Category: About the team

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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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2019 book round-up

As we approach the end of 2019, it’s the perfect time to look back at the books we’ve been reading this year and to choose some favourites.

Helen Lloyd: Skipping the obvious Atwoods etc., Max Porter’s Lanny has stuck with me, with a really haunting small child at its heart. And I’ve just finished – and sobbed over – A Short History of Falling by Joe Hammond, such a loving reflection on the nature of fatherhood, illness and death. Which reminds me of Kathryn Mannix’s With the end in mind, which I read at the beginning of the year and has changed the way I think about mortality and the end of life.

Ana Salote: The book that sums up the year for me is Climate – A New Story by Charles Eisenstein. We’re in the throes of converging crises. His analysis and vision gives me hope for what might evolve from the wreckage.

Becky Cherriman: I’ve been reading Book Parts, ed. Duncan and Smyth. It is a super geeky book about the anatomy of books and the history of those elements – from introductions to frontispieces to epigraphs. It’s written in an engaging self-conscious way and most contributors are women.

The Ghosting of Anne Armstrong by Michael Cawood Green is a fictionalised story about a 17th Century woman who accused her neighbours of witchcraft and an essay about the research published together. The researcher is present, haunting the novel and there is some interesting genre-boundary play going on. Exciting format published by Goldsmiths Press and the start of a new cross-form approach.

Raymond Antrobus’ The Perseverance (published by Penned in the Margins) is a stunning autobiographical poetry collection dealing with subjects such as Deafness, mixed raceness and grief and told with a love and understanding of language that resonates long after you close the cover.

Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez uses statistics and an accessible style to explore many of the ways in which the world is practically geared towards men and men’s lives.

Poems, Philosophy and Coffee by Helen Mort and Aaron Meskin (published by Valley Press). Poems by Helen and easy to read mini essays by different aesthetic philosophers respond to one another in this quirky book that highlights the relationship between the two disciplines.

The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis who has a knack for making the most entertaining and satisfying short (sometimes very short) stories from the most mundane events of life.

Angi Holden: Glancing through my reading log, the last line is usually the telling one: ok, but not great; a decent read; enjoyable; disappointing; predictable. It’s been a mixed year for reading but there have been a few which got ‘breathtaking’ or ‘stunning’.

My diminishing hearing prevented me following the TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale so I read it instead. It needs little introduction, but if you haven’t read it, give it a go. It’s hard to believe it was published in 1985. Meg Wolitzer’s The Wife has also been adapted for the screen. The story of Joan, muse and second wife of literary star Joe Castleman, The Wife is funny, satirical and engaging.

My star fictions among 2019 publications included Anne Griffin’s When All is Said and Mary Beth Keane’s Ask Again, Yes. Both address family relationships and things said and unsaid. Anne Griffin’s unlikely hero is 84-year-old Maurice, getting gradually more drunk in an Irish bar. Not my kind of guy, but stay with it – he is a deeply flawed character and the five ‘toasts’ to people who have shaped his life form the structure of an absorbing read. In contrast Ask Again, Yes is set in America and looks at how love can survive between two young people when their families are torn apart by violence. Where do our loyalties lie and can there ever be forgiveness? Jessie Burton has been a favourite author since I read her debut, The Miniaturist. Her latest novel The Confession, like Wolitzer’s The Wife, has a literary setting. It concerns a young woman, Rose, who invents a false identity for herself in order to unravel a family mystery and resolve questions about her own identity. As she becomes drawn into her new life, so do we. Fascinating stuff.

The first of my non-fiction choices for 2019 was Jon Day’s Homing. Okay, so it’s a book about pigeons. Bear with me, they are fascinating creatures and I learned a lot about them. But Homing is so much more than a study of an obsessive but dying hobby. It’s part study and part memoir, exploring our need to settle down, to develop roots, to find a place we can call home. In an age of global migration, it’s more pertinent than ever. Top read of my year must go to a small collection of four essays by the late Oliver Sacks. Gratitude discusses the drawbacks and benefits of growing old and, following his terminal diagnosis, the implications of dying. It is especially resonant for me this winter, as I say farewell to my oldest friend. Gratitude does what it says on the tin.

