A year of books

A small press for short novels in translation

This season's books
The pages of an open book fanned out in soft light.
A book standing open on a dark table, its pages spread like wings.
Stacks of books against a white wall in a strip of sunlight.
Close-up of the pages of a book fanned open against warm light.

KoreanPortuguesePolishNorwegianArabicCatalanHungarian

Who we are

Books you can finish in an evening, and think about for a year

Two editors, one translator on every book, and a printer twenty miles away. Every title is under 200 pages.

A person in jeans holding an open paperback in strong afternoon light and shadow.

31

books published since 2017, all still in print

12

languages, from Korean to Catalan

164

pages, the length of our average book

4

new books a year, never more

From a translator

They gave the book eleven months and me the last word on every sentence.

Hands holding an open book on a patterned blanket.

Marta Oliveira
translated The Salt Year

A person in a grey hoodie reading a book in a dark room.

This season

Autumn books

Get all four by post
  • A blank white book lying open on a pale surface.

    The Salt Year

    Inês Valadares · from the Portuguese · 148 pages · £11

  • A hardback book lying open on a white surface.

    Small Hours in Gdynia

    Tomasz Wilk · from the Polish · 176 pages · £12

  • A short stack of books with white pages, softly out of focus.

    Winter Kitchen

    Seo Ha-eun · from the Korean · 132 pages · £11

How we work

Four steps, about a year

Send us a translation
  1. A woman looking along the shelves of a crowded bookshop.

    01

    Finding

    Most of our books come from translators who loved them first. We read sample chapters all year and choose four.

    SamplesRightsReading

  2. Hands resting on the open pages of a book on a wooden table.

    02

    Translating

    The translator gets a fair fee, a royalty and their name on the cover. Six to nine months, with an editor on call.

    Fee + royaltyName on cover

  3. Close-up of the pages of an open book.

    03

    Editing

    Two rounds of edits and a final read aloud. Nothing goes to print until every sentence has been heard.

    Two roundsRead aloud

  4. A close view of rollers and belts inside a printing machine.

    04

    Printing

    Printed on uncoated paper by a family printer in Suffolk, sewn not glued, so the book lies flat in one hand.

    Sewn bindingUncoated paperSuffolk

Booksellers

Books that stay on the table

  • ★★★★★

    Every Narrow book sells by hand. People come back and ask for "another one of the thin ones".

    A bookshop in Hay-on-Wye

  • ★★★★★

    The only press whose whole list I would put in a customer's hands without reading the back.

    A bookseller in Leith

  • ★★★★★

    Our book club reads one a month. Short enough that everyone actually finishes.

    A library reading group, Bristol

  • ★★★★★

    Beautiful paper, honest prices, and the translator's name on the front. As it should be.

    An independent shop in Ludlow

Subscribe

A year of books by post

Each book arrives in the week it is published, with a letter from the translator.

An open book beside a pair of glasses and a cup of coffee on a white cloth.

One at a time

£11–12

per book, free postage in the UK

  • Any book from the list
  • Signed by the translator when we can
Browse the books

A year of books

£38

for four new books, a quarter off the shop price

  • Four books, the week they come out
  • A letter from each translator
  • Pause or stop whenever you like
Start a subscription

Questions

What readers ask us most

Why only short novels?

Because they are the books that get passed over in translation. Big publishers want big books. We think a great 140-page novel deserves the same care.

Can I give a subscription as a gift?

Yes. Tell us the date and we will post the first book with a card in time for it.

Do you ship outside the UK?

To Europe and North America, at cost. Subscriptions abroad are £52 a year including postage.

Are the books available in shops?

In about ninety independent bookshops, and to order from any of them.

Do you publish ebooks?

Every book is also an ebook, at £6, the same day it comes out.

Notes

From the editors' desk

All notes
  • A woman sitting on a jetty by a lake, reading a book.

    September 2026

    The case for books under 200 pages

  • A tall stack of books on a windowsill beside a plant and white curtains.

    July 2026

    How we read four hundred samples

  • Sheets of coloured paper fanned out in a rainbow.

    May 2026

    Choosing the paper for the autumn books

Before you send us a translation

  1. Check the length. The finished book should be under 60,000 words in English.
  2. Send twenty translated pages and a one-page note on why this book, and why now.
  3. Tell us who holds the rights. If you do not know, say so; we can find out.
  4. Give us eight weeks. We answer every submission, even when the answer is no.
Send a sample
An open book on a table with soft lights blurred behind it. Old brown and red hardback books lying on a white surface.

Get in touch

Tell us what you are reading

Booksellers, translators and readers: we answer every letter ourselves.

Write to the editors