Small Press Big Stories

This blog post came from an idea from the master book tempter, Runalong Womble and you can read more about his idea in his blog post here. In essence, it is to highlight the magnificent work that the small publishers and presses do in bringing books that the big five see as too risky or not commercial enough. Independent publishers are great and they were the subject of a series of posts that I did a few years ago, just search for Publisher Profiles on here.

I want to talk about two books and two publishers in my post today. The first is the mighty Little Toller. There are based on the other side of Dorset to me and have two main themes of books that they publish. The first is the reprinting of nature classics that have gone out of print and they now also publish modern and contemporary books on the natural world. You can read more about their story here.

The book that I want to bring to your attention today is brother. do. you. love. me. by Manni and Ruben Coe.

Reuben, aged 38, was living in a home for adults with learning disabilities. He hadn’t established an independent life in the care system and was still struggling to accept that he had Down’s syndrome. Depressed and in a fog of anti-depressants, he hadn’t spoken for over a year. The only way he expressed himself was by writing poems or drawing felt-tip scenes from his favourite West End musicals and Hollywood films. Increasingly isolated, cut off from everyone and everything he loved, Reuben sent a text message: ‘brother. do. you. love. me.’ 

When Manni received this desperate message from his youngest brother, he knew everything had to change. He immediately left his life in Spain and returned to England, moving Reuben out of the care home and into an old farm cottage in the countryside. In the stillness of winter, they began an extraordinary journey of repair, rediscovering the depths of their brotherhood, one gradual step at a time.

Combining Manni’s tender words with Reuben’s powerful illustrations, their story of hope and resilience questions how we care for those we love, and demands that, through troubled times, we learn how to take better care of each other.

This is a wonderful and heartwarming tale of how Manni rescues Ruben and they rekindle their deep brotherly friendship. My review is here

 

The second publisher that I want to talk about is one of those that inspired Little Toller, Eland. They have been publishing travel books for forty years now, and whilst they do have some modern  travelogues, their primary aim is to bring back to life the travel books that were considered great and can now be found in second-hand bookshops. There is more on their story here.

The book that I want to bring to your attention today is On Travel edited by Barnaby Rogerson.

On Travel presents a pyrotechnic display of cracking one-liners, cynical wordplay and comic observation, mining three thousand years of global wit and wisdom: from Pliny to Spinoza and from Albert Einstein to Aunt Augusta. Beyond the mad diversity of opinions and ideas, there is a gradually emerging consensus: that other people are crucial to our understanding of ourselves and that there is more than one right way to be.

It also offers occasional practical tips to make the most of your trip, ranging from advice on choosing your companions to the importance of tethering your camel. And it proves that travel – far from being an indulgent escape – is real preparation for the journey through life.

I haven’t read this yet, it is one I have lined up for December!

Do follow the hashtag #SmallPressBigStories  on Twitter and Mastodon

Runalong Womble can be found on Twitter and on Mastodon

With the possible demise of Twitter, I can now be found on Mastodon and Instagram

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2 Comments

  1. Liz Dexter

    Oh I’ll have to find you on insta. I haven’t managed to get my head round Mastodon yet. And what a lovely post about two super publishers. I am loving Emma Press’s work at the moment – they’re based in Birmingham and have a really interesting set of books.

    • Paul

      Little Toller and Eland are just great. I am on both now! I am keeping twitter for the moment though

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