6th April 2016

The Blackheath Counter Cultural Review Volume 2.
Essays, prose and poems.

Includes the work of D. E. Oprava, Anthony 'Trance' Jones, Iain Sinclair, Steve Finbow,Tim Wells, John Abell, Mike Garry, Mab Jones, Johnny Giles, Jeff Towns, Heathcote Williams, Simon Tucker, Joseph Melville Ridgwell, Ford Dagenham, The BookBus Boys, Michael Curran, Peter Burnett and Jose Arroyo.


Volume Two (April 2016) out now and available to purchase from the website shop.


15th April 2015
Introducing The Blackheath Counter Cultural Review.

So much for having a year off!

A major new periodical publication.
Volume one (April 2015) out now and available to purchase from the website shop.


29th December 2014
Announcement: I have decided to take a year out of making books... apart from one special project that will hopefully reach fruition in April (watch this space for more info soon). 2015 will be a blackheath book free year. I have plenty of other creative things In the pipeline that just aren't getting done. I hope to pick up the baton again in 2016. However, the shop will remain open for existing stock. This is not the end, just an opportunity for a refresh and a new beginning.

12th October 2014



About bloody time I hear you say...

We are very pleased to announce the publication of ‘Chalk Outlines’ by Johnny Giles.  Johnny is a young man from Cardiff that we saw perform in Laugharne during the Dylan Thomas centenary celebrations. We were blown away.

‘Chalk Outlines’ is his first publication and as ever can be purchased from the website shop.



‘Chalk Outlines’ was nominally allocated an ISBN number however as a protest against global capitalism and the consumerisation of literature it will not be registered.



Blackheath Books continuing to provide independent artisan publishing and printmaking for the discerning bibliophile.
Still available to purchase now from the shop.
4th December 2013

Here's a real treat for you. Tim Wells' 'Keep the Faith'.



A poetry chapbook that collects together some of Tim's musical themed poems.
Produced in an edition of 200 copies the first 100 of which include a groovy northern soul style embroidered patch.

Available to buy now from our website shop.

15th August 2013

Hot off the press is our latest major release. Jah Wobble's 'Odds & Sods & Epilogues'.



A substantial fully illustrated book of poetry including a free CD that truly brings the book alive. Handmade with letterpressed covers in the usual 'blackheath' style. Produced in an edition of 200, each copy is individually numbered and signed by Wobble.  A real collectors item. Be sure to get yours quick as these are sure to fly.

Available to buy now from our website shop.


19th May 2013

It gives us great pleasure to announce the publication of a hardback edition of Adelle Stripe's Dark Corners of the Land.



The edition has been produced in a limited edition of 50 copies, each with a signed Brooke Bond Tea card (Freshwater Fish edition by E. V. Petts).



The hardback edition was created to celebrate Dark Corners of the Land being awarded ‘Poetry Book of the Year’ at the 3:AM Magazine Awards and being named a Scotsman Book of the Year in 2012. We have also sold out of the chapbook edition.

Available to buy now from the shop.

1st May 2013

Introducing the new Blackheath Manufactory...



15th April 2013

Congratulations to Jenni Fagan, twice Blackheath author, on her inclusion on the Granta list of the best British novelists 2013. Fantastic!

6th April 2013

Crumbs from the table at the Laugharne Weekend 2013.
A good time was had by all.



The Blackheath Posse outside Browns Hotel.
L-R David E. Oprava, Geraint Hughes, Hughes Jr and Joseph Ridgwell.



Joe Ridgwell prepares for action. Thanks to all those involved.

5th March 2013

Adelle Stripe's poem Bad Blood from her collection Dark Corners of the Land is in the Morning Star today.

12th January 2013

We are pleased to announce that Dark Corners of the Land was named ‘Poetry Book of the Year’ in the 3:AM Awards 2012. This is the second time Adelle has won this prestigious award (2009) and the third time for a blackheath author (Jenni Fagan 2010). Thanks to all at 3:AM for voting.

14th October 2012

And here it is:



Forget about future cult classics. This is already a cult classic. Adelle's much talked about third poetry chapbook with us 'Dark Corners of the Land'.
Available to buy now from the shop.

And don't forget the open invitation to join Adelle & special guests Ian Duhig, Michael Stewart, Steve Ely and Dai Parsons to celebrate the launch at:

Henry Moore Institute
74 The Headrow
Leeds
LS1 3AH

Wednesday 17th October 2012. 6.30pm-7.50pm. Free entry.

