An A-Z of (UK) Independent Publishers – L

I’m focusing on UK based publishers of adult fiction, short stories and poetry. I’ll update my master list as I go along (or I’ll try too) but this fortnightly list will give a more personalised shout out.

Each entry features a sample book cover which clicks through to the website. The accompanying ‘about’ information is taken from each publishers website at the time I put this post together.

If you know of publishers I’ve missed or want to help update my master list then please add details in the comments.

Due to the pandemic, we’re all aware that times have been tough for indie bookshops and publishers, so obviously, if you can buy direct from them that benefits them more. Though bookshops are now open, some of you might still not feel comfortable venturing out so you might want to consider using Bookshop.org or Hive Books.co.uk – both of which offer a percentage of the sale to a bricks-and-mortar bookshop.

So here we go with L

Leamington Books

Books is based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Leamington Books’ current list includes John Herdman; Lesley Storm; Colin Burnett; Jim Ferguson; Eddie Gibbons; and James Flowerdew.

Our Gothic World Literature Editions imprint republishes The Black Vampyre (1819).

Our fiction // counterfiction imprint Pierpoint Press publishes Stuart MacGregor’s 1973 novel The Sinner, and Colin Burnett’s debut A Working Class State of Mind.

We offer writers royalty rates and ownership of their rights.

We publish print Edinburgh Editions, Print-On-Demand, eBook and Audible versions of our titles

Legend Press

The Lost Apothecary: The New York Times Top Ten Bestseller

Legend Press is an independent book publisher founded in 2005 by Tom Chalmers, that specialises in original fiction, crime thrillers and its Legend Classics series. Legend Press has been shortlisted for numerous awards as a company and also for individual books.

As part of its platform, London-based Legend Press has built a global sales and distribution network with the target of reaching readers in multiple formats across the world. It is also passionate about licensing its content to publishers, whether into different languages, formats such as audio and large print, or into key English language markets.

Much of its success has been due to keenness to innovate and to be a market-leader for new initiatives. And as its ultimate mission, Legend Press aims to produce books of the highest quality, provide a global platform for authors and to inspire and thrill book readers around the world.

Les Fugitives

Les Fugitives is an independent publisher of contemporary literary fiction, non-fiction & everything in between, translated from the French. Les Fugitives was inspired and informed by a number of benevolent authors, book-lovers and editors; a kind of free-forming collective not necessarily aware of itself.

Our books have all been critically acclaimed in France yet eluded the attention of other publishers in the UK or the US, ‘fallen between the cracks’ as it were…

In the belief that short works make for an ideal introduction to an author’s oeuvre we focus on short books. Our flexible approach gives translators and editors optimal conditions in which to perfect their work.

We favour storytelling that follows in the steps of the modernists’ efforts and their successors, and writing that sits comfortably between genres: non-linear narratives, sometimes better described as textes (in French). This said, the modernists did not invent ‘mongrel books’, and neither did we.

Cinema has long infiltrated the world of literature and, partly inspired by our first title, we endeavour to build a collection that has either a distinct cinematic feel in the writing itself, if not a direct link with film history. Other arts come into play in our books, including photography, painting and music.

Travelling, wandering, deserting, running away… Les Fugitives are about stories of people who don’t fit in; stories raising old and new questions about gender and identity; stories about strangers, about almost-love, and about solidarity: from the late nineteenth century, ‘the divine countess’ of Castiglione, to Barbara Loden’s Wanda, to the women of today.

Lifeboat Press

Poetry publisher based in Belfast in 2012. Readings hosted by @closeandslow & @Manuela_Moser.

Linen Press

Founder Lynn Michell shares her vision, passion and hopes for Linen Press.

Linen Press is a labour of love; the only UK-wide independent women’s press.

My first amateur sortie into publishing came out of the blue when 94 year old Marjorie Wilson joined my writing group in Edinburgh and revealed a rare writing talent. Her turn-of-the-century memoir had been rejected by almost every publisher in the UK so I took it on – without any knowledge of the business. Childhood’s Hill sold out, was re-printed, and beat Ian Rankin one week in Blackwell’s best sellers. It is described by The Scotsman as ‘luminous, episodic, sensual—rather like memory itself’.

That was fifteen years ago. We have come a long way since then and have built a strong international list.

2015 – finalist for the Pandora Women in Publishing Prize.
2019 – short-listed for the Saboteur award for Innovative Publisher

Our bar of exceptional writing is raised with each new publication and I’m fiercely proud of our talented authors.

The Lonely Crowd

The Lonely Crowd is a Cardiff based literary magazine, devoted to publishing the best new short fiction, poetry, photography and criticism.

