Marlene Baquiran: Why I’m joining Encour
A writer, the co-founder of Climate Writers, and formerly a startup operator at Vow and Koala, Marlene has joined Encour as a Senior Associate and Head of Encour Press.
When people look at my resume, they sometimes go: "Huh?"
It starts out pretty standard: I graduated with a degree in Computer Science and a few software engineering internships under my belt. Then I cut my teeth as graduate at
Bain & Company, where I decided to open up my world of options, branching out my technical skills into broader foundational business skills.
Then I had the unmissable opportunity to join Vow as one of the first operators. Vow is a cultured meat start-up that is creating a new category of sustainably-produced meat, and has aggressively punched above its weight since its founding.
There, I was part of a team that did the previously impossible - growing meat in large brewery-like tanks called bioreactors, wrangling with opaque regulatory processes and procuring titan equipment with price tags well over $100,000.
I’d joined Vow out of love for climate solutions, inspired by building something instead of sitting in the dread of the problem ahead. I saw how tentative governments can be to adopt new climate solutions unless actively bolstered by public support, I realized that ordinary citizens have a role in shaping new stories about climate.
My friend Eezu and I gathered a handful of friends around for tea in my sharehouse living room to write to our MPs for better climate policy. Without even ever knowing what this term meant, we started becoming known as ‘community activists’ as more and more strangers started coming into my living room on Sunday mornings to sit down and write thoughtful, personal letters to their MPs for climate.
Before we knew it, Climate Writers was on a roll. There were so many people like me who had limited themselves to posting on social media or occasional marches, and were itching to sincerely influence decision makers. We diligently tracked the climate news beat, curated experts to help us and tried our hand at policy-wonking.
I feel truly lucky that as activists we were able to also have recognition for our work; our work is built on the much more risky work taken on by many other activists who take to placards and provocative acts. We won the Edna Ryan Award and were featured in the Australian Museum’s FutureNow exhibit.
But what made me stick to this form of ‘quiet’ rather than ‘loud’ Greta Thunberg-style activism was my belief in the special power of long-form writing in connecting and persuading. Politicians we met expressed how compelling it is to connect with someone’s personal story, and how helpful it is to have a real touchpoint with the public that is thoughtful and informed. It made them eager to meet us to genuinely hear what we think.
Where placards and social media activism tend to simplify and polarise, writing has a unique way to deeply connect; I truly believe in it as a critical instrument of personal and intellectual change, and therefore societal change. After three years we’ve written more than 500 personal letters and submissions, met with dozens of MPs, informed policy input and the upcoming COP31. We’ve seen policy changes on issues we’ve written about like the legislated Climate Change Act, strengthened reforms on the Safeguard Mechanism, and the Native Forest Logging Ban in Victoria.
At the same time, I worked on my own writing. I was lucky enough that my first non-fiction piece was picked up from a literary magazine for publication in a dazzling anthology of nature writing, ‘On This Ground’, edited by Dave Witty. I must be the least-published author amongst an ensemble that included Australian literary darlings like Tim Winton, Bruce Pascoe and Inga Simpson. When I saw so many people resonate with what I thought was an obscure and unusual train of thought, I was again moved.
How did I get to Encour? I’d seen Jessy’s work all around, and had an instinct to meet her for a coffee and check out what was happening. Her engagements with media were fascinating to me as I’ve seen how much institutional media influences the political narratives on climate. And at the same time, I’d seen how the narrative commanded by start-ups like Vow could bring into existence technological solutions that never existed before. Every real, material, consequential thing is crafted first by a story; a grasping of the imagination defined into something legible.
It is best for all of us if those stories are good ones.
That’s when she told me that Encour was making a foray into publishing, starting with Abhishek Maran’s The Fundraising Blueprint. It was a high quality manuscript that Encour wanted to bring into the world quickly - within a few months. Speed! Something we don’t hear much of in the publishing industry! I jumped at the opportunity to lead the push to publish Abhi’s debut book.
