Welcome to the second article showcasing the participating editors and presses of my new indie-press centered pitch event, #SmallPitch.

Last time we featured a US-based press publishing queer sci-fi and fantasy books. Today we’re going across the Atlantic.

Can you introduce your press?

SRL Publishing is a small publisher based in the UK. Shortlisted 5 years in a row for Small Press of the Year (winner twice), SRL is the world’s first climate positive publisher putting all things environmental before profits.

Only a handful of years old, we tackle tough topics that fit into our Breaking the Silence ethos to help open up conversations about issues that are rarely spoken about, yet still important.

Our genres range from middle grade, YA, NA, crime/thriller, LGBT, contemporary, and non-fiction.

What will you be on the lookout for during #SmallPitch?

We’ll be looking for whatever takes our interest. We love authors with a passion for storytelling, and those with a story to tell. We love crime/thrillers, and those wishing to write a series, but we also publish a lot of other genres. Anything that tackles though issues and fits into our Breaking the Silence theme is a plus, such as LGBT, racism, mental health etc.

If we like a pitch and invite an author to submit, our submission guidelines are available here.

What’s the benefit for authors to work with an independent press like yours?

In all honesty there’s both negative and positive for both indies and big publishers.

It’s often said that small publishers are the ones really controlling the industry, those are the ones who are pushing the boundaries first, the ones leading the way and taking the big bold risks first. The big publishers watch and keep an eye on what the small publishers are doing, and if something seems to work they then follow suit.

Small, indie publishers tend to have a bigger passion for storytelling, a bigger passion for books, and don’t really care about an authors social media following or celebrity status.

As an editor, what’s your pet peeve?

There’s quite a few, but one that comes straight to mind is writers who do not follow submission guidelines. Some of the time it’s an instant deletion. This sounds harsh and we do get some pushback on this stance, but if guidelines state a publisher isn’t looking for poetry, then don’t send in poetry. If they ask not to send files via a shared link, then don’t.

From my point of view, this is about protecting the writers: if someone fails to read, understand, and follow guidelines, how can we trust that they would then read and understand contracts?

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Find SRL Publishing at: