From London to Jaipur: Whatsapp and Feminism

Plus Commonwealth Prize Winner Rue Baldry's Debut Short Story Collection, ‘Nice Things’ Acquired

A very happy Friday Scribblers,

Before I go any further, and tell you about my publishing fellowship and trip to Jaipur Literature Festival, and our latest author signing, I want to flag two gorgeous events we are running for northerners!

I’ll be hosted a conversation between SJ Bradley and Rachel Bower on Wed 12th of Feb at Blackwell’s Manchester! Doors 6.30pm - I’m bringing wine… Tickets

S J Bradley’s short story collection Maps of Imaginary Towns travels from futuristic colonies to drab estates. With lyrical prose and psychological depth, Bradley illuminates the quiet heroism pulsing through seemingly ordinary lives.

Published by Bloomsbury, Rachel Bower’s novel It Comes from the River is an unforgettable, uncanny debut about violence, resilience and hope – and the power of women when they work together – infused with the folklore of Northern England.

Next up, don’t miss our next iteration of the Northern Publishers’ Fair - a networking books and nattering layout with at least 14 publishers so far! Saturday 26th of April 11-3.30pm at Manchester Central Library, we are rivalling the Freeverse London Poetry Fair (accidentally) but have been told by many publishers that they prefer ours… want to come be a rebel also?! Tickets (free) and Tote bag goodies here.

A Peachy Acquisition!

Fly on the Wall Press has "Nice Things," the debut short story collection from Commonwealth Prize-winning author Rue Baldry, coming in December 2026…

The collection opens with "Lech, Prince, and the Nice Things," winner of the 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize (Canada and Europe), and features stories that traverse the industrial towns and misty coastlines of Northern England. Through precisely observed characters navigating class divisions, discrimination, and complex desires, Baldry examines contemporary British life with unflinching clarity while occasional forays into speculative futures illuminate present-day struggles with gender, sexuality, and social class.

From a Black plasterer's subtle acts of rebellion in an affluent home to a mother's heartrending supermarket trip while processing her son's mental health crisis, these stories capture pivotal moments when lives quietly but irrevocably change course. Baldry's keen eye for human connection and disconnection is evident throughout the collection, which includes works previously published in Granta, Fairlight Shorts, Litro, and other prestigious journals.

Based in York, Baldry brings significant literary credentials to her debut collection. In addition to the Commonwealth Prize, she won the 2024 First Novel Prize and the 2017 Bridge Awards Emerging Writer Prize. Her work has been shortlisted for numerous awards including the Flash 500 and Reader Berlin competitions. A graduate of York University (BA, English Literature) and Leeds University (MA, Creative Writing), Baldry was mentored by Ross Raisin as a 2015 Jerwood/Arvon mentee. Her debut novel, Dwell, won the 2024 First Novel Prize and is forthcoming from Northodox Press in June 2026.

Okay, India.

The idea of a publishing fellowship is that independent publishers (in this case) go to the respective countries involved (India and UK) and attend a regional book fair, to grow connections, buy and sell rights to books, perhaps acquire new authors, form new event ideas, and new ways of operating. Essentially, the British Council wants myself and Indian fellow Vasu, to have grown our resilience via connections built by the end of the project timeline.

London vs Jaipur

I’ve been to London Book Fair before, and had a vision of Jaipur Literature Festival being just as business-like. You can be given a one minute pitch standing up in a corridor at LBF, facing a tired and likely jetlagged publisher, who will then say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to reading a manuscript. Essentially LBF is set up to make money from publishers: space, tables, chairs, coffee… nothing is free! And the venue is huge, so you end up running around, battling bodies in between rights selling meetings. So it is thoroughly unglamorous to do business there.

In Jaipur, the relationships mattered more than the books

In Jaipur, I found that things look a more leisurely approach! It was not usual for the author or publisher (or book trade ect) individual I was meeting to turn up an hour late. When they did, they would get a coffee or a cake, and make sure I was also satiated. We’d then get comfortable and get to know each other. There was a genuine sense of the importance of getting to know each other on a personal level being almost more important than the books.

Cultural Contrasts and Insights