Fifty flourishing publishers made Small Press of the Year finalists

Fifty independent publishers which have flourished despite the challenges of Brexit, the pandemic and supply chain issues are finalists for the British Book Awards Small Press of the Year. 

Sponsored by CPI Group, the award celebrates innovative and grassroots publishers making names for themselves outside the mainstream. In total there are 50 small presses listed across eight different regions and countries, including 14 in London, nine in the north of England, seven in Scotland, three from Ireland and Northern Ireland, and three in Wales.

The presses will compete to win their region first, before vying for the overall prize, which will be announced at the British Book Awards ceremony on 23rd May 2022. The overall small press winner will also compete to be crowned Independent Publisher of the Year.

London remains a hotbed of new publishing with a mammoth 14-strong list, including previous joint winners Boldwood Books and Magic Cat alongside newbie Mensch Publishing set up by industry veteran Richard Charkin.

The ever vibrant publishing scene in the north, including England and Scotland, sees nine and seven finalists from their respective regions. Newcomers to the finalist cohort include the 21-year-old The Irish Pages Press/Cló An Mhíl Bhuī, Onwe Press, and Eye Books.

Poetry presses are also strongly represented by Arachne Press, Out-Spoken Press and Fly on the Wall Press.

Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller and chair of the judges for the British Book Awards, said: “Overall, 2021 has proved to be a gnarly year for the UK and Ireland’s Small Presses; following an adrenaline fuelled 2020, many publishers faced issues around Brexit, a fickle supply chain, and the ongoing disruption to high street bookshops due to the pandemic, culminating in a choppy but ultimately champion year for many with a number of important books breaking through. This was small press publishing at its best, smart and nimble, with amazing attention to detail, and always with an emphasis on the reader at the heart of it all.”

A number of the small presses published some of the break-out books of 2021, including Olga Tokarczuk’s The Books of Jacob (Fitzcarraldo Editions), Panenka by Rónán Hession (Bluemoose), The Power Of Geography: Ten Maps that Reveal the Future of Our World by Tim Marshall (Elliott & Thompson) and Crater Lake Evolution by Jennifer Killick (Firefly).

CPI Books’ managing director Tanya Dunbar commented: “We are delighted to be sponsoring this award in its fourth year. This year we saw the largest number of entries to date, which reflects the strength of the small presses in the UK, supported by the significant growth in physical book sales that has been seen over the last two years. Congratulations to all the regional and country finalist publishers.”

The regional and country winners of the Small Press of the Year award will be announced on 17th March 2022.

The finalists in full:

East and South East England

Bradt Guides
Critical Publishing
Dedalus Books
Guppy Books
September Publishing
SRL Publishing

Ireland and Northern Ireland

The Irish Pages Press/Cló An Mhíl Bhuī
Lilliput Press
Little Island Books

London

Arachne Press
Boldwood Books
Cipher Press
Elliott & Thompson
Fitzcarraldo Editions
Inkandescent
Magic Cat Publishing
Mensch Publishing
Muswell Press
Onwe Press
Out-Spoken Press
Saqi Books
Scallywag Press
Swift Press

Midlands

Eye Books
Henson Editorial Services and North
Staffordshire Press
Otter-Barry Books
Owlet Press
Sweet Cherry Publishing

North England

Bluemoose Books
Carcanet Press
Comma Press
Dead Ink
Fly on the Wall Press
Peepal Tree Press
Saraband
Smokestack Books
Vertebrate Publishing

Scotland

404 Ink
Charco Press
Cranachan
Leamington Books
Little Door Books
Scotland Street Press
The Wee Book Company

South West England

Ad Hoc Fiction
From You to Me
Really Decent Books

Wales

Firefly Press
Parthian Books
Rily Publications