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Well, on the ‘About Us’ page of the Earlyworks Press website I explain it thus:

One summer’s day nearly 25 years ago, when I was struggling to find my way into the world of writing and publishing, I found myself standing in the Mendip Hills, looking down at the old Wookey Hole paper mill, which is now a museum, as so many things are. I thought, if I were rich, I’d buy that and create a press that produced real, beautiful books designed by the authors and illustrators. Small print-run perhaps, but real books that feel right and smell right. It’d be specially for people who hadn’t been published much before but had something worth saying, and it wouldn’t cost them a fortune. I’d call it Earlyworks Press. Way to go, folks, but the dream is getting nearer.

The site’s been online for two years now (I’m writing this in October of 2007) and yes, we are producing books that we sell as cheaply as possible, and exhibiting and reading from those books at events around the country. They aren’t hand-made, and they don’t come from Wookey Hole - but they are to a large extent produced and designed by members of our online club, with the intention of giving all involved a chance to showcase their work and develop their careers without spending a fortune, and without having to wait for a mainstream publishing contract.

There are two ways of getting your work into an Earlyworks Press book - one is to join the online club, the other is to enter one of our competitions and get yourself onto the shortlist. We produce at least three anthologies a year, based on our Open Competitions. Altogether, this gives an opportunity for 50-100 writers and illustrators to publish in book form. All the competitions offer cash prizes and publication opportunities. The anthologies are promoted online and around the country, and as well as their free winners’ copies, contributing authors and artists can continue to get books at a good discount, giving them a chance to profit from their success.

We have around 50 permanent club members and we invite competition winners to join us for a ‘trial period’. Members can publish further work through the press by a variety of methods and also use the website forum to share information and experiences about the many different opportunities and pitfalls for new writers.

If you are a writer, an artist, a graphic designer, or if you are interested in any other aspects of boook design and production, if you are an independent spirit and would like to have a bit more of a say in the production and marketing of your work than a big multinational company would give you, if you enjoy working on an equal footing with people in other areas of creative work, come and talk to us.

If you have any comments or questions about Earlyworks Press, please post them here, I’ll be pleased to discuss them with you.