In a crowded publishing marketplace that rewards big noisy books, it’s easy to overlook all the small presses quietly producing distinctive stories—until a new imprint comes along to shake things up.
Galiot Press opened to queries in 2024 and published their first two books in the fall of 2025. Started by authors/friends Henriette Lazaridis and Anjali Duva, their goal is to “re-envision every step in the publishing process.” The result is a fresh approach that prioritizes respect for authors and their work, while also producing distinctive and surprising books.
Respect for Authors
Galiot’s fresh approach starts with a unique submissions process. Instead of “send a query and we might get back to you, eventually,” they open weekly query slots that an author can reserve. Galiot promises to respond by that Friday—and even if they say no, they try to provide feedback that will help the author improve their work.
According to co-founder Anjali Duva, the system is working well and they’ve received several grateful emails from rejected authors. Here’s my favorite: “Many thanks for all your efforts to make this process easier, more humane, more helpful, and more personal.”
Artistic Risks
They are also consciously publishing books that don’t fit into the usual buckets. Their first book, Sex of the Midwest by Robin Ryle, is a novel in stories that starts off with a provocative email subject line: “Invitation to Participate: Sexual Practices in a Small Midwestern Town.” After noting that most recipients never received this odd email and were therefore “saved the shock or titillation or outrage,” we quickly learn more about the specifics of the book’s time and place:
“The other three thousand or so residents of Lainer, Indiana, population 12,234, woke up one morning in January 2024, to fog on the river and a strange email in their inbox.”
Though the specifics are quite different, the writing and small-town setup remind me of Elizabeth Strout’s books. (Lucy by the Sea made my 2023 Holiday Book List.) Seemingly unrelated stories are narrated by locals who are all interconnected; part of the fun is figuring out those connections, a task largely left to the reader. Along the way, we learn how completely different people living in the same small town can be. Author Robyn Ryle said in an NPR interview that such forced proximity “makes it a little bit harder to dehumanize your neighbors . . . . We have to live next to each other, and we have to figure out ways to get along.”
Transparency and Sustainability
Unlike other presses, Galiot has committed to both transparency and sustainability. I haven’t seen their royalty report, but I’m guessing it’s a lot easier to decipher than the typical “smoke and mirrors” approach. And all of their books are printed on demand, reducing paper waste.
Henriette and Anjali are also open to breaking a few rules. At their standing-room-only launch party last fall, they introduced a new approach to author readings by inviting audience members to read different characters. Another surprise was when they replayed their own epithet-studded private communications about the challenges of starting up a business. None of this feels like a quest to be different for different’s sake; it’s another example of transparency, giving us all a glimpse behind the scenes into the very messy world of bringing books to life.
Coming Soon
Galiot’s spring of 2026 list includes two more books. I’m especially looking forward to The Days of Miracle and Wonder by Irene Zabytko, stories within a story about a bus ride through Kyiv in the early days of Ukrainian independence. In the fall, they will bring out three new books that all look fresh and surprising.
While their books are available in all the usual places, ordering directly from Galiot Press is best for the author because it reduces payments to middlemen—and Galiot passes that along.
In such a crowded and noisy publishing world, it’s refreshing to see a new press prioritizing honesty, transparency, and sustainability, while providing fresh perspectives on the world around us for both authors and readers. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next, and please consider supporting them with a book purchase.
Thanks for being here. Got a favorite read (or press) to share? Add a comment, or send me an email; I read every single one, with gratitude. See you next Thursday.