Tag: publishing

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The Final Blog Post

Dear friends and supporters,

Today I’m sharing some sad news. After nine years of trading, and having spent the last few difficult months trying to keep things moving, I’ve come to the reluctant conclusion that I have to close Mother’s Milk Books.

Of course, many companies and industries are struggling at the moment due to Covid-19, but running an indie press has always been a labour of love that survives on the edge of financial viability. I’m very proud of the books that we’ve published – along with all the beautiful greetings cards and prints we’ve produced – but I feel that the time has come to take a break and do other things. I have loved working with all the authors, poets and artists who have entrusted me with their wonderful creations and feel very lucky to have met so many amazing people – readers, writers, reviewers, booksellers and fellow publishers – along the way. The community that has grown up around Mother’s Milk Books is full of talented, kind-hearted and generous individuals.

However, the closing of Mother’s Milk Books does not mean that I’ll be vanishing into the ether. I’ll still be blogging about all things publishing over at The Book Stewards and sharing my own creative news over on my personal blog, Twitter or Facebook (come follow me if you’re interested). I also have my writing mentees and freelance editorial work to keep me busy (as well as my two children, of course!) and so editing will continue to be a large part of my working life.

As to the books, cards and prints… well, there aren’t that many left. But what does remain is now being sold in a final sale, with 50% off – the 16th October being the LAST DAY EVER of Mother’s Milk Books selling books to the public. So now is the time to get hold of a bargain!

Lastly… thank you again for your support. Mother’s Milk Books couldn’t have continued for as long as it has done if it wasn’t for its amazing writers, artists, readers, reviewers, booksellers, magazine editors (not to mention all the fine indie publishing folk who have cheered me on throughout the years). You are all stars!

All the best,

Teika x


Above: loose bound proofs… a snapshot of the work achieved over 9 years of running the press.
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2018 highlights and some of our favourite books

Having only published two books this year it may seem as though it’s been a quiet year for Mother’s Milk Books. But as anyone involved with a small press knows, there’s a huge amount that goes on behind the scenes to: a) produce those books, b) keep making sales to enable the press to stay afloat, c) keep up-to-date with all the business administration, and d) put in the groundwork for future books. And as I don’t really pay myself for the work I do on the press there’s the paid freelance work I take on to enable me to keep my children in shoes. (Their feet do have a habit of growing…)

However, amidst all the seen (and unseen) busyness of 2018 there were some very special highlights for me. One of them was seeing the amazing reception to Angi Holden’s debut Spools of Thread (which was the winner of our inaugural Pamphlet Prize). Despite heavy snow Angi had a brilliant launch event, sold plenty of pamphlets and reviews were highly positive. As a publisher I can’t really ask for much more than that! Then there was Inheritance, by Ruth Stacey and Katy Wareham Morris, which won Best Collaborative Work at the Saboteur Awards (that was a super proud publisher moment for me), as well as the launch of The Forgotten and the Fantastical 4 which was a lot of fun. (Also, TFATF4 has almost sold out which is both heartening and daunting!) Having new readers connect with Ana Salote’s Oy Yew – and write glowing reviews – was just brilliant (and makes me super excited about launching the last in the Waifs of Duldred trilogy next year), and meeting people at various cons who are readers and fans of the books (not a con goes by when someone doesn’t gush about what a brilliant book Baby X by Rebecca Ann Smith is) continues to be wonderful.

Receiving accolades at the inaugural Nottingham Writers’ Studio awards – one for ‘Writing Teacher of the Year’ as well as ‘Just Cause’ on behalf of the press was another highlight. And alongside all this, my husband and I launched The Book Stewards which is our little space of the internet in which we blog about the ins and outs of publishing, providing insider information and motivation for writers. One of the reasons we set it up was because there’s so little information about publishing out there, so hopefully, writers wanting to progress their careers – indeed, some who may want to be published by Mother’s Milk Books – will be able to drop by and pick up some useful tips.

And of course, there was plenty of reading. Here are some of the Mother’s Milk Books’ authors/editors/supporters favourite reads of the year:

Angela Topping: The #MeToo anthology, the Poems for Grenfell anthology and Deborah Alma’s Dirty Laundry.

Beth McDonough: I was hugely impressed by Robin Robertson’s The Long Take. Apologies… as I know it’s on some of the big prize lists… but despite that, it’s daring indeed. As far as anthologies from the smaller presses go, I’m sorry Luath has had to delay publication until April, but Scotia Extremis (edited by Andy Jackson and Brian Johnstone) will be a cracker! But Jim Stewart’s This (Voyage Out Press) has to take top place. I just wish he had lived to see it published.

Also, though not a publication, and not easily definable… Martin Figura’s Dr Zeeman’s Catastrophe Machine was the high spot of a superb time at StAnza this year… by turns heartbreaking, funny and hugely life-affirming.

Rebecca Ann Smith: The best book I read this year – well my favourite anyway – was The Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman – highly recommended for anyone who enjoys smart, feminist sci-fi. It’s about technology, sex, nature vs nurture, men and women, medicine and its limits, and what we can learn about connection and community from bonobos (that’s a lot I know!). Packed with ideas but also engaging and relatable.

Ana Salote: I’ve been retreating into comfort reads from the 30s. Just finished The Fortnight in September by RC Sherriff. It’s about a working class family on holiday in Bognor and it’s utterly engaging. It’s so sensitively written and made me nostalgic for the modest but deeply appreciated satisfactions of the old analogue world.

Angi Holden: I keep a reading log and usually it’s packed with goodies but, largely due to health issues and the ensuing tiredness and lack of concentration, I’ve read less than usual this year. However, two novels have stood out for me: Vanessa Diffenbach’s We Never Asked for Wings, the story of a woman finally taking charge of her complicated life (which made me question how much of the support we give our adult children is really in their best interest) and Rachel Rhys’s Dangerous Crossing, about the blurred social, national and political boundaries aboard an Assisted Passage Scheme liner in 1939. Both easy reads but thought-provoking.

Of my non-fiction reads I particularly enjoyed Kathleen Jamie’s Findings and Sightlines, both re-reads. The nature and landscape of Scotland through the eye of a poet.

