Lairdside Press was established in the summer of 2025. My two traditionally published novels ( Fire and Sword, The Gryphon at Bay) had come out of contract, and I’d met with a literary agent who told me that my third novel, the archaeological fantasy Underworld, was ‘unique.’ Great news for someone who likes writing things that are off the beaten track and different, but not much good in the modern commercial world of publishing…

It was a hard enough slog finding a publisher the first time around, so I decided to go it alone. I wasn’t inspired as much by the world of indy publishers as the ideals of the arts and crafts movement. I wanted the process and the journey to publication to feel just as important as the finished product.

And so Lairdside Press was born.

Before long the small press became a writers’ co-operative when I was joined by Lochwinnoch-based writer Michael Jarvis. Michael’s work had always appealed to me: he has a distinctive voice, and there is often a hint of magic realism in his work. I’m also delighted to report that 2026 will also see us publish a retrospective volume of work by acclaimed Lochwinnoch-based poet, Betty McKellar.

All of our writers are inspired by landscape, environment and archaeology/history. Often we explore the interface between the natural and the cultural worlds, It’s a space created through thousands of years of human beings living out their lives and transforming the world around them, while nature persists, sometimes thriving, often suffering adversely. Our list has a strongly local flavour, but not exlcusively so.

We work at a very small modest scale, with limited print runs. As a reader, I like reading big books, and as a writer I enjoy writing them too. I like to take the time to get to know characters and create complex textured plots. But selling big books isn’t always practical, so I’ll be turning back to an old tradition of releasing titles as a two-volume set. This means I can use a bigger font for ease of reading, something which readers of my historical novels have been asking me about for years.

Since I set up Lairdside Press I’ve learned that the process of production is every bit as important as the finished object. There’s nothing like the feeling you get when you hold your latest title in your hands. You think, yeah, I’m pleased with this! I use modern technology when it suits me. I couldn’t manage without a word-procesor and I certainly couldn’t create a stylish layout without a preset template. But I retain the very human urge to complete each project with great care and attention. I also make sure our covers are created using original work by artists or graphic designers or compiled using images sourced from our authors’ own photo libraries.

There are currently four books on our list. Our first title, Animal Tales, is a collection of short stories compiled to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Lochwinnoch Writers. It was published in October in 2025 and features previously unpublished work by Michael Jarvis, Betty McKellar and Louise Turner.

A further three books will be released in May 2026. The first is Underworld, Part 1, by Louise Turner (Book 1 of A Black Ship Into Hades. The second is Fear and the Virus, a collection of short fiction by Michael Jarvis. Last – but by no means least – is Swan Songs, a retrospective of the poetry of Betty McKellar – the Bard of Lochwinnoch – which will be launched in the middle of May.

All of our titles will be available as e-books on the Kobo platform.