Peepal Tree Press, based in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, publishes Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

, Black British

Black British

Black British is a term used to describe British people of Black African descent, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background. The term has been used from the 1950s to refer to Black people from former British colonies in the West Indies and Africa, who are residents of the United Kingdom and...

 and South Asian fiction

Fiction

Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

, poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

 and academic books.

Peepal Tree is a wholly independent company, founded in 1985, and now publishes around 30-40 books a year. Peepal Tree Press has published over 250 titles, and states a commitment to keeping them in print on their website. The list features new writers and established voices. In 2009 the press launched the Caribbean Modern Classics Series, which restores to print important books from the 1950s and 60s. Peepal Tree Press is part-funded by Arts Council England

Arts Council England

Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...

 and was included in their 2011 National Portfolio.

Peepal Tree Press is recognised also for Inscribe and Young Inscribe, a writer development project which supports emerging writers of African & Asian descent in the Yorkshire region, which has included writers such as Khadijah Ibrahiim, Seni Seneviratne and Rommi Smith, who has been Writer in Residence for the Houses of Parliament, the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 during the Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....

, BBC Music Live, the British Council

British Council

The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...

 at California State University

California State University

The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...

 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, and Keats House.

Peepal Tree Press' focus is 'on what George Lamming

George Lamming

George Lamming , is a novelist and poet. He was born in Barbados and teaches at Brown University.- Early life and education :George Lamming was born on June 8, 1927 in Carrington Village, Barbados, of mixed African and English parentage. After his mother married his stepfather, Lamming split his...

 calls the Caribbean nation, wherever it is in the world', though it is also concerned with Black British

Black British

Black British is a term used to describe British people of Black African descent, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background. The term has been used from the 1950s to refer to Black people from former British colonies in the West Indies and Africa, who are residents of the United Kingdom and...

 writing.

The press is based in Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

 in Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

, part of the growing, independent publishing sector outside London. The head office is based at 17 King’s Avenue, in Burley

Burley

- Place names :* Places in England:** Burley, Hampshire** Burley, Leeds** Burley, Rutland** Burley, Shropshire** Burley in Wharfedale, West Yorkshire, England* Places in the United States:** Burley, Idaho** Burley Manor, listed on the NRHP in Maryland...

, a rundown, multicultural part of Leeds.

Peepal Tree Press has published, in various forms, such writers as Emmy Award

Emmy Award

An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

-winner Kwame Dawes

Kwame Dawes

Kwame Senu Neville Dawes is a poet, actor, editor, critic, musician, and Louis Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts at the University of South Carolina. He currently works as editor-in-chief at the Prairie Schooner. -Life:...

, his father Neville Dawes, Aldeburgh Poetry Prize-winner and Forward Poetry Prize

Forward Poetry Prize

The Forward Poetry Prizes were created in 1991. The aim of the prizes is to extend the audience for contemporary poetry. Until the T.S. Eliot Prize remuneration was increased to £15,000 plus £1000 to each of nine runners-up, the Forward was the United Kingdom's most valuable annual poetry...

-nominee Christian Campbell, Christine Craig, Opal Palmer Adisa

Opal Palmer Adisa

Opal Palmer Adisa is a Jamaica-born writer, artist and teacher. Since 1993, Opal Palmer Adisa has taught literature and served as Chair of the Ethnic Studies/Cultural Diversity Program at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. Dr. Adisa has two masters degrees from San Francisco...

, Ishion Hutchinson, Dorothea Smartt, Alecia McKenzie

Alecia McKenzie

-Life:She has lived in the United States, Belgium, England and Singapore.She studied at Alpha Academy, Kingston; Troy University, and Columbia University, focusing on languages, art and journalism....

, Courttia Newland

Courttia Newland

Courttia Newland is a British writer of Jamaican and Bajan heritage.-Background:Newland grew up in Shepherd's Bush, west London, where he became a rapper and music producer who, together with friends, released a Drum n' Bass white label. In 1997 he published his first novel, The Scholar. Further...

, Jackie Kay

Jackie Kay

Jackie Kay MBE is a Scottish poet and novelist.-Biography:Jackie Kay was born in Glasgow in 1961 to a Scottish mother and a Nigerian father, Jonathan C. Okafor who later became a prominent tropical plant taxonomist...

 and Kamau Brathwaite.