Hesperus Press

What Hesperus Press does

Hesperus Press is an independent publishing house founded in 2001 and headquartered in London, United Kingdom, trading as Hesperides Press Limited. The company specializes in republishing classic, forgotten, and out-of-print literary works under the Latin motto 'Et Remotissima Prope' (Bringing near what is far). Its 174+ title catalogue is organized into three sub-brands: Brief Lives (concise biographies of literary figures such as Charlotte Brontë, Dickens, Tolstoy, and Woolf), the On Series (essay anthologies on topics including war, travel, and melancholy), and Hesperus Minor (children's classics including Oz books and Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper). The portfolio spans reprints of canonical novels, rediscovered works (e.g., Friedo Lampe's At the Edge of the Night), translations, and occasional contemporary political commentary.

Name

Hesperus Press

Legal name

Hesperus Press (trading as Hesperides Press Limited)

Website

https://hesperus.press

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Literary & Classics Publishing (MPAJAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB)

Keywords

• Independent book publishing
• Classic literature reprints
• Ebook distribution services
• Literary biography series
• Children's classics imprint

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Physical Book Sales: Sale of physical paperback and hardcover editions of republished classic literature through direct website sales and trade distribution channels. Products are sold at fixed retail prices ranging from approximately £4.99 to £40.00.
2. eBook Sales: Digital editions sold through Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and Google Play platforms. Readers from USA and Canada are directed to order via IPG book distributors.
3. Gift Cards: Hesperus Press Gift Cards sold starting from £10.00 GBP, allowing customers to purchase books as gifts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Hesperus Press is an independent publishing house that reprints classic, out-of-print, and forgotten literary works across fiction, biography, essays, and children's literature. It operates three named series — Brief Lives (concise biographies of literary figures), the On Series (thematic essay collections), and Hesperus Minor (children's classics) — and sells both physical books via its Shopify storefront and trade distributors, and ebooks through Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Product overview

Hesperus Press is an independent London-based publishing house founded in 2001 with the motto 'Et Remotissima Prope' (Bringing near what is far). The company operates three distinct book series sub-brands: the Brief Lives Series (concise biographies of literary figures like Charlotte Brontë, Dickens, and Tolstoy), the On Series (essay collections on topics like war, travel, genius, and the unexplained), and Hesperus Minor (children's literature including Oz books and classic children's novels). Their portfolio also includes individual literary reprints, political commentary, and classic works spanning genres from historical fiction to memoirs. Products are available as physical books and ebooks distributed through Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and Google Play. The company specializes in bringing back long-out-of-print works and obscure literary gems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hesperus Minor: Children's books imprint committed to selecting well-loved children's books from the past and introducing them to a new generation.
• On Series
• Brief Lives Series

