Stockists

Café Royal Books are available globally through many independent book shops, galleries and museums. If there is a shop you’d like to see our books in, please tell them, and us!

"A great archive of much forgotten documentary from the 70s and 80s"
Martin Parr

"Craig Atkinson’s Café Royal Books series is one of the great and most earnest documentations of 20th century photography on these isles."
Totally Dublin

"…No doubt that Café Royal Books is fast becoming the most important supporter of British photography…"
Grant Scott, The United Nations of Photography

"Best small run publisher in the world". 
Paul Rigas

“A remarkable achievement, and one without parallel in the world of photography publications”
Chris Killip

"At a time when digital images are available instantly most everywhere, these slim, softcover volumes still bring a thrill. They have a samizdat feel, a natural urgency that leaves me torn between clinging to my lone copy and pressing it on someone near to me."
John McIntyre

“Craig Atkinson at Café Royal Books occupies an important and central place in British photographic history, ensuring that work that might otherwise be lost or forgotten is reproduced and thereby preserved. These publications are unique, acclaimed and sought-after.”
James Hyman 

Café Royal Books are kept in many gallery, library, museum and educational collections. This is not a complete list.

If you are part of a library that keeps Café Royal Books, please let me know and we will add it to the list.

UK
Tate Gallery
The National Art Library,Victoria and Albert Museum
The British Library
Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives
National Library of Scotland,Edinburgh
Glasgow School of Art
Camberwell College of Arts Library
London College of Communication Library
Leeds University Special Collection
University of the West of England
University for the Creative Arts
University of Central Lancashire
Winchester School of Art
Centre for Fine Print Research Special Collection
Bodleian Library at Oxford University
Cambridge University Library
National Library of Scotland
National Library of Wales
Trinity College Dublin
Manx National Heritage Library and Archives, Isle of Man

Longer introduction and Q&A

We receive a lot of questions about photography, drawing, publishing, and so on. I’ll add to this list as I’m sent more — there’s a lot to add.

We make weekly publications, focussing on documentary photography linked to Britain and Ireland. This includes the work of photographers from all backgrounds, the widely known, the unseen and the underrepresented. Much of the work we publish, regardless of the maker, is previously unpublished. Each book focuses on a single body of work, and each book is part of the larger, extensive series. As a series they provide a valuable resource into cultural and social change in Britain and Ireland. So far there are over 600 books in the series, subjects are wide and varied and include folk customs, protest, street photography, mining and industry, community and place or city, architectural change, music and youth culture, politics, and religion.

The publications are bought as gifts, as nostalgic reminders. They’re used as reference for film makers, producers, screen writers and costumes designers. Universities collect the books to allow students access to the large collected history of this genre of photography, which hasn’t existed to this extent, in print, before Café Royal Books.

Café Royal Books publications are printed in England by small, family run firms. We are committed to minimising waste, and we’re ‘plastic free’ with the exception of tape for large international orders. The sleeves we use to protect the books are made from potato starch — fully compostable. We want to make a lasting archive of important work, in print, and want to do it responsibly. We keep things as simple as possible while retaining the high quality print and product you would expect.

Café Royal Books publishes roughly 70 photographic titles each year, with an archive box every 100th title. These are collected by galleries, libraries and museums, preserving and helping to increase the visibility of the work while making the books publicly accessible. Collectors are wide and varied and include, MoMA NY, Harvard University, Oxford University (Bodleian Library), Cambridge University, The British Library, The Hyman Collection, Martin Parr Foundation, TATE, V&A / National Art Library).

We accept submissions. Please email a link to the work, or send low-resolution files using an online platform, including some very brief info about the work and you, if you wish. Please do not send ZIP files or email images. We publish work, regardless of the gender, sexuality, race, belief or background of its maker.

Café Royal Books is a family run, independent publisher. Every effort is made, to make the publications affordable, accessible, and free from fuss and decoration — the publications are about the images and the larger series, with the aim of preserving the work and helping it reach a wider audience.

Why is Café Royal Books called Café Royal Books?

In 2005 I was in Edinburgh with my now wife, secretly looking for somewhere to propose, and also trying to think of a name to publish under, rather than using my own name. We ended up in the Café Royal pub. I ended up not proposing there for fear of history being, “he proposed to me in the pub”, but the name seemed ok. I considered changing the name many times over the years but never did. It’s possibly the least fitting name in the world — it’s not a café, definitely not royal, and arguably (see below), what I make aren’t books.

Why did you start making books and zines?

My education is in Fine Art — I teach Fine Art now at a university. I used to paint large abstracts, which took months to complete, were expensive, could only really be exhibited locally due to their size and weight, and after exhibiting had to be stored in a space I rented. I never really liked exhibiting the work more than twice without a long break. So everything was fighting against itself — time, money, storage. My final show was alongside Maurice Cockrill, John Hoyland and John Maclean — all amazing painters whose work I had admired for years. That felt a good time to stop, so I ‘quit’ painting, over night, and felt a huge relief. Got rid of my studio, the paintings, the paint…And set up at home with some old paper and a few pens. I returned to drawing, simple stuff — all the objects around me. Small, fast, inexpensive…All the things the paintings weren’t.

