The magazine for people who love books

‘Each issue has beautifully written essays by people involved in the producing, writing or selling of books recommending writers or books they love.  Not only is it a fantastic read in its own right, it introduces the reader to an eclectic, unusual selection of reading material outside the usual bestseller lists.’ Kate Humble

‘Slightly Foxed is a perfect readers’ periodical and every issue is a joy. In its pages, books you don’t yet know come to light and books you already love come to life.’
Adam Foulds

The Magazine

Slightly Foxed is much more like a well-read bookish friend than a literary journal or book review magazine. Each issue contains around 16 essays on books and authors and encompasses a wide variety of genres. Open a copy at random, turn to the bibliography, and there you’ll find an eclectic mix of titles, fiction and non-fiction, books old and new ‒ novels, travel, memoirs, history, poetry, children’s books, letters, cookery, the countryside and even dictionaries and quirky instruction manuals alongside articles on subjects such as libraries, editing, bookplates, blurb-writing or tributes to favourite bookshops.

Printed on fine cream paper and beautifully illustrated, it has the look and feel of a slim paperback, while its content and presentation reflect the editors’ belief that there are many more books worth reading than those featured on the bestseller lists. Although many contributors are well-known (Robert Macfarlane, Penelope Lively, Adam Foulds, P. D. James, Melissa Harrison, Tim Pears, Richard Mabey, Sam Leith, Margaret Drabble, Olivia Potts, Jacqueline Wilson, Justin Marozzi, Diana Athill, Raffaella Barker, Mick Herron, Ursula Buchan, Amy Liptrot, Ronald Blythe, Sarah Perry and Ali Smith to name but a few) the editors also accept submissions from readers and the general public.

In the autumn 2026 issue: Guy Stagg meets some imperfect priests • Kathryn Hughes does a ward round with Monica Dickens • C. J. Schüler visits Nazi Germany After Midnight • Raffaella Barker is spellbound by The Transylvanian Trilogy • David Profumo goes fishing with Negley Farson • Frances Donnelly meets ‘the man who saved England’ • Richard Smyth listens to the birds of Victorian London • Vesna Goldsworthy rereads Turgenev • Michael Barber pumps iron in the American South • Maggie Fergusson pays tribute to SOE’s lost agents, and much more besides . . .

‘The business of reading should please the hand and eye as well as the brain, and Slightly Foxed editions – books or quarterly – are elegant creations. Content follows form, offering new discoveries and old favourites to curious and discriminating readers.’
Hilary Mantel

Books

Slightly Foxed brings back forgotten voices through its Slightly Foxed Editions, a series of beautifully produced little hand-numbered pocket hardback reissues of classic memoirs, all of them absorbing and irresistibly collectable. The series includes memoirs by Edward Ardizzone, Roald Dahl, Gerald Durrell, Ysenda Maxtone Graham, Helene Hanff, Laurie Lee, James Lees-Milne, Hilary Mantel, Gavin Maxwell, Christopher Milne, Jessica Mitford, Graham Greene, Eric Newby, V. S. Pritchett, Anne Fadiman, Gwen Raverat, R. C. Sherriff, Nigel Slater, Dodie Smith, Rosemary Sutcliff and Joanna Rakoff among others.

Once the initial run of 2,000 copies of each title has sold out, the most popular of the SF Editions are then reissued as unnumbered (but still collectable) Plain Foxed Editions bound in a handsome duck-egg blue cloth.

For younger bookworms – and nostalgic older ones too – there’s the Slightly Foxed Cubs series, in which we’ve reissued Ronald Welch’s outstanding historical novels, BB’s classic nature adventure stories and Rosemary Sutcliff’s well-loved Roman and post-Roman novels, in a handsome format with the original illustrations.

  • Slightly Foxed Editions

    Slightly Foxed Editions

    Slightly Foxed Editions is a series of beautifully produced little pocket hardback reissues of classic memoirs, all of them highly absorbing and irresistibly collectable.

