Members of the Northern Fiction Alliance join the Publishers Association
Published Tuesday 31st July 2018
Eight members of publishing collective the Northern Fiction Alliance (NFA) have joined the Publishers Association for the first time.
The NFA was founded in 2016 by four of the UK’s leading independent publishers – Manchester’s Comma Press, Leeds’ Peepal Tree Press, Liverpool’s Dead Ink Books, and Sheffield’s And Other Stories.
It was devised to showcase the creativity, diversity and spirit of risk-taking that sets publishers in the North of England apart. With the support of Arts Council England, the Alliance has exhibited the output of Northern indie presses to new audiences and publishers around the world.
In April 2018, the NFA published an Open Letter and 8 Point plan which outlined in detail how publishing could break away from its London-centric focus – and why it should.
Sarah Cleave, Publishing Manager of Comma Press, said:
“As a collective, the NFA is committed to promoting regional diversity, and encouraging greater collaboration and dialogue between publishers of all sizes within the industry. Our joining the PA will strengthen our lobbying and campaigning activities, and also ensure that our members have a seat at the table. We are delighted to be working with the PA on expanding our existing suite of training workshops, and providing more opportunities for aspiring publishers from the region.”
Stephen Lotinga, Chief Executive of the Publishers Association, said:
“We are delighted to welcome these exciting independent presses into our membership. Together they are shining a light on issues vital to the future of our industry.”
“They represent an ethos and approach – that the collective voice brings more power than the individual – that is core to our identity and purpose as a trade association. We were inspired by their Open Letter and are looking forward to working with them and our wider membership on the issues they raised.”
The NFA members joining the Publishers Association are:
- Comma Press
- Dead Ink Books
- Valley Press
- And Other Stories
- Peepal Tree Press
- Saraband
- Bluemoose
- Tilted Axis Press
Activity planned with the NFA includes practical training workshops and events held outside London.
The Publishers Association’s membership is currently at its highest level, with 131 members from across consumer, academic and education publishing. These vary from some of the largest publishing houses in the world to many small, independent presses.