Conduit Books

A New Independent Press

Publishing literary fiction and memoir of the highest quality.

CONDUIT BOOKS was launched in April 2025 by novelist and critic Jude Cook as a new independent press that will publish literary fiction and memoir spotlighting working-class experience and overlooked regional writing, focusing initially on male authors.

The aim is to publish at least 3 outstanding novels, short story collections, or memoirs per year beginning in spring 2026. The books will be beautifully produced, French-flapped paperbacks with the highest standards of design, paper quality and typesetting.

Over the past fifteen years, the publishing landscape has changed dramatically. As a reaction to the prevailingly toxic male-dominated literary scene of the ’80s, ’90s and noughties, literary fiction by women has come into its own. Most of the excitement and energy around new and adventurous fiction is around women authors. And this can only be celebrated. These new writers, spearheaded by Sally Rooney et al., ushered in a renaissance for literary fiction by women, giving rise to a situation where stories by new male authors were sometimes overlooked, with a perception that the male voice is problematic. These overlooked narratives might address fatherhood, masculinity, working-class male experience, sex and relationships, and negotiating the 21^st century as a man. These are precisely the narratives that CONDUIT BOOKS is seeking to publish, from both new and established writers. CONDUIT BOOKS believes there is a strong market and a readership for such stories.

The definition of a conduit is a ‘channel for conveying’. CONDUIT BOOKS is so named as it seeks to convey quality fiction that might otherwise go unpublished. However, it can’t be over-stressed that CONDUIT BOOKS doesn’t seek an adversarial stance. Rather, we seek to augment the incredible work of small presses everywhere

We believe there is ambitious, funny, political and cerebral fiction by men that is being passed by. CONDUIT BOOKS seeks, in a modest way, to address this imbalance, reaching a new generation of readers whose lives and stories will be reflected in CONDUIT’s list, as well as enriching the landscape of contemporary memoir and literary fiction.

Publisher address:

London

Website: http://www.conduitbooks.co.uk
UK Sales: gethyn.jordan@turnaround-uk.com gethyn.jordan@turnaround-uk.com
UK Distribution: Turnaround https://www.turnaround-uk.com/
Click here for sales and distribution outside the UK

Download latest catalogue (PDF): MALC'S BOY

Our Open Submissions are now closed as of May 31st 2025 until further notice. Thank you for sending your work. Due to the volume of submissions, it won’t now be possible to get back to everyone personally as intended. If you haven’t heard from us by July 1st 2025, it means we felt your work wasn’t quite right for our list. Please do consider us for future submissions. Submit via email