Hazel Press newsletter
Winter 2022
Welcome! - Latest Titles - Hazel Blog - Michael Marks award - Eco-publishing - Events - Sara joins Hazel - New for Spring 2023
Welcome to Hazel Press’s first regular newsletter. We’re sending it to you because you are a friend of Hazel, having bought our books, written for us, sold our books, or generally asked to be kept in touch.
We’ll be sending you our news every season - and occasionally more often if we have something special to say. We promise not to spam you with digital flim-flam, or pass your details on to anyone. Do feel free to send this email to any friends who might be interested in subscribing - there’s a handy link at the end. And of course you can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest titles
This autumn we published our final three books of 2022. These were Maggie Wang's debut poetry pamphlet The Sun on the Tip of a Snail’s Shell, Martin Shaw's essayistic shamanic bricolage s t a g c u l t and Edmund de Waal and Norman McBeath's meditative text and photographic collaboration Perdendosi.
In September, Edmund and Norman were in discussion with Alexandra Harris when we launched Perdendosi at the London Review Bookshop, where the title is still a top-ten bestseller.
In October, Claire Armitstead, associate culture editor at The Guardian, interviewed Martin Shaw at the London Review Bookshop for the launch of s t a g c u l t. Part memoir, part myth, the book topped the bookshop’s sales charts and is now on its second printing.
In November, Edmund and Norman gave an artists’ talk at the Fitzwilliam Museum with Charles Saumarez Smith as part of the Cambridge Literary Festival. The event included readings from three young poets, Katie Wrench, Daisy Tozer and Anna Chandler de Waal, from the Trinity Hall Hesperides Society.
Edmund is currently taking over the Gagosian Shop in London’s historic Burlington Arcade with de Waal +. He’s selling Perdendosi there, plus many of our other books, until 23 December.
And we have exciting news about Maggie Wang, who is being interviewed by The Cultural Frontline on BBC World Service Radio for their New Year’s Eve programme on women of the year in the arts. She’ll be talking about her work and reading some of her poems. If you can’t wait until then, you can hear Maggie reading three poems from her collection on the Hazel Press blog. Which brings us on to:-
Hazel blog
We have revivified the Hazel blog and will be featuring at least one writer, poet, artist, thinker or photographer every month. The latest posts are by artist Emma Tuck on how she made a psychic flak jacket of mythological archetypes (see detail below), and Elspeth Wilson reading three new poems.
Hazel Press shortlisted for Michael Marks publishers’ award
Hazel has been shortlisted alongside three other very fine UK publishers for a Michael Marks award. The award recognises an outstanding publisher of poetry in pamphlet form.
The judges were struck by our strong ethos and focus on the environment and the climate emergency. They said:
“All of their pamphlets demonstrate careful attention to details and a dedication to best represent their authors, while showcasing new and established voices in environmental, feminist and artistic poetry. Beyond the content of the poems, Hazel Press’ environmental credo is reflected throughout their whole publishing process – from using locally-sourced and recycled materials to produce their pamphlets, to only distributing through independent booksellers and galleries.”
Eco-publishing
We seek to share our knowledge and collaborate with authors, readers, booksellers and other publishers in finding more eco-aware ways to produce, distribute and enjoy books. As part of these efforts, we are a member of the Society of Authors’ working group on sustainability. Our founder, Daphne Astor, recently discussed these issues in a webinar hosted by writer Piers Torday and run by the SoA. You can watch the recorded event for free here on the SoA Vimeo channel.
Events
We love to talk to people, exchange ideas and spark creative collaborations. With these aims in mind, we’ll be attending a range of festivals and events next year, starting with the Oxford Real Farming Conference in the first week of January. ORFC is the largest gathering of the agro-ecological movement on the planet and dedicated to transforming food and farming systems. Daphne is also a regenerative farmer and the need to find practical ways to change our relationship to the land is part of her calling.
Sara joins Hazel
After three amazing and inspirational years collaborating with Daphne at Hazel Press, poet and naturalist Anna Selby has moved on to focus on her PhD research and handed over to Sara Hudston (pictured above with her dog Nutkin). Sara is a writer, editor and activist living in the west country who writes about the spirit of place and the living world. Every month she contributes to The Guardian’s Country Diary, focusing on West Dorset and Exmoor.
New for spring 2023
In 2023 we will be reaffirming our commitment to activism at this time of ecological destruction and climate crisis. The first title, planned for March, is Watershed by Ruth Padel. As countries are engulfed by floods and rising seas, this collection of poems celebrates the numinous power of water while exploring the depths of our capacity to deny the climate crisis.
What lurks in the underwater caverns of our unconscious to give denial such potency? Ruth considers “the nightmare of a psyche so dry it is resistant to rain / the water falls straight through / like a love you never noticed.”
Watershed’s cover features a detail from Wave breaking by Maggi Hambling (painted in October 2005, oil on canvas).
Thank you for reading, we wish you a regenerative winter
Daphne and Sara