Cardiff independent publisher faces uncertain future amid funding woes

Stephen Price

A Welsh publishing house has written to the Welsh Government’s Culture Committee to call for an inquiry into funding for the publishing sector in Wales, as they face an ‘unfortunate financial position’ and the prospect of restructuring the business.

In her letter to the Culture Committee, Editor of Lucent Dreams, Jannat Ahmed, gave an introduction to the issues she has experienced since setting up as “a publisher in Wales, for Wales”.

Referring to an article on the Bookseller, she shared that: “The inadequate core funding provision from Books Council Wales (funded by Creative Wales)” has led to “an existential crisis for creative workers, especially working class writers and staff, and writers and staff of colour, where the infrastructure we have inherited doesn’t offer the best chances of success, nor a fair, living wage, for publishers and writers Cymreig.”

She said: “I write in my post ‘As is already happening, writers will be made to take Wales out of their work, and worse, to exoticise themselves and to fetishize their lived experiences, for a culture that prioritises profit, not cultural health.

“Our stories deserve to be treated with integrity, not as a trend. Unless fair, living wages are made a
priority for independent authors and publishers, this will not change.’

“I would like for the Committee to look again at the impact of standstill funding on the publishing sector; the Draft Budget 2026-27 shows Creative Wales’ increased funding will be directed towards business rates relief for the film and TV sectors.”

Jannat asks: “Costs are increasing across all industries, so why has the Welsh Government’s additional investment not been fairly distributed across all cultural sectors, including publishing?

“In the expectation that funding will not be increased enough for BCW to meet the needs of the industry, I believe anything less than a full inquiry on funding provision for the publishing sector in Wales will be insufficient to address systemic issues.

Jannat suggests in her post that the Future Generations Act should prioritise investment in the culture we share (literature, music, events, networks, etc.) for future generations to enjoy, as a culture that is accessible to them, both as audiences, and producers themselves.

She added: “I understand that the Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership stated in response to a question on funding allocation to the publishing sector in previous draft budget (2025-26) that he would be working with BCW ‘to mitigate any further impact on the sector and to preserve this important industry’.”

Vision

In her blog, Jannat Ahmed wrote: “I chose not to reapply for BCW’s new longer-term core funding grants for this tender period. I know our vision doesn’t match the resources available in this tender at this time, and we won’t meet BCW agenda in the position we now find ourselves.”

She added that on telling BCW that she would not be reapplying, she claimed they suggested Ahmed “apply for part-time roles instead”, but she explained this would not make sense, and would be restructuring “on their terms”.

Following on from the decision to restructure, Lucent Dreaming’s fiction editor Samiha Meah and Ahmed “are no longer waged” by the company and they have “contacted all the writers who have contracts with us and made it clear that we are not closing down, but we are slowing down”.

She added: “I will continue to volunteer at Lucent Dreaming one day a week (usually Fridays). Samiha has also kindly offered to volunteer on Mondays. And some of our authors have volunteered to help us out too, which is incredibly humbling. I can’t imagine another business I’ve worked where that would happen.”

In her blog post, she shared that while they look to see how other independent publishers navigate this period, she believes the best “position for [them] now is one of transparency” and trying to be clear about how limited resources and funding have become, adding: “We will continue to operate as a publisher of new and emerging talent, as their stepping stone to bigger projects.”

In the open letter, Ahmed also said: “The Welsh government needs to realign their funding support to respond to a changing economic climate.” She explained that with it, the diversity of writers in Wales, especially those of colour and working-class writers “would be diminished”.

She said: “It is those in the margins and on lower incomes who will suffer. We look to Ireland as an example of good practice with their new Basic Income for the Arts. A Universal Basic Income in Wales will relieve the pressure on publishers, making creative grants go further: paying our authors, contributors, editors and staff a fair, living wage.

“We believe sustainability should be Publishing Wales’ main focus when speaking to Books Council and the Welsh government.”

The Welsh Government says: “We have increased our spend for the broader culture sector by 8.5% this year and continue to support the publishing sector through the Books Council of Wales, with our funding to them having increased this year also.”

Read the full blog post from Jannat here.