Much of my reading this year has been poetry, some of it acquainting myself with poets’ work in preparation for courses or workshops. Difficult to choose favourites but Josephine Corcoran’s What Are You After?, Deborah Alma’s Dirty Laundry and Clare Shaw’s Flood stand out. Tishani Doshi’s Girls are Coming Out of the Woods was a particular delight as I’d not met her work before. Here’s the title poem. http://poems.com/poem.php?date=17879…

Teika Bellamy: Although I read (and write) a fair amount of science fiction short stories (both Interzone and Shoreline of Infinity provide a continual supply of excellent stories) and have read some of the scifi classics I know that my science fiction knowledge is still seriously lacking. So I set out to remedy that by reading Adam Roberts’ The History of Science Fiction. Though an engaging read it did take me a while to finish – purely because it’s so stuffed full of facts and nuggets of insight into the huge genre that is science fiction. Now there’s *just* all the books Adam mentioned within to read…! Poetry-wise I read a fair bit; I’m hoping to review the books I loved in more detail on my personal blog soon. Favourites were Angela Topping’s The Five Petals of Elderflower, Kate Garrett’s Land and Sea and Turning, Cathy Bryant’s Erratics, Grant Tarbard’s Loneliness is the Machine that Drives the World and Rachel Bower’s Moon Milk. Fiction-wise I really enjoyed Kij Johnson’s novella The Man Who Bridged The Mist and Damage – a collection of short stories – by Rosalie Parker, and I thought Emma J. Lannie’s pamphlet of magical realism short stories Behind a Wardrobe in Atlantis was exquisite. I’m also really excited about getting hold of a copy of Angela Readman’s Something Like Breathing which will be published by And Other Stories next year.

Tom Bellamy: Francis Plug: Writer in Residence by Paul Ewen was a highlight. It’s very funny and very moving, and the author somehow makes you care for and like Francis – a grotesque though endearing character.

Rebecca & Jerome Bellamy: Pamela Butchart’s Pugly series as well as the Wigglesbottom Primary and the Baby Aliens series are BRILLIANT! (Note from TB: we also really enjoyed reading Nikki Young’s Time School: We Will Remember Them about children’s lives in World War One. It’s a page-turning though informative read – and particularly timely as we finished reading it just before the local Remembrance Day service which my daughter was involved in. It helped her to connect to what happened a century ago. And reading about a delightful mouse who lives in a steampunk world – ‘Gelsomina and the Moon Yarn’ by Valerio Vitantoni – was a lot of fun).

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2017 Roundup: Reflections on Publishing, Literary Heroes & Heroines, Book Recommendations

2017 was another interesting year for me as a publisher – and I use the word ‘interesting’ in the way it is used in the apocryphal Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times.

Of course there was much that was good in the year – the great reception to the three books I published: The Forgotten and the Fantastical 3, Nondula by Ana Salote, and Inheritance by Ruth Stacey and Katy Wareham Morris; the five awards that Baby X by Rebecca Ann Smith picked up in 2017 (the fifth is the just-now-awarded Red Ribbon from The Wishing Shelf Awards); as well as the continued support from our authors, readers, helpers and all our “tribe”. But financial worries persisted in casting a cloud over me as costs (print, in particular) continued to rise, unlike the price of books – and our sales – which remains steady. The sad truth is that the profit margins in publishing books are tiny; to make the whole thing work profitably isn’t impossible, but clearly, it’s something I’ll have to spend much more time thinking about next year. Maybe I’ll ask my fairy godmother for a magical business hat that’ll help steer me in the right direction!

2017 also had its other challenges – the added administrative and accounting complexity of becoming a Ltd company; book piracy; the issue of literary “convergent creativity” (i.e. the discovery that the themes within Baby X, by Rebecca Ann Smith were also to be found in a newly-published book, The Growing Season by Helen Sedgwick); the continued non-response from the traditional media when trying to promote/publicise our books; as well as one of my authors, Alison Lock, having had a horrendously bad accident. All these things made me feel a whole range of emotions and forced me to think through the issues and how to respond to them in a positive and productive fashion.

Most importantly, Alison is on the mend, and inspiringly, as committed as ever to her writing. She has also very kindly agreed to judge the 2017/2018 poetry category of the Mother’s Milk Books Writing Prize. So if you have a poem that you think she may like, please do send it our way.

I’d like to think that the other challenges I’ve handled as best as I was able to. Indeed, looking at the positive, it’s been great to have the help of other publishers who’ve empathized and said helpful things along the lines of: “Yes, these things happen, it’s not ideal, but here are some ideas…”

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Looking at the bigger picture, the literary world (okay, specifically, the indie publishing world, which is what I know best) is as robust and as radical as ever. Here are some of my literary heroes and heroines of 2017:

1. Nathan Connolly, of Dead Ink Books and author Kit de Waal – for starting and sustaining the conversation about the issue of class in the literary and publishing world, through Dead Ink’s crowdfunded Know Your Place and de Waal’s working class writers’ collective and the newly-launched (and currently crowdfunding) Common People anthology.

2. Nikesh Shukla and Julia Kingsford’s hard work in making The Good Agency (an agency with its focus on advocating under-represented voices in publishing) a reality. (ACE, just the other day, awarded them over half a million pounds in funding). Excellent news!

3. Jamie McGarry of Valley Press and Emma Wright of The Emma Press for opening up the conversation about what it’s really like to run a small press in their new fortnightly podcast (I’m their biggest fan). I applaud them for making the workings of indie publishing more transparent – I think it’s of a great benefit to authors, and useful for publishers too. Do check it out – listening to two such friendly, intelligent and passionate-about-books people talking about publishing and how they make their businesses work is both incredibly useful and inspiring.

4. Nadia Kingsley of Fair Acre Press and Deborah Alma (aka The Emergency Poet) for putting together the incredibly important #MeToo poetry anthology – due to be published in March 2018 (with all money going to the charity Women’s Aid). The book won’t make for easy reading, but it absolutely needs to exist.

5. The good folks at Comma Press. Comma continue to publish politically necessary books. When I went to a Comma event at the excellent Five Leaves Bookshop in Nottingham (for the launch of their anthology Protest) I was inspired by what both Ra Page (of Comma) and Andy Hedgecock (one of the contributing authors) had to say about how, historically, protests were one of the few ways “ordinary” people had effected political change. Where protest hadn’t brought about change, for whatever reason, one could look at other instances where, in fact, culture – films, books, art – had greatly influenced societal thinking, which had its own role to play in effecting change. It reminded me that indie publishing, too, has an important (though perhaps small) role to play in bringing about change through the shifting of societal thinking.

