It’s February! Today is the first day of Reading Independent Publishers Month, an event being co-hosted by Karen and myself. We hope you’ve all been raiding your TBR piles or madly spending all your hard-earned dosh on lots of lovely indie press books, ready to share them with everyone – it should be great fun!
In the run up to the month, the question has arisen as to what in reality counts as an Independent Publisher. That’s actually a difficult question to answer; some are obvious, when we’re talking about a smaller outfit printing and issuing their own works, like Renard Press. However, what about university presses or bookshop associated presses? How can you tell whether a publisher is part of a bigger conglomerate. It *isn’t* straightforward, and so here are a few hints or guidelines.
Lists are a good place to start. Here are some links.
UK Publishers
List of Independent Publishers
Scottish Independent Publishers
International Presses
International Alliance of Independent Publishers
Publishers from Germany, Austria, Switzerland
It’s worth noting that these lists may be incomplete, and some may contain non-indies! But they are a useful reference point, particularly if you have a particular book in mind.
Another way to check is to have a look at a publisher’s website – many will proudly proclaim their independence, and their About page may give you more info on their status.
None of this is necessarily definitive, so we guess the best advice is to go with your gut. If a book is from a name which doesn’t seem to be connected with one of the main publishing giants, and you want to read it, go for it! The main point of this month is to read as many wonderful books as you can as well as supporting the smaller publishers who produce them.
Enjoy and share your reading during February. Use the #ReadIndies hashtag on whatever platform you use and link your reviews on the linky at https://readindies2021.blogspot.com/2021/01/our-indie-bookshelf.html
We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Lizzy's Literary Life (Volume One) 
Thanks so much for hosting this with Kaggsy, Lizzy! I missed out last year, but this year I’m hoping to participate. So excited! Trying to put a bookstack in place now 😁
There is so much choice, Vishy. Looking forward to seeing your choices.
I’m so glad you gave us some insights on this because I was wrestling with it when looking through my book collection. I just checked out a few of those links and they’re wonderful resources. A few names I recognise but many are completely new.
Loads of new indies to me too!
Insider tips are to follow the money or to ascertain whether the publisher has its own board. That’s far too complicated for me. I’ll stick to the lists or the website declarations.
that sounds like it would involve quite a lot of digging. The websites of so many companies are very hard to penetrate for info like that – they keep it well hidden
I’ve gone with Persephone, Dean Street Press, Jane Badger Books which I know is a one-woman band, and an indie author, so feel on safe ground there, but your list of links is excellent, thank you.