On Friday 28th Feb, 2025, the team at The Derwent Press launched their debut issue. Featuring over sixty pages of art and writing from Midlands-based creatives, it’s something I’m pretty excited about.
As a proud Midlander, I’ve been following this for a while, so off the back of the launch, I reached out Arden Boshier, editor at The Derwent Press to find out more.
If you like what you read, do consider buying a copy of the first edition for as low as £1, to support an indie press.
Congratulations on the recent launch of The Derwent Press! You must be delighted!
Do tell us more about the ‘zine. What should readers expect from it?
The magazine showcases a real mix of striking work, whether it’s dreamlike stories inflected by horror, lucid character portraits, modern legends, or crisp poems pointing you towards a particular moment in time, as well as some truly beautiful artwork.
What ties it together is a connection to the Midlands in setting or character background, which as you’ll see can look quite different for different people. It’s really an opportunity to showcase just how varied and wonderful this area is.
I’d love to know a bit more about yourself.
What’s your role at TDP, and why did you decide to produce a Midlands-based zine?
I’m the Editor of The Derwent Press.
I love literature and I’m fascinated by publishing but I realised quite quickly after graduating that so much of the publishing world is based in London, and I think that really narrows down options for what gets seen.
I loved growing up in the Midlands and I always miss it when I’m away so I wanted to showcase a bit of where I’m from. It really struck me when I was reading D. H. Lawrence’s The Rainbow that I found it so charming to have places I knew mentioned so it was kind of about sharing that feeling, too.
Out of curiosity, what goes into getting a literary magazine off the ground?
What are the things that need to happen, before you release it to the world?
One of the good things about magazines is that there’s a lot of flexibility.
You can make it as straightforward or as complicated as you like. As a team of one, I wanted a simple, elegant way to present writing and art that I really loved and believed in.
This involved creating a social media profile, getting a bit of an audience, putting out the call for submissions, selecting submissions, editing the magazine (including copyediting and design: this is the most complicated part), getting a proof copy to check and have your contributors sign off on, setting up a digital sales platform, sending it to print, and then publication.
You will want to look at magazines you admire for design inspiration and think about what your priorities are, what you’re trying to convey.
And finally… what are you reading right now?
Steppenwolf, by Hermann Hesse – I’m very big on modernists at the moment.
The first edition of The Derwent Press is available to purchase now, starting at £1 (digital) and £5 for a fully-printed version.