Just before this year’s Thought Bubble we received the news that Eve Greenwood had decided to take the difficult step of shutting down the inspirational publishing force that is Quindrie Press at the end of 2026. Eve’s statement is below and you can read more on the Quindrie Press site here. However, it would be remiss of me not to add some extra comments on this development. We first covered QP back in 2021, nearer the beginning of their publishing adventures, with an interview with Eve here at BF. It quickly became very evident to me that there was something special happening with their curation of projects and the platform they were providing for creators.
That was never more apparent than in the case of the Broken Frontier Award-winning When I Was Me: Moments of Gender Euphoria, an anthology of positive stories of trans identity. They’ve been instrumental in the last few years in celebrating and elevating some of the new wave of Scottish indie comics talent, and have put out an eclectic and beautifully illustrated ranges of titles like Wolvendaughter, Witching Hour, Find a Seat and The Second Safest Mountain. In short, their loss will be an immense one to the scene. Yet for anyone involved in UK comics the reasons involved will feel familiar and understandable. And, as ever, not only are the pressures financial and logistical but they also point to the lack of infrastructure we face, and a scene that survives to the degree it does because of the goodwill, hard work and dedication of mostly unpaid activists.
A true advocate for both creators and the form, what Eve achieved in such a short space of time was remarkable. While this will be old news for many by now it still seems imperative that we say something here at BF for posterity. Thank you to Eve and everyone involved with any Quindrie Press project over the years for a publishing ethos that should act as a benchmark of good practice for indie publishers to come.
Here’s that statement from Eve…
I first reached out to creators in March 2020 (literal days before everything went to shit) to see if people would be interested in taking a gamble on an idea I had. In spring 2021, I launched the Kickstarter campaign for the first Quindrie books, featuring work from Letty Wilson, Thomas Heitler, Jem Milton, and Ver. It was a massive success and Quindrie Press solidified its presence in Scotland and indie comics nearly overnight.
For the first round of comics, I applied for funding from Creative Scotland for £12,000, but was rejected. The first Kickstarter went on to raise nearly £40,000. Since then, Quindrie Press has published 17 books and worked with over 75 creators, writers, and illustrators. We have raised almost exactly £150,000 on Kickstarter. Quindrie books are in homes, libraries, schools, and shops all over the world. Our comics have been nominated for Eisner, Ignatz, Selkie, Broken Frontier, and ComicScene awards. We have raised £1,146 for Scottish charities supporting marginalised communities, and £3,294.17 for UK organisations that support trans youth. We ran the Càirdean Comics program to use the Quindrie Press website to spotlight and sell more self-published comics from Scottish creators. We had signings and talks, stamp rallies, and even a Quindrie creator pop-up event. I am immensely proud of what I have managed to do through Quindrie in the relatively short time I’ve been running it.
Quindrie has been a huge part of my life since March 2020, and other than hired editors and prepress I am the only one behind the scenes. I’ve absolutely loved the work. But it has also come at a huge personal cost; I have never made a living wage from Quindrie Press and the stress of being a solo publisher began to affect me a long time ago. Print costs are rising, import fees are rising, international shipping fees are rising, international shipping rules and tariffs are becoming more hostile to small businesses, sales are dwindling as our economic crisis worsens, and the income I would need to push Quindrie to the next level of success just isn’t there. I handle applications, project coordination, lettering, crowdfunding campaigns, marketing, social media, shipping, customer communication, events, and wholesale completely by myself. Distributors are either too expensive for my small business or my business is too small to be worth their while – but without a distributor, I can’t make that money or expand. I’ve spent far too many sleepless nights worrying about Quindrie. I’m not alone in feeling the burden that comes with being a small publisher; only a day after I decided it was time to close Quindrie, Kristen Alfaro of Tilted Axis Press released a statement on behalf of small press publishing, highlighting the difficulties we face in this industry. It’s heartbreaking to see how many businesses these issues affect, but also a relief to know that I am not alone in this. I have worked hard on this business for almost 6 years and it’s just not sustainable any more. I think it’s time to close down this version of Quindrie Press while it’s still healthy and I have a good relationship with publishing and with comics.
I want to give a massive thank you to Alex Assan and Hari Conner for being nothing but supportive of Quindrie Press from the very beginning and for working so hard as editors on all the original Quindrie books. Their friendship and drive has been vital to Quindrie‘s success and their own comic work is always inspirational, please check out both their websites. I want to also thank Jules Valera for their hard work and commitment to making comics beautiful; I loved working with them on the 2025 collection. If you need a prepress technician (that’s someone to help set up your pages for print so they come out looking the best they possibly can), I can’t recommend Jules enough. Thank you to Ell J Walker for the hours of stress venting they endured, to Brian Tyrrell and Tab Kimpton for being fellow publishers who knew exactly what I was going through, and to Spire, for everything, always. And of course, thank you to Letty, Thomas, Jem, and Ver for taking a chance on me all those years ago, and to Ell, Faye, Norrie, Otava, Beth, Julie, Chris, Jack, Cara, Lio, Dominique, Ashling, Helena, Judy, and all the contributors of When I Was Me for trusting me with your work since.
My final thank you is to you, the Quindrie Press readers. I was always surprised and touched to see just how many names returned again and again to support each new project, and how many people I’d see year after year at conventions who couldn’t buy anything because they already had our complete catalogue. It was also touching to see how many new names and faces came up constantly, as new readers gave our books a chance or went all out and snapped up nearly every title we have. I’ve heard countless stories online and in person from readers who loved a story, discovered a creator for the first time, started reading indie comics because of Quindrie, started making comics because of Quindrie—and that makes the blood, sweat, and honestly literal tears I put into this publisher all worth it.
~ Eve Greenwood
(Article compiled by Andy Oliver)
