Category Archives: Publisher Profile

Pariah Press

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Pariah Press

Pariah Press

Est. 2014, Manchester UK.

PARIAH PRESS is an independent contemporary art publisher and research-led design studio. Specialising in innovative literature and photography, we co-create mass-market paperbacks, photobooks, exhibition catalogues, pamphlets, zines and ebooks.

Our published works attempt to engage in critical dialogues with and explore notions of: exile, the underdog, mental wellbeing and censorship.

See the website for an in depth dive and a blog! Order directly from us, there’s lots of discounts. Socials: we’ve scaled back our use of Facebook and Twitter, and exist now mainly on Insta. We urge everyone to shift to Mastodon!

Pariah Press can be found at:
Website: https://pariahpress.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pariah_press
Mastodon: https://mas.to/@pariahpress
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/pariahpress.bsky.social
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pariahpress
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pariahpress

When did you start publishing?

Pariah Press were established in 2014 by Jonny Walsh and Jamie Lee in Night & Day Cafe, Manchester.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

Jamie’s band, Money, used a practice room in the basement of Night & Day, I was running the ents. side of the venue at the time.

We spent endless hours bemoaning the lack of stimulating literature being published in that moment. And, being full of the piss & vinegar of youth, imagined we could offer something more exciting.

What genres do you specialise in?

We began with ‘outsider literature’ — broad as that is: historically pertinent, challenging yet not inaccessible. There’s a notion that we’re seeking to be edgy or obscure or Cool. Quite the opposite. We’re basically misfits, as are often the authors we work with. We want to be popular, but that needn’t mean compromising on quality at any stage. I prefer a pulpy type of style, brash and anti-tasteful—for want of a better phrase. Jamie’s more refined. Hopefully we land somewhere in-between. Never truly retro, never fully in the now.

Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, novels, short stories. Probably to our detriment we didn’t stay in one place for very long. I realised that, quite unintentionally, all of the initial publications had a strong visual element… The Myth of Brilliant Summers (photographs), A Collection of Nineteenth Century Broadside Ballads… (facsimiles of original newsprint broadside ballads), Obscenity & the Arts (photographs), Passing Time (map). Around the turn of the 2020s I began to explore photobook publishing and the idea of working with visual artists as authors. I enjoy working with archives, which has since taken us in some exciting directions.

Where are you based?

Manchester and London. Though more precisely Prestwich and Bow. Although, that’s about to change due to these tricky, intemperate times in this decrepit country. We did have an office under an art gallery and studios on the Salford/Manchester border, but it was knocked down suddenly, in its place now a glass skyscraper full of empty box flats, who would’ve thought?

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

As a rule we don’t accept submissions, but, predictably, that can be broken — the window and the rule.

What is your submission procedure?

If you would like to chance your arm then email us. But, don’t send the full work and do tell us about its contents: thematic and structural… and also what you’re about too.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

Jonny mainly and Jamie. Adam Griffiths is excellent to bounce ideas around with and has contributed some amazing designs so far. All the authors and designers we’ve worked with have helped build things. Publishing’s ultimately collaborative.

Who's Who In PARIAH

Who’s Who In PARIAH

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

I worked in book retail for a few years… Borders (RIP), Chorlton Bookshop (shout out). Jamie’s got a masters degree in poetics, or thereabouts.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

We’ve just published a second tome by former APN and Gay Times photographer Stuart Linden Rhodes, it’s a large-format photobook, glossy and brash: LINDEN ARCHIVES. We’ve been wanting to scale up for a while. Although I think I marginally prefer the smaller, neater first book we did with him: Out & About with Linden. No real reason, just personal preference. Stuart’s great to work with. Melissa Lee-Houghton’s latest, Exposure / Ideal Palace is also similarly oversize. It is physically awkward, which fits with the subject matter and difficulty of the text itself.

Linden Archives

Linden Archives

Picking a favourite’s difficult. We’re happy with all the books. Form has followed content with each project, so the trick has been retaining branding and keeping the quality high while offering vastly different products. In terms of whole project experience, Passing Time is a favourite. A lockdown book, a lot of hard yakka re-editing and working well with Cath Annabel, who came on board as a guest editor.

Obscenity & the Arts also was a fulfilling experience. A privilege to be the first publishing house to edit and release work from the International Anthony Burgess Archive. Contacting and receiving emails and testimony from lots of Burgess’s old friends was a wonderful process. Andrew Biswell was instrumental in letting that book happen and he’s someone we always enjoy talking to.

Forthcoming we’ve got a ten year anniversary catalogue almost ready, entitled “A Dog on a Cross: Ten Years of Pariah Press”

We’ve a number of archives and artists we’re looking to work with including Ciarán Wood and Ella Skinner.

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Red Circle Authors

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Monkey Man

Monkey Man

I was approached by Richard from Red Circle Authors to see if I was interested in reading one of the Red Circle Minis, and it being literary fiction with a speculative bent translated from the Japanese, I couldn’t really say no as I can’t think of anymore boxes it could have ticked for me personally.

Red Circle is a small London-based publisher producing some excellently crafted books translated from the Japanese, I’ve received ‘Monkey Man’ by Takuji Ichikawa, and it is beautiful, and this is just one of the mini series of originals commissioned by Red Circle.

Update, I’ve now got all of the mini series.

Website: www.redcircleauthors.com
Twitter: @TeamRedCircle
Instagram: @redcircleauthors
Facebook: @redcircleauthors

In their own words

When did you start publishing?

We started publishing in late 2018 when we released the first titles in our series, a series of short Japanese books in English, Red Circle Minis, and our series has been slowly expanding since then. Each of the titles in the series is a first edition, especially commissioned from our curated circle of award-winning writers, and is being published in English before any other language including Japanese, in an “English first” publishing strategy. The reaction so far to this somewhat unusual approach has been really terrific.

Red Circle Minis

Red Circle Minis

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

Though fluent in Japanese I have always wanted to read the very best Japanese creative writing in English and wished that more writing from Japan was available. I am fluent in Japanese, having studied and worked in Japan in the 1980s and 90s, but reading for pleasure in a second language can still be rather challenging. After a busy day’s work picking up a Japanese novel and reading it in Japanese requires concentration and dedication, which I couldn’t always muster when I was tired, and annoyingly many of the books my partner (who is Japanese) recommended and was enjoying at the time weren’t published in English translation.

I asked around and researched the reasons behind this and then decided that instead of just complaining that more needed to be done and that someone should do something to increase international awareness of the many super-talented Japanese authors writing today, I decided to try to do something about it myself, which led to me founding Red Circle Authors with the aim of getting the work of more Japanese authors translated into English and other languages too.

What genres do you specialise in?

We specialise in Japanese fiction and currently publish short form contemporary fiction that span from novelettes to novellas in length. Our Minis have been called: ‘small books for big brains’, ‘beautiful pocket-sized slices of Japanese literature’, ‘their very compactness sets them apart as rather special and even luxurious’, ‘an incredible window into the zeitgeist of modern Japanese society’ and ‘communicating directly and intentionally with Western audiences through fiction’.

We are delighted by the feedback but as a startup we are taking things slowly and currently focusing on our launch series. That said, we do have longer term plans for another series, as well as other exciting new publications.

We are still a small, or perhaps I should say, a tiny independent publisher in our early startup phase. I like to describe Red Circle as a passion project but despite this we are making wonderful progress.

We have a great team of people supporting us and encouraging us onwards, which really helps and makes us optimistic, not just about our own future as an independent publisher, but also how far and widely brilliant Japanese fiction can travel.

Where are you based?

We are London-based but take a distributed approach and have a team of freelancers based in other parts of the UK and Japan; and our translators are based even further a field including in Australia, for example.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

Currently we only publish works by authors in our curated circle of award-winning Japanese writers. Identifying, meeting and then binging such authors on board takes time and sadly the pandemic has slowed us down considrerably. We currently have eight authors in our circle.

We have more titles in our publishing pipeline but as each title in the Red Circle Minis series is an original and all of our authors are extremely busy writing for readers in Japan we are never quite sure which Japanese language manuscript will be the next one to arrive.

Red Circle Authors

Red Circle Authors

We work out our translation and publishing scheduling once they do. This is one of the beauties of being a small publisher. We can be very flexible and in a sense we thrive on being agile and working very closely with each author and our translators in a way that the major publishing houses probably can’t be. Our approach is very collaborative.

In addition to our books we have also launched an online magazine, The Circle, where we write and publish information about Japanese literature, culture and books.

A lot of the content so far has been written by me, but we also have some other very interesting contributors, which include for instance a highly regarded Tokyo-based British economist and commentator as well as the former Swedish Ambassador to Japan, who, for example, has contributed an essay about Japanese poetry titled: “Poems that Decode Japan’s Intellectual DNA: The Ambassador’s choice”.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

We are still very much in an early phase of our development and what we hope will be a long adventurous journey as an independent publisher so we aren’t really ready yet to talk about our greatest hits.

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

Prior to setting up Red Circle Authors I worked for Kyodo News as well as the international journal of science Nature and the international publisher Macmillan; holding various roles in London, New York and Tokyo.

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Moist

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Absolutely loved all the covers I’ve seen from Moist and love the sound of the words that they are getting out to the world and I like their ethos.

MOIST is a socialist enterprise. This means that our contracts are as generous as they can afford to be; that we channel the majority of our profits into funding new MOIST ventures; and that our beautifully designed, sometimes coordinating, paperbacks are printed in places other than China. We believe that language is always political, that language is always physical, and that language generates meaning. Our language is grimy and MOIST.

Website: https://www.moistbooks.com/
Instagram: @coolmoistbooks
Twitter: @coolmoistbooks

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

Our first book, a reissue of the late, great Italian screenwriter Tonino Guerra’s Equilibrium, will be published in September 2020.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

The word ‘alternative’, as used within the British publishing industry, usually refers to works that fit within a very Oxbridge, very Bloomsbury (i.e. upper and upper-middle-class) framework. On the rare occasions that a publisher’s list includes literary fiction by a working or lower-middle-class author that does not conform to the above their book will then be edited and/or marketed in terms of either Bake-Off blandness (or in the publisher’s parlance ‘to appeal to a regional audience’), or as poverty-porn (or distressing subject matter masquerading as ‘inclusivity’ and ‘diversity’ on the publisher’s part). First, this is boring. Second, there are lots of great authors who remain largely unknown precisely because they are not boring (or posh, or produce a posh person’s idea of a ‘common’ person’s writing). The rest is, as they should say, the future…

What genres do you specialise in?

Literary and experimental fiction and creative non-fiction, often with a link to the visual arts.

Where are you based?

Nottingham.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

We only publish three books a year, which means that our list for the next two-plus years is already full. However, all going well we hope to re-open for submissions at some point in 2021.

What is your submission procedure?

We like to receive the whole book as a word document and a brief blurb as the author imagines that it would appear on the back of the dustjacket. We don’t care whether or not an author has an agent, or about their publication history, and we actively encourage submissions from those with educational backgrounds that other publishers might consider ‘unconventional’.

>Who are you (team photo if possible)?

Officially Paul and Sarah with occasional, unofficial, help from Susie and Tom.

