Are all your chapbooks combining art and words? What’s the reason?

No, we have no set formula: the authors/artists are given the freedom to work as they wish. I travel into London frequently from the suburbs and often think that one of our chapbooks could be enjoyed during that twenty to thirty-minute journey.

I like the idea of it then being passed on to someone else, or stowed away in a pocket. Or else added, of course, to a chapbook collection. 

All your pamphlets so far have been, I think, A6 and 16 pp? Why this format? 

We’ve published thirty chapbooks so far in this format and have twenty or so more currently in the pipeline.

It’s been fruitful both artistically and in terms of sales. True to the chapbook tradition, we’re a cottage industry. We receive the double-sided A3 sheets here at Sampson Low HQ in their flat form, and then fold, staple and trim them before sending them to the author and buyers through our website and other booksellers (Amazon, Waterstones etc).

Financially, it’s liberating for both the authors and us as publishers that the costs are low. This gives the artists the freedom to express themselves, take risks and get a return on their books sometimes as soon as 24 hours after a chapbook release.