    The series includes memoirs by Edward Ardizzone, Roald Dahl, Gerald Durrell, Graham Greene, Helene Hanff, Laurie Lee, Hilary Mantel, Jessica Mitford, Eric Newby, V. S. Pritchett, Gwen Raverat, Nigel Slater, Dodie Smith and Rosemary Sutcliff, among others.

  • Seasonal & Special Releases

    Seasonal & Special Releases

    In addition to our range of memoirs, biographies and children’s books we have produced a few other seasonal books and other special releases over the years.

  • Plain Foxed Editions

    Plain Foxed Editions

    Many of the most popular titles in our limited Slightly Foxed Editions series of classic memoirs have sold out, but we are now making a number of them available in a plainer, unnumbered hardback edition. These sturdy little books, bound in duck-egg blue cloth, come in the same neat pocket format as the original SFEs and will happily fill any gaps on your shelves, as well as forming a delightful uniform edition on their own.

  • Slightly Foxed Cubs

    Slightly Foxed Cubs

    For younger bookworms – and nostalgic older ones too – there’s the Slightly Foxed Cubs series, in which we’ve reissued Rosemary Sutcliff’s Roman novels, favourite titles by BB and a number of Ronald Welch’s outstanding series of historical novels, in a handsome format with the original illustrations.

  • The Readers’ Catalogue

    The Readers’ Catalogue

    In addition to listing all the books we publish here at Slightly Foxed, the quarterly printed Readers’ Catalogue (which goes out to subscribers with each new issue of the quarterly) contains our pick of the best newly-published or recently-reissued titles from other publishers.

  • Goods

    Goods

    Whether you’re in search of a present for a bookish friend or relative, or a treat for yourself, Slightly Foxed offers a carefully chosen range of book-related merchandise, including notebooks, sturdy and good-looking book bags, cards, and bookplates.

‘Slightly Foxed appears quarterly and reminds one, in elegantly crafted essays, of books that have been lost or ignored but which are still worth reading . . . It is beautifully designed and printed on gorgeous cream paper.’
Alexander McCall Smith

Et cetera

Welcome to our virtual kitchen table. Here you can read articles and extracts from the quarterly magazine and our books, catch up with newsletters, find out more about our writers and artists, use the online index to hunt down articles published in back issues and seek out books featured in the magazine, listen to episodes of our podcast, and much more besides.

‘A great present for those who love books.’

Financial Times

The Slightly Foxed Podcast

Come behind the scenes with the staff of Slightly Foxed to learn what makes this unusual literary magazine tick, meet some of its varied friends and contributors, and hear their personal recommendations for favourite and often forgotten books that have helped, haunted, informed or entertained them.

Dedicated bibliophiles on a mission to spread the love for their favourite forgotten author . . . The articles aren’t remotely lit crit, and that’s exactly why I love them.
Naomi Ishiguro, For Books Sake

From Readers & The Press

‘Thank you SF for all the pleasure you give . . .

. . . and if we ARE headed for Hell in a handcart, I hope it will be well-stocked with past issues of your life-enhancing magazine.’
S. Boswell, Suffolk

Birth of a Book

‘Slightly Foxed have stepped aside from the ebook stampede to publish beautifully bound hardbacks that recall a bygone age — and sell like hot cakes. Watch Smith Settle bookbinders near Leeds bring one of their hardback books to life. Mesmerising.’

Film shot by Glen Milner for The Telegraph.

Birth of a Book
Birth of a Book
Slightly Foxed Subscription Renewal

Is it time to renew your subscription or a gift subscription?

We’re hard at work on upcoming issues which will be full of the usual entertaining writing and excellent recommendations for good reading. We do hope you’ll consider renewing and joining the SF club for another year or two. You can do so online by clicking the button below or by telephoning the office on +44 (0)20 7033 0258

Sign up to our e-newsletter

Sign up for dispatches about new issues, books and podcast episodes, highlights from the archive, events, special offers and giveaways.