Teika Bellamy: Fiction-wise, The Prestige by Christopher Priest, Things in Jars by Jess Kidd, The Dollmaker by Nina Allen, Something Like Breathing by Angela Readman and Separated From The Sea (a collection of short stories) by Amanda Huggins stood out for me. I also read oodles of science fiction short stories, as well as poetry, but need to do them justice by writing a separate post about the best of them on my personal blog. Non-fiction-wise, I can highly recommend A Shadow Within: Evil in Fantasy and Science Fiction (edited by Francesca T Barbini and published by Luna Press Publishing) and not just because it includes an essay by me; it’s simply a fascinating insight into the nature of evil and how authors, filmmakers and franchises have responded to the important question of what it is that makes a person evil.

And on a lighter theme… I also wanted to add that both my children really enjoyed reading Moon Juice (poems) by Kate Wakeling (published by the Emma Press). Happy reading in 2020!

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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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The origins of The Forgotten and the Fantastical

Welcome to ‘The Forgotten and the Fantastical’ Carnival This post was written especially for inclusion in ‘The Forgotten and the Fantastical’ carnival, hosted by Mother’s Milk Books, to celebrate the launch of their latest collection of fairy tales for an adult audience: The Forgotten and the Fantastical. Today our participants share their thoughts on the theme ‘Fairy tales’. Please read to the end of the post for a full list of carnival participants.

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I haven’t written anything new for this blogging carnival, and yes, I’m aware that potentially it may look as though I’m taking a little creative holiday… but right now my creativity has been called elsewhere (I’m currently designing the cover for our next publication – a pamphlet of poetry duets by Sarah James and Angela Topping called Hearth) so I thought that in the absence of fresh words I would fall back on some ‘older’ ones. I read an extract from my Introduction to The Forgotten and the Fantastical at the launch of the book at Nottingham Writers Studio on World Storytelling day (20th March) and as it seemed to go down well then, I thought I’d do the same here.

I would like to add though, that I was really pleased with how the launch went. There was a lovely, friendly atmosphere, and the glow from the dimmed lamps and fairy lights made for a cosy environment. I’d put together a slideshow of some of the images from the book (each image was accompanied by a quote from the relevant story) and what with the wine, cake and fabulous readings from Becky Cherriman and Lisa Shipman (as well as gorgeous music from The Green Children on the DVD player) all in all it was a rather magical evening… Thank you to all those involved who made it possible. And not forgetting my wonderful children and husband (and mum) who supported me throughout those moments when I was a rather cranky and super-distracted person!

Becky Cherriman, me and Lisa Shipman

I hope that gives you a flavour of the launch and I hope you enjoy the rest of the carnival! Oh, and don’t forget that we’re open for submissions for the next in the series of The Forgotten and the Fantastical too…

INTRODUCTION

I have always been fascinated by fairy tales, particularly when I learnt that my name, Teika, means ‘fairy tale’ or ‘legend’ in Latvian. I loved everything about the classical fairy tale books I knew as a child: the intriguing titles of the stories, the short, pacy narrative, the characters and the happy endings… I adored too the beautifully-drawn illustrations that accompanied the stories – the heroines and heroes were nearly always dressed in incredible finery. I had to wonder if clothes so beautiful could exist in real life. No doubt inspired by these books and my love of all things fantastical I set about making my own collection of fairy tale books.

            The first book I remember making consisted of a small wodge of thick, shiny pieces of paper that were stapled together and illustrated in felt-tipped pen with pictures of characters from Star Wars. (Young as I was, it was clear to me that Star Wars was basically a fairy tale set in space. It had a princess, for goodness sake!) On the reverse of the pages there were images of computers that controlled paper-making machines; my father worked for a company which manufactured these futuristic-looking machines, and the paper must have been advertising material. On each page I’d drawn a character accompanied by a few wobbly-looking words. I even threw in the odd joke. I must have been about five or six years old at the time.