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

We have no background in the book industry – which we consider to be our great advantage! Our backgrounds are in academia and advertising.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

Our first season, ‘A Trilogy of Alienation,’ consists of the aforementioned Equilibrium, which has already received a glowing endorsement from the Academy Award winning actress Samantha Morton; My Other Spruce and Maple Self the next novel from Susan Finlay, whose current one, Objektophilia, is receiving rave reviews at present; and Florilegia by the artist and illustrator Annabel Dover, a fictionalised account of early photographer and amateur botanist Anna Atkins’ life. Stylistically each of these books is very different, but they all centre on somewhat disenfranchised figures, are heavily influenced by film and photography, and feature beautiful coordinating covers. We hope that this, as well as the obvious quality of the writing, will make our readers especially keen to acquire the whole set!

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Handheld Press

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Unfortunately Handheld Press will cease to trade in June 2025

Handheld Press sells remarkable and wonderful stories from the past and the present. We publish the novels that you won’t want to put down, and the stories you’ll want to give as presents. Handheld Press books are beautiful objects, designed with care, a pleasure to read.

Handheld Classics present forgotten fiction and authors who need to be rediscovered, with introductions by experts and astonishingly useful notes.

Handheld Research tells stories from scholarly research, in plain English.

Handheld Modern brings you excellent modern fiction and non-fiction from living authors.

Based in Bath, Handheld Press can be contacted at:

Website: www.handheldpress.co.uk
Instagram: @handheldpress
Twitter: @KateHandheld
Email: enquiries [at] handheldpress.co.uk

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

Technically it was March 2017, when a research colleague told me I should set up a publishing company, and I realised that this was so darn obvious I could not understand why I had needed someone else to point me in the right direction. Officially it was June 2017 when we incorporated as a company.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

I’d been an editor and a researcher of 20thC Eng lit all my working life, and the two career paths coalesced. I spent most of my teaching and research career finding wonderful stories and telling people about them. I also had increasingly strong views about what should and should not be republished, so Handheld Classics was always going to be our core business. But I was also concerned that too much scholarly research was disappearing into the maw of expensive academic editions that no ordinary person would ever see, or could afford, so I wanted to find a way to bring the results of publicly funded academic reseach into trade publishing, hence Handheld Research. Handheld Modern indulges my secret desire to bring more modern feminist science fiction to the world, when we find some.

What genres do you specialise in?

Classics, forgotten fiction; women’s lives; science fiction / fantasy

Where are you based?

Bath, in SW England

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

We’re always open to submissions; but please read our Authors page for the guidelines, and the proposal forms. We do want prospective authors to pitch using the form. It helps them, and us.

What is your submission procedure?

For the Classics: tell us why this forgotten work is so good, and what you’d like to write about in the introduction. Is it in copyright? Who owns this? Send us a sample chapter.

For Handheld Research: give us an outline of your book’s scope, why nothing like this has been published before, and a breakdown of the chapter contents. Which are your competing books? Who is your readership? Send a sample chapter.

Who are you?

80% is Kate Macdonald, energy source, commissioning editor, picture researcher, production manager and writer of all copy. 10% is David Marsh, in charge of numbers and logic patrol. We also use a network of stupendous freelancers for web, data, design, publicity, media and marketing.

What’s your background in the book industry?

Kate trained as an editor in civil service and technical publishing, and was a freelance editor for 14 years. She also researches, publishes on and teaches publishing history and book history, most recently on the history of W H Smith.

Talk about some of your books if possible

Our most recent Classic (30 May) is Blitz Writing by Inez Holden, consisting of a novella (Night Shift) and a memoir (It Was Different At The Time) of the Second World War. Inez was/is a forgotten journalist and novelist who hung out and worked with George Orwell, Stevie Smith, Cyril Connolly and many others in 1930s literary London. H G Wells was her landlord. The stories in Blitz Writing are tremendous portraits of the industrial home front in the Blitz.

The book we published before that (26 March) has been our smash hit so far. Rose Macaulay’s What Not is a forgotten dystopian portrait of a world where the government enforces eugenics on a population determined never to allow war to happen again, and aero buses transport commuters to work in London. Aldous Huxley borrowed her key ideas for Brave New World. Kate’s research recovered not only this novel, but the missing suppressed pages that had it withdrawn as soon as it was published.

and any future projects/dreams if you can

Oooh, we have lots! In August we publish the first English translation of a Dutch classic about 1920s China, Adrift in the Middle Kingdom. In September we republish the funniest Edwardian feminist novel, Elizabeth von Arnim’s The Caravaners. And in October we republish Vonda N McIntyre’s first novel, The Exile Waiting, a science fiction classic from 1975, and a collection of Weird fiction by women, called, appropriately, Women’s Weird. In 2020 we’re bringing out two more Rose Macaulay novels, more short fantasy stories by Sylvia Townsend Warner, and a marvellous forgotten novel about Selfridges in the 1930s, a collection of letters from the First World War by a Quaker conscientious objector, and two more collections of Weird fiction.

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UCLAN Publishing

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Welcome to UCLan Publishing and a very different approach to publishing books! We are a trade, independent publisher based in Preston, Lancashire. We have big ambitions and a big heart. Continually striving to produce the best children’s books in every genre from Early Years to YA. We’re 100% dedicated to putting Northern Publishing on the map, and our events team work closely with Lancashire Libraries, local schools and other Publishers to create truly unique events. The Northern YA Literary Festival being one of them!

Our staff our highly experienced and professional book publishers with many years in the trade behind them, many at the highest level including, Penguin Random House, Bloomsbury and Macmillan. Therefore, our books are superb quality and our noses are commercial.

Based in Preston, Lancashire, UCLAN Publishing can be contacted at:

c/o Greenbank Hub,
Greenbank Building,
University of Central Lancashire,
Preston, Lancashire,
PR1 2HE

Website: www.uclanpublishing.com
Facebook: @publishinguclan
Instagram: @uclan_publishing
Twitter: @uclanpublishing

In their own words

When did you start publishing?

2018

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

We’ve grown from the MA in Publishing course at the University of Central Lancashire. As part of the student experience they have to produce a real book. That’s where Cold Bath Street by A.J. Harltey came from. Things have spiralled from there, the trade took notice and we’re currently busy building our list.

What genres do you specialise in?

Children’s & YA

Where are you based?

Preston, Lancashire

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

We are currently open to submissions fo our commercial list as well as student projects – https://uclanpublishing.com/submissions/

What is your submission procedure?

Link to submissions procedure https://uclanpublishing.com/submissions/

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

Debbie Williams is the Director and oversees both commercial and course publishing. Hazel Holmes is the Publisher & Toni Murtagh our Publishing Assistant. We freelance our design work to Becky Chilcott & Amy Cooper. Photo attached of us winning the IPG award.

Background in the book industry?

We have over 20 years experience from buying for head office at Waterstones, library supply and publishing.

Talk about some of your books if possible?

We have some very exciting titles coming this year, including Blast Off to the Moon! Our YA debut The Harm Tree, and the sequel to our bestselling Cold Bath Street, Written Stone Lane.

and future projects/dreams if you can?

Publishing is very London focused. We’re aiming to add a bit of cultural and regional diversity to our business by proving you don’t have to be based in London to make great books!

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Arachne Press

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Arachne Press

Arachne Press

Arachne Press is based in London and was setup by Cherry Potts and specialises in short form fiction across the genres.

Their latest publication, ‘This Poem Here’ is a personal poetic response to the Covid crisis from Rob Walton.

Arachne Press are represented in the trade by Inpress Books. For enquires please contact rebecca@inpressbooks.co.uk

Website: www.arachnepress.com
Shop: www.arachnepress.com/shop
Facebook: @ArachnePress
Instagram: @arachnepress
Twitter: @ArachnePress

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

Arachne Press has been spinning stories since 2012.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

Sheer rage! I fell out with my publisher (breach of contract, money, sigh) and took back my books, but didn’t want to just self publish, and with a second redundancy in 5 years looming, I decided to take the plunge and publish other people too.

Arachne Press aims to be inclusive in the way we commission and to ensure writers from marginalised communities have the opportunity to get their work published. We have a particular affinity for disabled writers and writers from the LGBT community.

What genres do you specialise in?

Arachne specialises in short form; mainly publishing anthologies and collections of short stories and poetry, but we also publish fantasy fiction, young adult fiction and have even produced a photographic portrait book. We are open to most things except romance, erotica and horror.

Where are you based?

Arachne Press is based in London, UK.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

We have regular calls for submissions to poetry and short story anthologies. We are currently seeking submissions of poetry and short stories from deaf or hearing impaired writers and from UK writers with BAME heritage, for two new anthologies. The submission window for these closes on 14th April.

Submissions are also open for our annual Solstice Shorts Festival. The theme for this year is ‘Climate Crisis: time is running out’ and submissions are open to everyone until 21st June.

What is your submission procedure?

All relevant details for how to submit to Arachne can be found at https://arachnepress.submittable.com/submit. We also share news of all our submission calls on the Arachne Press blog.

Who are you?

I am Cherry Potts – owner and founder. I run Arachne Press with occasional help from other creatives from across the publishing industry. I often collaborate with guest editors too, which ensures a range of voices are represented in our anthologies.

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

I worked in a bookshop for a year straight from school – Christopher Foss in Baker Street, and for a couple of years, for Lewisham Libraries. Then I got my first publication as a writer, and did what we would now call ‘work experience’ with the publisher ½ day a week, which ought to have put me off, but somehow didn’t; and for a while I was on their advisory board.

Having been published several times, and with this broad understanding of what happens to books after they are published I thought I knew what I was doing! Joining the IPG was a big help in disabusing me of that, but everyone I have been in contact with from printers to distributors to other publishers have been wonderful. I feel quite grown up now, after eight years. Actually that’s about right isn’t it – traditional apprenticeships were seven years – there must be something it that!

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

I’m very proud of This Poem Here a poetry collection we have just published by Rob Walton (25 March 2021). At the start of lockdown, Rob was responding to the anxieties and absurdities of the Corona Virus crisis by writing poetry. He published a lot of these poems on social media, as real-time responses to the latest news. Watching and enjoying them from afar, I approached Rob to publish them as a book. We were in conversation about this project when Rob’s dad sadly died from Covid. The poems in the collection then took a radical turn, delving into rage, sorrow and grief. The result is a collection that leaps from laughter, to tears, to biting political commentary. I can’t imagine a more appropriate collection to have published in this ‘you-couldn’t-make-it-up’ era.

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Tiny Tree Children’s Books

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I’ve recently (April 2021) been seeing a lot of noise for one of this indie publishers latest book ‘Setsuko, Song of the Sea’ by Fiona Barker & Howard Gray. All of which looks so well deserved, beautifully illustrated and sounds perfect.

Another northern publisher which is always positive, and a children’s book specialist, sounds like my favourite kind of publisher. Will definitely be looking into seeing some of these books in the ‘flesh’.

Website: www.tinytreebooks.com
Facebook: @tinytreebooks
Twitter: @tinytreebooks
Instagram: @tinytreebooks

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

Tiny Tree Children’s Books was established in 2016, but we had published a small amount of children’s picture books before the imprint was officially launched.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

We started Tiny Tree because James Shaw, our managing director, had not long had his first son and wanted to begin publishing picture books. From there, we grew into the publisher we are today.

What genres do you specialise in?

