What convinces a publisher to take a chance on an unknown writer? “It’s a voice. It’s a great story. It’s that tingle down your spine when you read it,” says Candida Lacey, managing director of Brighton’s Myriad Editions.

Myriad has acted as a springboard for numerous fledgling novelists, supporting them all the way from first draft to publication. Its author list is a roll call of contemporary literary talent including New York Times bestseller Elizabeth Haynes and the critically acclaimed Isabel Ashdown – all drawn from Brighton and the surrounding area.

Originally founded 20 years ago as a packager of geopolitical atlases, it made its first forays into trade publishing in 2005 when it published The Brighton Book, an anthology of fiction, reportage, graphics and photography. “It was then we really realised how much talent there was in the city,” says the vivacious Lacey, who went on to publish the debut novels of two of the anthology’s writers, Martine McDonagh and Lesley Thomson, as well as the first graphic novel from Woodrow Phoenix.

In 2009, Myriad won Arts Council funding to develop its work with new authors. Most publishers don’t accept unsolicited submissions; at Myriad, it’s actively encouraged. Lacey and her colleagues regularly visit creative writing courses to scout out new talent and help authors on their journey.

“We’re in a very privileged position of not just choosing work for its commercial potential. Of course, we are aware of publishing trends – we’ve been getting a lot of erotica recently – but we only publish what we want to publish. Ultimately, you have to be able to sell a book to others and that means being a genuine advocate for it.”

The bulk of Myriad’s work lies in its atlases, fiction and graphic novels. But Lacey keeps an open mind. “We often say we don’t do historical novels or sci-fi but then we’ll break our own rules. If we love it, we’ll take it, regardless of the genre.”

As part of its partnership work with colleges and arts organisations, it runs First Fictions with the University of Sussex, a bi-annual showcase of new literature that includes the Writer’s Retreat competition for the best work-in-progress by an unpublished writer.

The 2014 event takes place at West Dean College in April and follows the successful Myriad model of bringing in established names (bestselling historical novelist Phillipa Gregory is on the forthcoming panel along with writers Lizzie Enfield, Sally O’Reilly and Alison MacLeod) to raise the profile of its newer writers. It recently celebrated the appointment of Isabel Ashdown as its first writer-in-residence at the University of Brighton, a valuable development in Myriad’s continued commitment to encouraging new writers.

“We believe that independent publishers are culturally vital as the seedbeds of new talent,” says Lacey. “Our mission is to publish excellent and original books, and establish a literary niche against the mainstream.”

* Budding novelists have until February 3 to enter the Writer’s Retreat competition.

For more details about how to enter and for more about Myriad Editions, visit www.myriadeditions.com.

TAKE THREE

Candida Lacey recommends her favourite new Myriad titles

1. Human Remains by Elizabeth Haynes: “This is an extraordinary book. She seems to reinvent the genre almost every time she writes a novel. Human Remains is spooky and engrossing.”

2. Dark Aemilia by Sally O’Reilly: “This is based on the life of Aemilia Bassano who may have been the ‘Dark Lady’ of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

It feels very contemporary despite being set in Elizabethan London. We don’t usually publish historical fiction but this was too good to pass up.”

3. Layla by Nina De La Mer: “This is a week in the life of a young mother who turns to lap dancing to support her baby son. Written partly in homage to Jay McInernery’s Bright Lights Big City, it’s intense and jittery