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 artist's DIY publishing, with a focus on sharing bold, risk-taking work that may not find an outlet elsewhere.

Since the beginning, it has been a mission of the press to share new voices alongside the better established, as well as recover those lost to history. The AIDS crisis and what was destroyed plays a central role in the philosophy of the press, and its anthology series (2021-2023) focused on responses to works of art from this period.

The press has a not-for-profit model and receives no external funding or institutional support, relying entirely on income from sales to pay for printing and distribution. To help support its work, you can purchase a fundraising edition here.

The press's titles are stocked by independent bookshops worldwide, including Donlon Books and Cafe OTO in London, Printed Matter in New York, Skylight Books in Los Angeles, World Food Books in Melbourne, Burning House Books in Glasgow, Well Read in Lisbon, Nord Books in Stockholm, She Said in Berlin and After 8 Books in Paris.

A selection of its publications 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.

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 American writer Nate Lippens. Its titles have also been featured and reviewed 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 the sales team at Public Knowledge Books: sales@publicknowledgebooks.com.

For anything else, write to pilotpresslondon@gmail.com. Please note that as a team of one managing the press with other work it may not be possible to respond to every enquiry received. The press does not work with literary agents nor does it subscribe to the hustle surrounding professionalised ideas about what it means to be an artist and / or writer.