Non-fiction Archives | Publishing Scotland

Birlinn

Birlinn Ltd is an independent publishing house based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company is built on traditions of the written and spoken word and is constantly looking to the future.

Established by Hugh Andrew (2022 recipient of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Shackleton Medal for leadership and citizenship in publishing) Birlinn publishes books under a number of imprints: Birlinn; Polygon; Arena Sport; BC Books; Origin and John Donald.

The long-standing aim of Birlinn Ltd is to create an inclusive staff team and nurture writers and illustrators who together reflect the diversity and stories of our nation and the audience who will read them. Whilst we sit at the heart of cultural life in Scotland, our authors are known far beyond, and we are proud of what we have achieved together globally since we started out in 1992.

Authors

Bestselling authors include Alexander McCall Smith, Rosemary Goring, Alan Taylor, Denzil Meyrick, Stuart Cosgrove, Jan Philip-Sendker, Muriel Spark, Liz Lochhead, Roseanne Watt, Norman MacCaig, Denise Mina, Jenni Fagan, Sorley Maclean and Edwin Morgan.

Books

Books which have had most success in terms of international rights to date have been:

FICTION: The Girl From the Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat; Rizzio by Denise Mina; Hex by Jenni Fagan; It Takes One to Know One by Isla Dewar

CRIME: The Rebecca Connolly Mysteries by Douglas Skelton; The Goldenacre by Philip Miller; The Devil’s Blaze by Robert J Harris; Bone Deep by Sandra Ireland; Six Wounds by Morgan Cry

HISTORY / ENVIRONMENT: Vienna by Angus Robertson; The Salt Roads by John Goodlad; Northern Lights by Edward J Cowan; The Two Headed Whale by Sandy Winterbottom; Native by Patrick Laurie; A Scurry of Squirrels by Polly Pullar

POP CULTURE: And In The End by Ken McNab; Cassius X by Stuart Cosgrove

DRINK: Whiskypedia by Charles Maclean; Pocket Guide to Whisky by Blair Bowman and Nikki Graeme

CHILDREN’S: Bear’s Adventure and Little House by the Sea by Benedict Blathwayt

Established: 1992

Types of books published: We cover genre and subject from fiction and poetry to local, national and international history, biography, literary non-fiction, nature and environment, academic, children’s, sport, music and much, much more.

Submission details: birlinn.co.uk/submissions

Golden Hare Publishing

The publishing division of Golden Hare Books, Golden Hare Publishing works on a variety of genres including poetry, fiction, non-fiction and children’s.

Notable publications include:

The Meadows by Robin Leanse, a 101 sonnet sequence
a new edition of Hugh Walpole’s The Cathedral
the children’s title The Piper and the Penguin by Stella Powell-Jones and Katie Riddell.

Scottish Mountaineering Press

Launched in 2020, the Scottish Mountaineering Press exists to promote and share Scotland’s natural wonders, embracing the creativity born out of an explorer spirit and celebrating the joy and endeavour in a life lived outdoors. We are a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Scottish Mountaineering Trust, a Scottish-registered charity, and we channel all our profits back into Scotland‘s wild places.

Our first book, The Great Sea Cliffs of Scotland, won the Mountain Image category at the 2021 Banff Mountain Book Festival—considered by many to be the international competition for mountain related literature. Our second book, The Fox of Glencoe, a collection of memoirs from Scottish mountaineering legend Hamish MacInnes, won TGO’s 2021 ‘Outdoor book of the year’ award.

We have long enjoyed a relationship with the Scottish Mountaineering Club, which has published information about climbing in Scotland for over 100 years, and we are proud to produce climbers’, hillwalkers’ and scramblers’ guidebooks on their behalf. Our most recent guidebook, The Munros, is considered the go-to source for information about Scotland’s 282 mountains over 3000 feet.

In 2022, we launched Scottish Mountaineering Press Creatives, a vibrant, innovative and thought-provoking digital publication that promotes, reimagines and is inspired by the beauty of the Scottish landscape. This diverse, community-oriented platform is a place for writers, painters, poets, photographers, musicians and filmmakers to collaborate, showcase their work and develop their crafts.

Taking inspiration from the mountains of Scotland and the culture and communities embedded within them, we work with authors and artists to realise their vision in print and on screen. Through imagery and prose, our publications capture the moments when nature stops us in our tracks and stuns us into silence; when time slows down, and we look up and out with a sense of freedom.

Wild Goose Publications

Wild Goose Publications produces books, e-books, CDs and digital downloads relating to the community’s concerns for social justice, political and peace issues, holistic spirituality, care for creation, and healing, and supplies innovative resources for worship, meditative reflection and group work. Our niche market tends to be spiritual leaders looking for new approaches to worship and group work, but we also publish wider-ranging material, such as books on labyrinths, guides to Iona and St Cuthbert’s Way, material for personal reflection and perspectives on historical figures such as St Columba and Adomnán.

Established: 1985

Publications (yearly average): books 10 / e-books 10 / CDs 2 / Digital downloads 40

Types of books published: Non-fiction, spiritual, religious, music

Submission details: Please email synopsis and at least two sample chapters to admin@ionabooks.com.

Whittles Publishing

Whittles Publishing continues to expand its established lists in geomatics including remote sensing, civil/structural engineering, geotechnics, fuel and energy science and offshore engineering. In addition a number of titles are being generated in materials and manufacturing technology and nanotechnology.

