Illustration Publication Publishing Risograph Zine

The Tilt

posted by Emily Gosling March 11, 2021

Aiming to shine a light on issues around belonging, identity and inequality in the publishing industry, the The Tilt is a new illustrated Riso-printed publication “designed to question traditional forms.”

Comprising a collection of new writing that centres around these issues, the all-female publishing, editorial and design team for The Tilt says that it also acts as “a celebration of female creativity and empowerment.”

The publication has been created by a team forged from independent publishers The Lit Platform, No Bindings and Stranger Collective. The illustrations are complemented by sonic counterparts: when readers scan them, they can ‘unlock’ audio versions of the chapters that are translated into diverse languages.

“Since the publication of the Goldsmiths Report on diversity in 2020, the systemic inequities in the publishing industry have been in the spotlight,” says Anna Kiernan, publisher at The Lit Platform. Lily Green, editorial consultant at No Bindings, adds, “By bringing together different languages, we hope that The Tilt goes beyond the classification of ‘translated fiction’ as something coming from outside the UK and starts a conversation around what “global literature” really is.”

The Tilt has been designed to question traditional forms, so within the limited edition Riso-printed copy, readers can scan the visuals by educator and cartoonist Esther McManus, illustrator Danielle Doobay and artist Miranda Latimer; to ‘unlock’ audio versions of the chapters, translated into Gujarati, Lithuanian and Spanish. The art direction is by Phyllida Bluemel, an artist, illustrator and associate lecturer in Illustration at Falmouth University, where she completed her MA in Illustration: Authorial Practice in 2015, having previously studied her Philosophy BA at Cambridge University. Her main interests lay in “the philosophy of language, logic and structures of thought—especially as related to nature,” she says.

Bluemel looked to reflect the multiplicity of languages and voices in the mag through the design, and says her aim was to “give each new voice their own space and identity, while still allowing for overlaps and conversation between them all.

“I also wanted to say true to the experimental, mentee-led nature of the whole project,” she adds. “I couldn’t resist creating something tactile, with different parts to unpack and shuffle: it’s new writing that asks to be explored, and ’tilted’!”

“The aim of The Tilt is to question traditional forms, language, representation and distribution models,” says the team. The publication is made up of six separate staple-bound pamphlets and a wraparound cover, Riso-printed in seven different coloured inks by Earthbound Press, and hand-finished with an elastic tie. Copies are limited to 200 editions, as well as a limited-edition printed book, a free downloadable digital version that’s accessible via mobile and on desktop to enable home printing.