Longbarrow Press

Press is a Sheffield-based independent poetry publisher with a reputation for work that explores the intersections of landscape, history and memory. We publish pamphlets and collections by J.R. Carpenter, James Caruth, Matthew Clegg, Kelvin Corcoran, Angelina D’Roza, Steve Ely, Nancy Gaffield, Mark Goodwin, Pete Green, Lee Harwood, Rob Hindle, Andrew Hirst, Chris Jones, Fay Musselwhite, Alistair Noon and Peter Riley. Titles range across various formats, including hardbacks, pamphlets, boxes and CDs; many are designed and produced by hand, some in limited editions.

Since the launch of our first publications in 2006, we’ve developed an eclectic programme of events, including poetry walks, exhibitions and collaborations with musicians and filmmakers, alongside a growing online archive of field recordings based on our visits to canals, chapels and sea caves in Yorkshire and beyond. Some of these excursions and collaborations are documented on the Longbarrow Blog, featuring regular posts from editor and publisher Brian Lewis, and many of the poets.

Our parallel journey in print has also unfolded with an emphasis on innovation, with titles ranging from maps, acetates and matchboxes to our current series of acclaimed hardback books. An ethos of craft and care informs this preoccupation with ‘the book as object’, and helps to ensure that the format of publication is always a sympathetic response to the poem (rather than an object imposed on the poem).

Louise Walters Books

Welcome to Louise Walters Books

I’m a reader, writer, editor and publisher. My press, Louise Walters Books, is tiny, indie, and receptive to books bigger publishers may not be able to consider. I aim to publish only the very best in adult literary and literary/commercial fiction, across all genres.

I’m a working-class writer, editor, and publisher. I went to a less than ambitious comprehensive school; I left at sixteen and didn’t do A levels or go to university. I did eventually get one A level in English Literature (I took the exams while heavily pregnant with my now-strapping twenty-five-year-old) followed by a literature degree via the Open University at the age of forty-two, after twelve years of studying.

I’ve read for most of my life, apart from a few years in my late teens and early twenties when other interests took over! It wasn’t until I reached my forties that I realised I could write a novel… a lack of confidence prevented me for too long. If you’re working-class you will probably understand that feeling…

I’m the author of Mrs Sinclair’s Suitcase (Hodder 2014), A Life Between Us (Louise Walters Books 2017), and The Road to California (Louise Walters Books 2018). I’m working on a fourth novel… and have been for about five years now. The plan is to finish a complete first draft in 2021…

I founded Louise Walters Books in 2017. Facing the prospect of turning fifty in the November of that year and, clock ticking, I remember thinking, I need to do this now, if I’m gonna do it. So I did. Getting older brings its advantages; a certain recklessness and determination…

LWB is very small and proudly independent. I’ve been fortunate in finding seven hugely talented authors. I’m a one-woman band; I project manage the publication of each title and I edit all of them. I work with a talented team of freelance professionals who design my covers and interiors, and help me with copy-editing. I fit publishing in alongside my own writing, and my freelance editorial work.

Even now I can’t quite believe I’m doing all of this for a living… imposter syndrome is A Thing, with the publishing world seeming to be solidly middle-class, which it is, of course… But I’m here, I am doing it, and I hope you enjoy what I do.

Luath Press

Am Balach Beag a Dh'Èisteadh aig Dorsan: The Little Boy Who Listened at Doors

Press was established by Tom and Rene Atkinson in Barr (near Girvan in Ayrshire) in 1981. Tom had recently returned to Scotland and, finding there were no good descriptive guides to the popular parts of Scotland, 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.

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 offices on Edinburgh’s famous Royal Mile, and we remain committed to publishing well written books worth reading.

Lume Books

A Slight Folly (The Wilderness Series Book 3) Kindle Edition

We’re Lume Books, a small indie with big goals. We believe strongly in the role of the publisher to connect the world with stories that illuminate new thoughts and ideas, which is why our name stems from the Latin word for light. Symbolic of change, growth and creativity, it reflects the brightness we try to bring to the publishing world.

We’re home to an amazing list of talented authors and are proud to champion both debut and established writers. Behind every one of their published books is our dedicated team of editors, designers and marketers, working hard to bring timeless stories to new readers across the globe.

Take a look around, you might just find your next favourite read.

Luna Press Publishing

Luna Press Publishing™ is an award-winning independent UK press, founded in 2015 by author Francesca T. Barbini. We deal with Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Dark Fantasy, in both fiction and academia. We are also a proud member of Publishing Scotland.

We work with agents, published authors and new writers. We take pride in our family – the Luna family – and we work hard to promote and support it.

We are very keen to create writing opportunities and to promote inclusiveness in the publishing industry. We work with worthy partners to give back to the community. Some of our books are affiliated to charities, so when you buy a book in our store you are also giving to charity. The donations are taken from Luna’s own share of the profit.

We run several projects, some of which are open to submissions all year round.

We are very excited to be a home for creativity and look forward to journeying with you.