Our quality general list has grown appreciably over recent years with very successful titles in ornithology, military history, maritime, diving, wildlife and outdoors. The forward programme is building on these strengths with a number of ornithological books and development of existing themes.

The story of shipbuilding in Leith continues with vol. 3 of the highly-praised series, Leith-Built Ships by R O Neish and our lists in exploration continue to expand with The Magnetism of Antarctica.

Established: 1986

Publications (yearly average): 30

Types of books published: civil and structural engineering; geomatics; geotechnics; fuel and energy science; offshore engineering; nature and exploration; maritime; pharology; military history; ornithology; wildlife and diving

Submission details: Please contact Dr Keith Whittles with a brief synopsis and sample writing

Waverley Books

Quirky, special, niche and Scottish, Waverley Books publish well-designed, high-quality books and gift stationery with Scottish connections – history, nostalgia, fiction, humour, travel writing and cookery. Geddes & Grosset publishes reference, educational and children’s books. Waverley produces high-quality notebooks made with British cloth supplied with the authority of Kinloch Anderson.

These imprints are part of The Gresham Publishing Company Limited, an independent company based in Glasgow, and have been publishing books for over 25 years.

www.waverley-books.co.uk / www.geddesandgrosset.com

Established: 1988 as Geddes and Grosset, Waverley established 1997

Types of books published: High-quality books on Scotland, history, trains, nostalgia, fiction, cookery

Submission details: Non-fiction/general reference by letter and synopsis with sample chapter to Ron Grosset

Tippermuir Books Ltd

Tippermuir Books Ltd is a book publisher based in Perth. Established in 2009, Tippermuir seeks to add to the cultural life of Scotland by publishing interesting and worthy books in English and Scots. Our strength is our smallness and love of the written word. Our published titles to date have been purposefully broad in theme – we publish books that appeal to us and/or we feel are important culturally and socially. These include our brilliantly successful The Tale of the Wee Mowdie by Werner Holzwarth, illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch and translated by Matthew Mackie; Hunters: Wee Stories from the Crescent by Anthony Camilleri (with a foreword by Stuart Cosgrove), and Trust by Ajay Close.

We welcome submissions which will receive swift, honest, and supportive responses. Our name comes from the Battle of Tippermuir (1 September 1644), which saw an army of Irish mercenaries and Highland troops led by the 1st Marquis of Montrose and Alasdair Mac Colla rout a numerically-superior government army. Tippermuir lies just to the west of Perth.

Established: 2009

Publications: 5/6 per year currently

Types of books published: Biography and memoirs, History, Local History, Military History, Non-fiction, Poetry, Scots Language (children’s and adult – poetry and prose), Scottish interest, and more.

Submission details: Accept submissions by email mail@tippermuirbooks.co.uk

Swan & Horn

Swan & Horn is a small, independent publishing house with a focus on health-related non-fiction for the public and professionals. We are expanding into fiction and non-fiction for children, also with health and wellbeing messages. Our books address the challenges of modern living, to make complex subjects accessible to non-academics, and to provide important insight, foster curiosity, expand thinking, and stimulate collaboration between disciplines. We also provide expert editorial and publishing services to self-publishing authors.

We differ from most publishers in as much as our authors deal with a single person through the entire publishing process, namely the Managing Editor, Maria Carter. This gives authors a rich and rewarding working relationship, whereby they benefit from an unparalleled level of continuity and engagement. Collaboration is encouraged every step of the way.

Established: 2011

Publications: (planned): 1–5 per year

Types of books published: Healthcare and health-related, including public health, clinical practice, medical science, ethical and social issues, mental health, psychology, parenting, and worldviews that have an impact on human well-being.

Submission details: We actively solicit material in the above areas, and from authors who approach us for editorial support (whose work lies within our publishing remit). Happy to hear from authors by email (maria.carter@gmx.com), with a synopsis of the book, an outline of their ambitions, and a sample of text (of at least 1000 words).

Super Power Agency and Super Power Books

The Super Power Agency is a Scottish Charity (SC046550) working with Scotland’s most disadvantaged and under-resourced young people. Our creative writing workshops, interdisciplinary programmes, and mentoring, not only make learning fun but also helps to close the educational attainment gap. The workshops, which take place in schools and community organisations, encourage pupils to put pen to paper, build their writing skills and express themselves with confidence.

We publish everything our young writers write through our publishing imprint, Super Power Books. Whether the end result is a book, magazine, chapbook, or graphic novel, through publication our participants become published authors which helps to foster aspiration and self-esteem. All proceeds from the sale of our books helps to keep our programmes free of charge for young people.

Established: 2016

Publications to date: 17

Publications per year: 4 to 6

Scottish Book Trust

Scottish Book Trust has been bringing the benefits of reading and writing to everyone in Scotland since 1998. Every year, we deliver our world-class programmes and annual awards to well over two million people. From introducing books and storytelling to pre-school children to inspiring and empowering adult readers and writers, we believe it’s never too early – or too late – to begin a magical journey with words.

We deliver our programmes in every local authority area in Scotland and we work with partners ranging from small community groups to the Scottish Government. You’ll find us in schools and libraries and at community events. You’ll find us in towns and cities and in isolated, rural communities. And you’ll find us bringing books to life for children in care, families living in challenging social circumstances and people in prison. In short, you’ll find us wherever we’re needed most.

Company established: 1998