By Priyanka Joshi, Elizabeth Haslam and William Swift
In 1993, Myriad Editions was founded by the late Anne Benewick, an Editor, and Judith Mackay, a Campaigning Physician, with the vision of combining radical cartography and expert analysis which paved the way for modern infographics.
Under the command of Candida Lacey, Myriad Editions has been printing under its own imprint since 2005 and has expanded from a packager of infographic atlases to a publisher of literary fiction, graphic novels and feminist non-fiction. Today, the press has several award-winning authors under its belt.
The press has recently moved to Brighton and wants to celebrate the many writers and artists who come to the seaside town. Alongside celebrating the city of Brighton, Myriad commissions work from established authors, such as Meg Rosoff, Jeanette Winterson and Nigella Lawson, as well as uncovering and supporting emerging authors, including Martine McDonagh and Woodrow Phoenix.
Notable Releases
The Roles We Play by Sabba Khan (2021)
Sabba Khan’s multiple award-winning graphic novel The Roles We Play shines a light on the experience of growing up as a second-generation Azad Kashmiri migrant in East London. This story delves straight into issues of race, gender and class in a simple, highly readable narrative with stunning illustrations. Khan asks the big questions; can religion and secularism, heritage and progression and tradition and trend move beyond binary definitions towards a common understanding of love? Khan's debut graphic memoir explores identity, memory and belonging through the vivid backdrop of modern British Asian life filled with the shifting generational complexities felt by many migrant communities.
The State of the World Atlas by Dan Smith (2020)
This book is one of the first to attempt to analyse the state of the world post-COVID-19. Now in its tenth edition, this book has become a flagship classic of Myriad Editions, and its popularity demonstrates both the need and desire for a comprehensive study of economics, society, health and politics since the pandemic. Clear and colourful infographics fill the pages of this text, providing a detailed and critical analysis of the state of particular countries and the world as a whole following the pandemic. This is a must-read for anyone interested in society, politics, economics and culture.
The Women’s Atlas by Joni Seager (2018)
This next book redefines what is meant by atlas. Joni Seager’s The Women’s Atlas has become an invaluable feminist resource and cultural conversation piece about feminism and the diversity of women’s experiences the world over. Seager’s comprehensive and accessible prose creatively captures the mood of the moment; it uses bold infographics to illustrate how women are living across cultures and continents, while noting the advances that have been made and the changes that are yet to be accomplished.
The co-founder of the Women’s Equality Party, Catherine Mayer, described this work as “the most important book” published in 2018. Highly praised by Gloria Steinman and leading the way for a new infographic-centred feminist approach, Seager’s Atlas provides the most up-to-date global analysis of key issues facing women today, including the culture of beauty, work, the global economy and LGBTQIA+ rights. Readers of Caroline Criado Perez’s exposé on the existence of a gendered data bias, Invisible Women, will appreciate Seager’s dedicated composition.
New and Upcoming Releases
The Day I Fell Off My Island by Yvonne Bailey-Smith (2022)
Set in Jamaica and London, Yvonne Bailey-Smith’s latest novel, The Day I Fell Off My Island, tells a powerful story of transition, estrangement and the triumph of hope and perseverance. Erna Mullings’ life is pretty much perfect, living in a small village in Jamaica in 1968 until her three younger siblings are snatched from home and taken to London to live with their father. Erna’s world is flipped upside down in this coming-of-age novel based on Bailey-Smith’s own experiences of reluctant immigration and humanity. As a psychotherapist and former social worker, Bailey-Smith hopes that this novel will provide immigrant children with the skills to face the sense of loss and sadness from moving across the world, while furnishing them with the support and reassurance that they will survive and even flourish in their new life.
The Sick Doctor by Ian Williams (June 2024)
This upcoming release is the final instalment in Ian Williams’ trilogy about life in a General Practice. Williams follows The Bad Doctor and The Lady Doctor with this topical tale of fatherhood, masculinity and medical crisis. In this novel, Dr Robert Smith, an ageing libertine, spiritualist, and Senior Partner at Llangandida Health Centre, is about to embark on fatherhood for the first time when his partner Sandy suffers a miscarriage and he is diagnosed with prostate cancer. The reader travels alongside Robert as he traverses the difficult journey of life. This includes his panic of the potential threats to his masculinity and his attempts to rediscover a sense of self-worth, all the while maintaining his relationship with Sandy and continuing to treat patients. Fans of Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt are sure to enjoy this poignant and witty tale of life’s ups and downs told in a thoroughly engaging way.