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. Not all publishers offer online ordering 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 T & U
Taff Vale Press
A Welsh Valleys based micro press bringing poetry, history and myth to the world
Tangent Books
Tangent Books was founded by Richard Jones and Steve Faragher who had met while editing various magazines for Future Publishing in Bath. After leaving Future in 2002, they set up their own contract magazine company in Bath and in 2004 decided to dabble in books as a sideline.
Tangent is a purposefully radical publisher: both in the content we publish but also in the authors and writers we choose to publish. We publish books whose stories, thoughts, images and writing will not be published elsewhere; whether because of location, economy or content. Radical, witty and irreverent by nature, we hope you find something to enjoy, and make you think a little too.
We adhere to certain values which are best summed up as:
Tangent will not knowingly discriminate against any individual on the basis of their colour, creed, sex, race, religion, gender or gender identity. We don’t work with Tories and will not publish any books about Bristol City FC.
Up The Rovers!
Tangerine Press
Independent publisher est. 2006
Tangerine Press publishes new, neglected and innovative writing in handbound, hardcover limited editions, in tandem with more readily available trade paperbacks. We have been known to dabble in photography and 1970s pornography too.
The press is entirely self-funded, receives no grants, except for a publication/project in 2016 which came about in unusual circumstances.
Tangerine champions work by authors who often exist on the fringes of society.
Our authors and artists have been longlisted and shortlisted for awards such as The Edge Hill Short Story Prize, Republic of Consciousness Prize and the Athens Photobook Festival. Their books have been reviewed in Times Literary Supplement, The Independent, The Irish Times, Morning Star, New Statesman, The Scotsman, The Sunday Herald, Hackney Citizen, Black Country Bugle, Bookmunch, The Skinny, Never I
Tapsalteerie
Tapsalteerie was set-up in 2013 after a successful crowdfunding campaign. In 2017 we expanded to a team of four members who are spread out across Scotland, though our headquarters and stronghold remains still in Tarland, rural Aberdeenshire.
Tapsalteerie is an award-winning Scottish poetry publishing house based in rural Aberdeenshire. We produce an eclectic range of publications across the Scots, Gaelic and English languages, with a focus on new poets and innovative writing.
Tapsalteerie were shortlisted for the 2018 Michael Marks Poetry Pamphlet Publisher of the Year award.
Tartarus Press
Tartarus is a small, British independent press founded in 1990. We specialise in collectable hardback limited editions of literary supernatural/strange/horror fiction, and we also publish paperbacks and ebooks. We have been the recipient of five World Fantasy Awards (as recently as 2015), and in 2010 received a “Stoker” from the Horror Writers Association.
Team Angelica
Starting small, we’re proud to produce work that consistently punches above its weight. Between them our writers have won the Polari Prize, the Ferro-Grumley Award and two Lambdas, along with a sheaf of shortlistings, nods and nominations.
Our mission is to bring out books that are provocative, original and inspirational. We want to present and represent the un- and under-represented, the outsider; and to enable and encourage new and diverse voices, especially the queer, black and of colour; to put out work that is transformative, that celebrates difference and diversity and the maverick spirit.
Finalist London Book Fair International Excellence Awards for Inclusivity in Publishing 2017
thi wurd
We are a Glasgow-based, independent publisher, dedicated to quality fiction. We are also the home of thi wurd magazine. Our aim is to liberate new voices, including those, in the words of Tom Leonard, who “exist outside the narrative”. We are committed to the promotion of great literary art.
ThunderPoint Publishing
Established on the Island of South Uist, ThunderPoint has its roots in Scotland and is a Publishing Member of Publishing Scotland. We now also have an editorial office in Wales.We operate with a small team and work closely with our authors, many of whom released their debut novels with us. Have a look around and we’re sure you’ll find just what you’re looking for.
Tilted Axis
Tilted Axis is a non-profit press publishing mainly work by Asian writers, translated into a variety of Englishes.
Founded in 2015, we are based in the UK, a state whose former and current imperialism severely impacts writers in the majority world. This position, and those of our individual members, informs our practice, which is also an ongoing exploration into alternatives – to the hierarchisation of certain languages and forms, including forms of translation; to the monoculture of globalisation; to cultural, narrative, and visual stereotypes; to the commercialisation and celebrification of literature and literary translation.
We value the work of translation and translators through fair, transparent pay, public acknowledgement, and respectful communication. We are dedicated to improving access to the industry, through translator mentorships, paid publishing internships, open calls and guest curation.
