When it comes to the festive season, books are a staple present for friends and family. What to get that uncle, aunt, or cousin you see just once or twice a year? Socks or aftershave? That’s just insulting. A book? Now you’re talking. A bestseller? Maybe a little obvious. Something from an independent press is more likely to surprise and amaze, to show you’ve put some thought into it. It also makes a big difference to a small business (instead of putting yet more money into Mr Bezos’ bulging pockets) and who wouldn’t want to be part of that?
And yes, you’d expect that to lead on to the usual sales pitch for our titles (all of which are very good, in case you were in any doubt) but in keeping with the festive spirit we’d also like to flag up some of the many small presses out there whose books we think will make perfect presents or stocking fillers. This is by no means an exhaustive list, by the way. Think of it more as a taster.
Ready? Here we go.
We’re in the West Midlands, so top of our list are two local imprints with their very different output. The new kid on the West Midlands’ block is Floodgate Press, based in Birmingham. They’ve just two collections of short stories on their (pardon the pun) books so far, but they’re both beautifully produced and packed with great writing. We thoroughly recommend them both. On the other hand, the Black Country Society is a long established group with a huge range of titles, each of which covers a different aspect of life and history in our (all-too-often overlooked) region. Quite a few of their titles are on offer, but you’ll need to find them at their events at the moment to buy their books, as their online shop is on hold. And our region’s poetry is wonderfully represented in the collections published by Offa’s Press, which are well worth a punt.
Further afield in the world of poetry, Flapjack Press covers much of the scene round Manchester and the North West, while Yaffle Press is over the Pennines in Yorkshire. Both of them have some fantastic titles on their roster. And if you’ve a hankering for radical and political poetry, Smokestack Books (which is sadly in the process of winding down) is the place to go. We’d point you in the direction of the latest collection from American poet Fred Voss ‘Someday There Will Be Machine Shops Full of Roses’; and their anthology of Palestinian poetry ‘Out of Gaza’. But there’s plenty more on their website if that whets your appetite.
So get out there and take a look. Buying a book from one of these presses will help (sorry, another books pun on its way) their books balance. Buy one title from each of them and you’ll not only be getting a range of unique gifts for friends and family, you’ll also be playing your part inhaling our literary ecosystem survive and – hopefully – thrive. And even if the weather outside is frightful, that’s a delightful thing to do.
Over to you.