“The community really came through for us and for that we’ll always be grateful.”

As Mike Tyson said – ‘Everyone’s got a plan till they get punched in the face.’

2020 was the year we planned to move Fahrenheit Press to the next level, publishing more titles than ever before, taking our show out on the road with a whole host of pop-ups and events and most ambitiously of all – launching an actual bricks-and-mortar bookshop.

By early March, investment was in place and we were about to press ‘go’ – we all know what happened next.

We pivoted quickly – plans were shelved, and we refocused on making sure we’d still be a going concern when the dust settled.

Fahrenheit was better placed than many publishers. We’re less reliant on bookshops because we’ve built a robust online business selling books and merch direct to our readers. We’ve also spent years building up a hugely strong community of readers, bloggers and authors who are fiercely loyal to us and to each other. When the chips were down this year, that community really came through for us and for that we’ll always be grateful.

We recognised that loyalty can’t be a one-way street and so every day from April till August this year we gave away free ebooks to any reader experiencing financial hardship. Over 17,000 books were downloaded for free by readers in need. As people got back on their feet we’ve been deluged with emails and messages thanking us, and our loyalty to them is already being repaid in spades.

We’ve used 2020 to upgrade our backof-house operations, we’ve published some truly game-changing books and we’ve strengthened the already strong bonds between Fahrenheit and our readers. It’s not a year we’d have chosen, but I believe we’ve come out the other end stronger and despite all the uncertainty in the world we’re feeling hugely positive about moving into 2021 and getting our ambitious growth plans back on track.