I always remember how Granada TV liked to describe itself as a ‘world company’ that was based in Manchester rather than just a ‘local company’. Bosses were proud to point to productions like The Jewel in the Crown as well as Coronation Street. The Granada building even had a fake antenna on the top that was purely for show.
When Steve Coogan and I started Baby Cow Productions, we knew we could make working-class northern comedy like we had earlier with Paul Calf and Coogan’s Run. We also had ambition to do more. A dozen films and more than 400 TV episodes later, we were invited to the Oscars in Hollywood where the film we’d made in Ireland, Philomena, was up for four Academy Awards.
It’s safe to say you can be local and ambitious.
When Steve and I started out, we toyed with the name Colossus TV and Trans Global, which would have been funny when picking up the phone in our little office in Brighton above Spudulike. I can just see me now answering the phone: “Trans Global… Ah, Steve Coogan. He’s just at the library doing some photocopying.”
So, I love the understated nature of Manchester’s Flapjack Press. But don’t let that fool you. With this year’s releases, it’s becoming a contender for the fasting growing independent press in the UK. Flapjack is not an overnight success, though. Paul Neads, who runs the publisher, has been building the catalogue for more than 20 years.
I asked Neads if his ambitions or mode of operation have changed over the years as regards the press. In his usual, reasoned way, he replied: “Not really. It’s all still pragmatism and panic and everything in between.”
Pioneering poetry
When I first started reading poetry back in the late 70s, Jonathan Cape seemed the most vibrant of all the UK publishers. Its list ranged from accessible poets like Adrian Mitchell to the avant-garde. Popular figures like John Lennon, Allen Ginsberg, Pablo Neruda and Dereck Walcott were among its titles. Even the covers stood out as different and often featured modern, glossy photographic portraits.
This was a real contrast to the staid poetry collections from most other publishers at the time. Of course, Penguin Classics had The Mersey Sound and Oxford University Press published Craig Raine’s A Martian Sends a Postcard Home, so Cape wasn’t alone – but it felt different.
Later in the 80s, Bloodaxe took up the mantle of pioneering new UK poetry and published several (what might be termed) performance poets like Attila the Stockbroker, Lemn Sissay, and my own collection Nude Modelling for the afterlife. A young Simon Armitage was among its ranks.
This year sees Flapjack Press really grasping the nettle of popular poetry with an array of titles from such household names as Alistair McGowan, Nigel Planer, Robin Ince, and Nick Helm. These are all comedians who have gained recognition on TV or radio but have turned their unique voices towards the poetic form.
I asked Neads how he sees the next couple of years going in the publishing world, to which he relied ominously: “Being AI-generated.” His press is definitely an antidote to all that AI threatens.
Flapjack remains very much a Manchester-based publisher. Its back and ongoing catalogue numbers many strong Manchester poets including Gerry Potter, Rose Condo, Laura Taylor, Thick Richard, Rosie Garland, and the late Hovis Presley. Dominic Berry and Paul Cookson, major figures in children’s poetry, have several collections with Flapjack.
The Press also runs a monthly free poetry event called Word Central, hosted at Manchester Central Library by Tony Curry. This month the special guest is the brilliant Tim Barlow, reading from his debut collection with Flapjack Press.
It is not the biggest poetry press or the most prestigious but Flapjack’s energy and enthusiasm is inspiring. Neads puts enormous care into ensuring every book is the best it can be. I now have 18 titles published with the press, and my son has published two books featuring his artwork. I have plans for further books if Neads isn’t too busy with his new poets. Later in the year, we hope to film me interviewing all of this year’s authors in a series of Zooms – so watch out for that. 
Meanwhile, I asked Neads if there were any publishers he admires or was inspired by. Generous with his reply, he said: “I’ll always give a shout out to Comma Press and Commonword, especially under their respective guiding hands of Ra Page and the recently retired Pete Kalu. Their support to both the written and spoken word – and to all – has seen the north-west indie publishing scene flourish. And then there’s Fly on the Wall and Isabelle Kenyon, who also organise the all-indie supportive book fairs, and Helen at Northern Soul. It’s the community they create.”
When I was a teenager growing up in Nottingham, my favourite place was a record shop called Selectadisc. It was more than a shop, it was an oasis and a doorway to a different world. If you wanted to buy a record, you could always go to Boots in the city centre and, next to the perfume on racks, was Contemporary Pop where you could find the latest albums by Led Zeppelin or The Groundhogs. But Selectadisc was a small shop that smelled of weed. There was a battered old sofa against one wall and a noticeboard where local bands could advertise for a drummer or an amp. It was an experience for enthusiasts.
When we started Baby Cow, it was always my intention to emulate that feel of a sanctuary for enthusiasts. Today, I get that feeling with Flapjack Press.
Flapjack Press
