. It can be short (like Twitter) or it can be epic. To me a query is a larger story wrapped in a pitch, seasoned, sautéed, and served up as a query. Make it tasty!

4. What is your current favorite book that you could read over and over?

I find it so hard to boil favorites down to just one thing. I’ve read Douglas Adam’s Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy multiple times throughout my life and can always go back to it and have it still tickle my funny bones.

And a little more to help you get to know Andrew:

Andrew Buckley has been writing steadily since he was six years old when he wrote a story about a big blue dinosaur and received a gold star from his elementary school teacher. He had the good fortune to grow up in England where the sense of humor is rather silly.

Andrew now dwells happily in the Okanagan Valley, BC with 3 kids, 2 cats, 1 beautiful wife, and a multitude of voices that live comfortably in his head. His debut novel Death, The Devil, and the Goldfish is available from Curiosity Quills.