{{Short description|UK publishing company}} {{Redirect|John Hunt Ltd.|the eighteenth/nineteenth century publisher|John Hunt (publisher)}} {{Infobox publisher | name = Collective Ink | image = Collectiveinklogo.png | parent =Watkins Media | status = | founded = {{start date|2001}} | founder = | successor = | country = | headquarters = | distribution = | keypeople = | publications = Books | topics = critical theory, philosophy, political theory, music criticism, contemporary cinema, paganism, Christianity, mind body and spirit, history | genre = | imprints = | revenue = | numemployees = | nasdaq = | url = {{URL|https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/}} }}
'''Collective Ink''' (formerly '''John Hunt Publishing''') is a publishing company founded in the United Kingdom in 2001 under the name '''O Books'''.<ref name="Ind">[https://www.theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/2014/02/john-hunt-publishing-reviewed.html John Hunt Publishing – Reviewed], The Independent Publishing Magazine, February 26, 2014. [https://web.archive.org/web/20180330012227/https://theindependentpublishingmagazine.com/2014/02/john-hunt-publishing-reviewed.html archived at Wayback Machine] </ref> The publisher has 15 active imprints, the largest of which are Moon Books, O-Books and Zero Books (styled Zer0 Books). After changing ownership in 2021, in June 2023, John Hunt Publishing was renamed to '''Collective Ink'''.<ref name=Ink>{{cite web|url=http://vatsearch.co.uk/verify/vat_check.php/VATNumber/GB522381176|title=Value Added Tax information for Collective Ink Limited: VAT Record: GB522381176|website=datalog.co.uk/|date=1 September 2023}}</ref>
==History== Collective Ink was founded in the United Kingdom in 2001,<ref name="Ind" /><ref>Continuum, ''Directory of Publishing 2001: Continuum and the Publishers Association'' (2000), p. 83.</ref><ref>''International Literary Market Place'' (2001), p. 675</ref> originally named O Books,<ref name="Ind" /> a name which it continues to use as one of its imprints, in the "mind, body, and spirit" market.<ref name="Compass 25">Suzanne Ruthven, ''Compass Points - The Pagan Writers' Guide: Writing for the Pagan and MB&S Markets'' (2013), p. 25, {{ISBN|1782791078}}</ref>
The name was later changed to John Hunt Publishing, under which it then underwent a major reorganization in 2010.<ref name="Ind" />
In 2014, it was stated that John Hunt Publishing "deals directly with authors" and does not require they have an agent. However, in the mid-2010s it was stated that "because they are a small publisher, they are unable to pay advances, so [authors] have to wait for the royalties to roll in".<ref name="Freelance">Susie Kearley, ''Freelance Writing On Health, Food and Gardens'' (2014), p. 121</ref> Imprints of John Hunt Publishing offered four levels of publishing based on the likely popularity of the book,<ref name="Freelance" /> with both "traditional publishing deals and what it describes as co-operative publishing for authors," with about a quarter of books, most prevalently those in fiction, being published "under co-operative terms,"<ref name="Ind" /> though this would vary by imprint. The company also said that "every title gets treated the same. No bookshop or reviewer is going to know if one title or another has had a subsidy."<ref name="Ind" /> As with other imprints, operations are controlled by authors themselves, who "have gravitated to being involved in publishing, whether coming up through editing, design or marketing."<ref name="Ind" /> This multiple-imprint author-centric style was described as, "It can't work. It shouldn't work. Yet, somehow, John Hunt Publishing is making it work."<ref name="Ind" /> A central corporate office continues to manage sales, accounts, and royalties for all imprints.<ref name="Ind" /> As of 2014, the company was publishing "approximately 300 titles per year with global sales and a focus on physical stores."<ref name="Ind" />
