Inspirations for a very small press
I originally intended just to publish one pamphlet to sell locally and make a wee bit of extra cash. I discovered I’d have to buy an ISBN and when I saw it was £145 for one and £174 for ten, I thought I may as well buy ten. Then in the process of registering the ISBNs, I had to supply a publisher name. Thus solanoire press came into being.
I suppose I’d had the idea in the back of my mind for a while. I lived in Montreal for the first decade of the 2000s and the city hosted a thriving grassroots zine scene. It even distributed poetry (along with mini CDs and miscellaneous art objects) via converted cigarette machines. However, it was when I returned to Scotland and discovered the range of small publishers in these islands that I resolved to one day make my own contribution to this evolving ecosystem.
I’ve been inspired over the years by the stylish pamphlets produced by Mariscat Press. Their designs are always classy and quirky, with the characteristic coloured fly leaf. I’m told that Gerry Cambridge may have been the originator of that style, having designed for several publishers, including the innovative Red Squirrel Press.
I’ve always loved simple objects too, such as the elegant, hand-produced books and poems from Julie Johnstone’s Essence Press, the minimalist pamphlets made by Alan Spence, and Dockyard Press, and the wee single-story books in The Highland Bookshop in Fort William.
Then again, I revel in the varied and colourful designs of the other small presses I’m coming across: Cinnamon Press, HappenStance, The Hedgehog Poetry Press, Stewed Rhubarb Press… I’m helped in this by my recent discovery of the Good Press bookshop in Glasgow which is entirely dedicated to self-published productions, stocking everything from tiny two-page hand-stitched poems to proper books; truly a treasure trove for the pamphlet enthusiast.
Guillemot Press has been a big inspiration as well. The small books they produce are not only highly original in content but uniquely beautiful in form. I also have them to thank for the idea of posting my pamphlets wrapped in tissue paper, which I’ve been getting a lot of comments about. Opening a Guillemot package is like unwrapping a treasure, and I can only hope my own offerings are as precious. Finally, A Guillemot Guide to Small Press Publishing is an excellent companion for the aspiring publisher.
The Scottish Mountaineering Press—who are a small outfit despite publishing large books—have, indirectly, been instrumental in this publishing venture. The practical yet elegant aesthetic of their books is shared by their Creatives online platform, which I’m proud to have been published on, and I’m a better writer for their encouraging and sharp-eyed editorial support.
On a more offbeat note, I am fascinated by Lotte Glob’s ceramic books. Although my books will never literally contain the rock, bone, shell and sand that hers do, in traipsing many of the same shores and mountains, I gather their elements into my writing in my own way.
