Leith Books was founded in 2017 by Lauren Nickodemus and Ellen Desmond.

They are perhaps best known for their nonfiction anthologies, including their first publications The Bi-ble: Essays About Bisexuality and The Bi-ble Volume 2: New Testimonials which have sold out every print run since they were crowdfunded by over 200 people on Kickstarter in 2017.

Their first fiction title Duck Feet by Ely Percy was awarded a Scots Language Grant by Scottish Book Trust in 2020. In 2021, Duck Feet won both the Saltire Society’s Scottish Book of the Year and Scottish Fiction Book of the Year prizes. In 2024, it was added to the National 5 English set text list (SQA). Schools can learn more about bulk ordering Duck Feet here.

Lauren and Ellen have both spoken widely at events and book festivals (including at Edinburgh International Book Festival, Scottish Book Week and the London Radical Book Fair) about the power and importance of start-up publishing and the challenges facing the small press publishing scene.

(Please note we are closed to submissions and internships in 2025, apologies!)