SEAGULL BOOKS
Founded in 1982, Calcutta-based Seagull Books started out as a publishing house for books about art, theatre and cinema. With the start of Seagull Books London in 2005, they expanded their list to include the very best that world literature has to offer, from their prestigious Africa List to a host of European voices, from The Arab and India List to one with new and classic works of queer literature. Their dedication to quality shines through in both the quality of the works as well as the dedication to the translations and designs.
In addition, they have been admirably active with at least two other branches: The Seagull Foundation for the Arts, supporting the (fine) arts in India, promoting experiment and collaborations within the different disciplines, as well as The Seagull School of Publishing, where they share their insights and expertise for those who are interested in taking up a career in publishing. The way in which they connect all of these activities – with the authors, the artists, the translators and designers – is truly inspirational.
LA DISPARITION
La Disparition is an independent epistolary media which was launched by two journalists in 2021 with a grant from the Ministry of Culture in France and which chronicles what is disappearing from the world. Twice a month, its subscribers receive a letter through the post telling them the story of a specific disappearance. These letters written by novelists, poets and journalists focus on pressing concerns regarding the environment, racism, gender, capitalism, urbanism and they document these disappearances not with nostalgia but with a life affirming desire to urge readers to preserve what can still be saved. Since its creation, La Disparition has sent over 50,000 letters across France and to around thirty countries worldwide. In 2025, a sister project was launched in the form of correspondences between writers fostering dialogues on major political themes of our times. It is hugely inspiring to watch this fiercely independent media outlet with no advertising create such a strong sense of community also through its website, its newsletter and its activity on social media and there is much to admire in this shape-shifting project which provides a highly valuable space for creativity and dialogue.
ZORALIT
zoraLit is a cooperative for literary professionals from all fields. Members can pursue professional development within the cooperative, network with colleagues in the industry, and make use of the cooperative’s infrastructure to develop their own projects. zoraLit’s founders are also its employees, and they manage the cooperative and organize discussion series like zoraTalks and zoraReads, networking events, and workshops. In addition, they run an event agency that offers reading tour and premiere planning for publishers, as well as a literary agency that provides author representation for individual writers. All profits from the business activities are fully reinvested into the cooperative.
zoraLit expresses a vision of culture that we find both valuable and contemporary: books and literature are not merely products. Rather, they are the heart of a community that thrives on connections—where principles of fairness can be upheld. The cooperative model favors these connections over profit and builds around itself a community of literature enthusiasts from entirely different professions. It carries with it a vision of a fair, diverse, inclusive, and sustainable book industry—one we hope to see flourish.
