The West Midlands is one of the major regions of England. A diverse part of the country in which can be found the second largest city in the country; namely Birmingham, it also contains other cities such as Wolverhampton, Coventry and large towns including Walsall.
In addition, the West Midlands span across several counties; examples include Warwickshire, Shropshire and Herefordshire.
Are you an author from the West Midlands searching for a publisher from this particular part of England?
Look no further.
Below you will find 13 top book publishers in the West Midlands that are definitely worth checking out.
1. CGW Publishing
If you’re a consultant who has written a business book with a goal to use your book to help build your services business, then CGW Publishing based in Birmingham could very well be the publisher for you. Founded in 2002, CGW Publishing is an independent publisher who specialises in working with business authors and publishing nonfiction and business books. It also publishes creative books on occasion. Some of the authors this publisher has published, among others, include Ashley Hastings, Bill Gaw, Mark Jaffe, and Rupert Potter.
CGW Publishing has shared some excellent advice on preparing a manuscript submission with an overarching message to make it realistic and credible. Take a look at this page to learn more. With regards to accepting submissions, taking on new authors isn’t a primary focus for CGW Publishing, as it is currently emphasising on promoting existing titles. However, it is still reviewing manuscripts from business authors who are experts in their fields, and have an establishing following on social media and have a strong reputation. If you feel you fit the bill, and would like to make a submission, contact CGW Publishing to introduce yourself.
2. Nine Arches Press
Nine Arches Press was founded by Jane Commane in 2007 and publishes Under the Radar magazine, its main publication which showcases top new and established poets and writers, along with reviews and articles. This publisher also publishes poetry collections and its titles have been shortlisted for awards such as Michael Murphy Prize and have won awards such as the East Midlands Book Award. When selecting potential work to publish, Nine Arche Press doesn’t have preferential genres, instead it looks for original, high quality poetry and welcomes submissions from writers and poets with diverse backgrounds.
If you’ve written a poetry collection, already have a track record of having your poems published elsewhere in the UK, and are interested in making a submission, Nine Arches Press in effect has a three steps process to begin with. Step 1 would involve in your becoming familiarised with the type of work this publisher publishers in Under the Radar magazine, and to read some of the collections of poetry already published to help ensure what you’ve written will be a good fit. Step 2 would be to submit a small, selected number of your poems for consideration for publication in Under the Radar. Assuming you’ve completed the first two steps, the third step would be to submit a collection of your top class poems during one of the bi-annual open submission windows Take a look at this page to find out when these windows are and to read the submission guidelines in full. The titles, which Nine Arches Press publishes, are distributed by NBN International.
3. Offa’s Press
The goal of Offa’s Press is to both publish and bring to the fore, the crème de la crème or poetry and poets from the West Midlands. The organisation is run as a cooperative by Simon Fletcher who is Editor and Manager, and other writers and poets from across the region. Some of the poets that Offa’s Press has published are David Bingham, Nick Pearson, Emma Purshouse and Win Saha, among others who you can read about here. Although Offa’s Press is currently closed to submissions, it continues to offer reading and mentoring services to poets, and poetry workshops, which you can find out at this page.
4. Greenstream Publishing
A book publisher in Birmingham, Greenstream Publishing is a publishing house that specialises in the publishing of books on the environment by authors who are experts in the field. Take a look at this page to find out about the titles that have been published by Greenstream Publishing. Books published by this publisher are distributed and made available for purchase globally, and can be found in universities who use them for the teaching of topics related to the environment. The two main subjects of books this publisher publishes are books about green technology, and also texts that help writers, which may inspire them, or help them to market and sell their books. If you’ve written a book belonging to either of these subjects and would like to make a submission, take a look here to find out more.
5. Brewin Books
A book publishing house in Warwickshire, Brewin Books has been in business since in 1976 and over this time has published in excess of 400 titles. The types of books it publishes are usually associated with the Midlands, be it through biographies, histories of families, transport, police and the military. Brewin Books has also ventured into fiction publishing and the publishing of children’s books. If you’ve written a high quality nonfiction book about the Midlands, or a novel or a book for children that has a Midlands based setting, and would like to submit your book to Brewin Book, take a look here to find out how you can send your manuscript through a single page.