            Fast forward thirty-three years… I still had this passion to produce a marvellously fantastical book. Thankfully, other writers shared my passion for the fantastical too, so my call for submissions for the first ever fairy tale collection to be published by Mother’s Milk Books was met with great enthusiasm!

            I was, as ever, humbled by the quality of the submissions. What I love about this collection of stories is the depth and range of writing on show. I feel that these diverse voices, each with their own unique style, complement each other beautifully, giving the reader an insight into the storyteller’s psyche. For it is in the nature of fairytales to connect with their audience on an emotional level. There are some powerful connections to be made here.

            What I love, too, about this collection is the fact that there are no passive princesses here. Strong women, real women, are a feature of the book and although there may not always be a happy ending for them, we can at least give witness to their trials and learn from their tribulations.

            I really enjoyed putting together this collection, so much so that my intention is to publish a series of these ‘modern fables and ancient tales’.

            We are all in need of a little magic these days, and I sincerely hope that this book will provide some escapism; a flight, if you will, into the world of… the forgotten and the fantastical.

Teika Bellamy, Spring 2015

Taken from The Forgotten and the Fantastical 2015

The empty storytelling chair at Nottingham Writers’ Studio

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The Forgotten and the Fantastical is now available to buy from The Mother’s Milk Bookshop (as a paperback and PDF) and as a paperback from Amazon.

It can also be ordered via your local bookshop.

Any comments on the following fab posts would be much appreciated:

In ‘Imagination is quantum ergo fairies are real’, Ana, at Colouring Outside the Lines, explains why we should all believe in fairies and encourage our children to do the same.

‘Wings’ — Rebecca at Growing a Girl Against the Grain shares a poem about her daughter and explains the fairy tale-esque way in which her name was chosen.

In ‘Red Riding Hood Reimagined’ author Rebecca Ann Smith shares her poem ‘Grandma’.

Writer Clare Cooper explores the messages the hit movie Frozen offers to our daughters about women’s experiences of love and power in her Beautiful Beginnings blog post ‘Frozen: Princesses, power and exploring the sacred feminine.’

‘Changing Fairy Tales’ — Helen at Young Middle Age explains how having young children has given her a new caution about fairy tales.

In ‘The Art of Faerie’ Marija Smits waxes lyrical about fairy tale illustrations.

‘The Origins of The Forgotten and the Fantastical’ — Teika Bellamy shares her introduction from the latest collection of fairy tales for an adult audience published by Mother’s Milk Books.

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Interview with Helen Lloyd, our new Editor

Helen Lloyd is a Bath-based writer, editor and technical accountant. She has had something of a lifestyle shift since having her two sons, and now makes her living with a portfolio of work that uses all her skills, while spending her days with her family and seeking out spare minutes to read and to pursue an unrealistically long list of interests.

1. Please can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

I live in Bath with my husband Huw, and two small boys, Isaac and Aneurin. Before I had Isaac we were living in London and I had a very busy job working in technical accounting. After I gave birth to Isaac I quickly realised that going back to my busy job wasn’t going to work for me and Isaac! I surprised myself by becoming (what I considered to be) a hippy parent — breastfeeding for much longer than I’d expected and finding that I couldn’t think of anything more important than being at home with my son.

So I left my job and found work that I could do around my baby by working every evening and every time he slept. Thrillingly for me the work was mainly writing (albeit about accountancy) and, for the first time, someone was paying me to write! (I now have two accounting books to my name, with another on the way.)

I trained as a breastfeeding counsellor with La Leche League so I fit that around my part time job, some freelancing with real spreadsheets (once an accountant, always an accountant), and now, of course, my work with Mother’s Milk Books.

I’ve been lucky to have the chance to edit LLLGB’s members’ magazine Breastfeeding Matters too – it’s hard work but is giving me lots of editing practice.

To make sure I keep writing, I blog at http://youngmiddleage.blogspot.com about all sorts of topics, with a bias towards books and babies.

