^{(Clockwise from top-left: Antjie Krog by Brenda Veldtman; Athambile Masola by Lerato Pakade; C. J. Driver by Fay Godwin; Pravasan Pillay by Jenny Kellerman Pillay; Cynthia Fan by Jesse Navarre Vos.)}

Nick Mulgrew is proud to announce the launch of his new small press, Batis Books, based in Edinburgh, which begins publishing books early 2026. Batis Books will publish around six books a year, focusing on literary excellence and new talent from Southern Africa and Scotland.

Batis’s list for 2026 includes novels, short stories, poetry in translation, memoir, and a book of botanical essays, all by South African writers.  

Most notable is the first UK edition of Blood’s Inner Rhyme, a work of auto-fiction by celebrated Afrikaans author Antjie Krog. The deal with Antjie Krog was negotiated by the Lennon-Ritchie Agency.  

Batis's first title will be Dayspring, the posthumous memoir of poet and anti-apartheid activist C. J. Driver, edited by his lifelong friend J. M. Coetzee, which was named a 2024 New Statesman Book of the Year. (Mulgrew co-published the South African edition of Dayspring in 2024 with his press uHlanga, in collaboration with Karavan Press.)

Batis’s titles for 2026 also include Chatsworth, a quirky collection of character-led short fiction centred on South Africa’s largest Indian township, by Stockholm-based writer Pravasan Pillay; Inheritance, an award-winning collection of poems self-translated from the isiXhosa by Athambile Masola, presented in a bilingual edition with the original text; and a series of botanical essays on flowers and plant arrangement by the London-based fine artist and floral tastemaker Cynthia Fan.  

At least one other title for 2026 is yet to be announced.

In time, Batis will publish work from writers from or based in other Southern African countries, as well as writers from Scotland.

All Batis Books will be distributed and marketed by Combined Book Services and Compass IPS in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Some Batis Books, where rights allow, will additionally be distributed in South Africa – details to follow.

Batis is open to submissions queries. Please see our submissions page for more details.

See what books are on their way, and learn more about their authors.

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