Sarah Prescott, Literary Archivist writes: Peepal Tree Press is an independent company based in Leeds and is the world’s leading publisher of Caribbean and Black British writing. Since its foundation in 1985, Peepal Tree has published well over 300 titles. Its list includes fiction, poetry and academic and non-fiction titles from both new and established writers. As well as new work, the press launched the Caribbean Modern Classics Series in 2009, which restores key works from the 1950s and 1960s to print. Peepal Tree has also supported writer development projects for emerging writers of African and Asian descent in the UK and a range of activities, from conferences to podcast series, promoting the literature of what George Lammy called the ‘Caribbean Nation’.
Although operating on an international stage, Peepal Tree Press is a significant contributor to the cultural life and industry of Leeds and West Yorkshire.
The archive is a rich testament to the work of the press. Business records show the tenacious survival of the organisation and its development over time. The collection includes an exceptional series of editorial files, which often contain original submitted manuscripts, and editorial contributions. ‘Writers’ files include correspondence with writers published by Peepal Tree, including such luminaries as Roger Robinson, Anthony Kellman, Kwame Dawes, Christian Campbell, Jacob Ross, Christine Craig, Opal Palmer Adisa, Angela Barry, Dorothea Smartt, Alecia McKenzie, Una Marson, John Agard, Vahni Capildeo and Kamau Brathwaite amongst many others. The archive also includes significant born-digital files.
Special Collections at the University of Leeds holds literary collections of national and international importance. Our holdings span many centuries and subject areas, with a particular interest in 20th-century literature associated with the University and the wider region. The Peepal Tree Press Archive, as a significant local literary industry, fits well with our existing collections. Its acquisition is also an opportunity to fill a gap. The archive allows us to begin to represent important areas of literature, specifically of Caribbean and Black British writing, which have previously been absent from our collections.
When publicly accessible the archive will take its place alongside the La Rose papers at the George Padmore Institute and the Bogle l’Ouverture papers of Jessica and Eric Huntley, (held at the London Metropolitan Archives) as a major source for this increasingly researched area of study.