6. Shoreline of Infinity. As I wrote in my own blog a while back, the SFF world is still dominated by male writers. The editors of Shoreline haven’t passively sat back and ignored the problem; they’re doing their bit by asking for more women reviewers and encouraging more women to send in stories; indeed Issue 11 will be a women-only issue. Hoorah!

7. The incredible AndOtherStories will be publishing only books by women in 2018, which is a much-needed shake up to the system, and Influx Press recently had a call for submissions from only women of colour. I’ll look forward to seeing all those exciting books in print very soon.

8. Kate Garrett of Three Drops Press. Kate is one of the most productive (and prolific) creative people I know; she also has a lovely large family, so the way she continues to be so creative, in publishing and writing terms, alongside being a brilliant mum always inspires me. 9. FantasyCon and the SFF community. This year’s FantasyCon was the first ‘Con’ I’d ever been to (like, ever), and I was blown away by the wonderful, friendly atmosphere, and how so many of the people there – readers, authors, publishers – made me feel truly welcome. I’ll most certainly be going again! (The below photo of me at FantasyCon is courtesy of David Stokes of the relatively new and exciting Guardbridge Books.)

10. My authors, who continue to remain patient with me when I know I’m sometimes a frazzled and (very forgetful) editor.

11. All the quiet people who offer their kind support to indie publishers and creatives like myself every day – by buying books, writing reviews, engaging with us on social media and offering help. And especial thanks go to Helen Lloyd, Susan Last, Maddy Bennett, Emma Sheffield, Ronne Randall, and Sarah Hindmarsh who have been a huge help (and brilliant cheerleaders) to me this year. Also, a shout-out to The Only Way is Indie publishing folk; you really help to keep my spirits up! Super special thanks go to my husband and children who continue to support me. 😊

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And here are a few of the ‘team Mother’s Milk’ favourite books:

Teika Bellamy: The Beauty by Aliya Whiteley (Unsung Stories), The Book of Tides by Angela Readman (Nine Arches Press) Fairy Tales for Writers by Lawrence Schimel (A Midsummer’s Night’s Press), Vertigo by Joanna Walsh (AndOtherStories), When You Lived Inside the Walls by Krishan Coupland (Stonewood Press), Deadly, Delicate by Kate Garrett (Picaroon Poetry), Empires of Clay by Becky Cherriman (Cinnamon Press), Earthworks by Jacqueline Gabbitas (Stonewood Press), The End edited by Ashley Stokes (Unthank Books), Bone Ovation by Caroline Hardaker (Valley Press). 

Also… Memoirs of My Body by Shreya Sen-Handley, Why The Politics of Breastfeeding Matters by Gabrielle Palmer (Pinter & Martin), Raising Boys by Steve Biddulph, and I’ve just now started reading the gorgeous First Fox by Leanne Radojkovich (The Emma Press), as well as dipping into Reward for Winter by Di Slaney (Valley Press) which I’m really appreciating. I’ve also heard that Francis Plug (published by Galley Beggar Press) has another book on the horizon, which I’m super excited about!

Angi Holden: Leafing through my reading log (I kept one as part of a course over a decade ago, and have continued the habit) I’m reminded of some cracking fictions: The Chimes by Anna Smaill (fantasy, dystopian yet hopeful), The Course of Love by Alain de Botton (insightful and forensic analysis of a marriage), The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (Chinese-Japanese relationship during WW2) and Our Souls at Night by Kent Harif (the challenges of a relationships between older widow & widower) stand out as particular gems.


I read a number of non-fictions that have surprised, moved and impressed me: Becoming Drusilla by Richard Beard (“one life, two friends, three genders” about poet and artist Dru Marland), The End of Your Life Bookclub by Will Schwalbe (a terminally ill mother and her son share favourite books), The Last Act of Love by Cathy Rentzenbrink (a brother’s survival is a worse option than death – persistent vegetative state) and The Dragonfly Diaries by Ruary Mackensie Dodds (a memoir of an environmentalist) were among my favourites.


I don’t know where to start with poetry. In what has been called a thin year for poetry (John Burnside, New Statesman) there have been some superb pamphlets and collections. The Poetry School’s list includes a number by poets I’ve heard read this year: Hilda Sheehan, Kayo Chingonyi, Polly Atkin, Steve Ely. None have disappointed. I would add James Sheard’s Abandoned Settlements, a surprising omission since it’s been shortlisted for the forward prize. My favourite read of the year was probably Carrie Etter’s Imagined Sons.


And finally a “heroine” – Rebecca Bilkau, editor of Beautiful Dragons, an entirely collaborative, not-for-profit poetry press. Despite financial constraints she continues to publish wonderful themed anthologies – Chemical Elements, Oceans and this year Poems of Dissent. Its impact goes beyond publishing. Rebecca draws poets together, encouraging them to get to know one another, interact, share performance spaces.

Rebecca Ann Smith: My favourite book of 2017 was The Power by Naomi Alderman. This novel is thrilling, upsetting and thought-provoking. And it’s always good to see speculative fiction getting some attention.

If you have any book recommendations, or any literary heroes and heroines you’d like to mention, please say so in the comments. I’d love to hear from you! And finally…

WISHING YOU ALL A HEALTHY, HAPPY, PROSPEROUS, CREATIVE AND PEACEFUL 2018, FULL OF LOVE! ❤️​

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Literary Heroes and Heroines of 2016

What a year 2016 has been. Enough has been written about the negatives (for the world in general, as well as the literary world) so instead I will focus on the positives. Please do feel free to add your own literary heroes/heroines in the comments below. And here’s to 2017!