I suppose you could say that Tiny Tree specialises in children’s picture books but, more recently, we have grown to publish chapter books and middle grade novels for older children.

Where are you based?

We are based in Marple — a small town outside of Stockport in Greater Manchester.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

Our submission window is always open and we would love to hear from you. All we ask is that you follow the submission guidelines on our website.

What is your submission procedure?

We ask that all prospective authors and illustrators send through one manuscript or portfolio at a time. Once this is received, we aim to provide an answer within six weeks. However, this timescale can change depending on our schedule. If we decide we like your work, we’ll have a conversation to discuss the next steps.

You do not need an agent to submit your work to us either, but we do welcome submissions from those with representation too.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

Tiny Tree is James Shaw and Anthony Barlow. James is our managing director and editor. He handles editorial decisions and design work for the vast majority of our books. Anthony is our marketing manager. He runs our social media, books our events and works with bookshops to stock our books.

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

James grew up in publishing. Matthew James Publishing — our parent company — was a family business and he continues to operate that today. Anthony had previously worked as a journalist and events organiser prior to publishing.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

Our latest book is ‘Setsuko and the Song of the Sea’ — a picture book by Fiona Barker and Howard Gray. We also have ‘A Tiger Named Lee’ by Sinéad Murphy and Shannon Cresham coming in June and have a brand new series, D.M. Mullan’s Curious Tales, launching in July.

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CAAB Publishing

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CAAB Logo

CAAB Logo

We at C.A.A.B Publishing are committed to supporting our authors and helping them promote their work to the widest market possible. Through hard work and networking, we want to make all our authors successful and give as many writers as possible that wonderful moment when you read, “We loved your work and we want to publish it.”

Creative Director: Chrissy Brown

Publishing House,
32 Foxbridge Drive,
Chichester,
PO20 1NQ.

Email: chrissy@caabpublishing.co.uk
Website: https://www.caabpublishing.co.uk/
Twitter: @CaabPublishing
Instagram: @caabpublishingltd
Facebook: @caabpublishing

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

We opened our doors in Feb 2020 just before the pandemic, so as you can see we have a great sense of timing.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

I have been an author for many years, but I never felt supported by or valuable to the publishers that took on my work. I wanted to offer authors a family of supportive writers to champion their work and help each other to get the word out about their books.

What genres do you specialise in?

At the moment we are open to most genres as we are still finding our feet and have people working for us from very different back grounds who enjoy varied genres. We usually take on books that we have enjoyed reading, and I think that is a great place to start.

Where are you based?

West Sussex

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

Our submission portal is open at the moment but we close it once we have accepted our quota of manuscripts. We try to take on around 12 books a year, equating to one a month, but we have done more if a fantastic manuscript comes our way and we can’t say no.

What is your submission procedure?

Our full submission rules are on our website but in brief we do not accept Poetry or porn.

Children´s chapter books should be at least 11,500 words up to around 40,000

Adult fiction books including short story collections should be no less than 45,000 and not much over 100,000

Non-fiction should be no less than 30,000 words if photographs are included and should not exceed the 100,000-word restriction if possible.

Please send as a Word Doc.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

We are a small team, we hire freelancers to do most of the extra work, but at our core we are Chrissy, Adam, Jules, Brodie and Alex.

Background in the book industry?

Adam worked for Penguin many years ago and as I said, I have been part of the publishing process from the other side as have many of the team.

Talk about some of your books if possible?

Where to start? We have some amazing kid’s books, one series called The Gem Master series is written by a very young author aged just 12. We have recently published a book called ‘Waiting for the Wind to Change’ which is about emotional abuse and gaslighting and is a very powerful and emotional story. We also love Sci-fi and our author David Clegg will be publishing the second part of his amazing space opera The Aule Stratagem, with us this year.

and future projects/dreams if you can?

We have some very fun anthologies that are open to submissions at the moment and we are looking, for the first time, to open these up to authors from around the world. We have been exclusively a UK based publishing company in the past, as we want to be as hands on as we can be and that is difficult if your authors are thousands of miles away.

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Deixis Press

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Deixis Press

Deixis Press

Deixis Press was founded in 2021 by Angel Belsey. Angel began her publishing career in 2016, working both as an editor and as a literary agent. She believes some books just need to be read. She is based in London.

Angel runs a newsletter about the day-to-day operation of the press.

Website: deixis.press
Bluesky: @deixispress.bsky.social
Twitter: @DeixisPress
Instagram: @deixispress
Facebook: facebook.com/DeixisPress
YouTube: YouTube Channel

 

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

I started Deixis Press in April 2021 and published my first two books in September and October of that year. I now have books 9 and 10 coming out this autumn.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

I started working as a literary agent just a few months before Covid happened, and in that strange time throughout 2020 I found it tricky to build relationships with acquiring editors: people were furloughed, they lost momentum, nobody liked meeting people on Zoom then, and so on. I stopped agenting because, in combination with the pressures of lockdown and homeschooling, I found that I was not capable of giving my clients the service they deserved–but I also very much wanted their books to be in the world. Then I realized I didn’t need anyone else’s permission to make that happen, so I started my own press and did exactly what I wanted to do.

What genres do you specialise in?

I have one criterion for any book I publish: It has to tell a fucking great story. Genre is irrelevant. My list has everything from historical fiction to technothrillers to food-based feminist short stories.

Where are you based?

London, UK

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

Right now my list is small and full, with a handful of previous viable submissions still pending. I thought I might open submissions again this autumn, but now I probably will not until Spring 2024.

What is your submission procedure?

I like to look at the first 10k words, then call in the full MS. I’m just one person so it does take me a while to give every manuscript the attention it deserves before making a decision. I have deeply enjoyed all of the submissions I’ve received, and it is so gutting not to be able to take on every single book I enjoy. But any book I do take on has to be something I genuinely love. I can’t afford to take on every book that is simply very good. I wish I could; my list would be enormous!

Angel Belsey

Angel Belsey

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

I’m Angel Belsey. My team photo is a selfie.

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

I had a previous career in IT (including in the Civil Service) that ended in 2016 when my maternity leave was grossly mishandled by someone who now handily serves as the villain in my own draft MS (hi Lisa!). At that point I did a work experience stint at a major publisher, which led to freelance editorial work at various places including several large publishers and an editorial consultancy, for whom I also manage a yearly novel prize. As I mentioned before, I also worked as an agent briefly. So I had experienced publishing from a number of viewpoints without ever really being in the thick of the action. But I am now also doing a maternity cover role for a commissioning editor at the same large publisher where I started 7 years ago with that work experience piece.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

The first book I published is called SOME RISE BY SIN by an author called Sion Scott-Wilson. It’s about a pair of Regency graverobbers who are good men in bad jobs. They want to leave the business, but they get wind of a project that’s potentially too lucrative to pass up: they need to acquire a very special, very particular newly-dead body. And, as happens with all of these kinds of schemes, a lot goes wrong when they decide to take this one last chance. It’s beyond incredible; Alan Moore read it and said that Sion is a storyteller after his own heart (he has blurbed for the sequel, too, as well as for one of my other historical fiction books). But because it was my first book, it also suffered from all of my mistakes as a fledgling publisher. I want everyone to read this book! There’s even an audiobook for it–I can’t afford to do those all the time, but I experimented with this and one other.

I’ve got two upcoming books this autumn: both horror, but in two different ways. On Halloween we’ve got Richard Gadz’s new supernatural horror, THE BURN STREET HAUNTING, set in a grimy 1970s London from which there is literally no escape. A small-time crook is on the run from not only the law but also a horror that has chased him since childhood, one that has emerged out of his mind and into reality. And in November we have Marc Joan’s second book, THE CARTOON LIFE AND LOVES OF A STUPID MAN, about an independent comic book store owner/heir to a pharmaceutical fortune, whose struggles with mental illness mean that he relies on his wife, an outwardly successful surgeon who has her own haunting secrets. Their fragile world begins to crumble when an anonymous comic strip begins arriving at his store, featuring a character with an eerie resemblance to him…

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Blue Poppy Publishing

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Blue Poppy Publishing

Blue Poppy Publishing

This is a prime example of what I really enjoy and want to help celebrate in the indie publishing scene, one persons journey from wanting to get their own works published and out there for people to read gradually develops into a way to share that enthusiasm and knowledge helping other indie authors.

Blue Poppy Publishing is a growing indie based in North Devon helping authors who are from Devon or centre Devon get their books into print and published in the spirit of an indie author collective.

Website: https://bluepoppypublishing.co.uk/
Twitter: @BluePoppyPub
Facebook: bluepoppypublishing

In their own words

When did you start publishing?

2016

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

I didn’t, I just wanted to make my own self-published book look more legitimate. But then it just grew from there. To date, it has been exclusively a self-publishing label where authors pay for everything, but they also own everything too. I just smooth the passage and help keep them from making expensive mistakes. I also provide them with distribution to UK bookstores.

What genres do you specialise in?

Fairly open to most genres except for horror and erotica. Happy to consider non-fiction as well as fiction. The most important thing is I tend only to work with Devon based authors or books with a strong Devon connection. There are exceptions now and then for very specific reasons.

Where are you based?

Ilfracombe in North Devon

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

Not really. People can contact me any time, but I am having to reject more and more authors because I am so swamped with work.

What is your submission procedure?

I’m pretty relaxed about it. If you are from Devon, and have written a book, you can send it to me or just ask for help and advice and I will do what I can to help.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

Just one person. Oliver (Olli) Tooley

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

I had none. I have learned by making mistakes and I expect I will make many more. Blue Poppy will not be every author’s cup of tea, but as I am snowed under with work from people who “get me” it doesn’t matter too much.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

I did a count up recently and realised I am selling over forty titles by over two dozen authors. To pick a favourite would be terrible. However, a few stand out as being top sellers.

We had one of our authors on BBC Breakfast TV on May 11th. Lucy Chillery-Watson talked about her children’s picture book “Wonder Girl Carmela & Tinker the Stinker” a fantasy featuring her daughter who has muscular dystrophy, and her therapy dog Tinker who farts them on adventures into space etc. We sold more books on that one day than in the previous five years.

Then there’s “I’m Still Standing: A Personal Journey Living With Depression” by ambulance worker Clare Davey who only just failed to take her own life during lockdown. The book is her diary of the events immediately before during and after her attempt. It is both harrowing and uplifting and gives a valuable insight into the mind of someone suffering severe depression.

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Open Space Books

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We are a small, quixotic indie book publisher, and you find us at the beginning of our journey.

We are an independent publisher from the North of England. In 2021 we published ‘Where Lay May Homeward Path,’ selected stories by Edward Thomas, a writer revered for his poetry but forgotten for his fiction. We believed that we had put together a small collection of neglected treasures and set out to champion this slender but sublime body of work. We released a limited edition of hardback books handmade by ourselves in North Yorkshire.

This year (2023), we moved onto the next stage of our indie publishing adventure: a paperback edition that is now available in bookshops such as The Grove in Ilkley and The Stripey Badger, Grassington. Copies are also available now from our online shop, and a Kindle version is available here now, and a Kobo version is available here.

Of course, we are preparing to release new titles soon. Please feel free to return to this website over the next few months to see how things unfurl.

