Papillote Press’s Polly Pattullo talks with Will Dady from Spiracle about her 20+ years in publishing in what she calls “a foot in both camps” —between Dominica and London.

“Papillote Press was founded just over twenty years ago, in Dominica and London – and is still run with what founder Polly Pattullo calls ‘a foot in both camps’. The office in Dominica is perched by the rainforest, on the corner of an old estate called (you guessed it) Papillote. Oral history – although never corroborated, Polly the erstwhile journalist hurries to add – has it that the estate’s name is a portmanteau of Pappi and Lotte – two former slaves who, after emancipation, were allowed to settle there.

For a press that has its feet so firmly grounded in geography, it is unsurprising to hear that its shelves are, too, and its output is books about the Caribbean. The first book in Papillote’s list came about because Polly wanted to write about the gardens of Dominica. ‘But I soon realised this book wouldn’t be published – it was just too “niche”.’ (Ah, that double-edged sword small presses live and die by.) Undeterred, she explains, she went ahead, and in the end the book sold a thousand copies. ‘It was a humble little book – but I’m quite proud of it.

Having had a taste for publishing, it wasn’t long until the press officially formed…”

Read the rest of this interview on the Spiracle website.