On October 25, 2021, it was announced that Watkins Books owner Etan Ilfeld had purchased John Hunt Publishing from John Hunt.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wood |first=Heloise |date=25 October 2021 |title=Watkins Media owner Ifield buys John Hunt Publishing |url=https://thebookseller.com/news/ilfeld-buys-john-hunt-publishing-1285722 |website=thebookseller}}</ref> In June 2023, John Hunt Publishing was renamed to Collective Ink.<ref name="Ink" />
Like its predecessor, Collective Ink does not require authors to have an agent, and "welcomes unsolicited manuscript submissions".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=About JHP {{!}} An independent publisher. Independent Book Publishers |url=https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/about-jhp/john-hunt-company/ |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=Collective Ink |language=en}}</ref> The publisher also routinely publishes lists of contacts for its published authors and data regarding books in production, the number of advertisements run for books, and average royalty payments.<ref name=":0" />
== Zero Books == thumb|left|150px|Zero Books is the largest imprint of Collective Ink The Zero Books imprint was founded to combat what they viewed as a trend of anti-intellectualism in contemporary culture.<ref>[https://thequietus.com/articles/16815-zero-books-staff-start-repeater-books Former Zero Books Staff Start Repeater] by Laurie Tuffrey, ''The Quietus'', 29 November 2014</ref>
Zero Books predominantly publishes works of critical thinking and philosophy, such as Mark Fisher's ''Capitalist Realism'' and Eugene Thacker's ''In The Dust of this Planet''.
Zero Books imprint was founded by Tariq Goddard and Mark Fisher in 2009, as an imprint of John Hunt Publishing. In 2014, Goddard and Fisher left Zero Books and launched Repeater Books as a part of Watkins Media.<ref>{{cite web|first=Mark|last=Fisher|url=https://www.thewire.co.uk/news/34319/zer0-books-publisher-leaves-to-start-new-imprint-repeater|title=Zero books publisher leaves to start new imprint Repeater|website=The Wire|date=January 12, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thequietus.com/articles/16815-zero-books-staff-start-repeater-books|title=The Quietus - News - Former Zero Books Staff Start Repeater}}</ref>
From 2014 the imprint was run directly through John Hunt with associated authors and freelancers,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-01 |title=Zero Books {{!}}{{!}} About Us |url=http://www.zero-books.net/about-us.html |access-date=2024-01-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401091342/http://www.zero-books.net/about-us.html |archive-date=2017-04-01 }}</ref> and has published critically acclaimed books such as ''Kill All Normies'' and ''Zen City''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://nymag.com/selectall/2017/07/angela-nagles-kill-all-normies-the-alt-right-and-4chan.html|title=Where Did the Alt-Right Come From? This Book Finds Some Uncomfortable Answers|first=Park|last=MacDougald|magazine=New York|publisher=New York Media|location=New York City|date=July 13, 2017}}</ref><ref>[https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-78535-350-5 A Review of ''Zen City''] by ''Publishers Weekly'', June 2016</ref> The imprint began publishing a series called ''Neglected or Misunderstood'' in 2017 with the aim of covering "neglected or misunderstood" left-wing theorists such as Shulamith Firestone and Theodor Adorno.<ref>[http://www.zero-books.net/books/neglected-misunderstood-shulasmith-firestone Neglected or Misunderstood: The Radical Feminism of Shulamith Firestone] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626083144/http://www.zero-books.net/books/neglected-misunderstood-shulasmith-firestone |date=2018-06-26 }}.</ref> Zero Books states that their goal is to utilize critical theory to "publish books that make our readers uncomfortable" in order to "reinvent the left".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.zero-books.net/about-us.html |title=About Zero Books |access-date=2018-06-07 |archive-date=2018-06-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141839/http://www.zero-books.net/about-us.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Collective Ink was brought by Watkins Media in October 2021, bringing Zero Books and Repeater Books under the same ownership. This allowed some Zero Book assets to be transferred to their originators at Repeater Books.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goddard |first=Tariq |date=2021-11-27 |title=Reacquiring Zero Books - A Statement |url=https://repeaterbooks.com/reacquiring-zero-books-a-statement/ |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=Repeater Books |language=en-GB}}</ref>
