Pilot Press is the imprint of artist Richard Porter. Started in 2017, it is a solo-run endeavour in the countercultural tradition of the gay liberation movement and artists' DIY publishing, with a focus on sharing voices that may not find an outlet elsewhere. Since the very beginning, it has been an aim of the press to share the work of unknown and emerging voices alongside the better established, as well as recover those lost to history. The press receives no external funding or institutional support, instead relying entirely on income from sales to support its work.
The press's titles are stocked by independent bookshops around the world, including Donlon Books in London, Printed Matter, Inc in New York, World Food Books in Melbourne, Burning House Books in Glasgow, Rile* in Brussels and After 8 in Paris. They are also held at several special collections for printed matter, including those at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Public Library, Wellcome Collection, University of Cambridge, Glasgow School of Art, National Gallery of Australia and Tate Britain.
In 2023, the press was a finalist for the Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses for publishing My Dead Book, the debut novel of Nate Lippens. Its titles have also been featured by publications including the Guardian, Interview Magazine, TLS, GRANTA, Los Angeles Review of Books, Frieze and The Big Issue.
For enquiries about U.K. and international wholesale, please contact Bryony Lloyd at Public Knowledge Books: bryony@publicknowledgebooks.com.
For anything else, write to pilotpresslondon@gmail.com. Please note that as a very small operation it may not be possible to respond to every message received.