1. Anyone Involved with the Running of an Indie Press or Literary Magazine

You know who you are! Running an indie press makes for a lot of activity. Much of it is unpaid or at best, paid at the minimum or living wage. It’s done to make sure that important, vital and thought-provoking books get published. Passion and coffee and loyal book-buying supporters and readers keep the whole strange endeavour going. I’d also like to give a special shout-out to some of the founders of indie presses that I’ve had the pleasure of working with or interacting with in the past year (oh, and I happen to think they publish some amazing books so do please check them out if you haven’t already!): Comma Press, Linen Press, Three Drops Press, Valley Press, The Emma Press, Mud Press, Unthank Books, Paper Swans Press, Fox Spirit Books, Happenstance Press, Bluemoose Books, V Press, Galley Beggar Press, Dead Ink, Inspired Quill, Bird’s Nest Books, Five Leaves, Fair Acre Press, Candlestick Press, Lonely Scribe, Stonewood Press, Arkbound, A Midsummer Night’s Press, Salt, Pinter and Martin, And Other Stories.

I also want to mention The Contemporary Small Press who are doing so much to make the public aware of what small, independent presses have to offer readers and authors.

And if you’d like to meet some indie publishers and learn more about what they do please do visit this link which details the next ‘The Only Way is Indie’ event at Nottingham Writers’ Studio which I’m running in 2017. It’s going to be fabulous!

2. Nikesh Shukla

I had the pleasure of meeting Nikesh in Nottingham at the launch of The Good Immigrant last November. He struck me as being an intelligent, witty and gentle man, full of passionate energy for making the literary world more inclusive and diverse. Tired of constantly being asked to discuss the ‘diversity issue’ by those who have the power (yet not the inclination) to do something about diversity in publishing, Nikesh actually did something. And he’s continuing to do something. Inspiring. @nikeshshukla

3. Danuta Kean

Danuta is an incredible journalist who doesn’t shy away from investigating stuff that stinks in the literary world. Her reporting on diversity (or rather, the lack of diversity) in the publishing world makes for sobering reading (although perhaps, things may be on the up?). She also shares really useful tips about the publishing world on Twitter and is, overall, rather fabulous. @Danoosha

4. Matt Haig

Matt’s book Reasons To Stay Alive makes for powerful reading. And as a highly-visible author on social media he’s done much to make it okay to talk about depression, and his book and kind words have helped many. A sensitive soul, Matt is simply one of the best of the ‘good guys’ out there. And we so desperately need more of them. @matthaig1

5. Ira Lightman

Ira ‘poetry sleuth’ Lightman has uncovered a fair deal of plagiarism in the world of poetry, and although (I don’t think) there’s been much to uncover recently the past cases have a habit of popping up again and again, causing tension and unpleasantness amongst poets. Considering all this, Ira has been absolutely professional and diplomatic throughout and to me he’s a hero for sticking up for what’s right and doing the right thing. (Surely, one of the hardest things to do.) @iralightman

6. Susan Last

Every time I read about how formula milk companies are undermining mothers and babies and profiting from this disempowerment, I fume. Then I think of people like Susan Last who expose the lies, dodgy evidence and the aggressive marketing and am glad. Susan’s blog makes for fascinating reading and the ‘Why It Matters’ series that she edits for Pinter & Martin is a masterclass in research-based evidence about all things pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. @Lonely_Scribe

7. Zion Lights

Zion Lights, a journalist and ‘science mum’ is passionate about the environment and bringing decent evidence-based research to those who wish to parent their children in a more environmentally-friendly way. She’s also one of the most thoughtful and giving people I know. http://www.zionlights.co.uk/

8. Maddy at Writing Bubble

Maddy is a wonderful creative woman who hosts the ‘What I’m Writing’ linky from her blog Writing Bubble. She puts in so much time and energy to create a warm, supportive environment for a whole bunch of women writers and considering how much work she does to make the whole thing happen week in, week out, she remains positive always. I’m thankful for her encouragement and her dedication to supporting other writers’ work. @writingbubble

9. Ross Bradshaw and Jane Streeter and Stephen Holland of Page 45 (in fact, anyone who runs a bookshop)

Ross of Five Leaves Bookshop in Nottingham, Jane of The Bookcase in Lowdham, and Stephen of Nottingham-based comic shop Page 45 are three of the stars out there making sure that independent bookshops still have a place on our high streets and towns. Selling books and comics is incredibly hard so I’m in awe of how they and others manage to keep going when the bookselling climate is against them.

10. Angela Readman

Angela is someone I got to know through her excellent writing in Mslexia and her book of short stories: Don’t Try This At Home. She’s now one of my friends on Facebook, and I’ve discovered her to be humble, generous, kind and thoughtful. Whenever I feel somewhat down I know that I can go to Angela’s page and read something that’ll make me smile and feel better about the world. @angelreadman I have got to know many wonderful people through Facebook and she, along with Bharat R. and a whole host of other wonderfully bookish and creative people fill my life with the knowledge that there are many, many kind people out there.

11. The Nottingham Writers’ Studio Crew and All Those Involved with the Nottingham Literary Scene

There are probably too many to mention (and I don’t want to leave anyone out) so all I’ll say is this: all those involved in making the Nottingham literary scene (and Nottingham Writers’ Studio as a huge part of that) are incredibly passionate and hardworking and I feel proud to run a press that makes up a small part of that scene. (And it was totally thanks to them that Nottingham became a UNESCO City of Literature.)

12. Readers and Reviewers

Anyone who has read a book, connected with it in some fashion and gone on to write a thoughtful review is heroic in my eyes. Authors write to connect with readers; so if no reader feels moved to write anything about a book that an author may well have invested years of work in… well, that feels pretty crap. So every thoughtful review is of use and will give much joy to the author (and the publisher!).

13. My Authors, Illustrators, Supporters and Co-Editor Helen Lloyd

I would like to mention my authors and illustrators – they’ve been very understanding of the ups and downs I’ve had this year, patient and super hardworking. They also happen to be incredible people as well as brilliant writers. The press wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for them and all our supporters who buy books, make donations (some amazing individuals have even invested in the press) and who email us with kind words and in general, believe in me and the press. And I simply have to mention my co-editor Helen Lloyd who, along with her day job and looking after two small boys, provides me with much support and encouragement. Thank you from my heart.

14. My Family

Huge thanks to my lovely little family who put up with my endless work and who are always supportive of “mummy making books”. You make everything worthwhile.