Website: www.openspacebooks.co.uk
Twitter: @OpenSpaceBooks

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

I began during lockdown but with handmade books – this year is the first time we have mass produced paperbacks.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

First of all – and however silly it sounds – I needed an adventure, and this was ideal. It was a chance to publish work that excited me; to search out forgotten authors; to champion new ones and to create a space in which my own work (specialising in pre-cinema history) could be published with complete creative freedom – what could be better than that?!

I’m guided by the spirit of quixotic companies such as the old Olympia Press, the Shakespeare & Co bookshop and Tony Wilson’s Factory Records in Manchester.

Where Lay My Homeward Path

Where Lay My Homeward Path

What genres do you specialise in?

There is no brief, no criteria, no limit to what we will take on.

Our first book was a collection of short stories by Edward Thomas (far better known as a poet); our second is a novel about Eastern European refugees and the third will be my own non-fiction account of inventor, Wordsworth Donisthorpe’s, attempt to finance his final experiments in motion pictures through blackmail.

Where are you based?

We are based in a cottage on a hill in the village of Hebden in North Yorkshire.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

We have nothing as organised as that. We have four books being prepared for publication and are simply unable to consider anything else for a while, I’m afraid.

What is your submission procedure?

See above. We don’t take unsolicited manuscripts. There is a real responsibility to authors not to make them wait on tenterhooks unnecessarily, not to raise their hopes etc so we would rather not stray into that area for now.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

The project is effectively just me – although, as with everything I do, I wouldn’t get anywhere without the help and support of my partner, Tracie. I have researched and written each introduction to our books; put together the text blocks, designed the covers (with blurbs); done all the paperwork etc. It can be difficult keeping all these plates spinning but the upside is the creative freedom it gives you.

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

My background was as a writer and researcher. I co-wrote a feature length documentary released in 2016, and have written for magazines such as Cineaste, History Today and the Times Educational Supplement. There have been a variety of projects and publishing just seemed one more variation that combined a lot of things I had done previously.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

I’d really like to mention Monica Stirling’s Sigh For A Strange Land at this point. It was first published in 1958 and is about refugees from an unnamed East European country. It is an absolutely lovely book, and with the events in Ukraine unfolding, it also feels incredibly timely. I want to mention Sigh for a couple of very specific reasons: the first is that we will use profits to help support a couple of charities providing humanitarian aid in Ukraine – we were there in 2016 and met with soldiers and charity workers who had been involved in the struggle since 2014 (when eastern parts of the country were first invaded). The second reason is that Monica Stirling was such a wonderful writer that it is criminal that she’s been forgotten. Her life was as dramatic as her work and we hope that by publishing this book, we will encourage a new generation of readers to discover her. We have had some incredible support from Monica’s surviving relatives who are not only excited about a new life for her work, but for the fact it is being put to use for a good cause. There is just a great deal of good feeling around this book and we are nervous and excited to see what becomes of it.

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FCM and Chronos Publishing

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Two indies for the price of one, both owned by Taryn Johnston and based in Norwich. FCM Publishing is a non-fiction publisher specialising in non-fiction, whilst Chronos Publishing publishes fiction and life stories.

Website: www.fcmpublishing.co.uk
Website: www.chronospublishing.com
Twitter: @FCMTaryn @ChronosPublish
Instagram: @chronos_publishing
Facebook: @ChronosPublishing

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

I started with FCM Publishing in 2014 and launched Chronos Publishing in 2019

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

I have always written and was actually published when I was 13 with a short story. I was asked if I would edit and proofread a novel and the company grew out of that.

What genres do you specialise in?

FCM Publishing specialises in non-fiction, primarily business books and also offers author services such as editing and formatting, Chronos Publishing is life stories and novels.

Where are you based?

We’re based in Lincoln.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

Not a rigid one, although we don’t take submissions between November and January.

What is your submission procedure?

Chronos is a traditional publisher and therefore it’s a formal process of a printed, completed manuscript with synopsis and covering latter (SAE if you’d like it returned). FCM is less formal, I often chat to authors over email and will accept email submission of sample chapters.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

I’m the main owner and I work with a team of editors, formatters and designers – all freelance.

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

My background is marketing (I also have a marketing agency and teach at uni) but as I mentioned earlier, I have always written and proofread.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

I have been really lucky to work with some incredible authors and had some amazing success. Bob Champion MBE, Grand National Jockey and cancer surviving legend would be up there. We launched his autobiography in 2018, at the Grand National in Aintree. Parveen Ashraf, TV Chef from ITVs Parveen’s Indian Kitchen, I helped her create her recipe book in 2017 and it was the book that helped showcase her talent and get her the TV show, aired last year. Her book is now being sold around the world. Both Bob & Parveen’s books helped me establish myself as a reputable indie publisher and as a result, I’ve been able to see titles on the shelves in a number of Waterstones including London, Liverpool & Leeds, as well as our hometown Lincoln. Having a really good relationship with Gardners has been amazing for us.

We have released a number of terrific novels including one which we hope is going to be turned into a movie (although I can’t say which yet!) so exciting times there but the catalogue includes dystopian future, sci fi, horror, thrillers, YA fantasy, family sagas and romcoms! In our business books, Be Useful by Jos Burton was a finalist in the Business Book of the Year 2018 and Rockstar Retirement was our first to be released as an audio book.

This year is looking very busy, I have co-written a business guide/memoire with Tony Robinson OBE and that’s being released this summer, which I’m really thrilled about, we have a couple of autobiographies, another business guide and four novels all due out this year!

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Renard Press

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Renard Press

Renard Press

Since receiving this information from Renard Press to include on the website they’ve been steaming ahead publishing brilliant classics in absolutely beautiful covers and are always worth a look.

They are so beautiful I’ve just bought the George Orwell bundle, all I did was have a quick look at their website to check that everything was still OK but a great cover will always get me spending.

Website: https://renardpress.com
Facebook: @therenardpress
Instagram: @renardpress
Twitter: @renardpress

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

Renard Press officially launched in June 2020; our first titles – Phillis Wheatley (poems and a memoir), A Room of One’s Own (Virginia Woolf), Dracula’s Guest (Bram Stoker), Bars Fight (Lucy Terry Prince) and A Letter to a Hindu (Leo Tolstoy) – will be published in October and November, and then we will publish a title a month from January 2021.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

Having worked in independent publishing for the best part of a decade, I’ve been constantly amazed by the resilience of the sector. However, particularly in independent publishing, I think there’s a need for more diverse, more niche lists of books to flesh out the literary canon, and, having learnt or taught myself many of the processes needed in a modern publishing house, I thought it was time I set up Renard.

What genres do you specialise in?

Renard Press publishes classic fiction and non-fiction, theatre and poetry, as well as some contemporary titles.

Where are you based?

Given that the launch is in the middle of a pandemic, we’re currently working from home, but Renard is a London-based press.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

We’re open to unsolicited manuscripts.

What is your submission procedure?

We’re currently considering both non-fiction and fiction with a literary bent; we aren’t currently commissioning poetry, as we don’t yet have the right context, but look forward to welcoming poetry submissions in the future. In order to spare a few trees, we do ask that all submissions are sent via email, and we ask that a completed cover letter is sent to tell us what we need to know, and to help us in anonymising submissions.

Who are you (team photo if possible)? and what was your background in the book industry before this venture?

The Press is headed up by Will Dady, who was previously editor and designer at Alma Books, and before that, he worked for the academic press Frontinus, as well as the London-based independent Serif Books.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

By way of a nod to one of the greatest pioneers in independent publishing – and one of the Publisher’s heroes – we’ll be starting off our classics list with A Room of One’s Own. Since we are launching in October 2020, which is Black History Month, we’re publishing two titles by African-American authors: Bars Fight, a ballad, the first known work by an African-American author, and the poems of Phillis Wheatley, along with a memoir, which includes the first volume of poetry by an African-American author ever published. From there on, we’ve got the next eleven titles picked out, which consist of some lesser-known works by literary giants, as well as some by undeservedly forgotten authors, including Saki, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker and Leo Tolstoy, as well as neglected greats, such as Aphra Behn, the Restoration playwright (and spy), who was the first woman to earn a living by her pen. In Aphra’s words, ‘Variety is the soul of pleasure’.

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Welsh Football Magazine

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Welsh Football Magazine

Welsh Football Magazine

I think Welsh Football is the first magazine we’ve featured, centred around the football scene in Wales and started 30 years ago, it is run on a non-profit basis by enthusiasts who want to highlight their favourite game in a positive way.

Website: https://www.welsh-football.net/
Twitter: @CollinsWFM
Facebook: WelshFootballmagazine

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

First publications 1991.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

The founders had edited and contributed to Welsh football publications produced by publishers based in England but wanted control over content, publication schedules and logistics.

What genres do you specialise in?

Publications on association football in Wales. Mostly periodicals (Welsh Football magazine) but some other one-off projects.

Where are you based?

Rhiwbina, Cardiff.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

Submission dates are set issue by issue for the magazine and are announced in each issue. Contributors can contact at any time.

What is your submission procedure?

Contact the editor to discuss any articles or ideas.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

Editor: David Collins Numerous contributors.

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

None, other than writing for various publications in England and Wales previously.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

Our core product is Welsh Football magazine, the national football magazine of Wales. The aim is to celebrate and promote the unique aspects of football in Wales – past and present – and to reinforce our status as an independent football nation. Committed to quality of writing and to showcasing the spectacular settings that the game is played in here.

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Mama Makes Books

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<em>Kicking off during February 2021 in the middle of a covid lockdown Mama Makes Books took a leap of faith and put their bright and cheerful books out there into the world.

With a commitment to producing quality products in an environmentally friendly way, recycled materials, no plastics, and carbon offsets, they not only want to make great books but help toward keeping a planet for the children they produce these books for.

Mama Makes Books
49 Newlands Road
Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN4 9AS, UK

Website: www.mamamakesbooks.com
Twitter: @mamamakesbooks
Instagram: @mamamakesbooks

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

In February 2021 – the timing couldn’t have been worse! All the important bookfairs were cancelled the year before so the fact that I managed to launch at all felt like a mini-triumph.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

I was going through a time of deep reflection after I lost my mum. I had been working in children’s publishing for 30 years and the words of a lovely lady I met at a friend’s BBQ kept ringing in my ears. She was a successful businesswoman in the theme park industry. She said, “It’s all about the ideas. You have ideas. You should do it yourself.” I am naturally adventurous and entrepreneurial, so I decided to do just that and I haven’t looked back.

What genres do you specialise in?

Children’s books: baby and toddler books, early learning and non-fiction.

Where are you based?

In Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

I’m open to submissions anytime for clever ideas, originality and new approaches to popular subjects, or those ideas that have an educational aspect to them – not fiction or picture books.

What is your submission procedure?

Just direct via email. You don’t need an agent. If it’s not for me, I’ll probably email back quickly. If it sounds interesting, it may take a little longer. I like to let ideas rumble around in my head for a while. All submissions should be well thought through book proposals that detail the target age group, the unique selling points, similar (successful) titles, along with the text or a sample of the text if it’s non-fiction. I don’t need to see any artwork, unless you are a professional illustrator with an idea, and then I’d love to.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

We are a small team. Me, my partner and our daughter. We are now lucky enough to be working with a PR and marketing consultant, and we have wonderful rights and sales agents.

