Welcome to Fawn Press!
I have been asked quite a few times what drove me to start up an indie publisher, and every time I find myself coming back to the same answer: for the love of it.
Every book worm, pamphlet-hoarder, spoken word performer, workshop facilitator, page poet, and pretty much every person in between that is involved in the lit world in some way will tell you this: we do it for the love of it.
It is unrivalled, the feeling that floods your soul when a poem has spotted you in your anonymous corner of the universe from its space on the page and said “AHA yes, you there, I see you!” Everyone deserves that. I want to be a part of bringing that feeling to people.
Books offer a safe space, a space of empowerment, a space to escape to or see yourself represented. The world always needs more books. Ever since I was a little girl when my parents would read me bedtime stories of magical rocking horses, and my dad would show me the wildly intricate and sometimes baffling covers of his Terry Pratchett collection, which he would line up in careful order on his bookcase, I have had a deep appreciation and respect for magic concealed inside books. I even wrote my own in 2019 with Verve Press, and launched it in the Birmingham Waterstones. Though, to take that step into producing books, making space, and providing a platform for other writers- that was my goal.
There’s certainly not a huge amount of money in book publishing, although I like to hope that by working hard I can expand Fawn Press into something that sustains both itself and the writers we will represent.
The brand identity is a strong nod to the Cannock Chase, a is a forest in the middle of Staffordshire where I grew up. There is a rich heritage of creativity and literature within our county, and I hope to help contribute to that with the formation of Fawn Press.
We launch with open submissions to our first anthology on the theme of “Elements: The Natural & Supernatural” which I hope will be an open enough theme to inspire all kinds of responses from writers all across the UK.
In 2022 we will be launching a series of pamphlets from a small pool of selected poets, and hope to open up to submissions nation-wide later in the year.
Our goal will always be to produce stunning works of poetry, be socially conscious, and help contribute to the world of publishing in a meaningful way.
Until then, thank you for joining us in this journey.
With love,
Scarlett x