And finally, a few words from two of my authors who wanted to give a shout out to some of their literary heroes:

Beth McDonough: Andy Jackson does a vast amount for the poetry community. He’s the coordinating, organising energy behind several anthologies, and at the helm of Scotia Extremis with Brian Johnstone, and at the same time, co-steering New Boots and Pantisocracies with Bill Herbert. That’s really the tip of his iceberg. Generous, selfless, inspired and disciplined (and no mean poet in his own right), he’ll never flag up how much he does for so many …but he does.

Cathy Bryant: I’d put Philip Ardagh in there. He’s extraordinarily kind and funny and encouraging – you’d never know that he writes for the Guardian and has written bestselling children’s books. His FB posts are my to-go places if I’m feeling low. I love writers who love other writers!

 WISHING YOU ALL A HEALTHY, HAPPY, CREATIVE AND PEACEFUL 2017 FULL OF LOVE!

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Highlights of 2015 and some of our favourite books

It’s been an age since we’ve had a new post so I will do my best to do a succinct round-up of our 2015 highlights.

Fireworks image by Teika Bellamy

To date, 2015, was our most intense publishing year, with four books being published: The Forgotten and Fantastical, Hearth, Oy Yew and The Mother’s Milk Books Writing Prize Anthology 2014: The Story of Us. My youngest was at home with me for most of that time, and so I have to remind myself that it was quite a feat to even produce these four books while looking after him and running a household!

Financially, Mother’s Milk Books is run very much as a break-even affair, which means that pre-orders and trade sales to authors and shops etc. ensure that I manage to pay the costs of printing. However, in June this year I realized that we wouldn’t have enough money to cover the costs of printing of Oy Yew, so I emailed out an SOS to our newsletter subscribers. I was heartened by the amount of support (financial, practical and emotional) we were given and due to this support it got us through a tough time. Every month since June has continued to be difficult (we REALLY need to make more sales) but fingers-crossed we will be able to “keep on keeping on”. With SEVEN books being published next year, with a bit of luck our sales figures will increase. These are the seven titles I am getting very excited about: Echolocation by Becky Cherriman, The Forgotten and Fantastical 2, Maysun and the Wingfish by Alison Lock, Handfast by Ruth Aylett and Beth McDonough, Baby X by Rebecca Ann Smith, Nondula by Ana Salote and The Mother’s Milk Books Writing Prize Anthology 2015: Love.

2015 was also the year I received the Women in Publishing’s New Venture Award. Here is what I put together for the press release (which, ironically, got buried here in The Bookseller, but which will, hopefully, be seen here):

“I am delighted to be the recipient of the Women in Publishing’s New Venture Award for pioneering work on behalf of under-represented groups in society, particularly so because having been in the publishing business for four years now I am very aware of how challenging the book trade is! Mothers (and breastfeeding mothers and children) shouldn’t be an ‘under-represented’ group in society, but sadly we are because, all too often, our stories aren’t heard or are dismissed as being merely about ‘women’s issues’ and therefore niche and uncommercial. I am extremely proud to be part of the diverse and thriving UK independent publishing scene, which dares to take editorial and financial risks to ensure that vital, unheard stories get told, particularly since Nottingham, where we are based, has just now become a UNESCO City of Literature. My hope is that this award will go someway to highlighting the excellent work of my authors, illustrators and co-editors so that Mother’s Milk Books can continue to keep publishing books for many more years to come.”

My statement got me thinking more and more about ‘unheard stories’ and so I asked my authors and co-editors to list some of their favourite books of 2015, which had been mainly published by indie presses and were, by and large, given little recognition by the national press. I hope you will add some of these to your 2016 to-read pile!

Cathy Bryant: Selkie Singing at the Passing Place, poetry by Sarah Miller and Melanie Rees. It’s the best BOGOF deal I’ve ever experienced. Though Hearth by Sarah James and Angela Topping is up there when it comes to collaborations.

Beth McDonough: Nell Nelson at Happenstance is doing amazing work, and publishing beautiful pamphlets. In her reading windows, she gives so much of herself to support poets. I’ve just read Jim Carruth’s Killochries (Freight Books). Described as a ‘verse novella’, it’s very wonderful.

Alison Lock: The Emma Press for tales of myths and legends for children with Falling Out of the Sky.

Angela Topping: Ruth Stacey’s Queen, Jewel, Mistress: A History of the Queens of England & Great Britain In Verse (Eyewear)

Becky Cherriman: I’ve just read Sumia Sukkar’s, The Boy From Aleppo who Painted The War (Eyewear). An emotive portrait of the war in Syria condensed into one family’s experience. Telling the story from the perspective of an innocent with flaws (the protagonist is on the autistic spectrum) and a unique way of seeing the world makes us focus on what counts in war – people. It couldn’t be more relevant.

Sarah James: Ruth Stacey’s Queen, Jewel, Mistress: A History of the Queens of England & Great Britain In Verse (Eyewear). Each queen is a given a distinct voice, in poems that take a range of poetry forms and styles befitting their time. They’re women’s viewpoints, but the worlds they belong to and are set in mostly men’s; its depiction therefore unconfined. The imagery is wide-ranging: nature, animals, birds, blood, war, lust, secrecy, politics, violence and the hidden messages of nursery rhyme. The poems are full of memorable lines and metaphors. Some of the poems are thoughtscapes, others landscapes. Some carry a narrative, others spark against each other to create a bigger story. All of them are very human, and very much recommended.

Mark Goodwin’s Steps (Longbarrow Press) is one of those beautiful collections that somehow manages the feat of being in constant movement (word play, riff, layout) while also capturing the stillness of each precisely observed moment and creating a sculpture of words on the page. These are poems of all the senses alert and voiced, with energy in the lay-out, punctuation and varying line lengths to create pieces that are quietly adventurous and daring, and always uncluttered. All of the poems are alive with beautifully stunning but entirely unfussy or unforced images. A very beautiful and enjoyable collection to read. Robert Peake’s The Knowledge (Nine Arches Press) has been a delight. These poems are the kind that create their own space of existence, no matter how noisy a place or head space I was reading in. To bring such calmness and focus to a reader reading in unideal surroundings is no mean feat, perhaps enhanced by the fact every poem feels complete, crafted and sufficient in itself, not needing the reader to move on at any pace other than what comes naturally; this what comes naturally being subtly and imperceptibly set up by the poems. From closely observed nature, Peake links to philosophical insights, human needs and warm humour. Family relationships, not belonging and the surreal humour of English phrases can also be found. This is, in fact, a wonderfully wide-ranging and encompassing collection of poems which resonate after putting the book down.

