Bloodaxe Books
Bloodaxe Books is a UK non-profit poetry publisher founded in 1978, releasing 20-30 new titles per year by 300+ British and international poets. It sells through its website, trade distributors, and Amazon, supplemented by Arts Council England grants.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1978
- HeadquartersHexham, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Bloodaxe Books does
Bloodaxe Books is an independent, non-profit poetry publishing company founded in 1978 in Newcastle by Neil Astley, who remains Managing Director. The company publishes 20-30 new titles per year by British, Irish, American, and international poets, maintaining a backlist of over 300 poets. Its catalogue spans contemporary poetry collections, anthologies, translations, and first collections, with the Staying Alive trilogy positioned as a flagship series opening contemporary poetry to wider audiences.
The company's product surface centres on print poetry books (paperback £7.50-£35, hardback up to £25+) distributed through its own website, Macmillan Distribution Ltd and Grantham Book Services Ltd (UK trade), and Consortium in Minneapolis with Ingram warehousing for North America. E-books are sold exclusively via Amazon.co.uk at £5.79-£20. Adjacent products include Bloodaxe Poetry Apps, the Bloodaxe Archive digital repository at bloodaxe.ncl.ac.uk, DVDs/CDs with poet readings, and HD video content on YouTube. The underlying technology stack is a standard publishing e-commerce platform with mobile apps; there is no proprietary AI or data infrastructure.
Bloodaxe makes money through one-time purchase book sales (print and e-book), supplemented by grant funding from Arts Council England, which underwrites the annual 20-30 title publishing programme. The go-to-market combines direct website sales, event-driven promotion through poetry readings and festival appearances, email newsletter marketing, and trade distribution. Customer segments span individual poetry readers (primary), educational institutions, and libraries — with no enterprise contracts disclosed. The company operates a dual-site model with editorial/publicity/rights in Hexham, Northumberland and finance/sales in Bala, North Wales. Authors have won the T.S. Eliot Prize, Costa Book of the Year, Pulitzer Prize, and Nobel Prize in Literature, with 2026 Forward Prize longlistings and shortlists continuing the editorial track record.
Bloodaxe Books firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bloodaxe Books
- Legal name
- Bloodaxe Books Ltd
- Website
- https://bloodaxebooks.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1978
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Bloodaxe Books is a UK non-profit poetry publisher founded in 1978, releasing 20-30 new titles per year by 300+ British and international poets. It sells through its website, trade distributors, and Amazon, supplemented by Arts Council England grants.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Bloodaxe Books is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hexham
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Bloodaxe Books business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Physical Book Sales: Sales of paperback and hardback poetry collections and anthologies through the company's website and trade distribution network
- E-book Sales: Digital book sales primarily through Amazon.co.uk, with some available directly through the website
- Grant Funding: Grant support from Arts Council England enabling publication of up to 30 new titles annually
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Paperback poetry collections |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | E-book editions |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Bloodaxe Books product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bloodaxe Books is a poetry publishing house that publishes poetry collections, anthologies, and translations from established and emerging British, Irish, American, and international poets. The company produces paperback and hardback books, e-books, audio/video recordings, DVDs/CDs, and mobile poetry apps, releasing 20-30 new titles annually while maintaining an extensive backlist of over 300 poets. Operations are supported by direct website sales, trade distribution, and Arts Council England grants.
Product overview
Bloodaxe Books is a specialist poetry publishing imprint that operates as a single-product publisher focused on poetry books. The company offers poetry collections in multiple formats including paperback and hardback books, e-books, and audio/video recordings. The core product line features works by British, Irish, American, and international poets, with the Staying Alive anthology trilogy being a flagship series. Additional offerings include poetry apps, DVDs/CDs with poet readings, and translations through Poetry Translation Centre collaborations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Bloodaxe Poetry Books Paperback and hardback poetry collections and anthologies by established and emerging British, Irish, American, and international poets, with prices ranging from £7.50 to £35.00 depending on format and content.
- Bloodaxe E-books Electronic editions of Bloodaxe poetry collections, available for purchase exclusively through Amazon.co.uk, with prices ranging from £5.79 to £20.00.
- Staying Alive Trilogy Flagship anthology series comprising Staying Alive, Being Human, and Essential Poems from the Staying Alive Trilogy, designed to make contemporary poetry accessible to new readers.
- Bloodaxe Poetry Apps Mobile applications for poetry reading and access to Bloodaxe content, featuring Bloodaxe poets and their poetry collections.
- Bloodaxe Audio/Video HD video and audio content featuring Bloodaxe poets reading their work, including launch events, author interviews, and performance recordings.
