Peepal Tree Press Archive

Description

Business archive of Peepal Tree Press. The archive has been arranged into the following series:

1) Author files: alphabetically arranged named files which may contain correspondence, contractual materials, research and background information and copies of information from the Peepal Tree Press (PTP) Website.

2) Editorial Manuscripts: manuscript drafts later published by PTP, arranged by author and chronologically. Drafts may include editorial and authorial annotations. Some files include multiple iterative drafts.

3) Unpublished Submissions: manuscript drafts which were not published by PTP. Some include editorial annotations. Eventual publication is noted where known.

4) Marketing Materials: both created by PTP and featuring PTP publications. Also includes a series of press cuttings and reference publications.

5) Financial Materials:reated by PTP during the course of business operations.

Biography or history

Peepal Tree Press is an independent publishing company based in Leeds that publishes Caribbean as well as Black British writing. It was founded in 1985 and has published over 450 titles.

Peepal Tree Press titles span several genres from poetry, non-fiction, fiction to academic works. Publications have won numerous awards including: the Clarissa Luard Award for innovative publishing, the Jhalak Prize, the T. S. Eliot Prize, the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature and the Ondaatje Award.

The Press launched the Caribbean Modern Classic Series in 2009, which restored several significant classics from the 1950s and 1960s including the works of George Lamming and Una Marson. It has also launched the ‘Inscribe’ writing scheme and imprint which mentors aspiring writers of African and Asian background.

In 2014, Peepal Tree Press partnered with Akashic Books, a Brooklyn-based independent publishing press in the US, to form the joint imprint Peekash Press. Peekash Press publishes the works of new Caribbean-based writers.

Provenance

The Archive was acquired from Peepal Tree Press in 2023.

Access and usage

Access

This collection is currently being worked on by the Special Collections team and therefore may not always be readily available for users to consult. Please contact staff in advance if you would like to access the material.