Rebecca Ann Smith: I am very much looking forward to reading Erinna Mettler’s Starlings early in the new year, it’s very nearly reached the top of the reading pile. Starlings is similar in structure to David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas in that it is made up of linked short stories. It has some fabulous reviews, and is published by Brighton-based indie Revenge Ink. Mettler, who’s also written award-winning short stories, is online at http://www.erinnamettler.com/

Ana Salote: I love Liz Brownlee’s Animal Magic, Poems on a Disappearing World. Liz has astonishing empathy for the animal world. She doesn’t just observe, she inhabits her subjects. She cares deeply about animals and makes us care by homing on the essential character of each species. Diversity is more than the mere shuffling of DNA. We share her fascination with the results of that process. The fine-tuning of the animate to its surroundings produces delightful quirks of design; each one individual, precious and irreplaceable. She expresses all of this in language which is exquisite, poignant and frequently witty. It can be read by children and adults with equal enjoyment. I can’t think of a better way to educate children about wildlife and conservation.

Tom Bellamy (co-editor and founder): These are very funny: How To Be A Public Author by Francis Plug (by Paul Ewen and published by Galley Beggar Press) and We Go To The Gallery: A Dung Beetle Learning Guide by Miriam Elia (Dung Beetle Books).

Rebecca Bellamy (beta-reader and young editor extraordinaire): Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery and Oy Yew by Ana Salote.

Jerome Bellamy (tea boy): Puff The Magic Dragon.

Teika Bellamy: Sara Maitland’s Moss Witch (Comma Press), Angela Slatter’s Sourdough and Other Stories (Tartarus Press). I was profoundly moved by Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. I was also glad to read Smallcreep’s Day by Peter Currell Brown (published by Pinter & Martin) and I can see why it was described as a masterpiece. There is so much in it that is still so relevant to society today. I’ve also just now started reading Octavia Butler’s Wild Seed which is simply stunning. Also, for budding writers I highly recommend Orson Scott Card’s writing guides: Characters and Viewpoint and How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (which is where I first found out about Butler’s books; Card is a big fan of hers). Poetry-wise I very much enjoyed Only The Flame Remains by Adam Horovitz (it is beautiful and haunting) and also Destroyed Dresses by Cara Brennan (Valley Books) touched me with its gentle, bittersweet charm.

Thank you for all the support you have given us throughout 2015. I wish you and your families all a happy, healthy and creativity-filled 2016!

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June Newsletter and SOS!

This is the first time that I’ve shared my publishing struggles in our newsletter so I decided to post this here in the hope that it’ll reach even more people. Thanks!

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Dear Supporter,

As I’ve probably said countless times, running a small press is hard work. There are a small (but goodly) number of us publishers, founders, editors, fools, visionaries — call us what you will — across this small island and each individual brings their own unique identity to the press that they run. So the press, and the books that it publishes, is a reflection of, or perhaps a conduit for, its founder’s voice (political or moral), artistic taste and literary leanings.

All of us founders are so very different… (I’m the breastfeeding mama if you want to label me thus. Or you might know me as the one who’s got a Ph.D. in chemistry. Or the one who is mad keen on fairy tales and whose name means ‘fairy tale’ in Latvian. Or the one who pours far too much double cream into her coffee and wonders why her hips are swelling in her age-old tracksuit bottoms.)

But one commonality between us is that we’re either poorly paid or not paid at all (I fall into the latter category) and that we’re vastly, eminently, amazingly passionate about the books we publish.

Recently, two articles by fellow publishers (whom I greatly respect) – Helena Nelson of Happenstance Press and Sam Jordison of Galley Beggar Press – made a deep impression on me.

In Helena’s Poetry Campus pub chat interview, when asked, “Do you make any money from publishing?” she answered: “The right question would be, ‘How much do you lose?’”

And in Sam’s newsletter/SOS, he wrote:

“We’ve brought quite a few new and glorious novels into the world and really don’t want much more than that. Although we’ve had it….

….Yes, this is a begging letter.”

He then proceeded to explain in great technical detail about the state of UK publishing:

When Sam wrote, “Although we’ve had it.” I admit, I shed a tear or two. I think that he unwittingly prodded an emotional wound in me. You see, I’m no longer as youthful, energetic and optimistic as I used to be; I’m very, very tired as a result of fitting in the work of the press around family life; and the financial debt that we’re in is a constant strain. There are many days when I want to say, “Enough!”.

And yet, and yet… I’m still just as passionate about the books I’ve taken on and am going to publish. These books absolutely deserve to be out there, and I so desperately want readers to find them.

But I can’t produce and market these books without sales and pre-orders. The press simply won’t be able to survive and take on new authors without people buying/pre-ordering our stock, reading our books and recommending them to others.

So to quote Sam, “Yes, this is a begging letter.”

If you’ve only got a couple of quid to spare, you can help us out by buying a card or two. Or a beautiful pamphlet of poetry duets or an almost-sold-out Writing Prize anthology.

If you’ve got a couple quid more you can pre-order/order Oy Yew. This is not a book only for children, it’s a book for all ages, which is absolutely up there with what I consider to be the greats: His Dark Materials and Harry Potter.

Or for the same-ish amount you can buy a gorgeous print to frame and hang on your wall.

Or you can buy a book of fairy tales for an adult audience, or a collection of poetry by one of these two well-loved poets: Angela Topping and Cathy Bryant.

Or you can buy our bestselling and critically-acclaimed anthology Musings on Mothering.

Or you can invest in a unique handbound copy of Musings on Mothering or Letting Go.

Or if you’re feeling particularly generous, you can make a larger donation. (You may need to scroll to the bottom of the page to find the donate button.)

Femininity. Empathy. Normalizing breastfeeding. I want to keep on producing books on this theme. If you’d like to help out, or know a person or two who’d like to help out, please do spread the word.

With many, many thanks for taking the time to read this,
best wishes from Teika (and Helen, who’s been my absolute cheerleader throughout) xxx

And p.s. if you’re in Nottinghamshire this Saturday (27th June) don’t forget that we’re launching Oy Yew at the Lowdham Book Festival, 11.00 – 12.00. Come along and say hello. Or buy me a coffee with plenty of cream in it. 😉
p.p.s. and yes… I know that this newsletter is going out ridiculously late for some of you to catch the last-minute reminder about Lowdham, but I had to see a man about some books today… (Photo courtesy my little son.) [Russell Press are our fab printers by the way.]


