About Comma
Comma Press is a not-for-profit publisher specialising in the short story and fiction in translation. It is committed to a spirit of risk-taking, and aims to put the short story at the heart of contemporary narrative culture.
We publish collections by new and established authors, interdisciplinary collaborations between authors and experts, and translation commissions devised to identify cutting-edge (often marginalised) voices from across the world. Our award-winning publications include The Iraqi Christ by Hassan Blasim, Tea at the Midland by David Constantine, You Should Come With Me Now by M. John Harrison, and the first ever collection of science-fiction from Palestine, Palestine +100.
In 2017 we won Northern Soul’s ‘Northern Publisher of the Year’ award, and for the last three years running we were shortlisted by The British Book Awards for ‘Small Press of the Year’ (North of England), winning the region in 2020.
Comma Press also works as a writer development agency, delivering short story courses throughout the year, and hosting the annual National Creative Writing Industry Day for aspiring writers, Manchester in Translation for aspiring translators, and The Publishing Conference for aspiring publishers, to give early career practitioners access to advice, knowledge and skills from industry professionals.
Comma Press founded the Northern Fiction Alliance in 2016 alongside three other leading independents, Peepal Tree Press, Dead Ink Books and And Other Stories, and have since been joined by a range of publishers such as Bluemoose Books, Saraband and Valley Press. The Alliance is a radical publishing collective devised to showcase the creativity, diversity and outward-looking agenda that sets publishers in the North of England apart.
Praise for Comma:
'In short, it is difficult to imagine the landscape of UK independents without Comma.' - The London Magazine (2020)
'Unapologetically political, Comma Press are in the vanguard of UK literary culture.' - HUCK Magazine (2019)
'We are living through a golden moment in the history of the short story...Eudora Welty called [her editor] William Maxwell "the headquarters". I'm not sure where the headquarters of the current excitement lies, somewhere between McSweeney's in America and Comma in Manchester, perhaps...' - The Guardian
'Visionary Comma Press continue to do a stellar job bringing us the work of authors from all around the world, often from languages and countries previously lacking representation on English-language bookshelves.' - The Lighthouse Bookshop (2021)
'Comma Press is the UK's most esteemed publisher of short stories.' - The Manchester Review (2019)
'They give a platform to communities, cultures, and individuals who often go unheard, and they deserve all the success going forward as they continue on their incredible mission.' - Books and Bao (2019)
'Remarkable for its consistent brilliance and commitment to the short story, you will be hard pushed to find a better short story publisher than Comma Press.' - Ink Sweat and Tears
'Trailblazing.' - Arts Council England, Autumn Report, 2007
'It's not too great a stretch to see Comma as the literary equivalent of Factory Records.' - The Herald
'The fiction landscape would have been a lot flatter without Comma.' - M. John Harrison
Named as one of the 'Top Six Publishers Outside of London' - New Statesman, 2012
'For the near future at least, short fiction is in good hands.' - The Independent on Sunday
'A small but powerful champion of the short story.' - The Guardian
'Fills you with hope for the form.' - Time Out
'Manchester is fast becoming the UK's most influential centre for short story writing.' - The Observer
'A high-performing specialist imprint with a robust commitment to the briefer forms.' - The Independent
'Increasingly impressive.' - The TLS
Read Comma's Single Equality Scheme (SES) here.
Read Comma's Social Media Policy here.
Comma Press is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (since 2012) and part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority Cultural Portfolio (2020-2022).