2. So… you’re now working for Mother’s Milk Books as an editor. How did you first come to hear of Mother’s Milk Books? What was it about the press that held your interest?

I think it was when I first became involved with LLL – I saw a call for submissions for the book that turned out to be Musings on Mothering. I thought this might be just what I needed to get myself writing, so I contacted Teika but I’d missed the deadline. It made me aware of the press, though, and I bought the book as soon as it came out.

I loved the idea of a press that’s focused on these topics that had suddenly became so interesting to me: mothering, and breastfeeding, and all with a sense of warmth that didn’t come at the expense of intelligence or intellectual curiosity.

3. What will you be doing as an editor? And can you explain a little bit about how editing works?

At this stage I’ll be working pretty flexibly doing whatever’s most needed at the time! I’ll be reading manuscripts and debating their merits with Teika, as well as acting as a general sounding board; I then love the process of performing a detailed review and giving feedback for authors on what is and isn’t working.

From my own experience of writing, too, I know that everyone needs an editor. When you’ve laboured on something it’s really hard to be objective enough about what works and what doesn’t. This might be at the very high level of which viewpoint is used, or the large structure of a piece, or it might be in the detail, whether it’s repetition, paragraphs that don’t flow, or something else. I’ve had a few pieces edited myself where my first response has been total dejection because it’s covered in red pen – but actually, it’s incredibly valuable to have someone helping you work out what could be rearranged, clarified, or cut – even if it does feel as though they’re pulling apart your baby.

4. When you read a manuscript what gets you excited, and equally, what makes you nod off?

I think the thing that really pulls me into any kind of manuscript is honesty. This doesn’t just apply to non-fiction, and it means so much more than telling the truth. When a piece is written from the heart, and the author has been careful to listen to their own inner voice and to be true to it, it always pulls me in. I don’t mean that I particularly love confessional memoirs, but I really do dislike pretentiousness, false tone, or anything that seems like an attempt at cynical manipulation of the reader. I am also an automatic proof-reader and it does trouble me when anything has basic spelling or grammatical errors in it. It seems to me that one way of showing basic respect to a reader is to ensure that this sort of error just doesn’t appear.

I read a fiction manuscript recently that Mother’s Milk Books will be publishing next year (note from Teika: Helen is talking about the incredible Oy Yew) and I loved pretty much everything about it, though what’s really stuck with me is the authenticity of the main characters. The author clearly knew them as she was writing about them, and this glows through the work, and leaves the reader frantically rooting for them because they feel so real.

5. Can you tell us what some of your favourite books are?

This is such a hard question! My best way of answering it is to give you a couple of examples across a few genres, with the caveat that I’ll almost certainly have forgotten to mention something I love.

In fiction, if I need to be sure of reliably escaping from the world for a while, it’s Dickens every time, with Bleak House winning. I do enjoy a lot of modern fiction, too (though I’m impatient with even more of it) – I could single out Everything is Illuminated (Jonathan Safran Foer) just because it came back into my mind recently, and is such a perfect example of a consistent voice (in fact, more than one) and of idiosyncratic language use that is genuinely funny and touching rather than irritating.

In non-fiction, I must have read Naomi Stadlen’s What Mothers Do at least half a dozen times. It’s genuinely shaped the way I think about my mothering and myself, and has given me rich reserves of ideas to draw on.

Then, and arbitrarily limiting myself to a small number, I have to mention Stephen King’s On Writing. Whether or not King’s novels are your thing, his advice on writing is provocative and stern and sensible and accurate and, most of all, inspiring. If you read that, and Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing, and Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer, and you’re not immediately overwhelmed with the urge to shut yourself away with a pen and a pile of books, then I’m going to suggest that you’re not quite human!

6. Some of your favourite authors?

Again, where do I start, and where do I stop?

In no order: Marilynne Robinson, Charles Dickens, Lorrie Moore, and Hilary Mantel. If I had a shelf full just from them then I’d be able to stay in one room forever.

