A very happy Friday Scribblers,

It will soon be time to celebrate a Berlin Wall love triangle as we launch ‘The Others’ by Sheena Kalayil this June! Copies arrived in the office this week and the SPOT UV against the matt cover is just *chef’s kiss*.

📍 Join us in person:

• 19th June at Blackwell’s Manchester – with live music from the era! [(Tickets)]

• 27th June at Waterstones Newcastle – a conversation with Judith Reynolds, who researches migration experiences [(Tickets)]

Submissions news

A big welcome to all our new subscribers! Writers—this is your reminder that novel and novella submissions open on 1st May (until 31st July 2025). Agented or unagented, we’d love to read your work.
👉 [Submission Guidelines here]

Please note: poetry and short story submissions remain closed (since November), but we’ve got an anthology call-out coming this summer. Watch this space!

Coming next: ‘The Devil’s Draper’ by Donna Moore

📚 Out 1st May
A feminist cosy crime set in 1920s Glasgow, and the early reviews are glowing. Think strong women, secrets, alliances, and noir-ish atmosphere—all with Moore’s sharp wit and pacey storytelling.

Here’s what readers are saying:

'Author Donna Moore has brought 1920s Glasgow to life with a cast of strong female characters, and with the book’s short point-of-view chapters I couldn’t stop turning the pages!'

“These women will collide in their separate missions and have to work together even though ostensibly they are all working for opposite sides. I was surprised how much i loved this one!! I felt an affinity with pretty much all the women in this book and was rooting for all of them from start to finish, despite some of them technically being up to no good!! I would describe this as a thoroughly feminist mystery." - canreadwillread

"The Devil’s Draper is partly opulent, partly social narrative about women defying societal norms in a gripping, atmospheric mystery...a twisty, gripping read." - Bookmarks and Stages

"Mabel is a wonderful character—I just love her! Books like this and The Eights by Joanna Miller deserve their own genre: feminist empowerment fiction." - thereadingpara

thereadingpara

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“I finished it in less than two days—it was that gripping! It even exceeded my expectations after loving The Unpicking!”

📦 New to the series?
You don’t need to have read The Unpicking to enjoy The Devil’s Draper, but if you’re a series fan, we’re running a bundle deal to get both with £3 off. Bundle.

Now onto today’s topic - how the Northern Publishers’ Fair came about! Storytime :)

In 2018, I went down to London for a publishing fair. I won’t name names, but it was held in a packed, windowless room in Conway Hall, crammed with nearly 100 publishers. It was meant to be a celebration of independent publishing. I was told I ‘couldn’t miss it’. For me, it felt more like alienation. (I know this fair works for a lot of people, so this is, of course, a personal experience.)

The table fee was steep. The train fare even more so. I paid too much for a Pret lunch. Unsurprisingly, we lost money. Hardly anyone knew who we were (fair enough, it was our first year!). It was impersonal, rushed, and loud. I left wondering: Is this really the only way to connect in publishing?

That’s when I started to imagine something different.

What would it look like to create the kind of space I wanted to see? A space that felt human, intentional, welcoming? One that allowed for real conversation and connection.

So in 2019, I founded the Northern Publishers’ Fair at Manchester Central Library.

Unlike other fairs, the Northern Publishers' Fair is curated. Every press has been running for at least three years, others over 30! They publish across multiple genres, work with diverse authors, and bring bold voices into the world. The event brings together readers, schools, writers, publishing hopefuls, and professionals alike—each arriving with their own hopes, questions, and dreams.

It’s become a space for genuine exchange. New books find new audiences. Writers meet publishers. Professionals network without the pressure. Readers discover presses they’ve never heard of before.

The goal? To decentralise publishing. (And last year, writers travelled up from London! And down from Scotland!) To expand the industry’s sense of place and possibility. And to prove that the North is not just part of the conversation—it’s helping shape it.

We’ve grown every year. I sell double the number of books that I do when attending other book fairs, sometimes triple! Perhaps because the heart of our message comes through best on home turf?

Every year, I’ve kept the heart of it the same: connection, care, and a shared belief in the power of books to build something better. And sometimes, even a performance edition! It’s a fair that everyone wants to be a part of - but I always want to make sure it’s a great experience for readers, and I gatekeep that for you.

Thanks for being part of it.

(It’s totally free and takes place on the 26th of April 11am - 3.30pm. Tickets here!)

Until next Friday,

Isabelle x