Forest Publications
Forest Publications consists of a group of writers-cum-editors based at the Forest, a non-profit art space in the heart of Edinburgh with an international reputation. The editorial board is subject to change, but retains a core of writers and artists, and currently consists of Magda Boreysza, Mike Bowdidge, Ericka Duffy, Jane Flett, Aiko Harman, Nick Holdstock, Martin McKenna, Benjamin Morris, Jason Morton and Ryan Van Winkle.
In addition, Gareth Warner has advised on the albums for the two Golden Hour volumes, Ben Lancaster and Danielle Mantia served on the original Golden Hour book committee, and Lauren Schenkman served during the production of Stolen Stories. Lindsay Ann Bache, Neil Beaver and Lawrie Clapton also contributed during the production of Stolen Stories.
We are based at The Forest, which includes an alternative art gallery, a performance space featuring nightly live music events, a vegetarian cafe, and a space for exchanging skills, languages, and art forms through free workshops.
In all its manifestations, The Forest is a well-loved fixture of the Edinburgh art and music scene.
http://forpub.com/
Bedtime Stories
The Forest Book of Bedtime Stories was born in the hours which follow meetings, the hours of liquor and suggestiveness. The hours in which, under a thick cloak of Cockburn’s Reserve Port, we question what it is to be literary: whether we are not, perhaps, suited to something a little more upfront, a little more base.
There is a tendency among some of us to lean more towards the horizontal than the historic, particularly as the slump of winter comes upon us and we draw the curtains closed. As such, we requested from our friends they crawl into the filthier recesses of their imaginations and dredge up something which would tickle our fancies. This year, our Christmas present to you is some things we hope will warm your heart and get you out of your stockings.
What lies inside are tales that hang in the tricky balance of smut. These are not the cheap titillation of your newsprint-stained fingers working over Page 3. They are not content to hint, to nudge, to snicker behind palms at what is going on. We come to you honestly and say: this is what we think about.
Please: take your desires in hand and indulge…
December 1009
44pp
£3
The Golden Hour is poetry and prose, it’s acoustic and it’s electric, it’s physical and mental.
The Golden Hour Book (and CD) is an effort to distill all the goodness of our live performance – the words, the music, the bottles of beer and wine – into a volume of pure, unrefined Gold, featuring the artists that have performed over the past year.
This is Golden.
August 2007
£8
90pp plus CD
The Golden Hour Book II
IS THE GOLDEN HOUR BOOK SUITABLE FOR YOU?
If you enjoy words, the answer is ‘yes’. If you enjoy sounds, the answer is ‘yes’. Even if you have not answered ‘yes’, the answer is still ‘yes’. For The Golden Hour Book Volume II is not just a book: it is also a natural resource that may save your life. Its pages will burn without being consumed. It keeps tigers away.
The accompanying CD is equally essential: it can be used as a plate, or better still, sharpened and thrown like a shuriken into the throat of your enemy. Even if the end approaches, there is still the consolation of the words and sounds within — fine poems, stories, and songs from over three dozen poets, writers and musicians — all of which are guaranteed to take your mind off things.
‘There is genuine wit, deep feeling and real entertainment in this most enjoyable volume. Light-hearted and serious by turns, The Golden Hour Book Volume II contains some of the best and freshest new writing I have come across for quite a while.’
- Ron Butlin, Edinburgh Makar
September 2009
£8
192pp plus CD
Forest Chapbooks Volume One
The Forest Chapbook Series launched in February 2009 as a new way to showcase local Edinburgh writers. Collecting short stories, poems and other works into short-form ‘chapbooks’ – a term we often have to explain – hand-bound and printed at the Forest Arts Collective, these publications provide authors a way to get work into the hands of eager readers.
Costing a mere £2 and with high artistic quality paper covers with acetate overlays, the books provide an inexpensive and attractive way to support local writers and artists.
Monthly; February-November 2009
12-24pp
£2
Forest Chapbooks Volume Two
The second volume of Forest Chapbooks launched in March 2010.
Monthly; March-December 2010
page lengths will vary
£2
Stolen Stories
Never, ever trust a writer. They cluck and nod and listen and then, three months later, they splash your tragedy/foolishness/very embarrassing incident involving a raspberry jelly and a pair of warm curling tongs over the tawdry pages of a literary quarterly. We feel there is no shame in this.
Quite the opposite: we believe this ugly fact deserves to be celebrated with all the pomp and hullaballoo we can possibly muster. Therefore we have compiled an anthology of the finest stolen stories, the anecdotes and overheard conversations that simply demand to be told. We feel that it is time to be honest.
This is where our ideas come from.
November 2008
£6
240pp