Background in the book industry?

I started out at Orchard Books, working for two inspiring publishers. It was a happy place to work and the learning curve was steep. I remember the day we first got computers on our desks! I then went to Kingfisher and Ticktock, where I discovered how much I loved working on non-fiction books. When I had my daughter, I became a freelance editor, writer and book packager, creating books for publishers. I also did quite a few maternity covers – at Puffin, Macmillan and Egmont.

Talk about some of your books if possible?

We only have three published, so it’s not hard to choose. They are baby board books with interesting formats – Baby Look!, Baby Love and Tummy Time. Babies and toddlers love books that DO things, so these books are offering plenty of interactivity, with mirrors, flaps, wheels, fabrics and sliders. They were fun to create and babies love them. In July, we are publishing our star title, The Most Important Animal of All, beautifully illustrated by Hannah Bailey and endorsed by the British Ecological Society. It’s a positive introduction to ecosystems, challenging children to learn about and champion one of seven keystone species – bee, bat, beaver, elephant, shark, tiger and krill. There are photos, too, so children can marvel at the animals up close and in real-life. Next year you’ll see more of the same, with some early-learning and humour thrown in.

and future projects/dreams if you can?

I dream of having a small but mighty publishing company that publishes interesting, quirky, unusual, innovative books. I aspire to the Disney model of entertainment – producing things that kids will love and that parents enjoy sharing with them. There is nothing better than a happy shared reading experience. It’s a special bonding time.

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Monstrous Regiment

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Monstrous Regiment

Monstrous Regiment

Monstrous Regiment Publishing Ltd is an independent publishing press based in Leith, Edinburgh. It was founded by Ellen Desmond and Lauren Nickodemus in 2017.

Their passion for publishing working class writers, as well as topics of intersectional feminism and sexuality led them on a mission to curate bold and fresh content; the stories and lives they felt were often missing from bookshelves.

In 2018 Monstrous expanded to include one contracted in-house designer (Hannah Killoh) and two student assistant interns (Lauren Mulvihill and Kelli Staake).

Monstrous Regiment is based in Edinburgh and can be contacted through:

Website: www.monstrous-regiment.com
Twitter: @MonstrousRgmt
Instagram: @Monstrousregiment
Facebook: Monstrous Regiment (@Monstrous Rgmt)

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

We opened our doors in April 2017 with our first publication arriving in December 2017. It was a slow start but it looks like the speed will be picking up for us from here on!

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

We come from very working class backgrounds and are very passionate about the issues facing minority authors. We wanted to set out to fill bookshelves with the voices that are often missing. We knew the problems facing the publishing industry include that the people in the top roles at many publishing houses are often white, cis, straight men. We thought the best way to change this was by becoming CEOs of our own company and changing things from the top. We don’t want there to always be the same old gatekeepers to what gets published. We were inspired by other small presses crowdfunding projects that brought grassroots and marginalized voices to the forefront. Crowdfunding seems to be a great way to help diversify the arts (we’ve seen 404 Ink, Marbles, Media Diversified, Knights Of, Knight Errant Press and many more do it successfully).

What genres do you specialise in?

We are an independent and intersectional feminist press, so feminism’s our specialty! Being intersectional is important to us and over the last two years we’ve gathered a very queer following.

Where are you based?

We are based in a wee flat in Leith, Edinburgh! We also have a shared workspace at Edinburgh Napier University’s start up business hub Bright Red Triangle as we started this business while students and they endorsed us non-financially.

Do you have a submission window, if so when? What is your submission procedure?

We currently don’t have a submission window open but look out for some opportunities later in the year! We do open calls for submissions for our literary magazines and anthologies, but we also commission behind the scenes and work with groups to improve our outreach. Moving forward, we will probably start to focus more on single authored books, as we are learning the hard way that we are too strapped for resources to handle such demanding, multi-authored projects. Our social media and websites will advertise any opportunities.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

Monstrous Regiment Publishing Ltd is a feminist micropress based in a wee flat in Leith, Edinburgh, founded by two MSc Publishing graduates while still at uni in 2017. The co-directors (Ellen Desmond and Lauren Nickodemus) do this voluntarily, around their other commitments, because we really believe in it. Our passion for publishing working class writers came from our own backgrounds, and that combined with our interest in topics of intersectional feminism and sexuality led us on a mission to curate bold and fresh content; the stuff we felt was often missing from bookshelves – books and events about bisexuality stood out in particular as a gap in the market for sure.

In 2018 Monstrous expanded to include one contracted in-house designer (Hannah Killoh) and two student assistant interns (Lauren Mulvihill and Kelli Staake), paid in stipends.

Background in the book industry?

The co-founders (Lauren and Ellen) and in-house designer (Hannah) all have MScs in Publishing (though we don’t think they should be fully necessary for industry access)! Lauren has worked in book marketing in Edinburgh for two years and Ellen’s background is about 8 years of magazine publishing experience. Hannah currently also works in arts publishing.

Talk about some of your books if possible? and future projects/dreams if you can?

2017’s The Bi-ble, a collection of original essays and personal narratives giving platform to the thoughts and experiences relevant to bisexuals today, was our first publication. We crowdfunded for the original anthology print run having no idea it was so in demand. We now know the market need for this and have heard from many bookshops and readers that it has become the “go to” recommendation for someone searching for a book about bisexuality. We also know there are more stories than one (or a hundred) anthologies of this kind could ever tell. So this year we’re bringing The Bi-ble back with a fresh new look, but this time also publishing its little sibling Volume Two: New Testimonials, which is packed full of never-before-published essays. We’ve also published a few zines and two literary magazines (Emerald and Crimson). Later this year we hope to move on to novels, novels and different types of essay collections.

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Storyhouse Publishing

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Storyhouse Publishing

Storyhouse Publishing

Storyhouse Publishing is another indie publisher that has struck out in this year of lockdowns and unknowns and have they struck out in style.

At the time of writing they have four bright, colourful, and fun picture books for children in their catalogue, all of which would be great for storytimes and gifts for younger children

As a new parent reading children’s books everyday, I set up Storyhouse to produce books that do a little more. Our stories create wonder and delight which is so important to help foster a love of reading and at the same time they gently entwine ideas to support children’s wellbeing, including ideas about friendship, collaborative play, kindness and conservation.

Every decision we make is made with sustainability in mind. We are committed to reducing waste and print all our books on FSC approved paper.

Website: www.storyhousepublishing.com
Instagram: @storyhousepublishing
Twitter: @BooksStoryhouse
Facebook: @storyhousepublishing

In their own words

When did you start publishing?

Our first titles were published in January 2021 although our set up, commissioning, development and marketing happened during the lockdowns and with two preschoolers at home, it was a lively time. I had a lot of interrupted Zoom calls like many others who juggled home schooling whilst running businesses. I’ve looked back on that time feeling really proud of all the team have achieved.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

I was a children’s publisher previously in a publishing house but I knew I needed greater flexibility with two children under three. I wanted to be able to offer others the same flexible working and it’s been so successful. We work in a fairly unique way in that the schedules aren’t set until after the book is started. It takes the pressure off the contributors and being so small means it’s easy for us to swap things around. Even during challenging times, I know it’s the best thing I’ve done.

What genres do you specialise in?

Children’s picture books.

Where are you based?

In the beautiful city of Bath. Bath has amazing festivals, its close proximity to Bristol is a bonus and I love meeting other creative people who live here.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

I’m really happy for people to contact me at any time. I read and reply to every submission that is sent.

What is your submission procedure?

Direct by email or Instagram. It might take me a week or so to get back to you but I will do! I’d suggest checking we are the right fit before sending anything, we have specific ideas and we don’t publish outside of these themes. Our website and Instagram give more information.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

Myself and a brilliant freelance team. I’m very lucky to have had the same small freelance group since we set up. Oh and our young consultants, it’s been fantastic having my own children and those of our freelance team to review our books.

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

I worked at Penguin and then Parragon as children’s publisher where I learnt a lot about publishing globally.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

Our upcoming release for September 2021, The Last Seaweed Pie is endorsed by the Marine Conservation Society. It’s a heart-warming story about ocean conservation, recycling and working together. It’s so beautifully written by Wenda Shurety and Paddy’s Donnelly’s illustrations are just gorgeous.

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Canbury Press

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Martin Hickman

Martin Hickman

Canbury Press is a book publisher specialising in contemporary non-fiction. It was founded in 2013 by a former Independent newspaper journalist, Martin Hickman.

Our aim is to depict the world as it really is, stripped of spin.

Canbury Press is based in Kingston upon Thames and can be contacted through:

Website: www.canburypress.com
Twitter: @CanburyPress
Instagram: canburypress
Facebook: @canburypress
Telephone: 44 (0) 1892 837171

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

2013, when I left The Independent as a reporter

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

To tell important stories, free of any editorial or commercial filters

What genres do you specialise in?

Non-fiction. Politics, environment, health, technology

Where are you based?

Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

We are happy to look at submissions all year round

What is your submission procedure?

Email a pitch, chapter structure and some sample chapters (including the first) for a non-fiction book to canburypress@gmail.com. I’m afraid we won’t look at fiction.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

At the moment it’s a one employee business – me (MD Martin Hickman). But, we are hoping to take on someone in the near future

Background in the book industry?

My first job aged 18 was as a clerk at BCA in London, which used to run book clubs; was a massive company at the time but it closed a few years ago. Twenty years later while a journalist, I wrote a book about phone hacking with Tom Watson MP, Dial M for Murdoch, which was published by Penguin. Apart from that first job and the book, my background in publishing was zilch. I started Canbury with no capital, contacts or experience.

Talk about some of your books if possible?

We specialise in non-fiction that matters. We are proud of all our books, but two titles have left an especially deep impression on readers: Because We Are Bad by Lily Bailey, a jaw-dropping and heart-rending memoir about OCD and Brexit: What the Hell Happens Now? by Ian Dunt, which set out in 2016 just why leaving the EU would be so hard.

Under the Wig by William Clegg QC, his generation’s leading criminal barrister, is not only a great read, it makes a compelling case for properly funding the courts. Our latest title, YouTubers by Chris Stokel-Walker, is the first independent, in-depth (and frankly important) exploration of a website which is bigger than Facebook.

We’ve sold our titles to bigger publishers around the world. For instance, Quercus has just released the paperback of Under the Wig.

and future projects/dreams if you can?

We have a pipeline of very exciting books coming in the next 18 months. We have a pithy marvel coming on Brexit (by a well-known author, not Ian), and Generation Rent by Chloe Temperley which takes an eye-opening look at why the housing market in Britain is so screwed.

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Scotland Street Press

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Errant Blood

Errant Blood

We are committed to developing a publishing house that helps promote Scotland as a distinctive creative voice in the world. Women’s voices are under represented in literature as a whole in Scotland, and we intend to help redress this balance. We have discovered two outstanding first time female authors and generated a PEN Award for Tania Skarynkina and a nomination for the Carnegie Medal for L. J. MacWhirter. Our collection sees four memoirs by older women and twelve out of sixteen titles by women.

We are keen to create books that not only read well, but look beautiful; we aim to combine the visual design, binding, and cover with the literary merit of the contents. Our team of designers and printers work closely with the editorial team to ensure that the themes of the book are accurately translated into a tangible aesthetic.

