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The list of brilliant artists that Book Works has worked with is testimony to their reputation for producing some of the most exciting and original work at the intersections of art and literature. I was obviously thrilled to have been selected for the Interstices series simply on the merit of my proposal. It has been a year since the commission and I couldn’t be more grateful for the support I received. – Diana Georgiou, selected from open submission for Interstices, guest-edited by Bridget Penney.

Many of the artists that we have worked with talk about the investment, time, care and nurture they have experienced working with Book Works ­– particularly artists commissioned through open submission. We want you to become part of that supportive process. With you, we want to build a community of support that can help develop the ambitions of this commissioning platform, giving further opportunities to artists, writers and readers.

Drawn from the artists we have worked with and the readers who celebrate our books, we want to develop a core group to directly support two to three artists or writers commissioned as part of our most successful and most experimental commissioning platform – our annual open submission programme. This programme is developed with a guest editor to commission new works drawn exclusively from submissions to an open call. The programme has a history of giving a significant platform to artists and writers to expand ideas, often to those at the start of their career, without other institutional support or who have experienced significant barriers to their creative development. 

Our open submissions series started in 1995 with the New Writing Series, guest edited by Michael Bracewell, that responded to a growing interest in artists writing, and the experimental novel form, and has since continued as a core element of our programme. Subsequent series have invited a wide range of guest editors including Stewart Home (Semina), Clunie Reid (G.S.O.H.), Hannah Black (Contact), Bridget Penney (Interstices) and most recently Katrina Palmer (Arrhythmia). Commissions through these series have resulted in significant transformation to artists lives and careers, including first public commissions to: Liam Gillick, for Erasmus is Late (New Writing Series, 1995, second edition 2000), Jeremy Deller, for The Uses of Literacy (Publish and Be Damned, 1999, second edition 2005); and Hamja Ahsan: Shy Radicals (Common Objectives, 2017 fifth edition 2021).

The Wastes by Roy Claire Potter has recently been published in the Arrhythmia series to critical acclaim, including by Holly Pester, as ‘the writer I get the most from, am so influenced by, relate to the most, am in awe of, am surprised by, find access and pleasure in writing because their work exists. Everyone read this’, as ‘book of the year’ by Nathalie Olah, author of Bad Taste, and reviewed in the latest issue of Art Monthly.

Katrina Palmer, the guest editor of the Arrhythmia series, was first commissioned by Book Works for The Dark Object, as part of the Semina Series, guest edited by Steward Home, in 2010, and this book is now in its 3rd edition (2023). Of this commission Katrina wrote:

‘The Dark Object, it was my first public output, and its publication with the related exhibitions as well as their continuing programme of live readings has radically transformed my profile by identifying and developing a national and international audience for the work’.

We are the only publicly funded arts organisation in the UK that dedicates a core part of its programme to commissioning through open submission. No other arts organisation has this focus. Our programme aims to be nurturing, transformative and generative, giving wide-ranging opportunities to artists and readers who are new to us, and who benefit from our established publishing platform and international distribution network.

As a Supporter of this element of our programme you will:

–Have your name will be added to the Book Works’ website and in our annual report and catalogue.
– Join our mailing list and receive invitations to Book Works’ private views and book launches and annual parties.
– Become part of a Book Works community and help shape the development and support for artists commissioned through open submission.
– Receive 10% discount on books, prints and special editions.

Please note direct debit payments are only available to UK customers, international payments are accepted for annual donations only by card or PayPal at checkout.

Increase the value of your donation at no further cost to you; if you are a UK taxpayer and are eligible to Gift Aid please tick the Gift Aid box at the checkout. We will send you a Gift Aid declaration form allowing Book Works, as a charity, to reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 you donate.

Contact louisa@bookworks.org.uk
Thank you for your support.