Our 2020
This has been a year like no other, both inside and outside the publishing industry. While we can be thankful for everything we have, or have not, achieved in previous months, it seems that now is the perfect time of the year to reflect and learn from this calamitous year.
Stories from underrepresented voices are a large part of our world and I’m astounded to see that they are more prevalent than ever, not only contributing to our own personal learnings but allowing all of us to be seen in mainstream literature. Publications on every point of the spectrum, from Douglas Stuart’s Shugie Bain to Candice Carty-William’s Queenie, point to a publishing industry where every narrative is increasingly represented.
As part of this, I am pleased to see more young people are taking the conscious effort to open their own doors into publishing as well as opening those doors for others so that they might also have access. People such as the Up North Books podcast as well as all those associated with The Publishing Post are a credit to what we can achieve when young, forward-thinking entrepreneurs have passion for what they do.
Similarly, with independent presses alike, whether Valley Press or Comma-sized down to Bearded Badgers and ourselves at Greenteeth HQ, the pandemic has been an unforgettable obstacle for publishers that has quite literally been a make-or-break situation. The industry is nowhere near equal or accessible in every aspect, but we’re getting there, slowly but surely.
The latter half of this year also saw Greenteeth Press become a full-time entity. I started Greenteeth as a hobby, with a passion for poetry and a very specific brand of folklore, I never expected a little book called Pondweed to take me this far. Now on our third anthology with guest editors; a fortnightly newsletter; another zine under our belts (with more on the way); and a steadily expanding team, I couldn’t be prouder of what Greenteeth has become.
While this year has disconcerted a few of our plans, we were still able to publish James Rance’s Bagworm, our second anthology Unhomely, and, very recently, our first installment of Errol-Graham Harsley’s Errol’s History of Food. We certainly could not have remained afloat without those who buy books and support us on social media, alongside our incredibly supportive authors who are kind enough to entrust their hard work to us.
And 2021, you ask? It’ll be better, no matter what happens in the world, and we can promise that. The past year has taught us a great many lessons and we’re continually learning and growing, and I cannot wait to see what’s next because you can certainly expect a phenomenal selection of Greenteeth books.
Our Horrifying Tales anthology in partnership with York St. John’s University, despite being postponed by certain world events, will be published at the beginning of 2021, which will then be followed by our science-fiction anthology guest edited by Dan Hunt and Tom Wilkins. The latter of which will really push the boundaries of what our anthologies can and have done in the past, so keep an eye out for a title and cover reveal sometime… Soon.
Of course, as a result of our call for submissions over the last month, we will also have some new voices gracing our Greenteeth canon. To all who submitted, familiar and unfamiliar names in our emails, I must thank you for entrusting us and thinking us worthy of your work. We’ll be reviewing each and every proposal submitted over the next month, providing feedback to all of them even if they’re not accepted. We’re sure to provide a more full line-up for 2021 once we know more, but you’ll just have to wait to find out about those!
I look forward to continuing to contribute our bit in bringing you underrepresented voices, brilliant writing, and beautiful books, not just into our third year of business but into every year of publishing to come. This year has been a difficult one for most, but we hope you can always count on finding some peace in a good book.
Imogen Peniston
Publisher & Founder of Greenteeth Press