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Cue long pause and me thinking… (the random thoughts of a publisher)

When a friend recently asked me what was involved in publishing, it took me a fair while to reply.

Cue long pause and me thinking…

We’re all consumers, in one way or another. When I eat my toast, I don’t think about how it got on my plate. I’ve got a vague idea about wheat being harvested, flour being milled and then voila! it’s bread and it’s in a bag and then it’s on my plate…

Rather like consumers of food, it’s not often that ‘consumers’ of books consider the book-production process.

Before I became a publisher I had no idea of what was involved in the making of a book. The writer writes, right? And then the publisher does some talking to the writer. And then the printer prints the book and voila! the book is now in my hands and I am free to criticize it endlessly, with not a thought for all the effort that has gone into its making.

Now I know. I really do truly know what goes into publishing a book because I’ve overseen every step of that process. And although I haven’t counted the number of steps involved it’s probably about a fifty-step process! (And that’s not even including all the work of the author, by the way.) There’s simply so much involved. It can (roughly) be split into: 1) book acquisition 2) editing & proofreading 3) book production i.e. typesetting, cover design, printing 4) marketing, promotion & advertising i.e. getting the book known, and 5) book selling. Number 6) is the whole business end, which includes the writing of contracts, long-term publishing plans, selling rights, finances, accounting, website maintenance. And of course there’s all that reading to be done…

Although I pretty much like all the aspects of publishing, the one thing that really excites me is this: reading a manuscript that I fall head over heels in love with. I also get pretty excited about getting just the right image for a book cover (pairing art with words is my thing!). And planning which books I’m going to publish in the coming years is also very exciting, but much more fun when you’ve got someone else to discuss it with.

So after I’d considered all the above, I finally gave an answer to my friend, and probably rather bored her with all the details!

Recently, I had to admit that I was becoming overwhelmed by the amount of ‘to-dos’ on my to-do list. I really needed someone else to be involved with Mother’s Milk Books. It was time (and this is where I get to feel very grand) that I got an Editorial Assistant.

So today, I am welcoming my new Editorial Assistant, Helen Lloyd who, as you can imagine, is passionate about breastfeeding and great literature. I am incredibly delighted to have her on board.

Over the coming months I’m going to be shining a light on all those wonderful folk involved in Mother’s Milk Books, from the incredibly important tea boy to the Editorial Assistant, as well as all the many, and varied, fabulous authors whose books I am going to publish in the coming months/years. Some of you may be familiar with them already as Mother’s Milk Books authors and some of them will be new to you. So welcome, Sarah James, Angela Topping, Ana Salote, Rebecca Smith and Alison Lock. I am super-excited to be working with you all! So if things seem quiet, in reality they’re not. I’m either busy actually doing the things on my to-do list, or conversing with Helen, or drinking tea and chatting to the lad who makes my tea.

Thanks again to all those who support Mother’s Milk Books. If it wasn’t for the readers (or should that be book consumers?!) who actually part with cash to buy our books we wouldn’t be able to keep this whole show on the road.

p.s. there is also the brilliant book of fairy tales taking shape in the background (more on that later!) and

p.p.s. I’m also running a giveaway on Facebook right now. Why not pop along to our Facebook page and enter to win some lovely (and new) greetings cards?

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Interview: Susan Last on motherhood and creativity

I am really excited about this latest guest post because Susan Last, my guest, is a publisher herself and so we share a very similar passion for books, excellent writing, breastfeeding and creativity. I can also add that Susan is a generous host who can rustle up a great lunch at a moment’s notice! Many thanks to Susan for taking part, and I hope it inspires more creative folk to get submitting their prose to the Mother’s Milk Books Writing Prize (only 18 full days left to go now!).

Tell us about yourself…

I’ve loved books all my life; as a child I was a voracious reader and as an adult I now read for both work and pleasure (luckily for me, the two often intersect). I graduated in Modern Languages and my first job was as a trainee editor for a history publisher in Gloucestershire. I then spent nearly 10 years at Breedon Books (later DB Publishing) in Derby working on history, sport and biography books, as an editor, commissioning editor, managing editor… Since my third child was born in 2010 I’ve been partly a freelance editor, working mainly for Pen and Sword Books and Pinter and Martin, and partly a director of Lonely Scribe, a tiny independent publishing company that I founded with a colleague.

1. Have you always considered yourself to be a creative person?

No. It took me a long time to realise that the creative work on a book doesn’t begin and end with the author; the editors, designers, proofreaders and everyone involved in the process of publishing all bring their own creative talents to the table. I now understand the value, and the skill, in good editing, from visualising the book in its very early stages, to having a hand in the final details of the finished product.

Away from books I like to knit, sew, crochet, cook – I don’t consider myself an expert or even particularly creative or original in any of these pursuits, but I have always enjoyed them for their own sake.

2. Has motherhood enhanced your creativity? If yes, in what way and why do you think it has enhanced your creativity?

Yes – interests I only developed once I’d had children (breastfeeding chief among them!) have led me down all sorts of interesting pathways in my publishing work. The work I do for Pinter and Martin on their wonderful birth and breastfeeding titles is some of the most satisfying I’ve done in my career to date, and of course I love being at the helm of Lonely Scribe, although as any small business owner will tell you it brings its own challenges!

3. Do you have any tips on how to find time for your creative work amongst the everyday busyness?

For me the answer has been some childcare during the week – I found it almost impossible to find enough time during the day to work when my babies were tiny, and come the evening I was too tired! Now my youngest is three and has regular playschool sessions (my older two are at school) it is so much easier, although school holidays can be tricky! I do find myself squeezing work in to weekends and evenings, and I’m lucky enough to have a husband who doesn’t work long hours so he can take over at home if I have things to finish. I do find that restricted time can be almost a blessing: I am a natural procrastinator and work better under a bit of pressure. (Case in point: I am answering these questions hurriedly before dashing off to my daughter’s playschool Christmas party…)

4. What does breastfeeding mean to you?

I breastfed my children for 11 months, 18 months and 2.5 years respectively; I never imagined before I had children what an important part of my life it would become. I’ve written about my very mixed feelings about my youngest child weaning herself on my blog! I struggled to feed my first baby and that difficult experience is what led me to become a breastfeeding peer supporter, to edit my book Breastfeeding: Stories to inspire and inform, and to develop my interest in breastfeeding generally, which has been genuinely life-changing and has led to all sorts of opportunities. So it’s been tremendously important on every level.