30th August 2012

We are pleased to announce our next publication will be our third with Dark Satanic Miller Adelle Stripe. Dark Corners of the Land is a limited edition book of confessional poems exploring rural life, strange deaths, hunting, farming and hedonism set against the backdrop of the small Yorkshire town where she grew up.
She has already organised a launch up in Leeds.
So I better get making!

11th June 2012

It gives us great pleasure to announce the publication of the next in our series of future cult classic novels.

Ratmen by Steve Ely.



 


'The man is a ratman. The boy is his apprentice. As they work the various infestations to which they are called, the man gradually inducts the boy into the trade, teaching him a repertoire of creative and bizarre methods of killing rats.

As the boy gains the man’s trust and respect via his developing proficiency in the field of rat extermination, the man progressively reveals his incredible Manichaean worldview...'

A modern parable.

Available to order from the shop.

20th April 2012

We are very pleased to announce the completion of the 2nd print run of Vic Templar's 'Taking Candy from a Dog'.



No major changes, just the same great novel remaining in print at blackheath books.
Here's what some esteemed reviewers had to say...

Vic Templar’s Taking Candy From a Dog is the part memoir, part fiction tale of a very ordinary boy, living a very ordinary life in a very ordinary part of Kent, yet it is also one of the most touching and hilarious books you could wish to read about life as a child. It is warm without being cloying and funny without being too knowing. It is a tale of picnics, wasps, summers that last forever, Wimbledon, Fred Perry, the Buzzcocks, Gillingham FC and family life in the 1970s.

Mark Raison aka Monkey Picks

Written through the eyes of a frequently bemused and incredulous child/teenager, with the chapters interspersed by the savvy interruptions of a sock monkey, it sounds twee, cheesy and to be avoided but it’s far from it - Taking Candy From A Dog is one of the funniest books I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Wonderfully told with keen detail and dry wit, some of the dialogue had tears of laughter streaming down my face.

Iain Aitch



23rd February 2012
Sorry for the lack of updates, however we have been busy behind the scenes planning some goodies for 2012. Next up is the 2nd printing of Vic Templar's wonderful Taking Candy from a Dog. Our plan is to keep the novels in print, we may even start taking advantage of modern technology in the near future (on our own terms of course!). Watch this space.

11th November 2011

Visit 'Hatchbacks on Fire'the online home of Ford Dagenham.
Then buy his book in the shop!

7th November 2011

We have sold out of the Deluxe Edition of Paraffin Van. Many thanks to all the people who supported the press and bought one. They will surely be sought after collectors items in the future. I have a couple of 'Jokers' I'm thinking of putting on ebay in the next few weeks. Watch this space.
 It's still available in the mighty fine Standard Numbered Edition.

18th October 2011

We are very pleased to announce the second of our two major publications this month.

Billy Chyldish's 'Paraffin Van (poems 2009-2011)'


A book of 74 poems, Billy describes it as 'a new collection of poetry by somone who's been doing it for too long'!  It's available in two versions.


A Deluxe 'playing card' Edition of 52, each with a tipped in playing card and photographs. These have been 'signed' and stamped by Billy.


And a Standard Edition of 148 numbered copies signed by Billy with a gallows symbol.

Available to purchase now from the shop.
Deluxe edition is £20 and standard edition is £10, various postage options are available depending on where you are.
If you'd like one please be quick as these are sure to fly!

17th October 2011

It gives us great pleasure to welcome back our old pal Joseph Ridgwell with his second novel, 'The Buddha Bar'.



A signed and numbered edition of 100 copies.
Available to purchase now from the shop.
£10

12th October 2011

Just putting the finishing touches to Paraffin Van.



18th September 2011

Two exciting new publications in production, coming soon...





5th June 2011




We are more than pleased to announce the first complete published collection of poetry from Ford Dagenham, an authentic voice from the English hinterlands. A Canvey Island Of The Mind has been a long time coming but we are sure you'll agree it was worth the wait. The collection has been edited by our friend and fellow blackheath author Adelle Stripe. She had a hard time choosing this collection from the extensive writings of a prolific poet.



Nameless nurses, the hard bells of time, cooked chicken; all justify equal consideration from Fords free verse vernacular. Based in South Essex, his poems could be about anywhere. Joy, pain, love, hope, fear, delusion, shopping malls, hospitals and dead shrub verges greet a reader instantly immersed in the interior world of D. A. Levy reincarnated as a hospital storeman.

Available to purchase now from the shop.

28th May 2011

Our thirtieth publication!
'A Canvey Island of the Mind' by Ford Dagenham.
Should be out in about a week, watch this space...