We hope that our books liven your minds and hearts and inspire you to great things. There are often up to four of us in the office and we work hard on few resources.

Scotland Street Press is based in Edinburgh and can be contacted through:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScotStreetPress
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScotStreetPress/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scotstreetpress/
Website: https://scotlandstreetpress.com/

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

2014

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

I had published a book with Random House and FSG in New York, and they did not want the companion volume, so without even prudently asking around I decided to set up an indie. (needless to say four years of full-on, unpaid, uphill learning has caused some moments of regret at rashness of decision)

What genres do you specialise in?

Memoir, autobiography, literary fiction and poetry

Where are you based?

Edinburgh

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

Not yet. We get too many without advertising.

What is your submission procedure?

Writers tend to make requests from the website.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

We are currently Jean Findlay, head of publishing, Andrew Lindsay, sales and marketing, Lucrezia Gaion, intern, Valentina Auletta, Erasmus Trainee, and Megan Richie, one month internship.

Background in the book industry?

Jean has a lifetime working in literature of some sort: playwright, arts journalist, author. Andrew Lindsay has an MSc from Napier University in Publishing and experience in sales at Blackwells. Lucrezia works at the Broughton High School library and every trainee or intern who comes on board brings original ideas and self taught enthusiasm.

Talk about some of your books if possible?

We are proud to be the first to translate a book from the Belarusian language into English, for which we won a Pen Award. Belarusian is spoken by two thirds of the population in that country but the official language is Russian. The publisher in Minsk was shut down for publishing books in Belarusian and we had to buy the rights through Lithuania. Books written in an oppressed language are a hidden treasure. Tania Skarynkina’s book of essays, A Large Czeslaw Milosz with a Dash of Elvis Presley, is a cocktail of world literature seen from a forgotten town in a forgotten country. Her own photograph as the cover image can be seen as a metaphor for a country where the pig is king and where those who wear their hearts on their sleeves may have it skewered.

From Corsets to Communism by Jenny Robertson is a literary biography of Zofia Nalkowska, a Polish novelist who is regarded as one of the leading anti fascist writers of the last century. Her slim volume Medallions is on the reading list for Holocaust Studies in US universities. We know little of her here in the UK , being rather inward looking in our literary interests. This is her first biography written in English. Witness to two world wars and Poland’s struggle for independence, Zofia Nalkowska was a woman in a man’s world and rose to international fame as a novelist touring a war torn Europe.

and future projects/dreams if you can?

We have a new poetry list: Macsonnetries by Petra Reid is a feminist rewriting of all of Shakespeare’s sonnets for the iPhone age, some in Scots.

Aspects of Edinburgh by Stewart Conn with drawings by John Knight is a calm and meditative reflection on the city
Inside and Out – paintings by Christian Small with poems by Gerda Stevenson has just been featured on BBC Woman’s Hour and is a full colour art book.

Burds in Scots by Hamish MacDonald is poetry in Scots and paintings from long ago.

We have just won another PEN Award for a Belarusian novel.

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Fly on the Wall Press

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Fly on the Wall Press

Fly on the Wall Press

Fly on the Wall Press first came to my attention after I bought ‘Small Press Publishing: The Do’s and Dont’s’ a great little book on the intricacies of small press publishing.

Based in Manchester they have a great back catalogue to explore, which is always a danger to someone like myself who loves pamphlets and chapbooks.

Website: https://www.flyonthewallpress.co.uk/
Twitter: @fly_press
Facebook: @flyonthewallpress
Instagram: @flyonthewall_poetry

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

Fly on the Wall Press started in 2018 with a mental health anthology, Please Hear What I’m Not Saying, with profits going to UK charity, Mind. From then, we established ourselves as a publisher with a conscience, publishing poetry books, cross-genre anthologies, magazines, and short story collections, all with a socially conscious message. We pride ourselves on working with charities across the UK for our anthologies and publishing international talents.

What genres do you specialise in?

We specialise in poetry, short stories and flash fiction also a political message also shall conscience.

Where are you based?

We are based in Manchester, UK.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

We have a submission period in the autumn, usually opening in August to November.

What is your submission procedure?

We look for short story collections and poetry collections with a social conscience and asked the people of bought a book from the past year in our shop. This really helps people understand what we are looking for and also helps to for us as a small press so that we can go on to publish more people every year.

Who are you (team photo if possible)? and what was your background in the book industry before this venture?

Team wise it varies – occasionally I have some interns working behind the scenes, but mostly it is just me and a very supportive family (for example, Sarah Jane Kenyon regularly proofreads our books!)

My background in the book industry before this venture was non-existent, simply because I have never been given the opportunity. That’s why I wrote the non-fiction book Small Press Publishing: The Dos and Don’ts, because I wanted to give people information that they needed to start a small press which I had to work out myself.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

Anthology Planet in Peril will always have a special place in my heart. It was shortlisted for Best Anthology – Saboteur Awards 2020 and consists of Photography, Art and Poetry. 20% of the profits from this book are donated to The Climate Coalition and WWF.Blurb: When the sciences and the arts begin to work together, a powerful force is created. This anthology was founded upon the belief that words have the power to change. Through poetry, photography and art, creatives across the globe, from the age of 8 to 80, have united to express the urgency of global warming, facing the facts but never losing hope.Foreword by Dr Michelle Cain, Science and Policy Research Associate, Oxford University. Featuring Emily Gellard Photography and a commissioned poem by Helen Mort. In July 2020 we are publishing Louise McStravick’s ‘How To Make Curry Goat’, which is a wonderful celebration of identity as the daughter of a windrush generation – is she English, is she Jamaican, does her accent qualify Brummy? A Slam winner, Louise is no stranger to the stage and I hope that by that point later in the year we will be able to launch her collection in person.

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Heroic Books

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Heroic

Heroic

Heroic Books is a publisher of Fantasy fiction, combining great stories with wonderful images. They represent writers and illustrators in a tradition manner and in other innovative ways.

Website: ​www.HeroicBooks.com
Facebook: ​@HeroicBooks
Instagram: @HeroicBooks
Twitter: @HeroicBooks
For any enquiries relating to submissions, please contact ​harriet@heroicbooks.com
For any enquiries relating to sales or marketing, please contact ​elliot@heroicbooks.com

In their own words…

When did you start publishing & what made you want to start an independent publisher?

Heroic Books was founded in 2020 in response to what we perceived to be a lack of opportunity for emerging authors in the genres of fantasy and science fiction. We want to develop the work of our authors beyond the page, harnessing the power of digital media such as film, TV, games and audiobooks, to share our authors’ stories as widely as possible, reach new audiences, and build a global network of Heroic fans and writers.

What genres do you specialise in?

We specialise in fantasy and science fiction, both of which lend themselves really well to our transmedia strategy. Working with illustrators, narrators, and other creatives, we aim to bring exciting new worlds to life through a variety of media, as well as ensuring that every novel we publish reaches its full potential.

Where are you based?

Heroic Books is based in Liverpool, UK, but has staff, board members and stakeholders based across the UK, the US and China.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

We have an open call for submissions of fantasy and science fiction novels, and we are currently reading for our 2022 publishing schedule.

We are also currently seeking submissions of short stories for our forthcoming fantasy anthology, ​The Hero’s Journey​, which will feature both emerging authors and established voices from across the fantasy genre. This submissions window is open until Friday 14th May (this is a few years old now).

What is your submission procedure?

For our regular submissions window, details of how to submit can be found at www.heroicbooks.com/manuscript​. For short story submissions for ​The Hero’s Journey anthology, head to ​www.heroicbooks.com/herosjourney​.

Crucially, for each of these submissions windows, authors do not need to be represented by a literary agent to submit their manuscript for consideration.

Who are you?

Heroic Books was co-founded by Helen Blakeman and Chris Arnold, and is run by an experienced team of creatives and publishing professionals from across the country.

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

Helen is a BAFTA and International Emmy award-winning writer and Chair of the BAFTA Children’s Committee, while Chris is an entrepreneur and businessman, having founded Camp Leaders, Smaller Earth and World Merit.

Despite not coming from book publishing backgrounds, Helen and Chris are both passionate about finding new, innovative ways of telling stories and pushing the boundaries of what traditional publishing can achieve.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

We’ll be making announcements about our forthcoming titles very soon! In the meantime, to be the first to find out any news or announcements, keep an eye on our social channels and subscribe to our mailing list by following the link below: https://heroicbooks.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2a593e3d49cdd245408be2e60&id=8 1520c41f4

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Fairlight Books

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Fairlight Books

Fairlight Books

Fairlight Books is focused on publishing original, high-quality writing and reconnecting readers to literary fiction.

Fairlight Books has one aim – to celebrate quality writing and promote the best of new and contemporary literary fiction.

Based in the thriving and energetic publishing hub of Oxford, we’re a young, dynamic team wanting to do things a little differently. For us, it’s about a wider community coming together to celebrate and promote quality writing.

They are based in Oxford and can be contacted through:

Website: https://www.fairlightbooks.co.uk/
Twitter: @FairlightBooks
Facebook: @FairlightBooks
Instagram: @FairlightBooks
Telephone: 01865 957790

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

Fairlight Books was established in 2017 by our CEO Louise Boland.

What made you want to start publishing?

Louise founded the company in an effort to promote literary fiction in a genre-dominated industry. Fairlight Books is focused on publishing original, high-quality writing and reconnecting readers to literary fiction.

As a writer Louise struggled to reconcile the frequent industry requests for something new and unique with the constant churn out of trending photo-fit books. With that in mind she set out to create a company which would publish brilliant and original books as well as raise the profile of the authors.

What do you specialise in?

We specialise in beautifully written literary fiction. In addition to our novels we are also continuously adding to our Fairlight Moderns series, a collection of novellas set around the world.

Where are you based?

We are based in Oxford.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

A key goal at Fairlight Books is to support aspiring writers which is why we have a constantly open direct submissions policy. We have also written up a submissions code of practice which you can read about in more detail here (https://www.fairlightbooks.co.uk/code-practice-submissions/).

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

Louise is the founder and CEO of Fairlight Books. Lindsey, marketing executive, Urška, Assistant Editor, and Gabrielė, production executive, have also been with the company since it was established. During the past two years we have also had a few part-time assistants and the occasional intern.

What’s your background in the book industry?

Louise came from the energy industry before founding a publishing company. Lindsey, Urška and Gabrielė all studied Publishing Media at Oxford Brookes University.

Talk about some of your books if possible?

We actually have some very exciting news regarding one of our Fairlight Moderns. Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn has just been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction!

Set in 1970s communist Romania, this debut novella-in-flash draws upon magic realism to weave a tale of everyday troubles. A really captivating read that can’t easily be put down. Bottled Goods has also been longlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize and The People’s Book Prize, which you can still vote for here (https://peoplesbookprize.com/winter-2018/bottled-goods/).

We are also very excited about our upcoming title, A Matter of Interpretation by Elizabeth Mac Donald. This is an enthralling tale of knowledge, language and power in medieval Europe, from a talented new historical fiction writer. It’ll be out on 5 September 2019, so definitely keep an eye on our website and social media for more news!

