A new independent publishing house, Conduit Books, has recently announced its launch with a specific focus on male authors. Founded by writer and critic Jude Cook, the press is drawing attention for its decision to highlight male voices at a time when literary discourse has largely centred on increasing representation for women and other historically marginalized groups.
According to Cook, the idea behind Conduit is not to revive the male-dominated culture of the past, but rather to recognize a more recent shift in literary publishing. Over the past two decades, as the industry has rightly responded to decades of exclusion by elevating women’s voices, there’s been a growing sense that certain male perspectives are struggling to find a platform. Cook and others point to a noticeable gap in young male literary voices. His concern isn’t simply about gender, but about the kinds of stories being lost: those that explore vulnerability, mental health, and fatherhood from a male perspective.
Critics of the initiative have been quick to express skepticism. Some argue that men still dominate many aspects of the publishing world, particularly in nonfiction and executive positions. From this point of view, focusing on male writers risks reinforcing the idea that progress for one group must come at the expense of another. There’s a concern that such moves can unintentionally feed into culture war narratives or give cover to regressive attitudes under the guise of rebalancing.
However, the reality is more nuanced. Fiction publishing in the UK has seen an undeniable surge in women’s voices, both in critical acclaim and commercial success—a positive development which has enriched the literary landscape. But within this success story lies a subtle shift: debut novels by young men, especially those tackling more introspective or nontraditional themes, appear less frequently in major catalogues. This is not necessarily a result of bias against men but could reflect changing market incentives and broader trends in reader preferences.
Cook is careful to position Conduit as a literary, apolitical venture. The press states that its goal is not to sideline women or fight back against recent gains, but to create a space for a specific kind of narrative that seems increasingly rare. Importantly, Conduit is open to authors from a range of diverse backgrounds and is not limiting its focus to a narrow or stereotypical vision of masculinity. The press plans to publish just a few titles a year, with a focus on quality and storytelling rather than quotas or ideology.
This distinction matters. The credibility of any initiative that seeks to correct a perceived imbalance depends on whether it works constructively within the broader ecosystem, rather than defining itself in opposition to it. Cooks’s approach, at least in intention, seems to reflect this understanding. Rather than trying to ‘take back’ space, Conduit Books appears committed to carving out a new one that reflects a genuine curiosity about male experience in the 21st century without denying the value of everything that’s come before.
The risk, of course, lies in how the project is perceived and how the conversation around it unfolds. If it drifts into grievance politics or leans too heavily on the idea that men are now marginalized in literature, it could undermine its own ambitions. But if it stays true to its mission statement, it could, over time, offer a meaningful contribution to a literary landscape that continues to evolve.
In the end, Conduit Books doesn’t seem interested in adversarial positioning. Its founder speaks not of undermining the progress made by female writers, but providing a platform for underrepresented male voices. And if the press can hold that course, it may well find that in amplifying those voices, it adds something essential to the collective cultural conversation.
Words by Dana Elrufaei
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