After a year or so, I wanted to exhibit the drawings, but not really in a gallery because I was tired then of the ways galleries worked, the exclusivity of some, the fact they rely on people visiting them and that the work can only exist in a single place at a time.

I’d always been fond of pamphlets from places I’d visited as a child, so was familiar with those almost disposable, utilitarian information booklets. That seemed good and I started to exhibit in that way. Later I found they were called zines and had a rich history of their own, so started to research.

How did you plan everything in the first place?

I didn’t! I’m excellent at making rash decisions and doing things on a whim. I’m not great at making long decisions and usually talk myself out of what ever the thing I’m deciding on is. After quitting painting, and then drawing for a bit, and starting to make zines, I knew I wanted to make more because I was learning new things and enjoyed the process and finished object/multiple. I saved £1000 which paid for some equipment, printing etc, knowing that if I lost, it’s a lot of money but not the end of the world. If it paid for itself, I would continue. I’ve always been luck to teach alongside what I do, so making a living had never needed to come directly from publishing.

Tell me some of the most important aspects of what you do.

The books need to be affordable — they’re cheaper than a London pint, accessible, useful, utilitarian…They need to matter — they need to function. They’re not ‘just’ picture books, they do more than that, and as a series they are used so widely as info, research, social history, fashion, film…They need to be simple and straightforward, and as neutral as possible. I love well crafted things, hand made, time spent, with skill — every aspect of these books are considered and obsessed over, from the typeface to the paper to the layout, the staple position. The boxes are custom and hand made. There’s a real sense of craft. That said, there is no decoration, no fuss, no ‘extras’, nothing uneccessary. Everything has a function, or it goes.

Why not get funding?

I’ve seen too many projects and ideas stop, because funding was declined or was taken away. I’ve also seen a lot of work having to be compromised in ways because the funding body needs things a certain way. I’ve always liked to do and fund things myself — if I can’t, there has to be very good reason to continue.

Why documentary photography?

Having made some drawing based books and zines, my work started to shift towards photography in a variety of ways — more using rather than taking photographs. This led me to publish more photography. Everything I do, I do because I’m interested in learning and collecting, and organising. I knew very little about photography at the time, so the excitement of learning something totally new to me, carried the project forward. I started to contact photographers whose work I’d seen, then some started to contact me because they’d seen the books/zines…The excitement is still there, along with the desire to learn, collect and organise. Documentary is just a term like any other, and really I use it to help define what I don’t publish, rather than exactly what I do.

Which camera do you use?

I don’t have one. I spent a long time using small digital fixed lens, having used 35mm fixed lens before that. I don’t take many photographs and for those I do, my phone works fine.

What is your favourite…?

I don’t have a favourite anything. I’m very indecisive and what is my favourite one day, the next day I won’t like. Camera, phone, photograph, music, book, paper type…Because of this irrational behaviour, I have learned to be eclectic. For the same reason, I try to travel lightly and not own too much, but I do have a collector’s mentality, or a completist, absolutist etc. I think making the books/zines is almost a compulsion, which allows me to collect without taking up much space!

Are they books, or zines?

Both. Neither. Since 2005 I have only had a few returns, maybe 10. Most of those are because, “I expected a book, not a pamphlet.” I understand that, but a pamphlet is a very vague term, and usually unbound. A book — you think perhaps of a coffee table type book, but again the term is broad and includes most types of printed publication. Zine — punk, DIY ethos. Perhaps Xeroxed and stapled at home, often as an act of rebellion, but not always. I don’t really think Café Royal Books fits neatly into any of these. The ‘Books’ at the end of Café Royal Books, is as much to define what ‘Café Royal’ isn’t, as what it is. Suggestions?

Photobooks?

The term ‘photobook’, is vague at best. Is any book of photos a phonebook, or does it have to be a book, which has been made because the form of the book aides the photographs or narrative in some way? Like an artist’s book — used for the book form, rather than, for example, putting the pictures on a gallery wall.

Café Royal Books certainly exists within the photobook world — the fairs, collectors, the photographers…but it also exists within the artists’ book word, the social history and cultural history, fashion, nostalgia, gifts, worlds! Again, these terms are good for defining what things aren’t.

I’d like to be an intern!

I’m afraid I don’t have the facility to take interns.

Are you a curator?

Probably, in a way, or an archivist, or a collector…I’m a bit tired of the term curator at the moment because everything is curated. From the coffee you buy on the way to work, to the playlist you listen to while drink the coffee and your photos that your phone has intelligently curated along the way…But yes, maybe.

Independent?

Yes, proudly. I love working for myself. I also try to support other independent and local companies, and artisans. There are a lot of companies who dress up as independent, who are actually not, which is a shame because there’s a place for larger businesses too.

What do you like — products?

