Five Leaves Publications

11/12/2025

It's been a long time since we published Zoe Wicomb's The One That Got Away, a book of short stories set in Glasgow and South Africa. The book itself is long out of print. Zoe died late November, sadly. A very full obituary appears here www.theguardian.com/books/2025/oct/28/zoe-wicomb-obituary
At the end of the obituary, the writer said "She chose small publishers whose commercial practices she approved of, and refused the services of an agent. The publicity machine was anathema to her. As a result, her fiction remains less well known than it should be."
Hah! When we took on Zoe's book she said that she wouldn't give much or any help to us in promoting the book. No launches, no interviews, no appearances at book festivals. Of course we didn't believe her. What writer ever refused publicity? Well, Zoe was that writer. The book had to stand on its own.
We sent out copies for review, and we might have had one author interview (which we can't trace) but Zoe refused the several appearances at book festivals we were offered or any other publicity involving her. She did warn us!
Despite this, her book sold out - her reputation saw to that. We were lucky to have her on our list.
Condolences to her family and those who remember her from her days in Nottingham.

South African-Scottish author admired for her first book You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town, a collection of short stories

20/11/2025

www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/nottinghams-hidden-underground-bbc-apocalypse-10655923?int_source=nba
Want to know more about Nottingham's nuclear bunker? We published a book about it - fiveleavesbookshop.co.uk/product/bunker-stories-and-poems-from-a-nuclear-age/

14/11/2025

The Victorian writer Amy Levy has resurfaced, with numerous articles in the press about the papers of this le***an Jewish being released - an example of the coverage from the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/nov/13/archives-amy-levy-q***r-jewish-writer-admired-by-oscar-wilde-unsealed

The late Elaine Feinstein was one of those who showed interest in Levy, who, like Feinstein, went to Newnham College at Cambridge University. In her poem 'Amy Levy', Feinstein wrote:

"Listen, I am the first of my kind and
not without friends or recognition,
but my name belongs with my family
in Bayswater, where the ghosts
of wealthy Sephardim line the walls,
and there I am alien because I sing.
Here, it is my name that makes me strange.
A hundred years on, is it still the same?"

Elaine, who remarked "The danger of being at the periphery is that you never quite pe*****te sufficiently not to disappear into darkness, rather as Amy Levy did", would have been pleased to see Levy appearing again from the darkness.

We carried this poem in a selection of Elaine's work in Passionate Renewal, an anthology of postwar Jewish poetry., published in 2001.

Levy’s work was ‘ahead of her time’ and speaks to current debate around feminism, LGBTQ+ literature and Jewish identity, say researchers

10/10/2025

No genteel neighbourhood should be without an anarchist prince.
The book itself - fiveleavesbookshop.co.uk/product/curious-muswell-hill/

04/10/2025

✹Fr⚘gm∞nts⊗ sits at the intersections of race, q***rness, gender and trauma, exploring mis/re/membering through the splintering lens of comp …

13/09/2025

A great line-up of events in the Inspire Arts and Culture Poetry Festival, including Imtiaz Dharker, Beyond the Spectrum: Poetry for Neurodivergent People and Romalyn Ante.

We're delighted that our Pamphleteers Tara Singh and Tony Challis will be reading from their new Five Leaves Publications pamphlets at Beeston Library on Mon 29th September at 7:30pm. Tickets available in person or online.

Our new course booking system is live! Visit our new Learner Hub to create your account, where you can book and browse all our adult learning courses.

02/09/2025

The horse was published by our stable

14/08/2025

31/07/2025

This is the origin of the name Five Leaves Publications, later Five Leaves Bookshop. Ross liked the record (dated, innit?) Five Leaves Left by Nick Drake and when a name was needed, that popped out as a small homage to that late singer songwriter. Only later did David Belbin reveal the origins of the name, and here it is in print in the book included in the boxed set of The Making of Five Leaves, the image also from Dave. Ross was so naïve. Five leaves was the usual number required to make a joint.

18/07/2025

And now we are five

18/07/2025

Here's Iain Sinclair, Ken Worpole and Susie Thomas discussing Alexander Baron's The Lowlife novel at the London Review Bookshop a week ago. Faber has brought out a new edition of The Lowlife with an intro by Iain, Ken and Susie were two of those involved in So We Live, our book on Alaxander Baron's novels - https://fiveleavesbookshop.co.uk/product/so-we-live-the-novels-of-alexander-baron/, which sold out on the night. The third editor of So We Live, Andrew Whitehead, was also in the audience.
As well as the book about Baron's work, over the years we've published four of his other novels, though three are now only available as e-books. War Baby is still available in book format, and is in stock at the London Review Bookshop if you are passing. Another of our favourites, From the City, From the Plough was republished by the Imperial War Museum.