A new Edinburgh‑based small press, Batis Books, is setting out to connect two literary worlds not typically seen in direct conversation: Southern Africa and Scotland. The press is founded by South African writer and publisher Nick Mulgrew and will begin publishing in early 2026 with a list that foregrounds Southern African voices for UK readers, while keeping an eye on new Scottish talent.

Mulgrew is best known as the founder of South Africa’s acclaimed uHlanga Press. The 2026 slate is features five South African authors, with wide ranging subject matters and genres. Athambile Masola’s Inheritance is a bilingual isiXhosa‑English poetry collection. Chatsworth is short story collection by Pravasan Pillay set in one of South Africa’s Indian township. They will also publish Antjie Krog’s Blood’s Inner Rhyme and a series of botanical essays by London‑based artist Cynthia Fan. The press’s debut title is Dayspring, the posthumous memoir of poet and anti‑apartheid activist C. J. Driver, edited by J. M. Coetzee

While African authors are often published abroad through large houses, Batis is offering an intimate, curatorial approach, treating each book as part of a literary conversation across contexts. Over time, the press plans to expand its list to include writers from other Southern African countries as well as Scotland.

They plan on working with Combined Book Services and Compass IPS to distribute their books in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Congrats to Batis Books on their mission to turn the act of bringing books to readers into a form of connection across continents.