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Luath Press

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Luath Press

Luath Press

An indie publisher that’s based in my home town, I’ll definitely have to organise a visit the next time I’m up and we’re allowed to meet people.

Especially since the view from their windows are going to be stunning!

Committed to publishing well written books worth reading.

Established in 1981, Luath Press is a leading independent book publisher with over 500 books in print including modern fiction, history, politics, travel guides, poetry and much more.

Luath Press Ltd.
543/2 Castlehill
The Royal Mile
Edinburgh
EH1 2ND
Telephone: 0131 225 4326
Email: sales@luath.co.uk

Website: https://www.luath.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LuathPress
Twitter: @LuathPress
Instagram: @luathpress

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

Luath was found in 1981 by Tom and Rene Atkinson in Barr (near Givan in Aryshire). They set about writing and publishing the Luath Guides Series. Other books by other writers followed including a number of popular titles that have remained in print for many years, such as Mountain Days and Bothy Nights, Bare Feet and Tackety Boots and more.

In the meantime, Tom’s daughter Dee Atkinson had taken over the running of Napiers Herbalists and Tom found himself running Napiers Mail Order alongside Luath.

Tom died in 2007. In his obituary in The Guardian he was described as ‘the Alistair Campbell of Indonesia’. As a teenager he had gone to Spain to join the International Brigade, only to be sent home as he was too young to fight in the Spanish Civil War. In WWII, he was in the RAF Servicing Commandos and at the end of the war he was heavily involved in securing independence for Indonesia. He subsequently worked directly for the new president for over 15 years, in which role he wrote a speech on the status of smaller nations delivered at the UN. After ‘retiring’ from Luath in 1997, two further books by Tom were published by – Napiers’ History of Herbal Healing and Spectacles, Testicles, Fags and Matches – the latter recounting his experiences in WWII and afterwards in Indonesia.

Following Tom’s retirement, Gavin and Audrey MacDougall took over the running of the company and moved it from Barr to Edinburgh.

Since 1997, Luath has built on the sound core of well established books first published by Tom and Rene, and created various new series (On the Trail Of…, Walk With Luath, The Quest For, Let’s Explore, Luath Storyteller, Viewpoints, Wild Lives) and launched various new writers and poets (Alison Irvine, Daniel Gray, Rab Wilson, Mark Thomson and many more).

We are now situated in Edinburgh and we remain committed to publishing well-written books worth reading.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

Tom had recently returned to Scotland and, finding there were no good descriptive guides to the popular parts of Scotland, was inspired to write and publish the Luath Guides Series.

What genres do you specialise in?

We publish a variety of genres from fiction to poetry to photography but we especially love politics, history and travel.

Where are you based?

Edinburgh’s famous Royal Mile. 543/2 Castlehill, The Royal Mile, Edinburgh EH1 2ND

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

Our submissions are always open!

What is your submission procedure?

If you think you have written a book that may fit with Luath’s publishing programme, and would like to make a submission to us, please post to our offices:

  • A clear synopsis of up to 250 words
  • Which genre you would categorise it as (use our website categories as a guide)
  • Sample chapters or manuscript
  • A short biography
  • A pre-paid addressed envelope large enough for your manuscript to be returned in, should it be unsuccessful

Please try to ensure everything you send can be easily stored together – for example, held together with a paperclip or all put in a cardboard folder.

Please note that we cannot accept electronic submissions, only paper hard copies. Submissions or proposals sent by email will not be accepted.

If you do not enclose a pre-paid envelope, we will assume that you are happy for us to recycle your manuscript. You will still receive a letter notifying you of our decision. Do not send original copies or artwork. Luath Press cannot take responsibilty for any items sent to us. We do aim to respond to everyone who submits a piece of work but if you have not heard from us after a year, you can assume your submission was unsuccessful.

Talk about some of your books if possible?

Our best known book is Darren McGarvery’s Poverty Safari which won the 2018 Orwell Prize and was reviewed by the elusive J.K. Rowling. We have also recently published a fictional retelling of George Orwell’s life (Barnhill: A Novel by Norman Bissell) in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four. And, we have an upcoming book by Ellie Harrison, The Glasgow Effect, which is partially a reaction to Poverty Safari and in part the inspiration for Poverty Safari. The Glasgow Effect looks at many of the same themes of poverty and social mobility as Darren did but Ellie also discusses the climate emergency and what we can do about it.

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Bad Betty Press

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When I saw the images that I had been emailed for this feature of the beautiful chapbooks and pamphlets that Amy and Jake produce through Bad Betty Press I had an immediate feeling of desire for them. A well produced pamphlet is always a thing of beauty and it looks as though various award judges agree with that.

MICHAEL MARKS PUBLISHERS’ AWARD, Shortlisted, 2018
SABOTEUR AWARDS: Most Innovative Publisher, Shortlisted, 2018
SABOTEUR AWARDS: Best Pamphlet, Solomon’s World – Jake Wild Hall, Longlisted, 2018
LONDON’S BIG READ: The Dizziness of Freedom, Shortlisted, 2019

I now have another pile of goodies added to my ongoing wish list for birthday and other occasions.

Website: badbettypress.com
Facebook: @badbettypress
Instagram: @badbettypress
Twitter: @badbettypress

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

We published our first book of poems in July 2017.

What made you want to start publishing?

We’re both poets who perform but also love the page. We have a big network of artist friends and peers writing excellent work, and loved the idea of creating a platform to help their work reach more readers. We felt that there was space in the world of poetry publishing for some more exciting, fresh and diverse voices.

What do you specialise in?

Poetry. We mostly put out pamphlets / chapbooks (short collections of around 10-20 poems), but also publish full-length collections, anthologies, and a series of mini-pamphlets called Bad Betty Shots.

Where are you based?

Tottenham, north London.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

October – January for pamphlet / collection manuscripts, Feb – April for anthology poems.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

Amy Acre and Jake Wild Hall. Writers and parents, we set up Bad Betty the year our daughter was born.

Background in the book industry?

Amy came from the world of copywriting, so had a background in editing, art direction and creative production. We’ve both written and performed poetry for over 10 years, working with indie publishers and picking up what we could about the process along the way, as well as running and promoting events.

Talk about some of your books if possible?

Our mental health anthology, The Dizziness of Freedom (2018), was shortlisted for a couple of awards, and is our bestseller to date.

While I Yet Live by Gboyega Odubanjo is our bestselling pamphlet.

She Too Is a Sailor by Antonia Jade King and Raft by Anne Gill are two of our most recent books, respectively exploring womanhood and trauma with delicacy and wit.

The Death of a Clown by Tom Bland and TIGER by Rebecca Tamás were both featured on the ‘Poetry School Books of 2018’ longlist.

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Little Toller

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Little Toller

Little Toller

Little Toller Books was born in 2008 as an imprint of the Dovecote Press, a family-run publishing company that has specialised in books about rural life and local history since 1974. Little Toller was started with a singular purpose: to revive forgotten and classic books about nature and rural life in the British Isles.

The success of Little Toller’s Nature Classics has enabled it to grow into an independent publisher, attuned to writers and artists who seek inventive ways to reconnect us with the natural world and to celebrate the places we live in.

Little Toller is based in Dorset, published Dara McAnulty to great acclaim last year, decided to open a bookshop in 2020 (which can be visited at 2 Church St, Beaminster DT8 3AZ) and they can be contacted at:

Website: littletoller.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/littletoller
Twitter: @littletoller
Instagram: littletollerdorset
Telephone: 01308 488930

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

2009, so 2019 marks our tenth anniversary – something we’re hoping to celebrate all year, with independent bookshops.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

Gracie and Adrian Cooper, our founders, moved to Dorset- Gracie grew up in the county and her father is David Burnett, who founded and still runs Dovecote Press, which specialises in Dorset history. When Gracie and Adrian arrived they found that they wanted to read books about Dorset and rural life more generally, but many of the classics were either out of print, or were languishing on other publishers’ backlists, somewhat unloved. So they decided to right this wrong, and began by publishing three books – by Edward Thomas, Adrian Bell and Clare Leighton, with new introductions by contemporary writers and beautiful new jackets, all in the spirit of the early editions. These books formed the basis of our Nature Classics Library and are still the backbone of our list.

What genres do you specialise in?

We specialise in books about nature, landscape, place, rural life and culture. From our nature classics we’ve expanded into publishing books by contemporary authors, on a range of subjects – from Marcus Sedgwick writing about Snow to Tim Dee on gulls, or new writers like Alex Woodcock on becoming a stone-mason.

Where are you based?

We’re based in the tiny hamlet of Toller Fratrum in West Dorset. Our location has been very important to us as a publisher, it helps inform the sort of books we publish.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

We publish books all year round, so no. We also publish an online journal for new writing from established and emerging voices, The Clearing.

What is your submission procedure?

We accept manuscripts from authors directly, or through agents.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

We are Adrian Cooper, who is the publisher and editor in chief, Gracie Cooper, who is co-founder and who specialises in working with artists and designing our books, a vital part of our publishing, Graham Shackleton who lays out all our books and who also looks after our website and does all our photography for it, and Jon Woolcott who looks after sales, marketing and publicity. But as we’re such a small team – and most of us work part-time – we tend to overlap with each other’s jobs.

What’s your background in the book industry?

Adrian and Gracie were new to books when they founded Little Toller, and began the business in the teeth of a terrible recession, with the book business in the doldrums. Jon has had a long career in books, always on the retail side and has held a variety of shops at many levels. Graham was a photographer (albeit one with two degrees in IT) but also worked on the Bridport Book Prize.

Talk about some of your books if possible? and future projects/dreams if you can?

We’re hugely proud of our authors and the books they’ve written for us. We mentioned a few above but we also publish Horatio Clare, who’s recent book for us Something of his Art, about Bach and the long walk he took across Germany in the winter of 1705 was a big success. We’ve published Adam Thorpe and Iain Sinclair previously, as well as the poet Fiona Sampson (writing on limestone country) and John Burnside. We have two anthologies currently – Arboreal, a collection of essays about woodlands, and Cornerstones, based on the Radio Three series. This year, in addition to King of Dust, we have books from Paul Kingsnorth, Sara Maitland, Peter Marren on the stories behind the names of moths and butterflies. Excitingly, next year we’re publishing the first book by the 14-year-old naturalist and environmental campaigner Dara McAnulty (and we all know how that turned out 🙂 )

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Velocity Press

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Velocity PressVelocity Press publishes electronic music and club culture non-fiction and fiction. We aim to create a catalogue that feels like a trusted record label in its integrity and vision and deliver exciting stories to serious electronic music fans who enjoy good literature.

Velocity Press publisher Colin Steven previously co-promoted jungle club Ruffneck Ting in Bristol during the 90s, set up award-winning magazine Knowledge in 1994 and published Brian Belle-Fortune’s seminal drum & bass book All Crews in 2004.

Website: velocitypress.uk
Email: info@velocitypress.uk
Mastodon: @velocitypress
Twitter: @PressVelocity
Instagram: @velocitypress
Facebook: www.facebook.com/velocitypressbooks

Egostrip Book 1

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

We’ve been publishing since October 2019.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

I previously published an award-winning drum & bass magazine called Knowledge for 20 years. During that time I published a book called All Crews: Journeys Through Jungle Drum & Bass Culture by Brian Belle-Fortune. The internet killed off the physical magazine in 2009 but we soldiered on as a website but the book kept on selling. I missed the physical days and rather than launch another magazine I decided to pivot and start a new book publishing company.

