Fairlight Books

Fairlight Books

Fairlight Books is focused on publishing original, high-quality writing and reconnecting readers to literary fiction.

Fairlight Books has one aim – to celebrate quality writing and promote the best of new and contemporary literary fiction.

Based in the thriving and energetic publishing hub of Oxford, we’re a young, dynamic team wanting to do things a little differently. For us, it’s about a wider community coming together to celebrate and promote quality writing.

They are based in Oxford and can be contacted through:

Website: https://www.fairlightbooks.co.uk/
Twitter: @FairlightBooks
Facebook: @FairlightBooks
Instagram: @FairlightBooks
Telephone: 01865 957790

In their own words…

When did you start publishing?

Fairlight Books was established in 2017 by our CEO Louise Boland.

What made you want to start publishing?

Louise founded the company in an effort to promote literary fiction in a genre-dominated industry. Fairlight Books is focused on publishing original, high-quality writing and reconnecting readers to literary fiction.

As a writer Louise struggled to reconcile the frequent industry requests for something new and unique with the constant churn out of trending photo-fit books. With that in mind she set out to create a company which would publish brilliant and original books as well as raise the profile of the authors.

What do you specialise in?

We specialise in beautifully written literary fiction. In addition to our novels we are also continuously adding to our Fairlight Moderns series, a collection of novellas set around the world.

Where are you based?

We are based in Oxford.

Do you have a submission window, if so when?

A key goal at Fairlight Books is to support aspiring writers which is why we have a constantly open direct submissions policy. We have also written up a submissions code of practice which you can read about in more detail here (https://www.fairlightbooks.co.uk/code-practice-submissions/).

Who are you (team photo if possible)?

Louise is the founder and CEO of Fairlight Books. Lindsey, marketing executive, Urška, Assistant Editor, and Gabrielė, production executive, have also been with the company since it was established. During the past two years we have also had a few part-time assistants and the occasional intern.

What’s your background in the book industry?

Louise came from the energy industry before founding a publishing company. Lindsey, Urška and Gabrielė all studied Publishing Media at Oxford Brookes University.

Talk about some of your books if possible?

We actually have some very exciting news regarding one of our Fairlight Moderns. Bottled Goods by Sophie van Llewyn has just been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction!

Set in 1970s communist Romania, this debut novella-in-flash draws upon magic realism to weave a tale of everyday troubles. A really captivating read that can’t easily be put down. Bottled Goods has also been longlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize and The People’s Book Prize, which you can still vote for here (https://peoplesbookprize.com/winter-2018/bottled-goods/).

We are also very excited about our upcoming title, A Matter of Interpretation by Elizabeth Mac Donald. This is an enthralling tale of knowledge, language and power in medieval Europe, from a talented new historical fiction writer. It’ll be out on 5 September 2019, so definitely keep an eye on our website and social media for more news!