In January I was granted the opportunity to spend four weeks at Luath Press — the Edinburgh-based publisher under the direction of Gavin MacDougall — to participate in their publishing placement. This fully remote work experience has been a staple and a sought-after opportunity amongst the Napier Publishing students for years, as the bond between Avril Gray, Head of MSc Publishing and the Merchiston Publishing Imprint, and MacDougall has been long-lasting and nothing but rewarding. In the current cohort, no less than 15 students have gotten the chance to learn from the micro press and its impressive history.

Luath started out in 1981 as an Ayrshire-based micro business founded and run by Tom and Rene Atkins. The press originally focused on self-published Scottish travel guides and grew a reputation in this niche. When Gavin and Audrey MacDougall took over in 1997, they made it their mission to grow the markets which Luath Press would from then on feed and serve. They decided to move the company to the more urban location of Edinburgh and expanded the catalogue to include a colourful variety of fiction and non-fiction in addition to the existing branch of travel guides. Their special dedication to Scots and Gaelic publications helps to support and enhance the representation and visibility of the minority languages that are so significant for the cultural preservation in their home country. Under the ethos ‘Committed to publishing well written books worth reading’, Luath celebrates between 40 and 50 books under their name each year.

Possibly one of the most interesting facts about the company, though, might be their guerrilla approach to publishing. Seeing their publications as an opportunity to actively take up position, many of their titles are highly political, tackling societal issues or challenge historic or cultural views in the public eye. One could say that, similar to their publishing practice, they also follow the same intention within their internal corporate concept. With the growing interest in book careers, the demand on the professional market is oftentimes impossible to match. Jobs and especially internships or placements are rare and extremely competitive. If you’re outside of London, the discrepancies are even more palpable. By offering intern- and traineeships up to six months on a regular and accessible basis to national and international applicants, Luath Press really distinguishes itself as an enabler of the highest devotion in the North. It is companies like this, with a sense of responsibility for the new generation of publishers and their training that the industry needs to see more of. For Luath Press it proves to be fruitful.

In my first meeting with Gavin, he highlighted his excitement about the insight and the new ideas that the Napier interns bring to the table during their time at Luath. Taking one of their very real manuscripts through a pre-publication checklist, I got a sense of their daily work and was encouraged to dive deep into my tasks. ‘Be as experimental as possible’ was a statement that was repeated more than once and to prove his point, Gavin shared a previous intern’s story, whose trained eye helped to shape a manuscript in great extent and their suggestions were implemented with immense trust from Luath. Another testament of their passion for young talents: Luath’s Sales and Marketing Co-ordinator Amy Turnbull, who was our main point of contact and provider of most feedback, is also a previous Intern.

Luath Press, alongside many other devoted Scottish publishers, is leading the publishing landscape in the North when it comes to opening doors and they do so as a company with only a handful of employees who are mostly working from their homes. Still, they allowed me and my peers to gather valuable insight into the industry we’re burning for and to showcase our already acquired skills in a real-life scenario. It is this commitment, this passion that deserves to be recognised as an excellent example of best practice that many London based corporations can learn from.