Interesting article.

It was my dream job and I loved every day of entering the historic building known as Ruskin House, to mark John Ruskin's close ties with the company. It was a labyrinth of corridors and rickety staircases: to reach my tiny office with its original fireplace and cornicing I had to climb to the attic floor, passing through the work spaces of Philippa McEwan, Harriet Griffey, Nick Brealey, Adam Sisman and others; then down the other side. Unsurprisingly, when some of the ceiling fell down while I was away one week no one noticed until I reported that I couldn't open my door. Just as well that I had been on holiday...

GA&U was the quintessential small family publishing house: working there alongside Rayner Unwin and his son Merlin, and a small, dedicated cadre of talented publishing folk, felt like being part of that family, and it's probably why so many of us remain good friends to this day.

It was a company that prided itself on its history of publishing important books and taking risks. In addition to JRR Tolkien, its backlist featured Marx and Engels, Arthur Waley, Bertrand Russell, Thor Heyerdahl, Roald Dahl, Halldor Laxness, and a wonderful poetry list, including the Liverpool poets: I became (amazingly) Brian Patten's editor, as well as being charged with looking after the Tolkien list and the burgeoning Unicorn fantasy list. Almost immediately I found myself working with Christopher Tolkien, Alan Lee, John Howe, Ted Nasmith, Guy Gavriel Kay, Barbara Hambly, Louise Cooper, Geoff Ryman, Colin Greenland, M John Harrison and Ellen Kushner.

https://www.bookbrunch.co.uk/page/free ... --unwin-to-harpercollins/