Tippermuir Books
Independent Scottish Publisher, Perth, Scotland
Titan Books
Titan Books was founded in 1982 and for many years operated out of the Forbidden Planet store in Drury Lane, London (UK). In 2000, now a part of TEG the company moved to its current residence on Southwark Street in South London, not far from the Tate Modern. Titan Books originally came to prominence as the first British trade paperback/reprint publisher for long-running UK comics anthology series 2000 AD’s –focusing primarily on the lead character Judge Dredd. However it soon added to its roster with a major distribution deal with DC Comics – starting with The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller in 1986. The DC Comics deal was in many ways the first deal of it’s kind, bringing Graphic Novels produced by the comics giant to UK books and entertainment stores, making popular characters like Batman, Superman and the Green Lantern available to a general audience. This was quite an innovation and helped pave the way for a burgeoning Graphic Novels market in the UK today. In 1992 Titan Distribution was sold to Diamond Comics and the team who co-owned the company parted ways. Nick Landau and Vivian Cheung took over full ownership of Forbidden Planet and in 1993 launched the umbrella company Titan Entertainment Group. It was in the 1990’s that Titan Books seized on the opportunity to begin publishing movie and television tie-in books. Fans of major sci-fi and supernatural movies and TV shows were hungry to learn more about how they were made. With lavish art, concept drawings, info on special effects and interviews with the cast and creators, these books take you behind the scenes of some of the biggest shows and movies of their time. Some of the very earliest tie in books came from Alien, Terminator, Star Trek and Star Wars amongst many others. In 1995 TEG launched Titan Magazines to help provide a swelling audience of thirsty fans more information on their favourite shows in a current and up-to-date way, launching magazines for Star Trek, Star Wars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Files and many others. With fans ever hungry for more, Titan produced many fiction tie-in titles that took stories of major movies and shows further, introducing major new canon story-lines for key and minor players in each franchise. Some of the earliest fiction Titan produced was for Star Trek Next Generation, and has since grown to include Alien and Aliens, Terminator, Planet of the Apes and many TV shows including X-files, Supernatural, 24 and Fringe.
Tuba Press
Tuba Press publishes & promotes poetry for the delight of world wide readers. We seek audiences for writers of promise who cannot access mainstream publishers. As at 1.7.2021 most of our back list is still available. However in the future we are mainly publishing poetry. Our preference is for unpublished poets, regardless of age; from those still at school to those who have retired.
Two Rivers Press
Two Rivers Press has been publishing in and about Reading since 1994. Founded by the artist Peter Hay (1951-2003), the press continues to delight readers, local and further afield, with its varied list of individually designed, thought-provoking books.
Two and a half decades of publishing and well over 100 titles since its inception, Two Rivers Press continues to champion Reading – its rebels and its traditionalists; the beauty of its rivers and the heritage of its industry; its art, poetry, history and landscape. And deep roots in the community give the Press vitality to branch out well beyond the boundaries of the Thames Valley. The poetry list now features nationally acclaimed poets; the local interest list features books about the Vale of the White Horse and Octavia Hill, founder of the National Trust; and our art books are from award-winning artists all over the country.
We are delighted that the Press has been described as ‘one of the most characterful small presses in the country.’
Unbound
We believe great ideas shouldn’t fall between the cracks because they don’t fit the mould.
That’s why we’ve built a platform and publishing model that shifts the balance of power, allowing people and communities to champion the voices which deserve to be heard.
We’re changing publishing – and putting the crowd in control.
Unbound is the world’s only book publisher to use crowdfunding to raise funds for the publishing process. We’ve published over 250 titles and are looking for more authors to work with.
Universal Octopus
Universal Octopus is an Independent Publisher of books revealing the truth about the creation and working of the universe using the metaphor of an octopus and its tentacles.
Unsung Stories
Unsung Stories is a London-based independent press.
Unsung Stories publish literary and ambitious speculative fiction. This means science fiction, fantasy, horror and weird, and the fuzzy bits between these genres. From classic genre tropes to freshly minted hybrids, all speculative fiction shares a desire to understand ourselves and the world we live in better. We want to bring you the best of that.
We believe the ambitious debut should be celebrated, and when you start is the best time to challenge convention. Today’s classics were once yesterday’s precocious outliers, after all.
Unthank Books
Unthank Books is an independent publisher founded in 2010. Historically, the Unthank is the unclaimed land at the edge of town, and that’s where we reside, nurturing distinct and vibrant literature, both in the novel and short form.
Jill's Book Cafe 