The Seven Towers Agency (est. 2006)
Publisher: Sarah Lundberg
Location: Dublin
Funding: None. Not-for-profit and run by volunteers.
Poetry collections published per annum: Three to five titles, we also publish novels, short plays, short story collections, anthologies, historical books and literary critical books.
Do you accept unsolicited submissions of manuscripts? No. We receive many unsolicited manuscripts, despite the fact that we generally do not invite them. We do not invite unsolicited submissions due to the overwhelming numbers we used to receive when we openly accepted unsolicited manuscripts. We generally approach poets and writers and invite them to submit a manuscript.
Is this limited to Irish poets? No. This is not limited to Irish poets. We accept work from any part of the globe, and have published writers from any and every part of the globe.
Criteria for publishing: Quality of work and a willingness to work with us through the difficult task of getting a manuscript to publication are the only criteria necessary to qualify for publishing.
What kind of publicity can a poet hope to expect after being published? That Seven Towers does everything it can and never stops promoting its writers and its books: from newspaper interviews to radio broadcast to extensive use of the internet and book review process. Not only this, but the many readings and events Seven Towers hosts and is involved in here, in the UK and the USA continue to give its writers and their work publicity.
Do you work within any particular genre or style of poetry? We accept and love all forms of poetry and literature, and have published many different styles thereof. This is pretty much encapsulated in our motto: ‘Seven Towers loves great literature’.
Any poets you would like to mention? We really don’t evaluate our poets like that. We are immensely proud to have published our writers and to have published all of their works.
And anything else you’d like to say? Seven Towers is a unique venture – a not-for-profit publishing house set up and run entirely by volunteers, some in Ireland, some in the USA and one in India. It was set up in 2006 by a group of friends who loved great literature and wanted to play a part in the cultural scene. They knew of a great many superb writers and poets who, because of the size of the Irish Market, were not finding publishers and exposure to the public. This has since expanded to other countries. Thus they began publishing and agenting books and setting up readings, and have continued to do so since then. Seven Towers is not supported by any grant or aid, and is run totally on the good will of those who help and promote our work. We strive to foster an atmosphere of collaboration and co-operation among artists of many different genres and disciplines. We also strive to foster a strong international feel to our work, inviting poets from other continents to drop by and read with us and work with us. Not only this, but Seven Towers runs readings in the US and in Britain, including the Last Wednesday Series, and the Chapters and Verse series. Seven Towers is immensely proud to be part of a flourishing Dublin Literary scene and sees a bright future for Irish and International Writing.
Revival Press (est. 2006)
Publisher: Dominic Taylor
Location: Limerick
Funding: None.
Poetry collections published per annum: Four to five titles.
Do you accept unsolicited submissions of manuscripts? No.
Is this limited to Irish poets? Yes, mainly.
Criteria for publishing: Quality of work, and we like to do début collections as we have a local connection (Limerick/Munster).
What kind of publicity can a poet hope to expect after being published? Unfortunately, very limited – we are not big enough to have a publicity machine – so mainly local press and internet.
Do you work within any particular genre or style of poetry? No – all styles welcome.
Any poets you would like to mention? John Liddy would be our most well-known poet; we published two of his collections, with a third coming in 2014. Alphie McCourt – brother of Frank McCourt – would be another ‘famous’ one; we published his début poetry collection ‘Heartscald’ last November. Tim Cunningham – two collections from us. He’s making a name for himself on the international front; he won the Patrick and Katherine Fellowship earlier this year.
And anything else you’d like to say? Revival Press is the poetry imprint of The Limerick Writers’ Centre and is dedicated to supporting writers on a non-profit basis.
Summer Palace Press (est. 1999, no website)
Publisher: Kate and Joan Newman
Location: Kilbeg, Co. Donegal
Funding: None. Managed on a voluntary basis.
Poetry collections published per annum: Up to six titles.
Do you accept unsolicited submissions of manuscripts? Yes, though at present we aren’t able to offer anyone publication.
Is this limited to Irish poets? No. As well as publishing poets from all over Ireland, we have published three American poets, three English poets and one German poet, though all are residents of Ireland.
