Canelo / Arts Council England

Canelo / Arts Council England | 

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Literature in the 21st Century: Understanding Models of Support for Literary Fiction

Publications. With a couple of exceptions, each has an outstanding 

record of publishing literary fiction and the recovery in 2015 and 2016 

shown in the sales suggests a growing movement. 

Outside this, at a smaller level, there is an even greater degree of 

diversity. As Hannah Westland, the Publisher of Serpent’s Tail told 

us ‘There are new indie publishers springing up championing more 

experimental writing, and the audience for – and critical interest in – this 

kind of work seems to be growing. Independent publishers of literary 

fiction include (but are not limited to) names such as Tilted Axis, CB 

Editions, Fitzcarraldo Editions, Salt Books, Comma Press, Dead Ink 

Books, Galley Beggar Press, Influx Press, Penned in the Margins, Tramp 

Press, Bluemoose Books, Jacaranda Books, Myriad Press, Gallic Books, 

And Other Stories, Bitter Lemon Press, Peirene Press, Peepal Tree 

Press, Nine Arches Press and the UK arms of American independents 

like Europa Editions and Melville House. This list is by no means 

exhaustive. While not all of these publishers are new, many were 

founded in the last five years – Galley Beggar, Fitzcarraldo, And Other 

Stories, Jacaranda, and Tilted Axis, for example. Many small publishers 

have been thriving. Inpress, which represents 60 small publishers, has 

reported 79% sales growth in the last year for example.

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For the most part this is great news for British writers of literary fiction; 

of the above names the majority cater directly for them and most of 

them publish British writers (although Gallic, And Other Stories and 

Tilted Axis publish translations). Writers need options and this group 

of passionate and talented indies certainly offer those. However, it is 

questionable to what extent such publishers can afford to fully support 

writers in the absence of breakout hits (that is, in the ordinary course of 

a writing and publishing career). With neither the deep pockets nor the 

marketing clout of majors, are indie presses a viable option for a paying 

career? Luke Brown, novelist and former editor at independent Tindal 

Street Press, tells us that their standard advance used to be £1,250 per 

book, and this level was common across equivalent small presses. 

What’s more, while there is considerable interaction amongst small 

publishers, the relationship with larger ones can be antagonistic rather 

than mutually supportive. Independent publishers complain of taking 

risks building new literary writers only to see them poached by larger 

houses as soon as any success is achieved. While potentially a very 

good thing for the author in question, it creates difficulties for those 

smaller publishers and the role they play in the ecosystem of literary 

fiction. Moreover many small publishers commented that knowledge 

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https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/20/small-indie-publishers-report-booming-sales?CMP=twt_books_b-gdn-

books

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