Clevedon Community Press
The Clevedon Community Press is our small independent press. We have set it up to help towards fulfilling our aim to enhance the literary and literacy profile of Clevedon and its environs.
The Community Press is run by the Bookshop Co-operative’s Publishing Press Team. We regard publishing as a co-operative effort. There are many steps between an initial manuscript and the published book and we are happy to work with you - authors, organisations and community groups - throughout the whole process. See below for Publishing Guidelines.
The purpose of these Guidelines is to inform those of you interested in publishing your work through the Clevedon Community Press of our publishing interests and the procedures we adopt to make fair and transparent decisions with regard to submissions and proposals. We will publish fiction and non-fiction. Fiction may include: novels, poetry, plays, memoir and biography, short stories and essays. We are particularly interested in writings relevant to the community of Clevedon and its environs. And, as a community co-operative, we are interested in publishing work that relates to community co-operatives and to the co-operative movement. We also will consider children’s literature starting at primary school age who are able to read by themselves onwards to young adults. We are not able to publish large multicolour plate illustrated editions requiring extensive artwork. With the necessary permissions, we will publish new printings of out-of-date publications.
Farms, Folk and Famous People: Histories of Clevedon
Jane Lilly
with a memoir by Derek B. Lilly
In this second local history collection from the Clevedon Community Press, Jane Lilly informs, amuses and surprises her readers. Three essays feature local farms and another focuses on 1820s development in Hill Road. Folk dance and song in Clevedon is revealed as well as the work of a local pottery. The Lawn School is researched, the leader among many boarding schools here.
There is a Clevedon connection with Admiral Lord Nelson's family. Eminent writer Jan Morris, and her brothers, were born here. Their mother inaugurated the Curzon cinema organ, locally made. Derek Lilly rounds the book off with tales of his childhood between the Wars, illustrated with photographs from his brother Tom.
160 pages
45 b/w plates
ISBN 978-0-9935666-4-6
Social History
£6.95
Published by Clevedon Community Press 2020
For sale at Clevedon Community Bookshop, Books on the Hill, Present Company, the Pier Shop and online from Clevedon Community Bookshop https://www.clevedoncommunitybookshop.coop/shop-online/
We thank Peter Gibbs whose poems are published in this collection. Peter approached us to express his interest in the Clevedon Community Press publishing his work on iconic places in Clevedon that those walking the footpaths and pavements of Clevedon might come across. Peter very generously agreed to the Bookshop Co-operative inviting others in Clevedon to contribute to such an anthology. The outcome is this delightful and varied collection of poems all ‘inspired by Clevedon’. Thank you to all our poets!
And we thank all those who have given their time, using their talents to help produce In the Footsteps of Poets: Rob Donachie for his captivating book cover; Stephanie Fitch for her pen and ink sketch map of Clevedon; our book reviewers; and Professor David Punter for his support and advice.
A truly co-operative writing project!
£4.95.
Available from: Clevedon Community Bookshop, Present Company, Books on the Hill, the Pier Shop and online from https://www.clevedoncommunitybookshop.coop/shop-online/
Celebrating Portishead Open Air Pool
Celebrating Portishead Open Air
Pool, a fully illustrated history written by John Birkinshaw of Portishead Pool
Community Trust, will be published on Friday 16 November by Clevedon Community Press, the Publishing Press of Clevedon Community Bookshop Co-operative. Its retail price is £9.95.
This third publication from Clevedon Community Press charts the history of the open air pool
from when the suggestion that it should be built was first mooted in 1924 through to its opening by Portishead Urban District Council in 1962, and onto the present day. Fully illustrated in both
black & white and colour, Celebrating Portishead Open Air Pool includes many anecdotes and memories from people involved in building the Pool and
in its subsequent life, as well as information and extracts from official records such as council minutes. In 2008, after several years of poor attendances and general decline, the Pool was
in danger that it might close and be demolished.
A local campaign STOP (save the open air pool) led to the establishment of Portishead Pool
Community Trust and today, ten years later, Celebrating Portishead Open Air Pool marks the success of the Pool, this year attracting a record of more
than 53,000 visitors. This well researched publication will be of considerable interest to residents of North Somerset, visitors to the area and, more widely, to local historians and those
involved in the increasingly popular world of lidos and open air swimming.
Clevedon Community Bookshop Co-operative and Portishead Pool Community Trust, two ‘not-for-profit’ local organizations, have worked together in publishing Celebrating Portishead Open Air Pool, thus contributing to documenting our rich history in North Somerset. The book will be on sale from Saturday 17 November. It may be ordered prior to publication date by emailing Clevedon Community Bookshop - enquiries@clevedoncommunitybookshop.coop. There will be an official book launch in Café Lido at the Pool on Friday 30 November at 7.30pm, where the author will be available to sign copies. Everyone is welcome and there is no need to book.
Clevedon Community Press are proud to announce their second publication: Clevedon Cuttings: history, houses and a couple of characters by Jane Lilly.
Clevedon Cuttings will be launched in the Community Bookshop,
Copse Road, Clevedon, on 18 November and, from 2.00pm, Jane Lilly will be giving a short talk and signing copies. All welcome!
We are proud to publish the tenth local history book by Jane Lilly, Clevedon’s well-respected local historian. Clevedon Cuttings presents meticulous historical research of places, events and people in Clevedon. Two introductory essays trace the development of the town as it grew to become a select seaside resort. Seven essays focus on Clevedon’s historical houses, their developers and occupants. Two more explore the histories of well-known businesses in the town, and two tell us of significant Clevedon characters. Clevedon’s railway accident in 1881, and the history of sea-bathing, complete this most charming collection of essays fully illustrated with photographs and specially commissioned pen & ink drawings.
From 18 November, Clevedon Cuttings will be for sale at the Community Bookshop in Copse Road, Clevedon, and at other outlets in Clevedon, Books on the Hill, the Pier Shop and the Post Office in Old Church Road. It will be available online from the Clevedon Community Bookshop, through Amazon, Abe and Biblio.
ISBN: 978-0-9935666-1-5. RRP: £6.00. Publication date: 18 November 2017
The first publication from our new publishing press, Clevedon Community Press, Writing on the Lake: an anthology of poetry and prose, was published on Saturday 2 April 2016.
In this anthology, thirty-three writers, drawing on vivid memories and imaginations, celebrate the restored Marine Lake in Clevedon through their poetry and prose. The publication is the outcome of a collaborative project between the Bookshop Co-operative and Marlens, the Marine Lake Enthusiasts Society.
