Joseph Michael is a man on a mission. Since opening shop last September as a small-time publisher in Sharjah, he has helped launch the careers of more than 20 new authors already. But that’s not all, he says, after what turned out to be a ‘momentous first commercial outing’ for him at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF).
“I am not stopping here obviously, and I am just about warming up,” says the 52-year-old who is now looking forward to signing up more authors of all ages after exhibiting throughout the 12-day annual festival.
The man from Kerala, India, says he is now “more committed than ever before” to help realise the dreams of every aspiring writer in UAE through his publishing startup Books Frame.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a young school student planning to get your first written book published or a late flourisher who’s just discovered a flair for writing and want your writing to be read by the masses. We have got you covered,” the former management executive said, adding that his clientele ranged from “a seven-year-old to a 50-year-old”.
“Age, language and nationality are no barriers for us because we love to bring out books in any form, colour, shape and size – no matter what,” Michael opined, noting that Books Frame has published in English, Hindi, Urdu and Arabic for authors from the region including here in the UAE, India, Pakistan, Syria and Palestine.
“From securing National Media Council (NMC) approvals to getting listed on top e-commerce sites to providing the necessary social media support, we do it all at a very nominal price in an absolutely hassle-free manner, just so that a first-time author can completely focus on their work,” explained Michael who has helped first-timers publish and distribute hundreds of copies of their work.
Most of those works are single colour printed books but some, he said, are multi-coloured and have illustrations. “We absorb the bulk of the cost and even provide an illustrator if needed because we want to support the new writers’ community and encourage them to pick up the pen even more,” he added.