Category: Uncategorised

  • October (almost!)

    October (almost!)

    November, where did you come from?! First thing’s first, we would like to once again thank all of those who have pre-ordered Tuscawilla: Stories of a Farm for their patience. The printing landscape has never been so backlogged, and as a small press we sadly don’t get prioritised for any front-of-the-queue treatment. Scandalous, we know!…

  • One year on…

    One year on…

    September has been a big month here at Blackwater Press for two reasons: The first is that weโ€™ve (finally) published a book! I Piped, That She Might Dance by Iain MacDonald exists in hard copy at last โ€ฆ in Scotland, at least โ€ฆ We didnโ€™t realize what an impact Covid-19 has had on the book…

  • Five Tips From Editors You (Possibly) Won’t Have Heard Before

    Five Tips From Editors You (Possibly) Won’t Have Heard Before

    Hello:) Youโ€™ve likely run across a few of these pieces before, advising prospective authors on what to do and what not to do, and most of them are very useful indeed! But we thought that instead of repeating what you might have already read, weโ€™d try and think of a few slightly more particular things…

  • A visit to Tuscawilla

    A visit to Tuscawilla

    Updated: Jul 30, 2021 Tuscawilla Farm is the ancestral home of two families: the Knights and the Carys. Our forthcoming title โ€“ Tuscawilla: Stories of a Farm โ€“ gives a history of the families and their work between about 1860 and about 1960. The book originated as a pile of handwritten stories on legal tablet…

  • The Blackwater Tune

    The Blackwater Tune

    Blackwater Press is, so far as we know, one of two publishing companies with its own tune. The tune was found in manuscript 353 from the Montagu Music Collection, Boughton House (“Blackwater” from GB-Ketmmc 353, c.1720, The Montagu Music Collection, Boughton House. By kind permission of His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry KBE…

  • Blackwater goes bilingual

    Blackwater goes bilingual

    We are thrilled to welcome our brand-new team member, Vivien Williams. One of the many fantastic things about Vivien is that she is fluent in not one, not two, but FOUR languages ( and she is working on adding two more to her repertoire). This is a huge perk for us as we can now…

  • I changed my life for…

    I changed my life for…

    Complete this sentence: I CHANGED MY LIFE FORโ€ฆ Think about it, and weโ€™ll all come up with a different answer. I, Vivien Williams, changed my life for bagpipes. I know, itโ€™s as absurd as it sounds. And yet itโ€™s true (and also an excellent conversation starter, I will have you know). Iโ€™ve been writing and…

  • The John Reid tribute blog!

    The John Reid tribute blog!

    This month’s newsletter has almost nothing to do with Blackwater Press. It is all about John Reid. Not our co-founder. The dead one. CONTENT WARNING: If you don’t want to geek out and learn about an influential 18th-century flutist, this newsletter perhaps isn’t for you. Keep your eyes peeled, though, as a Q&A with our…

  • Thank you!

    Thank you!

    Hello all, Itโ€™s been a great couple of weeks! America came to its senses; Biden pledged to re-join the Paris Agreement; real-life COVID-19 vaccines were announced; Scotland actually qualified for a major football tournament! And now Blackwater Press has launched its first short story contest โ€ฆ 2020 might be finally turning around! In light of…