Indie Publishing House - Hashtag Press - Celebrates First Birthday & Launch of The Originals
London, United Kingdom, April 6th2018: More than 70 people including 20 seven to nineteen year old first-time, published authors, joined the co-founders of Hashtag Press in Jewel Bar, London last night (April 5th) for a double-whammy celebration. The event was held in honour of both the first birthday of indie publishing houseHashtag Press, and the launch of The Originals - a collection of prize-winning short stories written by five to 21-year-olds around the world.
As part of a competition organised byThe Author School's sister company, The Lil' Author Skool, and managed by Abiola Bello, children and teens were invited to submit their short stories as part of a global competition. The prize winners not only received lots of goodies from leading publishers, but also the opportunity to have their story published in The Originals, available in all good bookshops and online for £6.99, and enjoy their first book launch in London (please see picture). Many children attended with their parents, along with the original Hashtag authors: Stephanie Nimmo (Was This In The Plan?), Helen Matthews (After Leaving the Village), J Merrill Forrest (The Waiting Gate) and authors of the next book due for release by Hashtag Press, The MANScript, by Julia Keys and Jacqui Coles (May 1st, £12.99).
The party was a celebration of the incredible journey both Helen Lewis and Abiola Bello have been on since the start of Hashtag Press one year ago, and the successes of The Author School, which opened in 2015 and prompted the idea to create a new way of publishing to support authors with amazing stories (fiction and non-fiction) to share. There was plenty of food, drink, books and... of course... birthday cake (created by Sweet Remedyz, pictured).
Hashtag Press has now published work by authors from the age of five through to 82! Last night, some of the authors shared their publishing experiences and talked about their books, including Stephanie Nimmo (Was This In The Plan?), Helen Matthews (After Leaving the Village), J Merrill Forrest (The Waiting Gate) and Julia Keys & Jacqui Coles (The MANScript). Lotte Moore (In the Fast Lane, May 2018) and Jessica Taylor-Bearman (A Girl Behind Dark Glasses, July 2018) were sadly unable to join the party but are also part of the 'Hashtag family'.
Abiola Bello comments: "This is just the start of a very exciting journey for us and all our authors. We are very proud to work with such talented people - including the amazing authors of The Originals. We will continue to offer a genuine, authentic and successful publishing option for authors that combines the best of traditional and self-publishing, and we are open to submissions from men and women of all ages and backgrounds."
Helen Lewis adds: "What an inspiring evening! It was wonderful to be surrounded by such talented writers of all ages. I'm very excited about what's next to come for Hashtag Press and its authors."
--
Notes to editors
Helen Lewis and Abiola Bello are available for interview.
Abiola Bello recently won the Trailblazer of the Year Award (London Book Fair)http://hub.londonbookfair.co.uk/5-minutes-with-abiola-bello/.
Photos are available in the online press folder:http://bit.ly/2EoVsve.
For more information please emailinfo@literallypr.com.
Helen Lewis & Abiola Bello with "THE CAKE",
Co-Founders of Hashtag Press and The Author School
--Ends--