If you’ve been to any conventions in the UK over the last few years (2020 aside, of course), then you should have encountered Alistair Sims, bookseller, tea enthusiast, and owner of independent bookshop Books On The Hill in Clevedon, Somerset. Alistair and his partner Chloe will usually not allow you to pass their table without buying at least one book (and preferably more!).
Alistair is especially passionate about reading because he contends with dyslexia, which hasn’t stopped him gaining a PhD in History and Archaeology but has also made him think a lot about what kinds of books are available for dyslexic readers in general—and has led to his latest venture, BOTH Press.
“Publishers don’t tend to think dyslexic adults want to read,” Alistair says. He also mentions a common fallacy that some believe dyslexic people will “grow out of it.” “You might always struggle,” he adds, pointing to his PhD, “but you can still go on to achieve.”
His Kickstarter campaign, to get BOTH Press off the ground, is focused on these points and looks to broaden the selection of printed fiction available to dyslexic adults, which is presently far more limited than in children’s fiction. To this end he has gathered an initial pack of short stories and novelettes from across the SFF spectrum to prove the concept and enable BOTH to spread its wings. He’s also found a team to help create the range, including fellow Clevedon-based author and designer Chrissey Harrison, and editor Vicky Brewster.
I asked Alistair and Chrissey how books can be made more dyslexic friendly. The answer seems to lie in a range of formatting and production techniques that make printed matter easier to read—from font type and size and line spacing to the choice of paper stock. “There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution however,” Chrissey warned me, “so we’ve had to go for a series of compromises to offer improved accessibility for the majority of readers.” BOTH Press have had advice from the British Dyslexia Association on their adjustments, as well as conducting their own research.
Those adjustments have also had an effect on the Press’ choice of launch titles: larger fonts and bigger spacing would make some of fantasy’s already massive volumes even larger and potentially less accessible, so Alistair and Chrissey have deliberately chosen quicker reads. But that doesn’t mean the launch volumes themselves are lacking in…ah…large names. Veteran Orcs author and driving force behind the Gemmell Awards, Stan Nicholls, is on the list with a fantasy adventure titled Anchor Point, and Adrian Tchaikovsky (he of the spiders) presents a paranormal mystery The House on the Old Cliffs. Award-nominated horror author Thana Niveau brings visceral body horror to the table, while Joel Cornah, himself a dyslexic author, contributes an SF story The Breath. With every stretch goal that the Kickstarter achieves, another title is unlocked—and at the time of writing this, three stretch goals have been hit.
I asked Alistair if he saw the current prevalence of ereaders as competition to the project—after all most ereaders allow you to change text formatting to suit the individual. “Well yes, you can change the text and the background, but there’s still no way to replace the joy of flipping the pages and smelling the physical book,” he says with a grin. “And why shouldn’t everybody deserve the same opportunities in reading? Some dyslexics avoid physical books because they struggle with the way they are laid out, so why not do something to help them and give them the confidence to buy and read something specifically for them?”
And he doesn’t intend to stop with this first batch of stories. “The aim is to have dyslexic friendly books for adults more widely available in libraries and bookshops. For a bookseller’s perspective it’s a tool to help any customer who is dyslexic, has eye issues, or finds reading difficult, including people who’ve had a stroke. I’ve also personally found dyslexic-friendly books can help autistic readers.”
BOTH Press’ Kickstarter is ending soon! Don’t miss your chance to back this awesome indie publisher and support dyslexic readers!
[Editor’s Note: I (Jennie Ivins) am also dyslexic and love the idea of owning books printed to help readers who struggle with reading due to issues with the physical text. We at Fantasy-Faction wish you all the best of luck!
P.S. The House on the Old Cliffs is an _amazing_ read. Y’all need to get a copy!]
Background image by Markéta Machová.
Jennie Ivins