Ten years since its inception, award-winning Scottish book publisher 404 Ink has announced it will close next summer. Established in July 2016 by Heather McDaid and Laura Jones-Rivera, 404 Ink has published books by authors including Chris McQueer, Helen McClory and Nadine Aisha Jassat. Last July, the publisher released Victor & Barry’s Kelvinside Compendium by Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson. When we spoke to Laura in February, she talked about some of the struggles the industry is facing.

The publishers described their first book, Nasty Women (inspired by Donald Trump’s infamous description of Hilary Clinton during the US presidential debate in 2016), as ‘a collection of essays, interviews and accounts on what it is to be a woman in the 21st century’. Acclaimed author Margaret Atwood backed the book's Kickstarter appeal, describing it as ‘an essential window into many of the hazard-strewn worlds younger women are living in right now.’ We awarded 404 Ink the top spot in our annual Hot 100 in 2017.

Their ambitious, non-fiction Inklings series, described as ‘small books with a big impact’, is responsible for dozens of titles covering subjects as diverse as colonialism, foot fetishism, Doctor Who, women in hip hop, and the relationship between apocalyptic fiction and contemporary society.

In a statement on their website, Heather and Laura explained how the company’s 10th anniversary prompted them to reflect on what they’d achieved so far: ‘Struggling to come up with a revised mission statement for the next ten years, we realised that we had ticked off every aspiration and goal we had set as fledgling publishers back in 2016 and couldn’t think of any way to better those aspirations.’

Happily, Manchester-based indie publisher Saraband ‘will be taking forward a significant portion of the Inklings list and continuing to grow the brand, and format, as well as continuing to distribute a small selection of 404 Ink’s main list titles.’ The deal with Saraband is poignant as it it's where Heather and Laura first met. ‘Sara[band] has been an ongoing champion of the company, and has such a clear vision for how they can continue to keep the 404 ethos alive with the titles going forward with her and the team. It feels like a full circle moment.’

You can read Heather and Laura's full statement on their website.

Saraband will open pitch submissions for the Inklings series throughout August 2025. Although 404 Ink won’t be commissioning any new books, they will publish any already-announced titles and will fulfil all outstanding orders. The 404 Ink website will continue to sell books until next year.