It is always nice to hear that a small press publisher that was in trouble has managed to get back on its feet. Dedalus is a British small press that publishes a lot of work in translation and in particular has produced a series of fantasy anthologies from various countries. These include books edited by excellent people such as Brian Stableford and Johanna Sinisalo. Had I know that they were in trouble, I would have been encouraging you to go out and buy their books.

But, as I said, the story has a happy ending. Although the £25,000 annual grant that they were receiving from Arts Council England is to end, they will be receiving a similar sum in sponsorship from a subsidiary of the Routledge publishing group. More details via The Guardian.

A number of things interest me about this. Firstly I’m slightly boggled that £25,000 could make a difference between survival and bankruptcy for a small press. That shows you just how tight things are in publishing. Secondly, the money from Routledge is a sponsorship, not a buy in. Dedalus will be entirely free to carry on their business without interference. And finally, we have come to a pretty poor pass when someone who is no longer dependent on a government arts grant can say with relief:

It also means we don’t have to spend time on masses of paperwork and political games with an organisation that wants us to fail.

Then again, we are talking about the same government that is talking about closing Jodrell Bank. I guess they need more money to sustain all those military adventures abroad.