- Bloodaxe DVDs/CDs Books with accompanying DVDs and CDs featuring poet readings and performances.
- Poetry in Translation Poetry collections translated from various languages, including works developed through Poetry Translation Centre collaborations, bringing international poets to English-language readers.
- Bloodaxe Archive Online archive of Bloodaxe Books publications and historical content, hosted by Newcastle University, providing digital access to the imprint's publishing history.
Quantifiable outcome
- Authors have won virtually every major literary award including T.S. Eliot Prize, Costa Book of the Year, Pulitzer Prize, and Nobel Prize in Literature
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Bloodaxe Books
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Bloodaxe Books technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Bloodaxe Books partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Macmillan Distribution LtdcoreUK and European book distribution handled by Macmillan Distribution Ltd (MDL)
- Consortium (Minneapolis)coreSales in North America and other international markets handled by Consortium in Minneapolis, with warehousing and distribution via Ingram
- PGUKcoreUK book trade marketing done by PGUK
- Repforce IrelandcoreEuropean book trade marketing handled by Repforce Ireland
- Grantham Book Services Ltd (GBS)coreBooks ordered from the website may be supplied by trade distributor Grantham Book Services Ltd (GBS)
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves16 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Bloodaxe Books competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Carcanet Press: Long-established UK specialist poetry publisher and a direct competitor to Bloodaxe, publishing poetry, translations and criticism from a similar cohort of British and international poets. Highly comparable in scale, mission and editorial scope.
- Graywolf Press: US non-profit literary publisher with a significant poetry list alongside fiction and non-fiction. Comparable as a non-profit literary publisher with a poetry-forward editorial programme and similar grant-dependency dynamics.
- Liverpool University Press: UK academic and literary publisher with a poetry list that includes competitions and translations. Comparable as a UK poetry publisher combining academic and literary audiences, with a more institutional sales mix.
- Copper Canyon Press: Leading US non-profit poetry publisher, with a comparable mission of publishing contemporary poetry and translations and a similar reliance on grant and donor support. Closest US analogue to Bloodaxe's editorial and structural model.
- Arc Publications: UK-based specialist poetry publisher focused on contemporary poetry and translations, with a strong international list. Directly comparable as a niche poetry imprint competing for authors, festival visibility and library sales.
Regional players
- Seren Books: Welsh poetry and literary publisher operating from Wales with a comparable poetry list and translation programme. Comparable editorial mission but geographically centred on Welsh and UK authors.
Broad incumbents
- Faber & Faber: Major UK literary publisher with a celebrated poetry list (T.S. Eliot, Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney) that overlaps with Bloodaxe's territory but operates across a much wider trade and fiction catalogue. Comparable as a poetry publisher but with significantly broader scope.
- Picador: Imprint of Pan Macmillan publishing literary poetry collections and translations alongside fiction and non-fiction. Comparable in publishing poetry for a general literary audience but with a broader portfolio and larger distribution.
- Penguin Modern Classics: Penguin's poetry and modern classics imprint publishes affordable poetry editions at scale. Comparable as a poetry publisher reaching mass-market readers, but operating as part of a global trade publisher with vastly greater resources.
Emerging players
- Penned in the Margins: UK independent literary publisher with a focus on poetry, spoken word and innovative literary forms. Comparable as a small, mission-driven UK poetry publisher competing for emerging voices and festival audiences.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Bloodaxe Books social profiles
Digital presenceBloodaxe Books financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bloodaxe Books leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Bloodaxe Books funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bloodaxe Books M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bloodaxe Books
What does Bloodaxe Books do?
Bloodaxe Books is a poetry publishing house that publishes poetry collections, anthologies, and translations from established and emerging British, Irish, American, and international poets. The company produces paperback and hardback books, e-books, audio/video recordings, DVDs/CDs, and mobile poetry apps, releasing 20-30 new titles annually while maintaining an extensive backlist of over 300 poets. Operations are supported by direct website sales, trade distribution, and Arts Council England grants.
Is Bloodaxe Books a public or private company?
Bloodaxe Books is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Bloodaxe Books founded?
Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Bloodaxe Books based?
Bloodaxe Books is headquartered in Hexham, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Bloodaxe Books make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Physical Book Sales are the primary driver. The others are E-book Sales and grant Funding.
Who are Bloodaxe Books's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Carcanet Press, Graywolf Press, Liverpool University Press, Copper Canyon Press and Arc Publications. Seren Books is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Faber & Faber, Picador and Penguin Modern Classics. Penned in the Margins is listed as an emerging player.
Does Bloodaxe Books have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bloodaxe Books.