5. Were there any pieces in Musings on Mothering that spoke to you particularly?

I absolutely loved the entire book – when I first saw it I wished I’d published it! It’s a beautiful book and I come back to it often. I remember smiling very wryly at ‘The Cold Cup of Tea’ by Marija Smits – I lost count of how many times I sat on the sofa breastfeeding watching my cup of tea go cold on the mantelpiece, and can even remember sobbing into my husband’s shoulder, after one particularly trying day at home with small children, that I hadn’t even had a hot cup of tea all day! It’s an enduring image of parenthood for me.

6. Are you working on any particular project right now?

Yes, I’m editing a book about supporting parents in the postnatal period, written by a postnatal doula, for Pinter and Martin, and in a totally bizarre juxtaposition I’m also editing a True Crime book for Pen and Sword about John Haigh, the Acid Bath Murderer. I love the variety in my work even if some of the subjects are not my main areas of interest! For Lonely Scribe I’m waiting with bated breath for Milli Hill to deliver her Water Birth book, which will be published in 2014.

7. Is there any one piece of work that you are particularly proud of?

It was immensely personally satisfying to publish my own book. But over the years I’ve been lucky enough to work on many projects that I’ve been proud of for different reasons. Lonely Scribe now publishes The Heart is Highland, by Maisie Steven, which was the first book I edited at Breedon Publishing back in 2000. I’m very proud that it is still in print, and that I am still involved with it, as it’s a real gem.

8. Is there any one person (or persons) that you consider to be a true inspiration to you?

Ina May Gaskin and Gabrielle Palmer spring to mind. Their work has had a big influence on me in recent years.

9. Is there any one piece of art or music, or writing that has influenced you, or inspired you to continue creating?

I met the artist Mary Fedden when I was a student through her association with Trevelyan College in Durham; my favourite painting of hers, of a cat on a rocking chair on a Pennsylvania porch, hangs there. I have a postcard of it, and I often look at it and think of her, her paintings and her studio… she was very inspiring and so productive, even in old age, that thinking of her often galvanises me into action!

10. What would you say to someone who doesn’t consider themselves a creative person, but would like to try their hand at something new?

Just give it a go! You might surprise yourself. Some of the best books I’ve worked on have been written by people who never thought they’d be authors, but who found that when the right subject came along, the words just came pouring out.

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Susan’s book Breastfeeding: Stories to inspire and inform is also available to buy from The Mother’s Milk Bookshop – and when purchased through the online store it gains the buyer one entry to the Mother’s Milk Books Writing Prize, in which Susan Last is the judge of the prose category. What better way to find out what kind of prose she likes!

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What’s it like to publish a book?

In the past year I’ve often been asked, “what’s it like to publish a book?”. At the moment my response is to mildly grimace… You see publishing a book is difficult; it is time consuming and can be expensive. And so much of one’s heart goes into it.

After going through many, many months of ‘bearing’ the book i.e. deciding on the final content, editing, copy-editing, typesetting, cover design, proofreading, organizing ISBNs and liaising with printers you finally give birth to your ‘baby’.

Now come the questions. Who’s really going to be interested in your book? What will they think of it? And crucially, who will actually buy it?

It may be rather unpleasant to have to ask yourself these questions, but they do need to be considered carefully before deciding on how you wish to publish your book.

The good news is that there are so many resources out there for people who want to self-publish a book, and resources too, for someone interested in establishing an independent press.

Two excellent books that will give you plenty of useful information are here:

How To Publish Your Own Book by Anna Crosbie (published by howtobooks)

Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook (published by A&C Black)

I would suggest that it’s a good idea to be ruthlessly realistic. How many books do you think you will sell? If it’s not many (say, on the scale of tens, or perhaps hundreds) and you like the look of books that have been digitally printed, then POD (print on demand) may be your best option, since the books are only printed and bound when they’re bought. This means less upfront costs (good!) and less worries about distribution and storage of books (good!), but I believe that margins are not so good with this method. And I’m not sure what a full-colour POD book would look like. There are a number of companies out there who produce POD books.

Perhaps you think you’d like to get a printing firm to print a few hundred and you’re happy to sell and distribute it through your own networks – be they electronic or real (!). Printing copies of a text-only book using digital printing could work well, although there’s still the upfront printing costs to consider.

Lastly, there’s the larger scale litho printing (which produces hundreds and/or thousands of books) which incurs large upfront printing costs, but it does have that beautiful ‘whiff’ of a traditional printing technique.

So… having a realistic answer to the question ‘how many books will I sell?’ will give you an idea of how you want to print (and distribute) your book, and how long it will take to pay back the upfront costs of producing a book. It’s worth bearing in mind that some self-published titles do not cover their production costs. Grimace.

As to the production of the book – well, there are many companies/freelancers who provide the services that will get words/pictures into a book format i.e. graphic designing/typesetting/desktop publishing. Or you can teach yourself, like I did. *Gulp!*

Editors, copy-editors and proofreaders also carry out an essential job, and if you have the funds it’s well worth employing them. They really help to make a book look professional.

Selling and distributing your book is a whole other matter…!

If you’re thinking of publishing a few more titles ‘and setting up shop’, this quote may be of interest:

“Starting an independent publishing company is not for the faint-hearted.”

[from The Insider’s Guide To Independent Publishing (published by The Independent Publisher’s Guild)].

But hard work and faint-heartedness aside, producing – and publishing – a book is incredibly exciting and rewarding. Which is why, I guess, so many people wish to take matters into their own hands and get their work published themselves.

If you’re one of those persons, I wish you the best of luck!

And if you’d like to remove the grimace from my face – come visit my store and buy a book! 😉

p.s. [November 2015] Since I wrote the above I have often been asked for help on others’ book projects. If you’re interested in having me involved in your project, please do contact me.

Thank you!