Before I knew it I was drinking from the firehouse. I was deep in the nitty-gritty tasks of creating a polished product: typesetting a book, proof editing, commercial author contracts, and wrangling UTM attributions.
I spent half my time on Encour’s agency communications work, learning how to pitch effectively to journalists and helping founders hone their distinctive writing voice. It was inspiring to be a key part in helping ambitious start-ups bring their impressive feats into the public imagination.
It’s been a dazzling few months, and I’m continually impressed by the small and talented team at Encour, where even our part-time Associates (who work alongside their University studies) are constantly raising the bar for me to have intelligent, incisive things to say.
On the agency side, I’m especially proud to partner with start-ups working on climate solutions and sustainability, where I feel I can bring all of my superpowers and passions into full effect. For Encour Press, I’ve loved treating our authors’ material with sincere care and consideration, and seeing them succeed.
The Fundraising Blueprint has already sold more than 400 copies in just over two weeks of launching; we sold out the launch event with 120 tickets. Who said no one reads books anymore?
And I’m excited for our first fiction launch, Mr Muerte by debut fiction author S. R. Stuart - or as many in the VC scene may know, Sean!
It’s a dark, dreamy and twisted mystery novel that messed with the reality of all our beta readers - I can’t wait for you to read it, if you’re bold enough…
Our vision for Encour Press
Currently, getting a book published is really hard. After you’ve done the writing (which on its own can be a lonely and unrewarding process), it can take years to land an agent. You need an agent because most traditional publishers decline to look at any manuscripts unless you have an agent representing you; an off-handed dismissal that can read as contempt for writers’ most painstakingly-made creations, and destroy their will to keep making great work.
In order to land an agent, you’ll need to make sure you take note of the 2 months of the year that they’re open for manuscript submissions, and wait generally 10 weeks for them to get back to you. Once you have an agent, you must wait even longer to land a publisher, assuming they’re able to secure one. Then, you wait 12 - 18 months from your manuscript getting acquired to it to hitting the shelves.
It is exhausting, and discourages many talented and thoughtful writers from sharing their best work. I’ve seen it happen.
At Encour Press, we want to publish great books faster than a traditional publisher. We want to make sure our authors are included during the process, rather than locked out of the black box.
For our non-fiction books, we’re looking for texts which demystify opaque systems or give voice to heretical ideas. We would love to peek into your otherwise insular field of expertise, or a wind back through time to critically examine an obscure history that challenges the way that we see our world today. We are open to whatever your obsession is, as long as that obsession shines through.
For our fiction books, we’re looking for fresh, original and fun work. We love stories that are unapologetically modern, like exploring modern love and ethics in our highly digitised, corporatised era. Or stories that are unafraid to get a bit meta - making tongue-in-cheek subversions of their own genre conventions. While we want fresh ideas and are open to exploring the taboo, we probably won’t take radically experimental forms. We want manuscripts that are polished and accessible for a wide audience to read.
Both our non-fiction and fiction titles should fit our remit to ‘embrace the tough conversations and enjoy the others’.
Similar to venture capital, publishing books is like managing a portfolio with long-tail outcomes. We don’t need authors to be established, safe-bets but we do need authors to be ambitious - whether in their ideas, in the quality of their craft, or the impact they want their books to have. We’ll take bets on anyone who can meet this bar for ambition, whether you’re a writer with an established audience and body of work, or you’re a debut author willing to grind your work until it is knife-sharp.
In the future, we will introduce opportunities like writer’s residencies which can provide the space and freedom to nurture depth and creativity for promising writers.
If you’re unsure if your book will be fit, or even are in your early stages of considering writing something, reach out and let’s talk.
Where can I send my secret manuscripts?
Send them to me: marlene@encour.co. I will treat your work with care and consideration, whether or not it’s a fit right now.
For now, I’m looking forward to working with the team that’s building Encour - embracing tough conversations, and enjoying the others.
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Wooo!! 🥳