Candlestick Press gears up for expansion
Posted on 6th July 2010
CANDLESTICK Press, the independent publisher praised by Carol Ann Duffy for its fresh approach to delivering poetry, is gearing up for expansion following a surge in orders for its greeting pamphlets.
The Nottingham-based press has appointed Di Slaney, who has experience of running a marketing company, as co-director charged with overseeing the continued growth of the business.
Di, who is completing Nottingham Trent University’s MA in Creative Writing, said joining Candlestick Press meant that she could use her business skills in the service of poetry.
The company was founded in 2008 by poetry editor Jenny Swann who felt that the art form had lost its wide appeal and wanted to find a way of bringing it back into mainstream life.
She came up with the idea of sending friends and family poetry pamphlets instead of greeting cards which would be ‘suitable for a read on the train’ and ‘might add depth and thoughtfulness to a busy day’.
Candlestick’s first four pamphlets sold out within three months.
The independent press now employs a distributor and has more than a dozen pamphlets – with titles such as Ten Poems about Bicycles and Ten Poems about Puddings – either in print or awaiting publication.
The pamphlets come in an envelope and have a blank bookmark for greetings messages. The next collection, Ten Poems about Tea, includes a foreword by Sophie Dahl and poems that have been chosen by Picador poet Lorraine Mariner.
Candlestick Press employs freelance researchers to ensure the pamphlets include the best poems. The Poet Laureate said the enterprise was ‘the most original way of delivering poetry since Poems on the Underground’.
For further information, including photos and interview opportunities please contact Jenny Swann:
Candlestick Press,
21 Devonshire Avenue,
Beeston,
Nottingham,
NG9 1BS
Tel: 07500 180 871
Email: candlestickpress@yahoo.co.uk
