Patricia Ferguson was puzzled when she couldn’t get a publisher for her new book, especially since she had a good track record. Eventually she signed on with a tiny publish-on-demand business. “After a slow start and a couple of favourable reviews, the book, It So Happens, takes off. At first the author and publisher are bemused at the sudden influx of orders. All becomes clear when the author, reading her daily newspaper, comes across a feature on the Orange Prize longlist – and discovers to her amazement, that she has made the grade.”