6. Silhouette Press
Driven by a determination to improve access to the publishing industry, Silhouette Press is a publisher that uses a social enterprise model for its activities. A book publisher in Coventry, Silhouette Press is the brains behind the bi-monthly literary magazine called Here Comes Everyone and the organisation also holds creative writing and publishing classes. With a strong emphasis on working in deprived areas and with individuals who usually wouldn’t be able to enter the publishing world, Silhouette Press is also currently accepting submissions for novels, novellas, poetry collections, and nonfiction in the form of articles, propaganda and pamphlets. Submissions can be made through Submittable. Take a look at this page to find out exactly what you need to include as a part of your submission.
7. Five Seasons Press
Based in Hereford, and whose editor and publisher is Glenn Storhaug, Five Seasons currently, occasionally publishes individually designed poetry books, graphics, essays and translated works, which have been printed using offset lithography. For some of its customers who are publishers that require digital printing, Five Seasons Press works with a partner who provides high quality digital printing. Take a look at this page to see some of the titles Five Seasons Press has published in print. If you would like to know about whether this publisher is currently accepting submissions and if so, how you can submit your manuscript, send an email to: books@fiveseasonspress.com.
8. Fair Acre Press
Founded by poet, writer, and artist Nadia Kingsley in 2011, Fair Acre Press is an independent publisher based in Oswestry, Shropshire, which is dedicated to publishing high quality books and pamphlets too. Examples of works published by Fair Acre Press include I once knew a poem who wore a hat, a children’s poetry book by Emma Purshouse and Catharine Pascall Moore, and Sitting Ducks, a novel by Lisa Blower. In terms of literature, Fair Acre Press is interested in poetry and prose. Its other interests include art, craft, photography, the county of Shropshire and science. Do note this publisher publishes via invitation only. If you have any queries, you can make contact with Fair Acre Press by sending an email to fairacrepress@gmail.com or calling on 01691 239466.
9. Sazmick Books Publishing
If you’re self-publishing your book and are looking for help in doing so, there is Sazmick Book Publishing who offers self-publishing and marketing services to authors. Founded by Michael and Sarah Feeley in 2010, Sazmick Book Publishing is based in Tamworth in Staffordshire. This organisation publishes a range of nonfiction and fiction, and you can find out about the specific topics of the books it publishes here. Sazmick Books Publishing offers packages for publishing a book in print and publishing an ebook, and has other design and marketing options. Take a look at this page to find out more.
10. Verse Publishing
If you’ve written either a sci-fi, horror, or a fantasy book, or a book that belongs to an associated sub-genre, you may want to take a look at Verse Publishing. Verse Publishing was founded in 2012 and operates through its 5 commandments, which governs all its activities. You can read these here. The great thing about Verse Publishing is that it is always on the lookout for new authors, and hence submissions. It is currently accepting submissions for its collections of short stories and novels as well. If you want to make a submission, you need to provide a covering letter, a short biography, a brief synopsis one page in length and two chapters from you book. Take a look at this page to find the exact submission details, and the email address and postal address where you can send your submission to.
11. Fernhurst Books
Based in Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, Fernhurst Books is a specialist in publishing nautical books about sailing, diving, boating, fishing, canoeing and swimming. If you’ve written a book on one of these topics, or even about surfing, then get in touch with Fernhurst to enquire about how it accepts submissions.
12. YouCaxton Publications
Started off as Lazy Summer Books and now called YouCaxton Publications, this is a publisher with offices in both Shrewsbury and Oxford. Headed up by Bob Fowke who is Managing Director, YouCaxton Publications is an independent publishing company that offers services, which can help you take your book from idea, to publication and selling in stores, or you can just pick and choose particular services you might need for your circumstances. Everything starts off with YouCaxton carrying out a free consultation to understand which stage you are at your book. Take a look at this page to learn about some of the book production, editorial and book design services on offer, and to get an idea of prices of these.
13. The Alchemy Press
Formed in the 1990’s by Peter Coleborn with support with a grant from the National Lottery, The Alchemy Press is based in Staffordshire and publishes fantasy and horror. It is an award-winning publisher and is a recipient of the British Fantasy Society (BFS) Award for Best Small/Independent Press, twice winner in the Best Collection category and has made the shortlist in various other categories. Take a look at this page to find out about the anthologies this publisher has published. The Alchemy Press currently isn’t accepting any submissions. Do keep an eye on this page to be notified of when this changes. If you’re looking for editing services for your manuscript, or for help in getting the format of your book ready for publication, you can find out about rates here.
What did you think of our above list of top book publishers in the West Midlands? Have you had experience of getting your book published by one of these? Tell us more in the comments box underneath!
13 Top Book Publishers in the West Midlands is an article from Writing Tips Oasis.
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Hiten Vyas is the Founder and Managing Editor of Writing Tips Oasis.