Misako Udo New Whisky Book Coming Soon!

[William]

EDIT: This was originally posted by John in the whisky news section.

A JAPANESE-BORN tour guide is the toast of the town after finally landing a major publishing deal for her guide to Scotland's distilleries.

Misako Udo had been resigned to leaving her meticulously compiled book on the shelf after a fruitless search for a publisher.

But an article in the Evening News raised her spirits and sent her on the way, hopefully, to the bestseller list.

The article about Leith-based Black and White Publishing led her to write to the firm's managing director Campbell Brown. A meeting quickly followed and he signed her up straight away.

The publisher is now convinced the 47-year-old's guide will be a hit at home and abroad.

Ms Udo, of Tollcross, said: "I had tried two or three other publishers but they all said I needed an agent to deal with them. I don't have an agent so I was going to leave it at that.

"But then I saw the Evening News article about Black and White Publishing so I sent a letter in to them, got a meeting with Campbell Brown and they got me signed up.

"If I'd never read that article, who knows if I'd ever have found an interested publisher."

Although a print run or financial deal has not yet been confirmed, the publisher says it expects enough copies of "Scottish Whisky Distilleries - the ultimate companion for the whisky enthusiast" to be sold to get it into the top ten bestsellers list in Scotland in the run-up to Christmas.

And it is also to take the book to the world's biggest trade fair, in Frankfurt in October, where it is hoped that international wholesalers will be keen to take it on and help make it a global hit.

Ms Udo, who is a freelance tour guide mainly dealing with Japanese coach tours visiting Scotland, has a strong interest in Scotland's distilleries and during her 16 years as a guide has compiled a detailed history of each one.

It was only when a tourist asked if they could get a copy of her extensive notes that she realised the marketing potential of her collection of work.

An initial batch of 300 books that she self-published and advertised on eBay brought great interest among tourists taking part in her tours and people further afield.

And now that the search for a publisher to take it on to the mass market is complete she is sure it can become a big hit.

She said: "When I first started doing tours I had five or six books that I referred to and I'd carry them around with me. Then I started compiling my own file, originally just for me and my colleagues. But then people became interested in it, and that is where the idea for the book came from.

"There's such an interest in the technical details of whisky now and that's why I think a book like this can do so well.

"I don't know how many will be printed yet but it's great that it will be widely available. I hope that it will be very popular and that people will be very interested in it."

Ms Udo came to Edinburgh in 1988 to study English and to find out more about whisky, which she already had a strong interested in.

She had a brief spell running a restaurant in the Grassmarket that boasted nearly 1000 single malt whiskies. M's opened in 2002 in the former premises of The Three Quarters.

Black and White Publishing says her book is expected to be out in October.

A spokeswoman for the publisher said: "We expect it to be one of our big sellers for Christmas and it will become seen as a reference tool for whisky lovers.

"Last year we had seven out of the top ten bestsellers in the run-up to Christmas. We hope this book will be right up there at that level this year."

Source: The Scotsman Newspaper

[Guest]

This book sounds ideal for me as i am finally planning to visit Scotland next year and hope to visit as many whisky distilleries as possible. Would you know exactly what this books title will be so i can look out for it being released.

Thanks

Bill

[William]

Hi Bill

As John already say in his post, it should be called:

"Scottish Whisky Distilleries - the ultimate companion for the whisky enthusiast" by Misako Udo.

[William]

Just an update about this book.

The book will be called:

The Scottish Whisky Distilleries: For the Whisky Enthusiast by: Misako Udo

It will be available at Amazon from October but is already available to pre-order.

FOR MORE DETAILS AND TO PLACE AN ORDER CLICK HERE

.

[Bruce]

I have a copy of her earlier book and have now seen the new book in the shops - it scores over the earlier edition as it includes a photo section... but if you have (or have seen) a copy of the original you will appreciate the effort that has been put into the book!
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Bruce @ Scotland from the Roadside