On October 23, 2021, Repeater Books announced that they had regained the Zero Books imprint under the control of publisher Tariq Goddard via the purchasing of John Hunt Publishing by Repeater parent company Watkins Media, which owns both Collective Ink as a publishing company in its own right and Repeater as a Watkins imprint respectively. <ref>{{Cite web |title=COLLECTIVE INK LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02923843 |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |number=1451957645749989379 |user=RepeaterBooks |title=Repeater Books, the team that started and ran Zer0 for its first seven years, have bought Zer0 Books. The imprint... |date=23 October 2021}}</ref>
=== Zero Books === * ''Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?'' (2009), by Mark Fisher * ''Meat Market: Female Flesh Under Capitalism'' (2011), by Laurie Penny * ''Kill All Normies'' (2017), by Angela Nagle * ''Marx Returns'' (2018), by Jason Barker * ''Ethical Portraits: In Search of Representational Justice'' (2021), by Hatty Nestor
== Authors == Some authors published through John Hunt Publishing include: Andrez Bergen, Frithjof Bergmann, Danielle Collobert, David Fontana, Nicholas Hagger, Leslie Scalapino and Steve Taylor. Authors published through the Zero Books imprint include: Angela Nagle, Mark Fisher, James Heartfield, Tariq Goddard, David Stubbs, Guy Mankowski, Hatty Nestor, Adam Kotsko, Owen Hatherley, Cliff Slaughter, Anselm Jappe, Aaron J. Leonard, Laurie Penny, Grafton Tanner, Eugene Thacker, Gilad Atzmon, and David Cromwell.
==Imprints==
=== Current === As of 2023, the active imprints of John Hunt Publishing are described as:<ref name="Ind"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/our-imprints.html|title=Our Imprints -- John Hunt Publishing|website=johnhuntpublishing.com|access-date=2018-08-20|archive-date=2018-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820234909/https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/our-imprints.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> * 6th Books{{snd}}All things paranormal<ref name="Compass 44">Suzanne Ruthven, ''Compass Points - The Pagan Writers' Guide: Writing for the Pagan and MB&S Markets'' (2013), p. 44, {{ISBN|1782791078}}</ref> * Business Books{{snd}}"Fresh thinking for the business world" * Changemakers Books{{snd}}Transformation * Chronos Books{{snd}}History * Christian Alternative{{snd}}"The new open spaces" * Circle Books{{snd}}Christian faith * Iff Books{{snd}}Academic and specialist * Liberalis{{snd}}Liberal arts education and storytelling * Lodestone Books{{snd}}Young adult fiction * Mantra Books{{snd}}Eastern religion and philosophy * Moon Books{{snd}}Paganism and shamanism<ref name="Compass 44"/> * O-Books{{snd}}Spirituality<ref name="Compass 25"/> * Our Street Books{{snd}}Juvenile fiction, non-fiction, and parenting * Psyche Books{{snd}}Psychology * Roundfire{{snd}}Fiction * Zero Books{{snd}}Culture, society and politics
=== Former === * Cosmic Egg Books{{snd}}Fantasy, science fiction, and horror * Dodona Books{{snd}}Astrology, numerology and general divination<ref name="Compass 44" /> * Earth Books{{snd}}Environment * Compass Books{{snd}}Practical books for authors * Perfect Edge{{snd}}"Fiction for those who know fiction matters", noted on the website as "no longer receiving submissions" * Bedroom Books{{snd}}Romance and "sexy-time" * Gaming Books{{snd}}Card and board games * Soul Rocks{{snd}}New generation * Top Hat Books{{snd}}Historical fiction * Sassy Books{{snd}}"Badass books for go-for-it girls"
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Left-wing book publishing companies Category:British companies established in 2001