Sabin and Tookey to helm Peirene Press as Ziervogel steps down

Stella Sabin and James Tookey are stepping up as the new co-directors of Peirene Press as the indie relaunches and rebrands.

The press was set up as a one-woman show in 2008 by Meike Ziervogel: an independent publisher dedicated to collectable editions of translated European novellas. Working from her bedroom, Ziervogel published Beside the Sea by Veronique Olmi, translated by Adriana Hunter. Since then the press has published more than 40 books featuring translations from 17 languages. Its titles have been nominated for the International Booker Prize seven times.

Ziervogel has now stepped down to continue her work running an educational charity for Syrian women and children in Beirut. Sabin and Tookey, who originally came on board as assistants, are launching a new website today (28th March) and have worked with Glasgow-based art director Orlando Lloyd to rebrand the site, logo and format of the publisher’s collectable novella series. It will continue to offer a subscription model to readers. 

In 2023 the press will publish its first Brazilian title, The Love of Singular Men by Prêmio Jabuti-winning author Victor Heringer, a queer coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of 1970s Rio de Janeiro.

"We are proud to be able to take Peirene forward into a new and exciting chapter," Tookey said. "We will build on the last 10 years, bringing new voices and great stories into English, while widening the scope of what Peirene can do. In the short term this means publishing a diverse range of books from beyond Europe as part of our novella series. 

"In the longer term, we will expand our list, increasing the number of books we publish a year. We will announce future titles and new initiatives over the course of this year."

The press has relocated to Bath, and will be using Turnaround Publisher Services.