Jason Rekulak

© Quirk Classics

Jason Rekulak Interview

The Brilliant Man Behind Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

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Quick Bio

Jason’s early life is shrouded in mystery. It may have involved sea monsters and zombies, but we aren’t sure. What we do know is that between 1989 and 1993 he attended Pennsylvania State University, where he received a BA in English. He followed this by attending the University of Miami, and when he wasn’t making the most of the weather, he became a Master of Fine Arts, specializing in creative writing.

Armed with his new qualifications, he became an assistant editor at St. Martin’s Press, based in New York. Two years later, he moved to the Quality Paperback Book Club, where he got paid to read books and write descriptions of them. In 1999, Jason moved once again, this time to the Running Press, where his Writer’s Block book was published.

It was in September 2000 that Jason found his current home at Quirk books, where he now holds the prestigious title of editorial director. It is in this position, on the back of two of his biggest successes, that we caught up with Jason.

What inspired you to launch this series?

Jason Rekulak: The inspiration came from the copyright violations that you see online, places like YouTube, where people create their own interpretations of movies, music videos and other media. I compiled a list of public domain books, basically books which are no longer copyrighted, and looked for ways to add to those books. So I had two lists, one of books and one of new elements, and as soon as I drew a line between Pride and Prejudice and zombies, I knew that was the one. But it was in large part inspired by trying to do something creative, and a desire to not get sued.

What kind of reader would enjoy these books?

JR: When we first created these books, a lot of people we talked to seemed unsure about what people would think. They felt that fans of Jane Austen wouldn’t like zombies, but horror fans would dislike the Austen element. We certainly felt that you would need some knowledge of the classics in order to fully appreciate the humor, but we actually learned that there was a much greater overlap than we had expected.

When we attended comic book conventions, we encountered far more Austen fans than we had expected. Maybe they see it as a fantasy novel in a way, because it is a different time, a different place, people dress differently. An overwhelming number of people were just relieved to see something new. Every couple of years you get a new Jane Austen adaptation, or a sequel where Elizabeth and Darcy have kids or something like that, so a lot of people were just really pleased that we offered them a fresh perspective on things.

What has the critical reception been? Any flak from the old-school reviewers?

JR: We have actually had many wonderful reviews, and most of the slightly less positive reviews have been from horror reviewers who felt there was a bit too much Jane Austen in there. But we have had all kinds of positive feedback, we’ve had teachers, librarians and other people coming up to us and saying that this has been the only way to get 16-year-old boys to read Pride and Prejudice.

Most people get the joke, it’s a familiar story, so when they see the title on the bookshelf, it’s easy for them to imagine how the themes and stories would be woven together.

Beyond the premise of the books, your marketing campaign has been pretty innovative as well. Is this what is required to keep books relevant in the digital age?

JR: The marketing definitely helps to keep the books relevant, although we have tried to manufacture internet buzz and failed many times. This was really a complete accident. In February, our distributor let something slip, although we never really got to the bottom of things, but the front cover and a bit that I had written for the back cover appeared on a blog. It soon appeared on another blog, and another, and lots of Jane Austen blogs started to talk about it as well. When we saw it climb up the sales ranks on Amazon, we knew something major was happening, and then it jumped from the blogs to the mainstream media -- New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, that sort of thing.

The explosion just happened, and it was everything you dream of as a publisher. Once it was underway, we just reacted to it and did what we could to feed and sustain it.

What are the challenges presently facing the publishing industry?

JR: Oh, boy. That’s a really complicated question. There are certain categories of book that are very vulnerable to the internet, for example the encyclopaedia business has been transformed by the internet. I would also be very nervous if I worked at a travel guidebook company. There are other books though, that will probably never make the jump. Why read Pride and Prejudice on a screen, for example? Books like that are probably immune to the threat of digital publishing.

If you think about it, cars didn’t eliminate bicycles. One of the appeals of Quirk Classics is that they are like the books that you read at school. We pay a lot of attention to the design of the book, and we publish strategically, so that the object becomes the selling point, not just the words.

Do you have an e-book reader (and do you believe in them as a successful innovation)?

JR: I don’t know many people who have an e-book reader, and I live in a large, cosmopolitan area. From what I understand, at the moment they tend to appeal to a slightly older demographic, who perhaps read four or five romance novels a week. They make up a large portion of that market.

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