What genres do you specialise in?

We specialise in electronic music and club culture. Most are non-fiction but we have published one fiction title so far and I’d like to do more.

Where are you based?

We’re based in London.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

No, we’re open to submissions the whole year.

What is your submission procedure?

Please send a summary of what you have written, or intend to write to info@velocitypress.uk. A separate breakdown of chapters is useful if you have one.

Who are you?

I run Velocity Press on my own and outsource production like cover design, typesetting proofreading, copyediting, printing, etc. Although he’s a freelancer, I have to pay tribute to Paul Baille-Lance from PBL Publishing as not only does he typeset most of our books, but I also use him for proofing and copy-editing too and he does a great job.

Colin Steven

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

As mentioned above, I published All Crews: Journeys Through Jungle Drum & Bass Culture by Brian Belle-Fortune in 2004. It went out of print in 2020 so I’m looking to publish it again next year with an update on what’s happening now in drum & bass.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

We’ve been really busy the last few years and have published 18 books as of June 2022 so it’s hard choosing favourites. Our first book Join The Future: Bleep Techno & the Birth Of British Bass Music by Matt Anniss was special, it really put us on the map.

Reissuing Trevor Miller’s Trip City in 2021 is worth mentioning too. Not only is it a great book and our only fiction title but we got to work with acid house legend A Guy Called Gerald as we also reissued his soundtrack on vinyl.

More recently, Harry Harrison’s Dreaming In Yellow: The Story of the DiY Sound System has been selling like hot cakes and is shaping up to be our biggest seller.

Most of our books are paperbacks but we’ve done a few beautiful coffee table books like Junior Tomlin Flyer & Cover Art and Who Say Reload: The Stories Behind the Classic Drum & Bass Records of the 90s and the production values of our next book, Members Only: The Iconic Membership Cards and Passes of the Acid House and Rave Generations, will top the lot.

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b small publishing

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b small publishingOur business is 100% LGBT and women owned. We are committed members of Inclusive Minds and have signed up to their charter, EVERYBODY IN! This means that we work hard to make sure our business and our books are as inclusive of diversity as possible. If you think we can do better, get in touch and let us know.

Submissions: “Please note that we create and commission all of our titles in house and as such we are not open to submissions. Thank you for thinking of us!”

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8892 7937
Email: websales@bsmall.co.uk
Website: b small publishing
Twitter: @bsmallpub
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bsmallpublishing/
Instagram: @bsmallpublishing

In their own words

When did you start publishing?

We first started publishing in the early 1990s, originally producing creative high-quality activity books for the Early Learning Centre, before starting to publish bilingual books focusing on first words in English, French and Spanish.

What made you want to start publishing?

Our founder, Cath Bruzzone, started her career as a French teacher before moving into publishing. Cath worked at Pan creating and marketing, among other things, language learning books and CDs for adults and children, promoting her passion for learning a foreign language. Our publisher, Sam Hutchinson, worked in an after-school club for kids as a student where he saw the positive effect a well-made information book can have on a child. Publishing combines his passion for finding things out with his passion for telling people about them!

What do you specialise in?

We specialise in foreign language learning and creative, hands-on information books for kids.

Where are you based?

We are based in Twickenham.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

We create everything in-house and so do not accept submissions.

Who are you?

We are Cath and Sam, (co-directors and owners), Vicky Barker (Art director) and a small team of freelancers, authors and illustrators.

Sam and Cath Doodle

What is your background in the book industry?

Between them, Cath, Sam and Vicky have lots of years of experience and have worked at Pan, HarperCollins and Usborne.

Talk about some of your books if possible?

This past year has been great for us, with some truly wonderful books published and lots of awards!

Our spooky sensation Real- Life Mysteries (by Susan Martineau and Vicky Barker) won the Blue Peter Book award for ‘Best book with facts’, The Histronauts: An Egyptian Adventure (by Frances Durkin and Grace Cooke) won the NSTBA Information book category, and to top it all off, we’ve also published a brand new language learning series, Hello Languages!

Update!!!

Since sending in their information b small publishing have made it into the Regional Shortlist for a Nibbie, in The British Book Awards new category for Small Press of the Year. Congratulations!

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Centre for British Documentary Photography

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HumanityAt the Centre for British Documentary Photography our aim is to inspire and inform the viewer, making available quality documentary images through our online galleries and printed media.

From the outset our aim is to showcase the most relevant documentary photographers be they established names or just emerging. We will endeavour to find and promote the overlooked documentary image makers from Britain and give them and their photographs the space they deserve. In the future we hope to open a gallery space and publish select works from the photographers that are able to be a part of the Centre for British Documentary Photography.

Website: www.centreforbritishdocumentaryphotography.co.uk/
Twitter: @CBDP_Images
Instagram: @the_cbdp
Facebook: facebook.com/CentreforBritishDocumentaryPhotography

Humanity Crowdfunder Advert

In their own words

When did you start publishing?

Way back in 1998.

What made you want to start an independent publisher?

There was and is a need, if we are to look beyond the famous names and obvious stories. Initially I was inspired by the early Surf Magazines. Many of these were actually pure reportage and very nicely designed.

What genres do you specialise in?

Today I concentrate on Bouldering Guide Books and more importantly, Humanity, which is a documentary magazine that fuses concerned photojournalism and the written word.

Where are you based?

Gloucestershire, England.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

We are always open to submissions, but tend to make approaches, and photographers on the CBDP platform make up 75% of the content.

What is your submission procedure?

Send one image via Wetransfer a block of text and website link.

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

I am essentially a one man band.

What was your background in the book industry before this venture?

I created and published 4 successful bouldering guide books before the Humanity venture.

Talk about some of your books if possible, upcoming, favourite?

Issue 1 of Humanity is a favourite as I had to pull everything together from scratch and worked with total strangers, yet somehow it all came together really well and it sold out. Designing a documentary magazine with such important imagery was an honour and ambition realised all in one. Issue 2 is looking even better.

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époque press

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The Groundsman

époque press is an independent publisher based between Brighton, Dublin and New York. Established to promote and represent the very best in new literary talent.

Through a combination of our main publishing imprint and our online é-zine we aim to bring inspirational and thought provoking work to a wider audience.

Our main imprint is seeking out new voices, authors who are producing high-quality literary fiction and who are looking for a publisher to help them realise their ambitions. Our commitment is to fully consider all submissions on literary merit alone.

Our é-zine will showcase a combination of the written word, and other art forms, bringing together artists working in different mediums to encourage and inspire new perspectives on specific themes.

Website: https://www.epoquepress.com
Twitter: @Epoque_Press
Facebook: facebook.com/epoquepress
Instagram: @epoque_press

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

époque press was established at the end of 2017 with our first title, El Hacho by Luis Carrasco being published in February of 2018 so you could say that we are the new team on the block, hoping to add to the rich and varied list of great independent publishers already out there.

What made you want to start publishing?

I have always been obsessed with literature, something which was fermented in me from an early age when my father would avidly read to me every night. It was this which made me undertake a degree in English Literature and instilled in me my life long passion for great writing.

Over the years I have watched with admiration as independent publishers such as Salt, Galley Beggar and Bluemoose have championed great writing and this inspired me to form époque press. I feel that there is always room for new publishers who wish to champion great writing and it is great to see the family of independent publishers supporting each other, all for the love and passion of literature.

At époque press, we are about seeking out great talent and then forming a close relationship with our authors in order to champion their work and get their writing out to as wide an audience as possible. We have a great team working on the editing and proofreading, and we also do all of our own cover design in-house, overseen by the extremely talented Adam Bentley. Our authors are engaged at every stage of bringing their book to publication and we love the creative spark this brings to us all.

What do you specialise in?

We specialise in Literary Fiction and we are interested in novels, novellas and complete collections of short stories. We appreciate that there is often a blurring of boundaries between genres so we are not ruling anything out.

We are particularly interested in writing which has a unique voice or narrative style. Hopefully, you will see this from our first three publications.

We also host a regular online magazine, the époque press ezine. Each edition is based around a specific theme and we are looking for submissions of short stories, poetry, spoken word, essays, visual art, play extracts and music. This is a multi-medium ezine, established to spark the sharing of creative ideas whilst champion great artistic talent. Details of our current theme and access to our current and past editions can be found at… https://www.epoquepress.com/ezine

Where are you based?

We are based Brighton in the UK and Dublin in Ireland.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

We currently have an open submission policy for general submissions to our main imprint, although given the growing size of our ‘To Be Reviewed’ pile we may consider having specific submission windows in the future.

Full submission guidelines for both our main imprint and our ezine can be found at… https://www.epoquepress.com/submissions

Who are your team?

Sean Campbell – MD and Head Editor
Adam Bentley – Artistic & Print Director
Melanie McGinn – sub-editor, proofreader and reviewer
Shan Wilkinson- sub-editor, proofreader and reviewer
Louise Yates – sub-editors, proofreader and reviewer
Andrew Bird – Reviewer

Talk about some of our books:

We have been absolutely delighted to have the pleasure of working with three exceptional debut authors during 2018.

We started with the publication of El Hacho by Luis Carrasco. This novella deals with mans relationship with the landscape and the struggles of modernity verses tradition. It is set in Andalusia and has a very distinct narrative voice which soaks the reader in the environment. We were delighted to have received a cover quote recommendation from Jon McGregor for our very first publication, which read…‘El Hacho is a tiny diamond of a novel, told in a voice at once softly-spoken and fearless as hell. Luis Carrasco’s writing is new to me, but he reads here as if he’s been doing this for years; his control and restraint are masterly, and the end result makes for a cracking read.’

This was followed by the publication of The Groundsmen by Lynn Buckle, which was launched at the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin in October 2018. This novel a is darkly poetic work which deals with the challenging themes of familial and domestic abuse. it is a powerful piece of work, with a narrative structure which encompasses five different voices from within the same family. June Caldwell, author of Room Little Darker, said of it…’A dark compelling tale of under-the-covers failed decency and warped family relationships. This is a provocative and obsessive set of strange narrative voices that will leave the reader spinning, hurting and feeling utterly scalded. Generations affected by trauma live on in an unrelenting carousel of blame and denial, while hope in the child’s voice and a woman’s desire for change make the story powerful and affecting. Lynn Buckle is a fierce and fearless new voice in Irish writing.‘

Our last publication of 2018 was The Wooden Hill, a collection of sort stories by Jamie Guiney. As the title would suggest, each story charts a stage in our own life journeys, from the immense of a new birth, through childhood and adolescence, all the way to the death of a loved one. The collection explores what it means to be human at every stage of life. Miranda Dickinson, author of Fairytale of New York, said of the collection…ʻEvocative, lyrical and touching, The Wooden Hill is a stunning collection. Under Jamie Guiney’s pen the smallest detail becomes cinematic; characters breathe; landscapes live. Intensely personal, unflinchingly human, these are stories to savour, lingering long after the end. I adored this compilation.’

We are currently working with two authors whose work we will be bringing to publication in 2019, and of course, our submissions are open so who knows who else we will find for publication this year and beyond.

(originally published in 2018)

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