Time to Read NW small press partnership project launches

Five independent presses are partnering with the Time to Read North West network on a new project aimed at strengthening relationships between public libraries and independent publishers in the North West gets underway this month.

The New Words project, made possible with support from the Arts Council will see new books from five of the region’s independent publishing houses housed in North West libraries.

The project has been organised by Time to Read, a partnership of 22 public library authorities in North West England collaborating to help encourage reading, with coordination from Manchester City Council. The region covers Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Greater Merseyside.

Time to Read has partnered with Comma Press (Manchester), Carcanet (Manchester), Dead Ink (Liverpool), Saraband (Salford) and Knives, Forks and Spoons (Newton Le Willows). The five publishers supplied Time to Read with a longlist of books featuring fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Librarians selected a list of ten books, which have been bought for every library authority in the North West. They include a history of British protest, a study of Anne Bronte, poetry, short stories, and fiction set in 1920s Ireland and the heatwave of 1976.

The 'New Words' titles are:

Protest: Stories of Resistance edited by Ra Page

Letters Home by Martyn Bedford

Water Shall Refuse Them by Lucie McKnight Hardy

Please Read This Leaflet Carefully by Karen Harvelin

Anne Bronte Reimagined by Adelle Hay

Incandescent by Anna Levin

Many Red Fish by Steve Spence

Riverrun by Alan Baker

Now We Can Talk Openly About Men by Martina Evans

Girl by Rebecca Goss

As part of the project, 22 author and publisher events will be held across the region between March and September 2020, including workshops on publishing, writing and poetry.

Artist and designer Kim Hubball, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, has been commissioned to create striking new artwork to accompany the book collections plus posters, leaflets, bookmarks and tote bags.

Becca Parkinson, Engagement Manager for Comma Press, said: “It has been such a pleasure being involved in this project and getting to know the fantastic librarians championing literature around the North West. We're really looking forward to collaborating on future events, and continuing to build on the relationships that Time to Read has fostered with the New Words scheme.”

For more information about the books, publishers and forthcoming events being held as part of the New Words project, visit www.time-to-read.co.uk.