- Independent Creators
- Self Publishers
- Small Presses
- Non-Trad Publishers
Help us make space
for Scotland's
and more!
Help us make space
for Scotland's
Independent Creators,
Self Publishers,
Small Presses,
Non-Trad Publishers
and more!
Events
| What? | When? | About |
|---|---|---|
| CCIC Scotland Roundtable | 13 Aug 2025 | A digital roundtable hosted by the Comics Cultural Impact Collective, supported by SPS, for Scottish comic creators to discuss their needs as a community. Sign-up link coming soon. |
| TAGS Fest 2025 | 25-26 Oct 2025 | TAGS Fest returns to Fruitmarket for its 3rd year! Browse over 40 independent comic and TTRPG creators, play games in the Board Game Zone, and listen to all sorts of talks from creators across Scotland. Learn more at tagsfest.co.uk. |
We are still in the early stages of our organisation. We will be planning more events in the future, so keep up to date with SPS by following our social media and joining our newsletter.
About Us
Who are we?
Small Press Scotland is a new non-profit organisation dedicated to uplifting Scotland’s small press scene. Our goals are to put on events that prioritise independent and self-published creators, and to host workshops and professional development sessions to educate and connect small press creators across Scotland.
Shrinking opportunities
Scotland is home to a thriving creative industry that is enjoyed by audiences worldwide. Many of Scotland's stand-out creators took the first steps of their careers at a local level: attending writing groups, tabling at art fairs, or learning in workshops.As a consequence of a decade of chronic underfunding, and under the strain of the pandemic, many of these local spaces disappeared. Non-traditional forms of publishing, like comics, graphic novels, roleplaying games, and zines, have seen their first stepping stones vanish beneath a tide of spiralling costs.Now more than ever, Scotland needs robust support for its independent, first-time, and small press artists.
Team
As creators ourselves, we want to do our part to support the community that helped us flourish.
Brian Tyrrell
Brian is a neuroqueer writer, graphic designer and artist living in Edinburgh. They run the multi-award winning Stout Stoat Press and publish roleplaying games and books. You can find their personal practice on Brian's portfolio.They co-founded TAGS Festival in 2022 with Eve, and are a director of SPS.
Eve Greenwood
Eve is a trans comic jack-of-all-trades living in Edinburgh. They run the multi- award-nominated Quindrie Press, publishing comics and graphic novels of all kinds. You can find their personal work on Eve's website.They co-founded TAGS Festival in 2022 with Brian, and are a director of SPS.
Faye Stacey
Faye is a non-binary comic artist, freelance illustrator, and graphic designer based in Glasgow. You can read their works, including their comics Sub Terra and Ignatz-nominated Find a Seat, on Faye's website.They founded Sequential Scotland in 2024, and are a director of SPS.
Our logo was designed by Spire Greenwood.
FAQ
What is a CIC?
Small Press Scotland is a registered CIC (Community Interest Company), which means that all profits made by the company must be reinvested into the community it is benefiting: for us, that’s Scotland’s small press community. If SPS ever closes down, any remaining funds must go to another CIC doing similar work.
What counts as "small press"?
For the purposes of our company, we define “small press” as independent, freelance, or self-employed creators, or small businesses with limited annual output, creating work such as comics and graphic novels, roleplaying and board games, zines and informal literature, sequential visual narratives, and traditional formats like prose, poetry, and plays.While our market events (like TAGS Fest) may focus on only some of these forms of small press, we are aiming for our professional development days to apply to a wide range of creators and creative practices.
Has TAGS Fest changed hands or been sold?
TAGS Fest has neither changed hands nor been sold. Eve and Brian were the original founders in 2022 and were running the event as individuals. Now, along with Faye, they have formed SPS and are continuing to run TAGS Fest under this new company.
Is Sequential Scotland part of SPS?
For 2025, Sequential Scotland will be run independently by Faye due to the terms of their Creative Scotland funding. As of 2026, it will continue to be run by Faye along with Eve and Brian under SPS.
What does becoming a CIC mean materially for TAGS Fest and future events?
As a CIC, we will be able to apply for funding that was inaccessible to us previously as individuals/sole traders, meaning that we can make TAGS Fest and our future events sustainable to run.For TAGS Fest 2023 and 2024, Eve and Brian put substantial unpaid time and personal resources into making the events a success and were only reimbursed through sales we made at the events. However, in order to make TAGS Fest the event we want it to be, we can’t split our attention between our own sales and the on-the-day responsibilities of organisers. Applying for funding to pay for our time means that we can invest our energy into putting on a great event.These new funding opportunities also open the door to some of our long term goals, such as inviting guest tablers and speakers, digital access to our panels and talks, and more advertising and promotion.Finally, there is a level of clarity and safety that comes with running a registered company, such as what assets belong to the company, and how they should be handled.
What does this not mean for TAGS and future events?
Most importantly for us, this move to organising events under a registered company does not mean that our goal as organisers is to make a profit. One of our aims as an organisation is to keep our events accessible for both the creators and the public, and this means striving to keep table and ticket costs low. As a CIC, we are required to invest any profit back into our community and to file reports with HMRC to prove that we’re doing just that.Transparency is important to us so, just like for TAGS Fest 2023 and 2024, we will continue to release financial reports for all our events to show exhibitors and the public where the money is going.We will also not be instantly sky-rocketing the scope of our events. We plan to expand steadily and aim for sustainability over growth, so for now we will be focusing on TAGS Fest and, as of next year, Sequential Scotland.
When will the first professional development day take place?
We are still in the early stages of our organisation, and forming a CIC doesn't actually give us more time in the day to get things done!We do not currently have any professional development days planned. Keep up to date with SPS by following our social media, and joining our newsletter.