Café Royal Books

We believe in keeping our publications affordable and widely accessible. They’re functional and clear, free from decoration and over-design. They books focus on 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 Much of the work we publish, regardless of the maker, is previously unpublished but we also work with previously published work. 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, Ireland and beyond. So far there are over 700 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. Our books are collected by galleries, libraries and museums, preserving and helping to increase the visibility of the work while making the books publicly accessible. Collectors 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 see the link above. 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.

While we work independently of galleries, we welcome opportunities to exhibit the diverse archive of subjects we publish. Past exhibitions at Martin Parr Foundation, Stills Centre for Photography, The Photographers Gallery and Impressions Gallery can be seen online.

In 2023, Craig was awarded the Royal Photographic Society Award for Photographic Publishing and was finalist in the international Lucie Award for Editing. We launched the Café Royal Books Publishing Grant in 2024, allowing us to publish work that would fall outside of what we’d usually look for.

If you’re still reading, we’re making a bit more of a comprehensive history of Café Royal Books on the cliché, ‘our story’, page.

Images:
Stills Gallery, by Alan Dimmick.
Impressions Gallery.