Martin Hickman
Our aim is to depict the world as it really is, stripped of spin.
Canbury Press is based in Kingston upon Thames and can be contacted through:
Website: www.canburypress.com
Twitter: @CanburyPress
Instagram: canburypress
Facebook: @canburypress
Telephone: 44 (0) 1892 837171
In their own words…
When did you start publishing?
2013, when I left The Independent as a reporter
What made you want to start an independent publisher?
To tell important stories, free of any editorial or commercial filters
What genres do you specialise in?
Non-fiction. Politics, environment, health, technology
Where are you based?
Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
Do you have a submission window, if so when?
We are happy to look at submissions all year round
What is your submission procedure?
Email a pitch, chapter structure and some sample chapters (including the first) for a non-fiction book to canburypress@gmail.com. I’m afraid we won’t look at fiction.
Who are you (team photo if possible)?
At the moment it’s a one employee business – me (MD Martin Hickman). But, we are hoping to take on someone in the near future
Background in the book industry?
My first job aged 18 was as a clerk at BCA in London, which used to run book clubs; was a massive company at the time but it closed a few years ago. Twenty years later while a journalist, I wrote a book about phone hacking with Tom Watson MP, Dial M for Murdoch, which was published by Penguin. Apart from that first job and the book, my background in publishing was zilch. I started Canbury with no capital, contacts or experience.
Talk about some of your books if possible?
We specialise in non-fiction that matters. We are proud of all our books, but two titles have left an especially deep impression on readers: Because We Are Bad by Lily Bailey, a jaw-dropping and heart-rending memoir about OCD and Brexit: What the Hell Happens Now? by Ian Dunt, which set out in 2016 just why leaving the EU would be so hard.
Under the Wig by William Clegg QC, his generation’s leading criminal barrister, is not only a great read, it makes a compelling case for properly funding the courts. Our latest title, YouTubers by Chris Stokel-Walker, is the first independent, in-depth (and frankly important) exploration of a website which is bigger than Facebook.
We’ve sold our titles to bigger publishers around the world. For instance, Quercus has just released the paperback of Under the Wig.
and future projects/dreams if you can?
We have a pipeline of very exciting books coming in the next 18 months. We have a pithy marvel coming on Brexit (by a well-known author, not Ian), and Generation Rent by Chloe Temperley which takes an eye-opening look at why the housing market in Britain is so screwed.