26th February 2011



We are very happy to announce the publication of Jon Tait's 'Lucky to Get Nowt'. 'Lucky to Get Nowt' is Jon Tait’s debut collection on Blackheath Books and is a homesick nostalgic over-the-shoulder look at the north east of England.

You’ll find miners, welfare clubs, pigeon duckets, union banners, gypsies, poachers, hedgehogs, leek shows, local league football, curry houses and building sites in Tait’s homage to Northumberland. The pits and the pigeon lofts may be gone, but the people remain the same and Lucky to Get Nowt reflects the warmth and good humour of the region, tinged with sadness and a morose that inflicts the area.

The pit wheels that feature on the cover of Lucky to Get Nowt represent both the hardships that the region has faced as well as defining the unity and hopes of ordinary working class folk that inhabit the pages.



It is available in a limited edition of 100 signed & numbered copies.
Buy it now from the shop.


3am Magazine Awards 2010



3:AM POETRY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2010
Jenni Fagan’s The Dead Queen of Bohemia (Blackheath Books)

Well done to Jenni, winner of the 3am Magazine Poetry Book of the Year Award 2010!
I'm really happy, it's the 2nd year running one of our publications has won this prestigious prize. Onwards and upwards...

9th December 2010



It gives us great pleasure to announce the publication of 'The Dead Queen of Bohemia' by Jenni Fagan.

The Dead Queen of Bohemia is Jenni Fagan’s extraordinary follow up to her debut collection Urchin Belle, released last year on Blackheath Books. This new collection of poems, explores the peripheries of life with an unpretentious, lyrical brutality.

The Dead Queen of Bohemia pays homage to 17th Century Chinese poetry, pornography in a Scottish caravan park, murder, first time sex in a hotel room, armed robbery, Elvis, native Indians, underage prostitution, coal mines and factories. Fights in wastelands, squirrels in the walls, bazookas, corpses, wife beaters, gang bangs and a white fox. There are dildos, moons, Eskimos, finest Bolivian, witches and stilettos, the ripped out heart of a Victorian debutante, quietude, despair and voodoo.

Fingerprints and butterflies; the covers of Fagan’s books mirror the contrasting defiance and fragility of her poems. Poems that document a disconnected fractured existence and what happens when there are no second chances.
It is available in a limited edition of 100 signed numbered copies and a special hardback collectors edition of 26 signed & lettered (A-Z) copies.

Buy it now from the shop


25th September 2010

We are very pleased to announce the publication of 'sole' by David E. Oprava.




'sole' is a book of poetry that explores his childhood growing up in rural America. Each of the poems aims to express a solitary emotion, a universal whole, and the peculiar holes in which we find ourselves.

It's available in two editions, a hardback and our traditional cardback. It's our first foray into the world of hardback bookbinding.  The hardback version is limited to 26 signed and lettered copies and as ever is handmade.  The cardback version is an edition of 100 the first 25 feature a gold footprint and the rest are in red.

Available to purchase now from the shop.
Hardbacks are £15 and cardbacks are £7.50, various postage options are available depending on where you are.

We have a launch planned for Thursday 30th September at the Media Point Bar (upstairs) Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff.  If you're in the area please feel free to attend.

26th June 2010

OUT NOW


Available to purchase from the shop.

Don't forget the Launch Friday 2nd of July at The Betsey Trottwood, 56 Farringdon Road, London.

20th June 2010

Some news about our next publication



Here's what Vic has to say about it...

'It’s Like Taking Candy From A Dog ‘That’s what my uncle Mac used to say whenever he slotted another goal past me (two grown men against a couple of kids). So I used it for the title of my book, which is an account of childhood told, for the most part, by the boy in the 1970s present rather than the adult looking back.
Stories and episodes from the life of a boy are threaded together by the musings of a threadbare sock monkey called Luke. The monkey haunts (or taunts?) the man the boy has become.

Tales of football, picnics, cats, holidays, rabies, ghosts, skeletons, George Best, Father Christmas, punk rock, moth rescue, starling execution, ant holocaust, emu puppets and being winked at by strangers. I have also latterly come to realise that the book is also my apology to the boy I once was for the way I’ve turned out.'
A launch has been planned for the evening of Friday 2nd of July at The Betsey Trottwood, 56 Farringdon Road, London. If you're in the area pop along from 7pm for some readings, short films and tombola action.

It's our first foray into the world of full length novels and we are really quite excited about it. Right I best get binding, hopefully It will be finished in time!

