Manchester indie press Fly On The Wall Celebrates Its Seven Year Anniversary With Authors and Readers

Seven years ago, a 22-year-old entrepreneur, Isabelle Kenyon, took the first step towards founding indie publishing house Fly on the Wall Press. She could never have anticipated that with the launch of charitable poetry anthology ‘Please Hear What I’m Not Saying’ (in support of mental health charity Mind), at New Mills Library, she had laid the foundations of a press which would go from strength to strength in the years ahead.

Since its quiet beginnings in 2018, Fly On The Wall has become increasingly louder. It has been shortlisted for the British Book Awards’ Small Press Of The Year (North) category five years running, winning the accolade in 2024. Also in 2024, Isabelle was shortlisted as a Future Leader at the Bookseller’s Future Book Awards, and won a Manchester Culture Award for promotion of environmental sustainability and responsibility. In the last year, she has spread her wings, attending Sharjah Book Fair in the UAE and Jaipur Bookmark at this year’s Jaipur Book Festival as the British Council’s fellow for the UK-India Publishing Fellowship. She has also visited Latvia, with some exciting related news expected soon.

But Fly on the Wall and Isabelle take their greatest pride from their family of authors. Since its foundation, the press has published more than 80 books, including over 400 individual voices across anthologies, individual poetry collections, novels and short stories. Some of those authors have joined Isabelle in celebration in Manchester this evening and attendees have enjoyed readings by authors Rachel Grosvenor, John Ironmonger, Sheena Kalayil, Elizabeth Gibson, Liam Bell, Barsa Ray and Lucy Hurst – reflecting the broad sweep of Fly On The Wall’s published work.

Fly On The Wall Press stands out in the publishing industry in being run by a single young woman. Often described as dynamic and a force to be reckoned with, Isabelle has driven the company forward with passion and determination. At the same time, she has supported the growth of the indie publishing scene in her home city of Manchester, establishing the flourishing Northern Publishers’ Fair in 2019, now held twice a year at Manchester Central Library, with the next chance to attend on Saturday 27^th September from 11am, with a new northern agents table. She has undertaken outreach workshops on climate anxiety with local schools in the Manchester area, as well as talks and workshops on publishing at universities across the country, ultimately leading to her appointment as a lecturer at Arts University Bournemouth to write a publishing module for their Creative Writing MA.

And so, here she is, seven years in. Where does Fly on the Wall Press MD, Isabelle Kenyon, now aged 29, think her company will be in another seven years?

“2026 will bring two translated novels (from Slovenia and Latvian languages) to fruition, and marks our first anthology collaboration with the Rebecca Swift Foundation on the theme of Womanhood. I see our remit growing ever more international and in content and in distribution, and I see our more political books being an integral part of book club circuit discussions across the UK and beyond. We will also be launching a training academy for publishing hopefuls – a key part of our mission is our commitment to demystifying publishing, and I see our course offers for both writers and publishing intern growing drastically, as we respond to the needs of our community.”

For more information on Fly on the Wall Press or the Northern Publishers’ Fair, go to www.flyonthewallpress.co.uk