Criteria for publishing: Quality of work is paramount. We would never publish anyone we considered as substandard, and the standard we opt for is very high. We don’t discriminate against a poet simply because they haven’t been widely published in journals. We involve the author in all decisions such as cover image, book title, poems for inclusion … and each poem in each book is work-shopped thoroughly with the poet. If they wish to involve a fourth person in that process, we accommodate that. Joan and Kate read and edit the manuscript separately, and do not confer until the poet is present.
What kind of publicity can a poet hope to expect after being published? At least two grand launches with wine and local press coverage. We send out approximately 40 review copies of every title. We organise readings for our authors at festivals and literary events.
Do you work within any particular genre or style of poetry? No. Our 45 titles are very varied and by poets from many different backgrounds and persuasions.
Any poets you would like to mention? Both Sacha Abercorn and Sally Wheeler have had their full collections translated into Russian and published there. Sacha has read in St. Petersburg, Russia and in America, and Denise Blake, Kathryn Daily and Mary Turley-McGrath have all had readings in America. Malachi O’Doherty was recently given a Doctorate in Creative Writing by Queen’s University, Belfast, and the book we published (a memoir of his father) was the deciding factor.
And anything else you’d like to say? It is very difficult for small presses now that arts funding is being axed. People are buying fewer books and in turn bookshops are very reticent to pay. We have supported the same printers since we began in 1999 (each book having a print run of 1000 copies). This creates its own storage problems, but we feel it is still preferable to digital printing and printing on demand. The covers of the books are paintings by living artists and we use excellent card and good quality paper, and the result is a remarkably aesthetic artefact. We began the press on a voluntary basis because we believe in poetry.
Doire Press (est. 2007)
Publisher: John Walsh
Location: Galway
Funding: None for poetry.
Poetry collections published per annum: Six to eight titles.
Do you accept unsolicited submissions of manuscripts? No. We accept a formal query letter.
Is this limited to Irish poets? Mostly Irish poets.
Criteria for publishing: Aside from quality: originality, relevance, professionalism, profile in the literary scene, and commitment to promoting the work.
What kind of publicity can a poet hope to expect after being published? Online Doire Press website, submission for reviews and awards, entry for festival readings and other readings, FB and Twitter promotion.
Do you work within any particular genre or style of poetry? No.
Any poets you would like to mention? Kevin O’Shea (‘The Art of Non-Fishing’), winner of the Cuirt New Writing Prize for Poetry 2012, Adam White (‘Accurate Measurements’), a new and dynamic young poet from Youghal, and our latest poet Kimberly Campanello (‘CONSENT’) from Indiana, who was selected for the Poetry Ireland Introductions Series 2011.
And anything else you’d like to say? We are especially interested in new and emerging poets active and involved in the literary scene in Ireland. Several of our poets come from the performance poetry milieu but have also a strong literary bias.
Lagan Press (est. 1991)
Publisher: Single Independent Publisher
Location: Belfast
Funding: Yes.
Poetry collections published per annum: Four to five, we also publish drama and fiction.
Do you accept unsolicited submissions of manuscripts? Yes.
Is this limited to Irish poets? We are by instinct a northern (nine county) publishing house founded loosely on the regionalist ideals of the Ulster poet John Hewitt. However we aim to be imaginatively generous enough to publish the odd collection that falls outside that rubric.
Criteria for publishing: Aside from quality, artistic merit. Previous magazine/book publication. Evidence of commitment to be a poet. Evidence of a commitment to ‘shaping’ a volume. Professional presentation.
What kind of publicity can a poet hope to expect after being published? As a multi-platform publisher we aim to promote through our website (videos, audio, files, interviews, etc.), as well as direct event promotion through readings, media promotion (local press, etc.) and reviews.
Do you work within any particular genre or style of poetry? No, we are open to all forms.
Any poets you would like to mention? We publish both culturally important poets (Roy McFadden, Robert Greacen etc) and mid-career poets (Moyra Donaldson, Sam Gardiner, Martin Mooney), as well as many debut voices.
And anything else you’d like to say? As I said we are in the middle of becoming a multi-platform publisher which, hopefully, will completely revolutionise our approach as to what it means to be a publisher.