Products and services

• Brief Lives Series A curated series of concise biographies of celebrated literary figures, targeted at literary enthusiasts and general readers seeking accessible introductions to classic authors.
• Hesperus Minor Children's books imprint offering well-loved classic children's literature in beautiful editions for family reading and gifting. Titles include Oz books (Glinda of Oz, The Emerald City of Oz), Puck of Pook's Hill, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, The Children of the New Forest, The Coral Island, and The Princess and the Goblin.
• On Series A thematic series of essay collections covering diverse topics such as war, travel, genius, reading, melancholy, theatre, and the unexplained, featuring classic and rediscovered essayists.
• Gift Cards Digital gift cards starting at £10.00 GBP, enabling customers to gift Hesperus Press books and merchandise to others.
• eBooks Digital ebook editions of the full Hesperus Press catalogue, available through Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and Google Play platforms, targeted at individual digital readers.
• Friedrich Hölderlin's Life, Poetry & Madness Memoir by Wilhelm Waiblinger, translated by Will Stone, about the life and madness of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin, republished as a classic literary memoir for general readers.
• 12 Years a Slave The harrowing true story of Solomon Northup who was kidnapped and endured twelve years of slavery, republished for modern readers.
• The Nutcracker The classic story by E.T.A. Hoffmann that inspired the Tchaikovsky ballet, a magical tale of a girl's dream-like journey with the diabolical Mouse King, part of the Hesperus Minor children's imprint.
• The Prince and the Pauper Mark Twain's classic historical fiction for children about two boys from different walks of life who swap places and identities, part of the Hesperus Minor imprint.
• Ben-Hur Classic epic novel by Lew Wallace about a falsely accused Jewish nobleman who survives slavery to seek vengeance and redemption.
• Who Needs More Cuts? A political commentary book by Barry Kushner and Saville Kushner examining economic policy, austerity, and public spending; first edition was shortlisted for the Bread and Roses Award.
• At the Edge of the Night Novel by Friedo Lampe, translated by Simon Beattie, a poignant work that was seized by the Nazis in 1933 for its depiction of raw reality.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gardners BookscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUK-based fulfillment and distribution partner handling warehouse operations from Eastbourne, East Sussex. Manages trade order fulfillment and physical book distribution for UK market.
• Compass LimitedminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUK sales representative firm based in London (Chiswick) handling UK sales representation for trade accounts.
• Trafalgar Square Publishing / Independent Publishers Group (IPG)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUS-based distributor handling USA and Canada distribution. Orders can be placed through IPG's Chicago office. Also handles desk copy requests for US educational accounts.
• Jordan Book CenterminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional distributor covering Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, and Iran markets. Based in Amman, Jordan.
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationE-commerce platform powering Hesperus Press's online store. Provides the infrastructure for direct consumer sales, payment processing, and order management.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Persephone Books: London-based independent publisher founded in 1999 that republishes neglected fiction and non-fiction, especially mid-20th century women's writing. Direct peer to Hesperus Press: same city, same out-of-print reprint model, similar small-team indie structure and grey-jacket aesthetic.
• Dedalus Books: UK publisher dedicated to reprinting European classics in translation, particularly decadent and visionary fiction. Direct peer to Hesperus: small-team, reprint-only model, similar curatorial niche and trade-press footprint.
• Alma Books: UK independent publisher of classic European literature in translation and literary fiction. Direct peer to Hesperus Press: small London press, classic fiction focus, comparable price band (typically £8-£12), shared book-trade distribution channels.
• Virago Press: UK imprint long known for reissuing classic women's writing under distinctive green covers. Direct peer to Hesperus: comparable reprint-driven model, London heritage, similar target reader of literary enthusiasts and gift-buyers.
• Pushkin Press: London-based independent publisher specializing in literary fiction in translation and rediscovered European writing. Direct peer to Hesperus Press: overlapping mission of bringing forgotten or under-translated literature to English-language readers, similar indie trade-press profile.
• New York Review Books (NYRB Classics): NYRB Classics imprint republishes overlooked literary works in translation and from the past. Direct peer to Hesperus: same rediscovery-of-obsolete-literature positioning, comparable paperback formats and reader demographic of literary enthusiasts.

Broad incumbents

• Penguin Classics: Mass-market imprint of Penguin Random House publishing canonical literature with extensive educational and trade reach. Broad incumbent to Hesperus: same core product (classic literature reprints) but at vastly greater scale, with deep library/school channel penetration Hesperus cannot match.
• Oxford World's Classics: Oxford University Press imprint publishing annotated editions of canonical literature for students and general readers. Broad incumbent to Hesperus: same reprint-of-classics category but with academic publishing infrastructure and university course adoption.

Emerging players

• British Library Publishing: UK publisher of classic and rediscovered crime, fantasy, and Gothic fiction drawn from archival collections. Emerging player relative to Hesperus: comparable rediscovered-classics mission, similar gifting/collectible format positioning, with strong institutional backing.
• And Other Stories: UK independent literary publisher focused on international literary fiction in translation. Emerging player relative to Hesperus: overlapping reader base of literary enthusiasts, similar indie-press distribution model, though more contemporary-focused than Hesperus's reprint model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hesperuspress
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQTASuHeAejtPi872NmwoHA
• Facebookfacebook.com/HesperusPress
• Instagraminstagram.com/hesperuspress
• Pinterestpinterest.co.uk/hesperuspresspublishing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hesperus Press