September 2026

Hello,

Firstly, apologies that September’s Mediterranean ramblings are rather later than usual. Foundry pulled down the metaphorical saracinesca (one of my favourite Italian words!) for the last two weeks of August and it’s been back to earth with a real bang getting everything ready for our autumn titles since we’ve been back.

Back to the Book, Madrid

Very excitingly I’m in Madrid for the Back to the Book festival this weekend, a two-and-a-half day celebration of all that’s good in indie publishing from the Hispanic world. I’m lucky enough to be on the fellowship programme with other indie publishers from Italy, Germany and Scandinavia, all of whom specialise in publishing works originally in Spanish, so it’ll be a great opportunity to compare notes.

The festival itself looks fantastic. It takes place in the Matadero, Madrid’s former abattoir in the south of the city, that is now a brilliant venue for every field of the contemporary art scene. There is a great programme of talks with authors from all over the Spanish-speaking world, including some names that are big over here – Sara Torres, Pilar Adón, Marta Sanz and the fantastic Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas. There are over 100 indie presses taking part, and all of them have stands. I have to hope very sincerely that Air Europa has a lenient baggage policy because I feel a suitcase of books coming on for the return journey.

Ryan Falzon Book Tour

I’m back on Sunday and straight into our tour with Ryan Falzon. He’s talking in Newcastle, Stroud and two venues in London, Libreria and Hatchards. Tickets are still available to hear him talk about the fantastic You Know The Sun Bothers Me, and keep the summer vibes going a bit longer. Click on the link or have a look at our website for more details and to book you tickets.

We’re very excited to have Ryan here in person. Of course, we can’t wait to hear his stories about island life in general and life on Malta in particular, to hear about the inspiration behind his book and to listen to him talk about writing in Maltese, but he’s also found a Maltese bakery in Tooting that sells pastizzi. If you’ve read the book, you’ll know that this ubiquitous snack (somewhere, from what I gather, between a Cornish pasty and an empanada) plays a significant role at the many parties the narrator goes to over the course of his sun- and love-bothered summer. I am thrilled that there’s an opportunity to get our hands on them in London too and I will report back next month once I’ve visited and tasted for myself.

Typographia festival, Spitalfields

Now I’m writing this all down, September really is busy. We’re excited to be selling our books at the the Typographia fair. “a day devoted to books, ideas and discoveries” that Libreria are hosting on the 26th September at their bookshop in London’s Whitechapel. We’ll be in the company of around 60 other publishers, and the concurrent events programme is shaping up to be fascinating as well. With a rooftop party to top off the day, it sounds like a brilliant event for any bibliophile’s diary, and we very much hope to see some of you there.

Mediterranean Edinburgh

The first week of the aforementioned summer holiday was spent in Edinburgh. For fear of this newsletter becoming like a confessional, I have another one to make. I didn’t go to the Book Festival! I know! Naughty. But I thought it might be too much of a busman’s holiday and that, instead, I would immerse myself in other art forms, namely the Fringe and eating and drinking far too many delicious but not necessarily good for you things from food trucks and stalls in the Pleasance. It didn’t stop my hanging out for a night with two wonderful translators, so there was a bit of translated literature in the programme, or seeking out other examples of Mediterranean life in the Scottish capital and I have three very strong recommendations for you.

Firstly, and I suppose very obviously, the immense joy that is Valvona and Crolla, the Italian deli par excellence at the top of Leith Walk. This glorious emporium of all things comestible from the peninsula (and islands) has been a staple of Edinburgh life since 1934 and sells literally everything you want to get your hands on. Fresh artichokes, more varieties of tomato than you can imagine, handmade orecchiette, fridges of delicious cheese and meat, shelves of delicious wine and spirits and some gorgeous home things you had no idea you needed. During the Fringe, they are also a venue for some great jazz and Italian music. Go, eat, drink, listen and you’ll fall in love too.

Just round the corner, in Broughton Street is a new bar-restaurant called Nectar. Run by a Greek siblings Irene and Panos and Irene’s husband Swiss Chris (who, as the name suggests, is Helvetic rather than Hellenic) it serves fantastic, inventive cocktails and a brilliant selection of sharing plates. Their fava are out of this world and If you’ve never had a cocktail that involves mastiha or a tzatziki martini, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Finally, on your way from the New Town to the main Festival and Fringe venues on the Southside, pop into the National Gallery of Scotland to see one of my very favourite paintings from Southern Europe, Velázquez’s Old Woman Cooking Eggs. It really should be enough to say that the master was still a teenager when he painted this! It’s extraordinary. His play of light and shadow. His attention to the surface of the objects he’s painting, the bubbling olive oil hissing around the slick yolks, the folds of the cook’s headscarf, the glint on the brass mortar, the shine of the terracotta. His realistic rendering of his lead character – no idealised mythological subject is she, with her careworn hands, hollow cheeks and look of resigned concentration as she makes her simple supper. So different from his later court works, this is a joy to stand in front of and absorb.

Foundry at the Foundry

We have some very, very exciting news. As some of you may know, Foundry gets its name because I was born in Sheffield, grew up in the Peak District and steel is in the blood. We are absolutely thrilled that we’re going to be going back to these roots to do a pop-up event at the amazing David Mellor Round Building factory in Hathersage Derbyshire, one of the most thrilling and innovative cutlery designers working in the area today. Foundry is going back to the Foundry for one day only on Saturday 14th November and we hope any of you in Sheffield, Manchester or the surrounding areas will come and see us.

The Round Building is easily accessible by train to Hathersage station from both Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly, the Café is fantastic, and as well as our books, there is the David Mellor shop, filled with the most beautiful things for the kitchen and home. It’s a perfect pre-Christmas gift-buying day out. We’ll be back with more details soon but wanted to get the date in your minds as early as possible.

Book Launch: EDEN AT DAWN

Karim Kattan’s extraordinary Eden at Dawn (translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman) is our September release and is out at the end of the month. After The Palace on the Higher Hill, Karim returns to the Palestine of his imagination, mixing orality with classical culture, the marvellous with the tragically real. Lyrical, languorous and shattering Eden at Dawn is a cry for love in the midst of occupation. Widely acclaimed in France, the book has won several literary awards and was shortlisted for the Prix Renaudot in 2024.

It is available to pre-order from our website, and if you enjoyed The Palace on the Higher Hill, do have a look. This might well be for you.

That’s probably about enough from me but remember, I’ll be back in October and until then enjoy the ongoing sunny weather.

Hasta Octubre,

Richard Village

Editor

Foundry Editions