30th April 2010



We are very happy to announce the publication of the truly eclectic and ground-breaking ‘Beat Anthology’. A collection of short fiction gleaned from the last three years of Beat Archives, it features the work of Joseph Ridgwell, Lee Rourke, Susan Tomaselli, Ben Myers, Melissa Mann, Steve Finbow, Jenni Fagan, Andrew Gallix, Chris Killen, Sean McGahey, Darran Anderson & U.V. Ray.
The first 52 copies (playing card edition) feature a tipped in playing card and a spoken word CD. These are sure to be in demand so please get your order in soonish.
These and the standard edition are available to buy from the shop.

Coming Soon



25th March 2010

We have now sold out of the Tasselled edition of Oswald's Apartment thanks to all those who purchased this important piece of kitsch banality.

16th February 2010

We are pleased to announce the publication of Joseph Ridgwell's short story collection 'Oswald's Apartment'.

 

It is available in an edition of 26 signed and lettered (A-Z) copies with ridiculous handmade woollen tassels (£10) and a signed numbered edition of 100 'au natural' (£7.50).
Available to buy now from the shop.

15th February 2010

Billy Childish has named the new major retrospective at the ICA after his Blackheath Book!

21st December 2009

3am Magazine Awards 2009



3:AM POETRY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2009
Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid and Cigarettes in Bed (both on Blackheath Books).

3:AM PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR 2009
Blackheath Books

Onwards and upwards!

20th December 2009

Darran Anderson & Adelle Stripe discuss poetry, religion, drink and the forgotten art of the sea shanty over at 3am Magazine.

11th December 2009



It gives us the greatest of pleasure to announce the publication of 'Tesla's Ghost by Darran Anderson. Tesla’s Ghost is published in a limited edition of 100 copies (25 with a red spirograph image, 25 in gold and 50 in blue/grey) each signed by the author. Available to buy from the shop.

12th November 2009

Now sold out of Jenni Fagan's 'Urchin Belle', sorry if you missed out.
Snooze and lose!

28th October 2009

The Blackheath Books Edition of Beat the Dust is now available as a downloadable podcast and chapbook.

22nd October 2009

We are very pleased to announce the publication of Adelle Stripe's very fine chapbook, 'Cigarettes in Bed'.



The first 50 covers feature unique 'solar' burns inflicted by our skilled minions.
Available to purchase from the shop.





21st October 2009

Our new embossing stamp. From now on if it hasn't got it, it isn't.



10th October 2009

Sold out of Billy Childish's 'Unknowable But Certain', many thanks to all those who purchased it. If you missed out, Billy has a few copies he intends to sell at readings. So keep an eye out for him and go along.

7th October 2009

Here's a film to celebrate the 'Blackheath Books' edition of Beat The Dust the best online litzine celebrating independent writing on the web.



The issue includes poetry from Billy Childish, Adelle Stripe, Ben Myers, Darran Anderson, Miles J Bell and Garrie Fletcher, plus fiction from Joseph Ridgwell, Vic Templar, Jenni Fagan and Graham Bendel. There's also an interview with Geraint Hughes conducted by some of his contemporaries in the underground publishing scene.

6th October 2009

Very few copies of 'Unknowable But Certain' by Billy Childish left check out the shop for availability.

15th September 2009

 

 

It gives us great pleasure to announce the publication of 'Unknowable But Certain' by Billy Childish. Available in a numbered edition of 200 in 4 different letterpressed cover styles. Stamped in red by Billy with a gallows stamp.
Available to buy from shop.



12th September 2009

Price Restructuring

We have undertaken an extensive review of our prices based on, amongst other things, the cost of raw materials and amount of effort involved in the production of each publication. Having consulted with valued customers, authors and esteemed colleagues in the independent publishing world we have settled on the following price structure for future publications.

Chapbook (up to 40 pages, stapled spine) - £5.00
Slim Tome (40-90 pages, perfect bound) - £7.50
Novel (90 pages +, perfect bound) - £10.00

In light of this we have scrapped the old subscription option, existing subscriptions will still be honoured. This should allow us to be more adventurous in our publications; we hope this meets with your continued approval.

26th August 2009

There is a nice review of Jenni Fagan's 'Urchin Belle' .
We've sold out of the Red and Gold covers, many thanks for all your support. It is still available in the Grey cover (it's actually my favorite!).
Watch this space for news of our next exciting release

21st July 2009

Urchin Belle by Jenni Fagan is now available to pre-order from the shop. It has been produced with three different coloured letterpressed covers. Collect the set.

7th July 2009
Coming Soon



8th May 2009



Latest release is Joseph Ridgwell’s 'Load The Guns', a confederate volume to 'Where Are The Rebels'
Available to order from the shop.