You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
An independent press specialising in "accessible and entertaining" culture writing is set to launch with a psychedelic novel by music journalist Richard Foster.
London-based Ortac Press will release some novels but mainly focus on non-fiction, specifically writing on art, culture, music and social science.
Founder Henry Rowley was previously the chief publicist at London and Sydney-based children’s indie New Frontier Publishing. Currently operating the press single-handedly, he will be working with a range of freelances across editorial, design and production going forward.
"I’m very happy to finally be launching Ortac Press after many months of work behind the scenes," he said. "Our first books come from two of the most exciting music and culture journalists writing at the moment, and I can’t wait for readers to discover them.
"Ortac’s focus will be on publishing non-fiction writing on art, culture, music and social science that is accessible and engaging rather than overly academic, but we will publish a variety of novels too. We are committed to publishing beautifully designed physical books that will entertain and inform."
Its launch title, Flower Factory by Quietus writer Foster, will publish in June 2022. The novel is about a British seasonal worker in Holland’s bulb region at the turn of the millennium. "It’s a funny, entertaining and psychedelic take on a work and rave culture that existed in a Europe that seems almost unrecognisable today, but was just 21 years ago across the water," Rowley said.
It will be followed in November 2022 by New Statesman pop and culture journalist Emily’s Bootle’s exploration of authenticity in culture and psychology, for which Rowley acquired UK and Commonwealth rights.
The press will aim to publish three titles in 2023, and four the following year. Submissions are currently open to writers. Ortac’s titles will be distributed by Combined Book Services, with trade sales handled by Compass IPS.