I like hand made things. Artisan is another word of the moment, but I like artisans! There’s something about knowing someone has crafted an object by hand — put time into selecting the material they use, the methods and techniques. Something kind of historic and reassuring. I don’t like buying many things but the things I do, I like to last a long time — I like the idea of things wearing in, rather than wearing out. As far as possible, I try to follow this with the books I make. The paper is carefully selected for it’s feel, weight, handling, non-yellowing and the way it takes ink…There are so many tiny decisions at every step.

I also like tech and get amazed and seduced by the latest gadgets…I need to try to stop that though.

Where do you get the books printed?

Everything I publish is made in England by small family run firms with a rich history for doing what they do. I can visit, meet, chat about how fussy I am, talk about why the staples all need to be at the same place on each book…They’re sick of me, I’m sure, but I couldn’t so that if I sent a file overseas. I think being on press is important for larger books, and proof copies, always, regardless of who prints and the type of publication. I do like to support small and local business where I can.

Define Café Royal Books.

That’s good — and difficult to do in a few words. Somewhere between craft, and punk.

The books are used for different purposes — gifts and nostalgia, education, film and costume reference, reference for the future — social and cultural change. The books themselves must always be affordable, simple, utilitarian, useful, not elitist or exclusive, accessible. I try to remain very neutral in terms of the content of the books. I have my own opinions, obviously, but to put that bias onto the books wouldn’t be right. I try to reduce the carbon footprint of Café Royal Books, and offset where reduction has gone as far as it can. I don’t really like to put too much stuff into the world but I do like to organise and make more visible, a tiny section of what is already there.

What’s the most difficult thing about running Café Royal Books?

Working from home, it’s difficult to switch off — there’s no real boundary. But that works too because things can be flexible and I get to see the kids to school and pick up every day, and walk the dog…So it’s all good really. I really need to make a timetable of things that need to happen at the same time each week — that would make my life easier, but I like the chaos too.

You have a dog?

Yes, Coco. She’s a mixed breed but to people who want a fancy name she’s a cavapoochon. I think it’s Latin for lazy, fussy and cat-like.

What else is important in publishing?

This doesn’t only apply to publishing, but certainly includes it. It’s obvious that there is too much ‘stuff’ in the world already. So why create more? We choose to make printed publications over digital for many reasons. Copyright and infringement, licensing, longevity, file formatting, corruption and many, many more. All that to one side, the feel of a book, the smell of a book…Books don’t require batteries and books aren’t back-lit. We’re still adding stuff to an already overburdened planet though. So, we do it as simply as we possibly can. The books are paper and staples. We don’t make coffee table type books, we don’t use cloth or glue or foiling in the books. They are made only from the most essential elements — nothing else is necessary. Every 100th book we make an archive box, which are foiled and cloth covered purposely, to help preserve the 100 books they contain.

All of our packaging is plastic free. We use compostable sleeves, paper tape with natural gum. The Café Royal Books studio uses low power LED, is efficiently and newly insulated. We keep a stock to a minimum and the stock we do have helps to insulate further. We work very hard to effect the planet as little as possible in terms of manufacture and business.

Is it difficult publishing a diverse range of work from people of different backgrounds?

Yes, to an extent. About 60% of what I publish originates from submissions. When someone sends their work over, I often know nothing more than their name. No idea of race, religion, beliefs, history…I work hard to try and achieve a truthful representation of life in Britain and Ireland. I always encourage people of all backgrounds and beliefs to submit work. I find there are far fewer submissions from woman photographers, as there are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds — so I work on finding photographs taken by people from under-represented groups.

How does the submission process work?

We receive a lot of submissions. Probably half are from people who perhaps haven’t looked at what I publish and have seemingly sent the same email to a lot of publishers at the same time. I accept submission at any time. Best is a weblink or low res files by WeTransfer, for example, accompanied by a very brief email with a few sentences about the work and if you want to, a brief bio. I try to reply to every email — it might take a couple of weeks, so there’s no real need to send a reminder in the mean time.

For those who don’t know the books, name some of the subjects you’ve covered.

There are so many! Lots of subjects are recurring. I find that really interesting because you get the photographers’ points of view for comparison and you can begin to understand their style. For example, I published Homer Sykes’ Chiswick Women’s Aid series. Then a few years later I published Markéta Luskačová’s work of the same subject. I’ve published a lot of East End London books, and although many are of the same time and place, they are all so different. A brief list off the top of my head…

Modernist architecture, football, rave and the culture around that growing through the 1990s. Factory Records — New Order, A certain Ratio, John Cooper-Clarke. Irish travellers, Turkey markets, The Troubles. Race riots and protests — from both sides. A book following the National Front and many books protesting racism. The Battle of Lewisham. Blair Peach. Black People’s Day of Action. Handsworth and Toxteh riots. Thatcher years, Sloane Rangers. Reggae, Hull, The River Irwell, Moris Miners, Pashley Moulton, Triumph, the Isle of Man TT races…Blitz Club, Isle of Wight Festival, Glastonbury, Notting Hill Carnival…The British, eccentricities, folk customs. New York from several perspectives, Albania, Spanish Villages, Black Power, Hip Hop, mods, punks…Glasgow Underground, Croagh Patrick, SoHo…

500–600 books, so you can imagine the content is broad.

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