Tilted Axis Press is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

British

publishing house Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

specializing in the publication of contemporary

Asian literature Asian literature is the literature produced in Asia. Examples *East Asian literature **Chinese literature **Japanese literature ** Korean literature **Taiwanese literature **Vietnamese literature *Southeast Asian literature **Burmese literature ** ...

. Founded by Deborah Smith in 2015 following the success of her translation of Han Kang's ''

The Vegetarian ''The Vegetarian'' () is a 2007 novel by South Korean author Han Kang, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature. Based on Han's 1997 short story "The Fruit of My Woman", ''The Vegetarian'' is a three-part novel set in modern-day Seoul and ...

'', the organization has gone on to publish 42 books and several

chapbook A chapbook is a type of small printed booklet that was a popular medium for street literature throughout early modern Europe. Chapbooks were usually produced cheaply, illustrated with crude woodcuts and printed on a single sheet folded into 8, 1 ...

s translated from 18 languages. Tilted Axis became known as the original translator and English language publisher of '' Tokyo Ueno Station'' by

Miri Yu is a Zainichi Korean playwright, novelist, and essayist. Yu writes in Japanese, her native language, but is a citizen of South Korea. Early life Yu was born in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture and grew up in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture as one of ...

, which went on to receive critical acclaim as both a book and translation. Their profile rose higher in 2022, when '' Tomb of Sand'', written by Geetanjali Shree and translated by Daisy Rockwell, won the

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Boo ...

, marking the first novel written in Hindi to take the award.

History

As of 2017, Tilted Axis Press made the largest share of their sales through traditional brick-and-mortar retail (35.1%), with the second largest channel being direct local and international sales through their website. Although the press has only received limited distribution outside of the United Kingdom, some books have been co-published internationally. For example, in 2018 The Lifted Brow, under their Brow Books

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

, co-published their translation of "The Impossible Fairytale" in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In 2021 Tilted Axis launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the translation and publication of several chapbooks covering feminist literature, raising over in total. One of the collections in the series, Pa-Liwanag, received a positive review from CNN Philippines, who stated the book "proves that writings by farmers and peasants are overdue". In July 2022, following Tilted Axis's victory at The Booker International Prize, Deborah Smith announced that she was stepping down as Publisher and Managing Director. At the same time, Kristen Vida Alfaro was announced as her successor in these roles. The publisher has been noted for its choice in content, often "unconvential" with a focus on feminist and queer themes, and its focus on the translators themselves, who are prominently credited and given royalties from book sales. As of 2025 Tilted Axis has eight part time employees. Tilted Axis expanded its distribution network to the United States in February 2025. Previously, it had licensed works to American publishers.

Titles

References

{{Reflist British companies established in 2015 Publishing companies established in 2015 Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom