Top 3 Books From 10 Small Publishers 📚 My Favourite Books!

Let's talk about my favourite books! Grab a cup of tea and pull up a seat. Here are my top three books from ten small presses. xx

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MY BOOKS:

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Things mentioned:

Daddy's Gone A-Hunting by Penelope Mortimer
Doreen by Barbara Noble
The Hopkin's Manuscript by RC Sherriff
Still Missing by Beth Gutcheon
Despised and Rejected by Rose Allatini

A Helping Hand by Celia Dale*
Sheep's clothing by Celia Dale*
At The Ladies' Pond
Indelicacy by Amina Cain

The Rental Heart by Kirsty Logan
New World Fairy Tales by Cassandra Parkin
The Other World, It Whispers by Stephanie Victoire
The Night Jar by Louise Peterkin

Time Differences by Yoko Tawada*
Spring Sleepers by Kyoko Yoshida
Kong’s Garden by Hwang Jungeun*
Milena, Milena, Ecstatic by Bae Suah*

Fifty Sounds by Polly Barton*
Ill Feelings by Alice Hattrick*
Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au*
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

Beyond the Pale by Emily Urquhart*
Creatures of Passage by Merowa Yejide
Speak Gigantular by Irenosen Okojie

Sergius Seeks Bacchus by Norman Erikson Pasaribu
Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge
I'll Go On by Hwang Jungeun
Unexpected Vanilla by Lee Hyemi
Violent Phenomena
Where The Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda

The Girl Aquarium by Jen Campbell
Please Do Not Touch This Exhibit by Jen Campbell
Beauty/Beauty by Rebecca Perry
Girls Are Coming Out of the Woods by Tishani Doshi
A Little Body Are Many Parts by Legna Rodriguez Iglesias
Mother Nature by Aoife Lyall*

Slant Light by Sarah Westcott
How to Wash a Heart by Bhanu Kapil
Hiding to Nothing by Anita Pati*
Bloom by Sarah Westcott
Wilder by Jemma Borg

Magnolia by Nina Mingya Powles
Honorifics by Cynthia Miller
Single Window by Daniel Sluman

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WHO I AM

Hello, I'm Jen Campbell. I'm an award-winning poet and bestselling author of twelve books, spanning short stories, poetry, picture books, and nonfiction. My latest books are Marceline: Defender of the Sea, and Please Do Not Touch This Exhibit.

My books for adults include The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night, The Girl Aquarium, The Bookshop Book, and The Sunday Times bestselling Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops series. My picture book trilogy Franklin and Luna, and my middle-grade book The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers, are published by Thames & Hudson. I've won both an Eric Gregory Award and the Jane Martin Poetry Prize, and my books have been translated into twenty languages.

I've worked in the publishing industry for over fifteen years, initially as a bookseller, and now as a freelance editor, content creator and disability advocate. I review books online, in print and on the radio.

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Where to find me:

This contains no sponsored content. Any books marked with * were kindly sent to me for review.

[jenvcampbell]

Let me know your favourite publishers/books in the comments section below. ☺ I hope you're having a good Sunday! xx

[blackraven]

Hi Jen, I'm usually a fantasy reader but I've been watching your videos for about 3 years and have developed a deep love for literary fiction and poetry. Thank you 📚🌹📚🌹

[Phillybookfairy]

Anticipatory grief is something I’ve experienced quite a few times and so I’m putting that Honorifics collection on my tbr thank you for sharing ❤

[copascribe]

A Bookshop Crawl sounds like the best day ever! Can't believe I've never thought of this! Thanks, Jen!

[kathleenwalsh]

Thanks Jen from a near freezing point Anzac day. No Celia Dale books at my library. Sigh. You may have made a vid on this topic below but wd love to know about how much control you, as an author, have on your book covers. Plus anything about publishing really, the background stuff such as roles of editors, copywriters and the like.

[Larissa_KD]

I loved this video, I am only just beginning to notice different publishers and it's really eye-opening. This video pushed me to get an ebook subscription of my favourite Dutch small publisher (Das Mag) which I was thinking about for a while now, where I get all their 2023 books, so exciting!

[mradcaqbdb]

I will always recommend The Many by Wyl Menmuir from Salt. I loved this gorgeous book and still think of its imagery today.

I paused the video a couple of times to look at the Salt and Daunt websites as I haven’t seen what they’ve been doing recently. As a result, I’ve got 5 more books on my wishlist!

I must, must, must get to Persephone in Bath. I adored the beautiful walk from St Pancras to their old location in Bloomsbury and was a bit crushed when I heard they had moved. But they moved to gorgeous Bath! I will be adding a trip there to my next visit to London. I’ve got a whole wishlist just for Persephone!

And you’ve reminded me that I must get to Creatures of Passage!!! It was the first book I bought when last year’s longlist was announced and I don’t know why I haven’t picked it up yet.

Lovely video!

[YourTrueShelf]

Absolutely brilliant video! So helpful and one I will refer back to.
I read Ill Feelings on your recommendation, and really want to read more by this publisher.
I only have one persephone book which I read and loved (No Surrender by Constance Maud).
Really enjoyed 💛 xx

[Lindorm]

This was a treat! Thank you. I found Salt through you, so thanks for that too!

[Jennie-O-]

Thanks for some great suggestions again! I've just ordered The Book Collector 😊

[lindysmagpiereads]

Hello Jen, I’m a new subscriber. You mentioned books I love—Strange Beasts of China; Cold Enough for Snow; Rental Heart; Indelicacy; Drive Your Plow—so our reading tastes overlap, and I feel confident about seeking out many of the others you recommend. My favourite small press is Arsenal Pulp in Canada. It’s hard to pick a favourite from them, but the first that comes to mind is Chelsea Vowel’s speculative short story collection: Buffalo Is the New Buffalo.

[agob]

Thank you to you- my favourite recommender!!! Love from Vancouver island ❤

[Evegalewitz]

Picked up at Daunt’s Marylebone The Ladies Pond ages ago. I don’t know why I haven’t read it yet. Maybe this summer. I am sort on a binge of Irish books since March. Another great video. I love hearing reviews from your singular perspective. 😊

[markosilov]

I'm also thinking of reading 'Moving Parts' soon! 'The Sad Part Was' was super-fun.

[staciaoparowski]

This video was wonderful- now my tbr pile is soooo much taller!! I would like to mention a couple small presses that I really love, one being Swan River Press based in Ireland. The second is Luna Press in, I think, Scotland. ❤ thank you so much for this video! Cannot wait to start reading!

[laurenb_]

Thank you so much, Jen, for sharing your favourite reads from all these small presses. I have made an extensive list of the books I would like to read - my top 3 being Cold Enough For Snow, Moving Parts and all of the Strangers Press releases 😊 I loved Indelicacy and really need to purchase my own copy as I still think about it many months later. I also really enjoyed Where the Wild Ladies Are. I hope you have a lovely week 🌸

[elizabethgriffith]

Thanks for some unique recommendations:) *runs to buy creatures of passage*

[benreadsgood]

Thanks Jen - for some reason I always struggle to choose between Persephone titles, and they all end up sounding quite intimidating. Great to get some recommendations, and I live in Bristol so it’s only a 10 minute train away to visit the shop. I shall have to go and get some advice in person!

I am a huge fan of Daunt, because not only is their quality control incredible, but they produce the most beautiful, high-quality paperbacks you can get. I love them!

[Radhaindra]

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk is one of my favourite books! I am exited for you to read it for the first time! 💜

[sniffingthesheets]

Cold Enough for Snow is now on my TBR!