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Welcome to The Small Press Review.

Yet another magazine to add to the groaning shelves of undersubscribed, struggling literary magazines? Possibly. TSPR, however, has a wider remit than simply to publish new writing. As its name might suggest, its primary purpose is to bring the output of the small presses, in the UK and beyond, to a wider audience.

By confining our reviews to the small presses we aim to give you independent opinions on books you might not otherwise come across. It is important that if you wish to buy a book from within this magazine, you purchase it direct from the publisher or order it from an independent bookseller (not Otterstones).

What won’t we do? We will not publish ‘backscratch’ reviews, i.e. reviews written by one writer in return for a positive review of their own work. As is happening in the reputable scientific journals, we will require all reviewers to sign a declaration of interest (a copy of which can be found on our website), and any potential conflicts will be appended to the review. We will not review books from the major publishers or any of their imprints, with the possible exception of novellas. This exception is made because the novella is currently a disastrously underexposed literary form, and it needs all the help it can get. We will rarely, if at all, review non-fiction, biography or autobiography. These get a disproportionate amount of column inches in the broadsheets and magazines, and anyway, we like fiction. We will not accept advertising revenue from the major publishers or bookselling chains unless it can be specifically linked with benefits for the small presses. Any such revenue will be declared on our website, along with the reasons why it was accepted, and if you disagree contact us with your reasons and we will add your comments to the page.

Of course, you can trawl the internet for this information, and by providing addresses and recommendations, we will encourage you to do so. But somehow, settling down in an armchair with a computer keyboard lacks the …dare we say it…romance of curling up with a good magazine and a cup of coffee. Or the convenience of pulling it out of your bag when the train is delayed. Or smudging mayonnaise on the pages as you try to squeeze some reading into your lunchbreak.

So once again, welcome to The Small Press Review. We hope this is the start of a beautiful relationship…

		The Small Press Review

		A magazine devoted to the English language small presses.

		Welcome to The Small Press Review. Yet another magazine to add to the groaning shelves of undersubscribed, struggling literary magazines? Possibly. TSPR, however, has a wider remit than simply to publish new writing. As its name might suggest, its primary purpose is to bring the output of the small presses, in the UK and beyond, to a wider audience. By confining our reviews to the small presses we aim to give you independent opinions on books you might not otherwise come across. It is important that if you wish to buy a book from within this magazine, you purchase it direct from the publisher or order it from an independent bookseller (not Otterstones). What won’t we do? We will not publish ‘backscratch’ reviews, i.e. reviews written by one writer in return for a positive review of their own work. As is happening in the reputable scientific journals, we will require all reviewers to sign a declaration of interest (a copy of which can be found on our website), and any potential conflicts will be appended to the review. We will not review books from the major publishers or any of their imprints, with the possible exception of novellas. This exception is made because the novella is currently a disastrously underexposed literary form, and it needs all the help it can get. We will rarely, if at all, review non-fiction, biography or autobiography. These get a disproportionate amount of column inches in the broadsheets and magazines, and anyway, we like fiction. We will not accept advertising revenue from the major publishers or bookselling chains unless it can be specifically linked with benefits for the small presses. Any such revenue will be declared on our website, along with the reasons why it was accepted, and if you disagree contact us with your reasons and we will add your comments to the page. Of course, you can trawl the internet for this information, and by providing addresses and recommendations, we will encourage you to do so. But somehow, settling down in an armchair with a computer keyboard lacks the …dare we say it…romance of curling up with a good magazine and a cup of coffee. Or the convenience of pulling it out of your bag when the train is delayed. Or smudging mayonnaise on the pages as you try to squeeze some reading into your lunchbreak. So once again, welcome to The Small Press Review. We hope this is the start of a beautiful relationship…