 The Fresh Fiction festival organised by New Writing North is now under way at Live Theatre and Newcastle City Library. It's the first event of its kind in the country concentrating on new novels and first-time writers. And for many new authors this will be the first time they come face-to-face with potential agents and publishers. It's the final metamorphosis of writers emerging from months, and perhaps years, of huddling over laptops. First impressions are going to count and it's as nerve racking as a job interview. Writing and publishing books is perceived as a glamorous occupation. Just look at the pictures on many book covers of the beautiful and gifted men and women who smile and entice us into their worlds. But if you've written a fine book does it really matter what you look like? "It's nobody's business really what you look like," says Deborah Bruce, 34, from Fenham, Newcastle, a new author who will present the first few chapters of her book Missing at the festival. She's quite right. In a perfect world the merits of her first novel, and the reviews, should sell the book. But book publishing has much in common with magazine publishing and it's push, push, push. Authors are expected to tout their wares and the ones who receive the most publicity are the ones who are marketable and play the publicity game: it's a hard cold fact.
 Although we may vehemently deny it, appearance does matter. A 'presentable' author is easier to place on TV, at a book signing or interview. It's not specifically about looks, it's about attitude, capability and character, and that all comes across through appearance. The reading public loyally buys favourite titles and authors no matter what. Casual browsers buy the unfamiliar on the strength of the front cover. In the book world the back cover 'blurb' is the hook; flip one page in and the author is the final seal on the purchase. You're buying into the author's world. But is the author interesting enough to take up our precious time? A ring around the big fiction publishers like Penguin, Random House and interior specialists Ryland Peters and Small, shows they say mostly the same thing. Yes, they commission photography of authors, but there are no directives; they don't have styling teams to tweak and polish and in many cases authors supply their own pictures. Elizabeth Mar, from Ryland Peters and Small, says many of its authors tend to be so well known that books feature no author pictures at all. Their names alone sell. So, for new unseen authors, it is perhaps imperative that they are revealed but it is entirely up to them how they present themselves. New writers who already have a head start in publishing also have a head start on style.
 Take Plum Sykes. Doesn't working on American Vogue give her a slightly unfair advantage with her author portrait for Bergdorf Blondes taken by the legendary fashion photographer Patrick de Marchelier? Chick-lit author of The Other Woman's Shoe, Adele Parks, is young, blonde and almost laughing into the camera as if she can't believe her good fortune. "Zadie Smith (of White Teeth fame) has no right to be so beautiful," says Deborah Bruce, while model Sophie Dahl was already much photographed before she published. Tree of Angels, a new novel by Penny Smith, Northumbria University's creative writing course leader and author, has its official launch party at Fresh Fiction this week. She supplied her publisher with a black and white portrait, taken by a friend, but a commissioned photographer was also sent out to her for alternative shots, with a glowing future very much in mind. And not just any photographer, but the legendary Jerry Bauer, who takes all the authors. To be photographed by Bauer is a statement in itself, with the likes of William Golding and Bill Bryson as his subject matters. And as Penny found, he was full of advice: always have black and white pictures taken for a timeless quality, do not wear black or white clothes but rather lighter tones for contrasts, and, above all, loose and relaxed garments. Bauer knows how to hide a chin or jowls and how to use close crops into the face to disguise the body. Penny learned a great deal from her session and can see how the different poses and clothing reflect different facets of her character and stages of her writing.
 There's a power-suit shot for talking to Hollywood, there's relaxed and approachable for point-of-sale material and a 'get up and go' energetic shot, useful for the launch of the third or fourth novel to keep the momentum going. But all these shots say to a potential audience: `I'm interesting and you should read this'. Deborah Bruce moved to Newcastle three years ago from London with her partner Jeremy. Almost immediately the pair became parents to Barney, then, more recently, Nell. It's taken Deborah four years, "before and during" the children, to produce three-quarters of her first novel. "Being a theatre director, it would have made more sense to write a play I suppose," she smiles. But she was encouraged 18 months ago by winning a Writer Award. She says she was sent to an agent and received "really positive feedback". Deborah is more used to being in the background than at the forefront of a literary festival with a public reading of her first chapter beckoning. She is unsure what to wear. "I'm useless at clothes shopping and don't wear make-up." She'd thought of putting on a black jacket. But that isn't her. She's tall, slim and always on the move. To restrict her in a black jacket would seem to imprison her personality. A casual linen-mix trouser suit from Hobbs, teamed with a white T-shirt and pointy sling-backs with a small heel, was more Deborah. She was comfortable and cool and the heels gave her confidence. Hairdresser Wendy Laing of Shakespeare's, in Grey Street, Newcastle, talked Deborah through a low-key look which gave layers - and therefore bulk -to the hair but still enabled it to be tied back. And Rachael Bundy, senior make-up artist at Bobbi Brown in Fenwick, Newcastle, effortlessly created a perfect 10- minute face. "The aim is to look healthy and well," explains Rachael. Deborah's eyebrows were 'fixed' with a clear gel and Rachael applied summer beiges to the eyes . The effect was immediate: Deborah's greeny-blue eyes looked rested, brighter and more confident. Rachael applied the latest hot pink shimmer lip gloss and outlined the lips with a creamy lip liner to acknowledge one summer 'trend', again making Deborah appear aware of trends, but not being overshadowed by them. "I've become much more aware of what authors look like in the last few years," says Deborah. "Maybe it's something to do with being a woman; we notice what each other looks like and perhaps weigh each other up." She's very aware that her favourite authors, like Maggie O'Farrell with her short, spiky hair, is very "contemporary" while Julie Myerson is "much softer but has a mischievous look." She adds: "I have asked myself if I look like an author." Looking at her 'author' picture taken by Journal photographer Jayne Emsley, Deborah has to agree that yes, she does. | 
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