A fantastic place for British South Asian writers
Fox & Windmill is the UK’s first independent book company for British South Asian writers, set up in Bradford in 2021 by Habiba Desai and Sara Razzaq. Since launching it has been shortlisted in The Bookseller FutureBook Awards and the British Muslim Awards.
‘Fox & Windmill will be publishing YA and literary fiction,’ said Sara and Habiba. ‘We are specifically looking for fantasy and sci-fi manuscripts.’
Fox & Windmill set up in April 2021 by publishing and partnerships director Habiba and submissions director Sara while the UK was under lockdown. The co-founders of Fox & Windmill met while volunteering at the Bradford Literature Festival in 2016 and began having conversations about diversity in publishing. ‘With the help of our mentor Kevin Duffy, of Bluemoose Books, we launched last year and launched our first publication on 24 June 2022 at the Bradford Literature Festival, which is Into the Wilds, an anthology of short stories and poetry from British South Asian writers.’
Sara and Habiba are hoping to start off by publishing two manuscripts a year – ‘and then as many stories as we can possibly share! We’ve received some really exciting stories so far and we look forward to working with the writers on their manuscripts.’
Sara and Habiba are looking forward to building on what they’ve started. ‘We hope to be running Fox & Windmill full time and look forward to sharing amazing stories. If we’re able to publish a story that resonates with one person, then we’ve done our job. We want to continue working with schools, festivals and libraries to develop and allow Fox & Windmill to become a hub for creatives to share their ideas.’
Fox & Windmill is currently are looking for fantasy and scifi manuscripts. ‘A good book to Fox & Windmill is a story that transports you somewhere else,’ they say. ‘We look for a unique plot line, interesting character development and an inspirational journey. This is why we ask for the first three chapters and synopsis as it allows us to immediately understand the premise of the book and we can work out if it’s a good fit for us. We look for a story that draws us in straight away. We are also very keen to know the inspirations behind the story and we’re always excited when our writers get in touch with us.’
Mentor Kevin Duffy has inspired Sara and Habiba in terms of their approach. ‘We would advise prospective authors to do something small every day. This is a piece of advice we stick to, and it was given to us by our mentor.’ Their other advice to writers seeking publication reflects their own warm, hard-working ethos. ‘Work on your story and hone your craft. It’s always a great idea to give your book to others to read for their opinion, but also leave your work for a bit and then come back to it. Sometimes it’s good to take your eyes away from the pages in order to recognise where you would like to make any edits and changes. We’d also say to network and make conversation with people in the publishing community. There are so many pathways to publishing a book now and social media plays a great tool in helping you make those connections. Don’t be shy to email people, get in touch with publishing companies whose dynamic fits with yours and who you think is a good fit for you.’
Writers from a British South Asian background can submit to Fox & Windmill by sending the first three chapters and a one-page synopsis.
Writers published by Fox & Windmill will be paid an advance and royalties.