Based in Sheffield, Tomahawk Press is a small independent publisher that puts out ‘Entertainment Heritage’ books – biographical accounts of well remembered but not well known film stars like James RoberstonRobertson Justice and Hazel Court, or accounts of periods of British film making that are no longer covered by the press. I spoke to the owner Bruce Sachs:

How did Tomahawk start off?

Tomahawk Press started up because there are just too many really interesting subjects for a book, which mainstream publishers won’t touch. They focus on popular stuff – we go for quality. Sort of like the Morgan car of publishing. Each project is lovingly managed. Our first book, Greasepaint and Gore is a wonderful book to study – filled with never-before-seen makeup designs and test shots from Hammer horror films. No publisher wanted to touch it. It was the actress Barbara Shelley who suggested going it alone. “How?” I said. “Learn”, she said. I did. Everything else followed.

What’s the process of getting a book together, do you approach writers for commissions or do the manuscripts gravitate towards you?

We get more submissions than we could possibly publish. I just go for what excites me most – no real rules here. Even though we are niche, there still has to be some commercial worth to a project. I do have some ideas that I would like to see someone develop, though.

Is there anything particularly surprising that you’ve come across whilst putting a book together?

Everything is surprising in putting a book together. If I’m not surprised, I’m usually not interested. We publish mostly things that no one knows about. But what always does surprise me is how diverse people’s interests actually are. Any one subject can attract individuals from all walks of life. We seem to publish books on subjects about which many people are passionate.

The books you’ve released so far cover a specific time in film making, are there plans to release books covering different periods?

We’ve covered pre-war Gainsborough films through to films made in the ’80s in our books. We like nostalgia though. I never chose any particular time period – but these are the books that seem to flood my way. I think our niche was created by the market – certainly not created by me. I’d consider anything good for publication. Even published a book on Thorntons chocolate this year! And it turned out to be a best seller!

Are there any particular areas or people who you’d like to release a book about?

We seem to have strayed into biographies/autobiographies. I like these. People’s lives are always fascinating. I’d like to do more books on rock music and jazz though – these are my passions. I will be publishing a book on Saxon (and their relationship to Spinal Tap) very soon. Maybe that will lead to other music projects. My son works for a major music label – maybe I can get one of his famous clients to do something with us.

I am sometimes disappointed with the rich and famous always flocking to major pop publishers, who are into a quick buck. Maybe a few of them are individualists who can help give a smaller publisher like me a break. I can often do a better job with a book than a mainstream publisher, too – both with design and marketing.

I don’t view Thorntons or Saxon to be a departure for us – as our milieu is the untold story. Each of our books tells the reader something that most people don’t know. And each of our books are on a subject about which some people at least are very passionate. As I have already said – I am led by the nose by the market. The market defines our niche. And most importantly, I publish important, interesting books that tend to be ignored by the mainstream big business publishers. As in the music industry, it isn’t healthy for several large multi-nationals to control what we read. This is the dawning of the age of the Indie publisher, and Tomahawk is at the cutting edge!

You recently had to publish a new edition of The Battle for Bond after legal wrangles over some of the material within it. Can you explain a bit more your recent adventures with the Fleming Estate?

The Fleming estate were looking for any reason they could to ban The Battle for Bond, which is an entirely factual, well-researched book that argued that the screen version of Bond was not created by Fleming. And not only that, Fleming then went on to plagiarise the character that others had created. I found the Fleming family to be bullies and small-minded. They gained nothing by trying to cause problems for us, and the book became more popular as a result. In fact – soon to be made into a Hollywood film – but can’t say much more about that yet. There are more detailed statements about us and the Fleming family on our website and also in the new edition of The Battle for Bond.

The Saxon and Thornton’s books are a bit of a departure from Tomahawks usual area, is music (or chocolate making) an area which you want to branch out in?

I don’t view Thorntons or Saxon to be a departure for us – as our milieu is the untold story. Each of our books tells the reader something that most people don’t know. And each of our books are on a subject about which some people at least are very passionate. As I have already said – I am led by the nose by the market. The market defines our niche. And most importantly, I publish important, interesting books that tend to be ignored by the mainstream big business publishers. As in the music industry, it isn’t healthy for several large multi-nationals to control what we read. This is the dawning of the age of the Indie publisher, and Tomahawk is at the cutting edge!

I recently read Shepperton Babylon by Matthew Sweet, which covers the period between the pre-war silent era to the early eighties. From that, I got the feeling these days that apart from Ealing comedies, Hammer horror, early Hitchcock and the odd Powell and Pressburger or early Hitchcock film, there’s a vast amount of British film that either gets dismissed, or is just entirely unreferenced or unseen – there seems to be a set of chosen films and the rest just get dumped. Where do you think that this attitude comes from?

That’s an interesting question. Maybe because there is a lack of familiarity with much British film? Little of it ever gets shown on TV. Or maybe because of lot of it is in black and white, which many younger people don’t like. Remember – Hammer was mostly in colour.

Within university academic departments, there’s loads of interest in British film, and many experts. Film studies students certainly get exposed to many British films. But they are far too academic in their approach. I think it might be the responsibility of the BFI (or should be) to promote British film heritage. But they are rather bad at this, and for a national organisation certainly too much London-centred. I would like to think that some of Tomahawk’s books are making a small contribution too. We like out books to be academically competent, but also readable and interesting for a general audience.

But, I am no film expert. I am sure that our authors would have more to say on this than I could.

To find out more about Tomahawk Press and their catalogue, go to http://www.tomahawkpress.com.