Company biography and mission statement

Legend Press is the UK's youngest-run mainstream fiction publisher, specialising in cutting-edge contemporary work, including both literary and commercial ranges. Set up in 2005 by Tom Chalmers, our company's profile is rapidly growing and we have set out our intentions to double our list year-on-year until 2009.

Using a mix of innovation, drive and passion, Legend Press is fast showing that we can set the bar as to what can be achieved in a short space of time and with limited resources. As well as building a diverse, fresh and modern novel list, Legend Press aims to be the antithesis of publishers who often distance themselves from the public by being uncommunicative and cliquey. In addition to this weblog which is updated daily, Legend Press has a strong presence on social networking sites and also offers a free monthly e-bulletin, writing competitions and regular talks and articles to help aspiring writers and those looking to work in publishing.

The company has major plans for the coming days, months and years ahead and we are always delighted to receive comments and feedback - whether concerning writing, publishing or absolutely anything. Inspired by the love of books, we look forward to building a powerful list of high-quality, original titles and to lining bookshelves for many years to come.

A little bit about Tom Chalmers                                                                  

In 2007 Tom was shortlisted for UK Young Publisher of the Year and UK Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and was also longlisted for the Enterprising Young Brit Award. An English graduate from Liverpool University, he worked in book and magazine publishing for two-and-a-half years before setting-up Legend Press, a mainstream fiction book publisher, in 2005 aged 25.

Against the odds, starting with no capital in an industry where large funds are the norm for a sustainable start-up, Tom has been tipped to be the most influential independent publisher of his generation and Legend Press and Paperbooks are predicted to be at the forefront of change in a rapidly-evolving industry.

Getting published by us                                                                               

Submissions of novels are very welcome. We publish a diverse list of contemporary adult novels for the mainstream market and are looking for fresh new works from authors who are fun and inspiring to work with.

Although our list is varied and we want to keep it that way, we do not publish anything that is overly genre-specific, i.e. no crime, thrillers, sci-fi, fantasy or historical fiction etc. Neither do we publish any non-fiction. Sorry if this means that your work isn't right for us - we've got nothing against any of these genres but it's just not what we do at the moment. Also please note that we only accept short stories as part of our annual short story series (the deadline for the 2008 collection has already passed) and we are not currently looking for any short fiction submissions outside of this remit.

If you think your novel would fit our list please email 3-4 chapters as an attachment to submissions@legend-paperbooks.co.uk, including a synopsis and a covering email. Please don't send us your work before it is completed. If for any reason you cannot email your work please contact us on info@legend-paperbooks.co.uk or post your submission to:

Submissions
Legend Press
Floor 3, Unicorn House
221-222 Shoreditch High Street
London
E1 6PJ

We will attempt to respond within 6 months from the date the submission is received but due to extremely high levels of submissions this is often not realistic. Please be patient with us! If you've sent us in a submission and are waiting to hear back, why not make the time go quicker by getting involved in our blog and commenting on the daily posts we make. This will help you feel you are getting to know us too, so that if we did want to talk to you in more detail about your submission, you will already have a good feel about whether you and your work would fit in with us well.

Our mission statement                                                                                 

We are constantly looking to diversify and expand our range of publications, however we believe it is important to have an underlying philosophy guiding our work to ensure that the basic fundamental principles of Legend Press are incorporated into everything that we offer. The following is a summary of those principles:

Our commitment to authors is to:

· provide talented and aspiring authors with a platform on which to develop and succeed.

· retain the author’s individual message, style and intention.

· encourage and assist the author in using their work as a vehicle for their creativity and as an opportunity to test and develop their thoughts, ideas and perceptions. 

Our publications will:

· provide entertainment, to trigger thought and to provide the reader with a picture they could not otherwise access.

· reflect and examine various forms of society as well as increasing awareness and understanding of situations whether directly relevant or new to the reader.

· examine the bigger picture while not missing the infinite smaller details that make up that picture.

Our product will:

· be individual and created to complement and reflect the author’s work.

· provide value for money through as many outlets as possible for the reader.

· allow the author to reach the reader through as many mediums and forms as possible.

In the future Legend Press will:

· stay on the cutting edge while not dismissing or ignoring the importance of what has gone before.

· continue to champion the book as irreplaceable and vital to society.

· always look for new areas to develop into

· maintain our goal to provide the reader with something new with each publication.