This is based on a very personal idea of a favourite author being someone whose new work you would buy regardless of its title, described content, or critical response. I suppose Dickens fails that test, as he’s unlikely to produce anything new, and I can’t imagine I’ll ever read Pickwick Papers to the end, but he’s a reliable safe place, and bears infinite re-reading. With someone like Hilary Mantel, her voice is so eerily hers, despite the massive range of topics her novels and stories have covered. I hungrily seek out interviews with her, just to get a fix.

7. Any thoughts about the kind of literature being published nowadays?

It seems to be so hard for any book to make a mark. To my mind, this means we’re seeing a lot of low-risk literature being published, in the sense of covering areas or themes that have already been addressed again and again.

There’s still room for bravery and innovation, but it’s hard for publishers to take a leap where a work can’t be easily categorized.

I also have a personal bugbear about books that just aren’t edited enough. There has been flab in a lot of the modern fiction I’ve read recently, sometimes with whole sections that do nothing to move a story forward, or just with a general tendency to overwriting. In some cases I imagine this to be left in there through editorial fear of offending the writer, and it irks me. An editor should be able to be honest enough (and trusted enough) to be able to point out this kind of excess, because writers are usually too close to their own work to be able to be sufficiently ruthless.

8. Are there any up-and-coming authors we, as readers, should be watching out for?

I mentioned above reading a manuscript that I’d loved pretty much everything about. Ana Salote’s Oy Yew will be published in Summer 2015 and I’m so excited about it. Ana’s writing is so fresh, and although it’s a children’s book, it’s subtle and complex enough to have kept this adult enthralled – and it’s the first of a trilogy! I’m hoping to invoke some kind of editor’s rights to grab the manuscript of the second one the minute the ink is dry.

9. Now that the benefits of breastfeeding are better understood is there a need to publish books that celebrate femininity and normalize breastfeeding? i.e. is there still a need for Mother’s Milk Books?!

I do think there’s a very real need for this sort of book, still. The benefits of breastfeeding are well documented, but I’m not sure they’re fully understood yet, and there’s definitely not enough out there that celebrates the joy of breastfeeding (as opposed to the health advantages and so on).

Some people are embarrassed about celebrating the mother-baby relationship, worrying that it reduces women to their reproductive skills, but this ignores the possibility of rich transformation that motherhood brings. Mother’s Milk Books has a place in recognizing and valuing this.

10. What kind of books would you like to see Mother’s Milk Books publish?

I’m not unbiased here, since I’ve loved everything Mother’s Milk Books has published so far, but I do hope to see more straight non-fiction books celebrating the joys of mothering. (Note from Teika: Helen, your wish has been granted! more on that later…) The anthologies so far (Musings on Mothering and Parenting) have been packed with fantastically written short pieces – so many of these have themes that could easily grow into a book! I have a couple of particular hobby-horse ideas of my own, but I’ll keep them close to my chest while I nurture and develop them.

It would be great too to see Mother’s Milk Books printing fiction where breastfeeding is casually present, as it were – not a theme, or a preoccupation, but a natural and unremarkable part of the picture. Apparently, Baby X by Rebecca Ann Smith which is being published in 2016 fits this remit so I’m eagerly waiting to get my hands on this too!

11. Can you share any tips for aspiring writers wishing to be published? Or tips for how to get creative when you’re a busy mum?

For those hoping to be published, I’d say keep working on it. Write as much as you can, and read as much as you can, and work out why you love the things you love, so you can try to do it for yourself. But bear in mind that producing work that you’re proud of is only part of the battle, and be prepared for rejection and disappointment along the way. It may take a while to find a publisher who is a good fit for you.

As for creativity, I wish I managed this better myself. The best tip I’ve had, though, is to stop hanging on for those lovely great swathes of uninterrupted time that you used to be able to carve out for yourself in your life pre-children. Realistically, it will be years before this sort of luxury is available, so train yourself to work whenever you get any time at all, even if it’s only ten minutes as you hide in the kitchen while the pasta’s cooking. It takes strength and mental discipline to get good at using these slivers of time, but they really can add up – and besides, they are all that you’re going to get, so make the most of them.

