Changing the weather: how Salt is shifting its list for a new era
by Chris Hamilton-Emery
For the past two years, we’ve been quietly rearranging the furniture at Salt. Not the fun kind of rearranging, where you move a lamp and suddenly feel like you live in Islington, but the publishing kind – spreadsheets, acquisitions meetings, long walks along the Cromer prom wondering if horror fiction might be the answer to everything. Slowly, steadily, the list has taken on a new shape, and our 2026 programme is the first time the full picture has come into view.
At first glance, you’ll notice the genres. We’ve opened the doors wide to horror, crime and historical fiction – all areas we’ve admired from afar, like slightly glamorous neighbours. Horror is having a remarkable cultural moment, and it turns out that intelligent unease suits us rather well. Crime brings with it pace, tension and a keen sense of character. And historical fiction gives us the deep pleasures of time, place and research (admittedly less pleasurable when manuscripts arrive in at 200,000 words, but that’s publishing for you).
Alongside these new strands is a lively seam of comic and satirical writing. Bill Broady, Tibor Fischer and Richard Tyrrell lead the charge here, offering novels filled with wit, mischief and a certain sideways look at the world that feels very Salt. For a press that made its name in literary publishing, leaning into humour has been wonderfully liberating. If you can’t laugh in publishing, you’re in trouble.
Big Names, Bigger Horizons
This shift has been helped immeasurably by the presence of some major writers. Michael Arditti, Louis de Bernières, Tibor Fischer, Michelle Lovric and Erica Wagner headline the list – all of them bringing craft, reputation and a sense of confidence to the programme. Their books set the tone for what we’re trying to do: ambitious storytelling, beautifully written, with an eye on a wider readership.
In truth, their generosity has buoyed us. Louis de Bernières recently called us ‘our best Norfolk publisher’ – a compliment we accepted before anyone had time to nominate another contender. Henry Layte at The Book Hive described Salt as a ‘powerhouse’, which gave us a brief moment of grandeur before we remembered we still package our own jiffy bags. Catherine Taylor’s verdict that Salt is ‘an essential part of the UK publishing ecosystem’ was deeply heartening – we treated ourselves to fish and chips from Mary Janes on reading that. And DJ Taylor went one step further, suggesting we’re ‘rapidly evolving into a major player on the British literary scene’, a sentence we’ve already underlined several times. Boyd Tonkin, meanwhile, praised our ‘rich flavours, colours and accents’, which captures the eclectic list and, we hope, its broad appeal.
Writers and booksellers have always been our lifeblood. Hearing this chorus of support has given us the nerve to push further, publish more widely and commit to the long game.
A New Generation of Debuts
One of the most invigorating parts of the list is the new wave of debuts coming through – writers whose work is sharp, confident and entirely their own. Kate Nicholls’ The Maternal Element, a historical novel about Maria Mendeleeva, brings nineteenth-century Russia to life with warmth, intelligence and an eye for domestic detail that will delight readers well beyond the historical-fiction faithful. R. A. Marno’s Northern Irish horror novel, What the Fog Conceals, offers something darker: a taut, atmospheric story shaped by landscape, memory and fear. Both writers reveal how wide the Salt lens has become.
We’re equally proud to welcome Nadezda Bobyleva and Tim Relf, each bringing distinctive voices and sensibilities that enrich the list further. And, of course, Richard Tyrrell’s extraordinary debut adds satirical bite with an energy that is entirely his own. Debuts have always been part of Salt’s DNA, but this new cohort feels especially exciting – bold, generous, surprising, and more than capable of holding their own alongside the big names.
Two Years in the Making
None of this arrived overnight. We’ve spent two years disentangling our workflows, rebuilding our publicity systems, sharpening our acquisitions criteria and – crucially – preparing for growth. Much of this work is invisible to readers, but it underpins every book.
One major shift has been our move to Macmillan Distribution (MDL). It’s a big step for a small press, and one that opens the door to smoother logistics, better service for bookshops and significantly improved reach. Combined with our expanded European sales teams, we’re better placed than ever to get Salt books into readers’ hands across the continent. And this year the Brexit disaster has come back into public discourse, here’s hoping we can push forward to full European integration.
Advantage, Instagram, LinkedIn – and the Quiet Triumph of Publicity
Trade engagement remains a cornerstone of our plans. This autumn we launched Salt Advantage, our new bookseller mailing scheme. Clearer, cleaner, more reliable, and – if the early figures are to be believed – rather effective. It’s our way of ensuring independent bookshops know exactly what’s coming, and why they might want to order it. Seventy-five per cent of our business comes through high street bookshops.
We’ve also doubled down on digital communication. Instagram has become a central channel for reader engagement, while LinkedIn lets us talk properly to the trade without feeling as if we’re shouting into the void. Both platforms are showing real traction, and they’re giving us the confidence to run more ambitious campaigns, build stronger communities and keep the Salt story visible.
And then there’s publicity. Quietly, almost without us noticing, this has become one of Salt’s great strengths. Our campaigns are sharper, the coverage broader, and our authors are enjoying more visibility than ever. If there’s a secret to this success, it’s simple: persistence, planning and the kind of patience that publishing demands.
A New Era, Same Salt
All of these developments – the new genres, the big names, the distribution shift, the digital emphasis – represent a new era for Salt. But at heart we remain the same operation: a small, tenacious, book-obsessed team in Cromer, trying to make each year better than the one before.
The list is changing. Our ambitions are growing. And if readers enjoy the books ahead even half as much as we’re enjoying publishing them, 2026 will be a very good year indeed.