Survivors Voices Press is a survivor-led independent publisher that amplifies the voice and experience of survivors, promoting understanding of trauma and ally-ship with abuse survivors.
Our mission is to provide a trauma-informed platform for survivors’ work, filling the gap in mainstream publishing and challenging the stigma associated with accounts of abuse.
We’ll be launching in December 2024 with our first two books, kicking off a series of publications by survivor authors: a young adult novel about child sexual abuse and a memoir about rape.
Our SVP team of writers, designers and volunteers have been working really hard for the last three years to get ready to launch, and now we need your help to get this vitally important project over the line.
We want to bring survivors and friends from our community together to launch SVP and celebrate the courage and creativity of our authors. And we want to make sure that as many people as possible have the chance to read their powerful words. We also have three more books we’re preparing to publish next year, and need your help to complete all the work needed to publish.
Every penny of your money will help our survivor community; from providing a cup of tea and cake at the launch, to supporting an unwaged survivor to attend, or purchasing a gift book for a survivor who couldn’t otherwise afford it.
What will your money do?
£2.50... will purchase gift ebooks for an unwaged survivor
£5... will provide a cup of tea and cake at the launch
£10…will buy display and library copies of the book
£15...purchases a gift book for an unwaged survivor
£20…pays for 1 hour of peer support at the launch
£25...supports a survivor musician to play at the launch
£50...will pay for one design for our next book
£75…helps to cover our editing costs
£100...provides 1 night accommodation for the survivor volunteer team
£150... will allow us studio time to create an audio book
More about the books...
Many of us will know someone who has been raped but what’s it really like? The Reality of rape by Jenny Cooke is a powerful memoir that takes an honest look at Jenny’s experience of living with the impact of rape. It illustrates the ways in which trauma manifests itself at different times through her life. Jenny shares her story in the hope that it will help others to feel less alone and increase awareness of the damage caused by this heinous crime.
Poppy in pieces by Sue Atkinson follows the story of Poppy, a young person who survives very tough times, and reveals the strength we can unexpectedly find within ourselves to refuse to let suffering overwhelm us.
Sue started writing Poppy in pieces after Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman said, ‘Write about what you feel passionately about.’ Sue feels passionate about the amount of child abuse that goes on in the world. Some say it affects one in four of us. Some say it’s much more than that.
Poppy in pieces isn’t an autobiography. Sue was much younger when she was sexually abused, but Poppy’s emotions are like hers – and those of other members of Survivors Voices. The effects of childhood abuse can last into adulthood, and we support each other as we heal.
Sue says: “Childhood is hell for some children, and we could make it better for them if we all talked more about abuse – telling the truth about this horror in our world. I hope this book will give some hope to those children and young people who are struggling with guilt, shame, and the other devastating effects of any kind of abuse.”