12. If someone would like to support Mother’s Milk Books, what should they do?

Buy some books! Obviously there are other great things a supporter can do, such as sharing their love widely with friends and family and all over social media, but ultimately the way a business keeps going is by making sales – and this is a business that is worth keeping going.

13. Where do you work? Do you have a picture of your workspace that you’d like to share with us?

I’m in the smallest bedroom of the house, which comes complete with fitted wardrobe. I’d like to say that the picture is of my space on a messy day, but in reality this is as tidy as it ever gets. You can see that I have no separation of my interests/work streams except in having two computers so I can kid myself that everything’s under control.

One day I’ll have a long desk, the length of the room, with a work end and an art and craft end, with enough drawers underneath, enough shelves over, and a functional but pretty chair. Until then, it will be the folding dining table, spare dining chair, and books piled up wherever I can make room for them.

14. Final bit of frippery… tea or coffee? Milk or no milk?

Coffee, strong and black. I cut it with decaff at the moment, but there is just no joy to compare with that first cup of the day.

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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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The Lowdham Book Festival 2014

On Saturday 28th June Mother’s Milk Books (aka me, my husband and our two children!) set off early in order to set up our stall at the Lowdham Book Festival. This was the first year we’d attended, so obviously, we were a bit unsure of what to expect. However, as soon as we discovered there was a playground right next to the village hall where the stallholders were (and lots of interesting tents outside full of activities for children) we knew that everything was going to be okay… I admit it was a long day (especially for a highly sensitive person such as myself who likes nothing better than to stay at home all day) but it was a very rewarding day. I met with lots of readers and local writers – Paula Rawsthorne and Megan Taylor were wonderful to chat to – as well as other publishers and the wonderful folk (such as those involved with Nottingham Writers’ Studio, Writing East Midlands, Five Leaves Bookshop and of course Lowdham’s The Bookcase) who all help writers and publishers get their books ‘out there’. I also particularly enjoyed listening to the song ‘The Box of Delights’ (written to celebrate 15 years of the Lowdham Book Festival) when it was sung on stage – it was performed with real enthusiasm and is incredibly catchy!

My three assistants – husband, daughter and son – had fun doing a treasure hunt, playing Pooh sticks at a nearby stream and of course, eating plenty of snacks (!) and browsing the stalls. I bought our daughter a skirt and matching headband that was handmade locally – and my husband bought ‘The Old Woman and her Pig’ from a secondhand book stall for our son. It was a book that I’d owned as a child, and it was really wonderful seeing it again – the illustrations had really implanted themselves in my memory! My daughter also had a go at a real letter press (run by Nick Birchall of Cleeve Press) and was delighted with her own hand printed creation.

Our cards and prints were popular with those who showed interest in the Mother’s Milk Books stall (which also included a selection of books published by Lonely Scribe) and our book covers, as well as handbound books, met with many compliments. We didn’t sell as many books as we’d have liked, but we covered our costs and made some over, which was good because sales in the last part of June have been (expectedly) quieter.

There’s no doubt about it – book selling is hard. Particularly in these difficult economic times it can be hard to justify spending money on books when there are so many other much more ‘practical’ things that need to be bought. And I know that as much as I love buying books myself I also find it hard to give myself permission to simply read for pleasure.

But, but, but…! I am in the ‘business’ of publishing and selling books. Although I sometimes wonder why I decided to walk this sometimes challenging path, deep down I do know why. It’s because I’m in love with stories. I love being gripped by a story so page turning, so thought-provoking that it keeps my everyday worries – about accounts, website management, dirty carpets and overflowing laundry baskets – at bay. A good story will take me to another world, and yet it will also teach me something new about myself. Yes, publishing is not easy, but I’m pretty sure there’s nothing else quite as magical that I’d rather be doing.

So fingers-crossed (and as long as the wonderful stories keep appearing in my email inbox) we will be at Lowdham Book Festival next year with more wonderful books!