Define Yourself in 3 Words, No More No Less

So here's a fun little exercise. Define yourself in all your complexity in just three words. Here's an example of an imaginary person:

Family man. Lawyer. Foodie. Although that leaves out that Mr Fictitious is of mixed race, a recent immigrant and LGBQT. And he wants that in because these aspects are hugely important to him.

So what about: Tasty Gay Mongrel – but that leaves out his beloved partner and children, his job and his uncertain residency status.

Tricky, isn't it. I certainly feel that way. I've been creating Claret Press's first catalogue of book to share with indie bookstores, authors and indeed anyone who stumbles across it on the website . On the cover are three words that sum up the kind of books that Claret Press publishes, that is, our governing ethos, our motto or organising principle.

Whatever you call it, I don't seem to have it.

It'd be simple if I published children's books. I could just write: Children's Books.

But I publish books that deal with politics in the widest meaning of the word, great page-turning reads referencing and engaging with the reality shaped by our politics, our economy and our social relations. And we don't really have a word for that. We say things like "small p politics" or "politics as Aristotle understood it" or "politics but not about Westminster".

And I wanted there to be the notion that these books are fun to read. Stories about our shared world are just good fun. They're (political) mysteries and thrillers, travelogues and memoirs that enhance our understanding of the world, dramas that highlight issues of the day and comedies that gleefully poke fun at our elites.

I came up with:

Sharing Our Shared World (sounds like travelogues and tourist books)

Politics, Issues and Places (sounds stressful)

Entertaining Ideas (sounds like staging dinner parties and events)

I also thought to just list the genres: mysteries and thrillers, memoirs and travelogues, fiction, comedy.

Did I leave something out? Only the kitchen sink. Furthermore, what listing the genres leaves out is the feel of the press, its emotional content, its raison d'être.

So this is what I came up with: Lives. Politics. Page Turners.

And here is the cover of the catalogue. What do you think? Please email me at contact@claretpress.com and let me know. I am supposed to produce a catalogue twice a year so I'll be taking all this under advisement for the next one.

Click on the home page to see the catalogue itself. We would be happy to email you a pdf.