About

Brighton Town Press has a long legacy

BRIGHTON TOWN PRESS, formed of a steering group under Selma Montford, has developed from Brighton Books Publishing, which was itself developed 21 years ago from four publications produced by a joint venture between the Lewis Cohen Urban Studies Centre at Brighton Polytechnic and QueenSpark Books. Brighton Town Press therefore has a long legacy of working with local history and producing publications. The working arrangement continued for 5 years during which time Backyard Brighton, Back Street Brighton, Brighton Behind the Front and Blighty Brighton were published.

A new edition of Backyard Brighton was recently published by Brighton Books Publishing, the remaining three books were recently reprinted by QueenSpark Books. In 1994 the Lewis Cohen Urban Studies Centre published D-Day: Brighton Remembers. In 1995 Brighton Books Publishing was formed by Jacqueline Pollard and Selma Montford who published a further 12 books. The books are a patchwork of historical research, interviews, hitherto unpublished photographs, maps, quotations from documents, compiled with different groups of people according to the subject matter of the book.

This mixture of sources of information makes a lively account of either a particular part of Brighton, or Brighton at a particular time in its history. The formal language of official documents is contrasted with informal memories and observations in the spoken, and, sometimes, the written word of personal accounts.

Brighton Books Publishing was dissolved in 2009, with Brighton Town Press launched in same year. Comments on the publications are welcome. We are also interested to hear about possible future projects from individuals or groups of people who would be keen to publish a book about their local area or on a particular Brighton topic.