Writing from the Discomfort Zone

Barbican BooksBarbican Press launches with the Doctored Books series – books that found steam in the PhD Creative Writing programmes of universities. Books that rose to so many challenges they forgot to compromise. Books with minds of their own for readers with minds of their own.

Let’s not blame the big guys. Were we corporate publishers, we might not publish our books either. These are books we want to read and others don’t publish. They bristle with ideas and inventiveness and blossom with soul. They challenge the way we view our world and make change seem possible.

We invest in quality. In print or as ebooks, these books aim to look as good as they read. We’re looking for modern classics – books so different they can always seem new.

Based in London and Hull, we look to find and promote distinct voices to set the world trembling.

If you’re a reader who doesn’t need pandering to, whose life has been shaped by books that dared to be different – welcome to your new home!

“Book collecting is an obsession, an occupation, a disease, an addiction, a fascination, an absurdity, a fate. It is not a hobby. Those who do it must do it.”
― Jeanette Winterson

Paul Harfleet No avatar Author
" In Paul Harfleet's graphic novel in rhymed couplets, a young boy tackles homophobia in school by planting pansies at the site of homophobic attacks, taking strength from the flowers he loves. "
Martin Goodman No avatar Author & Publisher
" Martin Goodman's first novel ON BENDED KNEES was shortlisted for the Whitbread prize, and his most recent biography SUFFER AND SURVIVE won 1st Prize, Basis of Medicine in the BMA Book Awards 2008. He is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Hull. "
Sarah Walton No avatar Author
" Sarah Walton was born in 70s London. She is the author of RUFIUS, which won her a PhD. She lives on the edge of the South Downs with two Italian greyhounds. "
Martin Vopěnka No avatar Author
" Martin Vopěnka is a Czech writer, publisher, journalist and traveller and author of THE FIFTH DIMENSION, translated for Barbican Press by Hana Sklenkova. Vopěnka's books have been published in English, Polish, Russian, Arabic and Romanian. "
Nora Roberts No avatar Author & Editor
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E L James No avatar Writer
" Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus id faucibus massa. Quisque varius arcu sapien, in fringilla libero ultrices quis. Quisque convallis tortor rutrum "
Brian W. Lavery No avatar Author
" Brian W. Lavery was born in the East End of Glasgow in 1959, the fourth of six sons of William, a sheet metal worker and Margaret, a shop assistant. He is the author of The Headscarf Revolutionaries and The Luckiest Thirteen. "
Diana Gabaldon No avatar Speaker
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Diana Gabaldon No avatar Editor & writer
" Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus id faucibus massa. Quisque varius arcu sapien, in fringilla libero ultrices quis. Quisque convallis tortor rutrum. "
D. D. Johnston No avatar Author
" D. D. Johnston is a Scottish political novelist. He is the author of PEACE, LOVE & PETROL BOMBS, THE DECONSTRUCTION OF PROFESSOR THRUB and THE SECRET BABY ROOM. "