Simile Press is a Johannesburg independent publisher doing things differently — building toward handmade, in-house book production and a direct-to-reader model, on a profit-share principle that splits earnings equally between press and author.
We publish stories because they are good stories. Not a particular genre or a particular style, but a particular quality — the sense that a real person wrote this, that they had something to say, and that they found the right way to say it. A good story about dragons and a good story about a Johannesburg suburb belong on the same shelf if they are both genuinely good.
We publish poetry that has something to say and the craft to say it. Experimental fiction that justifies its own strangeness. What a story cannot be is dull, hollow, or safe. Beyond that, we are open. We would rather be surprised than comfortable.
VELDT — A Magazine Being Born
A South African fiction magazine, made by hand and meant to be read.
VELDT is a new South African fiction magazine from Simile Press — a handmade publication carrying fresh short fiction from South African writers, printed in-house, by hand, in Johannesburg. Each issue chosen for one reason only: because the stories in it are worth reading.
For writers: We are setting up the press that will print it and reading for Issue One at the same time. If you are a South African writer with a story that belongs in a magazine like this, now is the time — before the first issue exists, while there is still space in it.
For readers: A handmade fiction magazine, built around good stories, printed in Johannesburg and delivered directly to you. Subscribe to the newsletter and be first to know when Issue One is ready.
Stay in the Loop
Good books. Fresh fiction. A press being built by hand.
If you want to know when VELDT Issue One is ready, when new titles are published, and when submissions open, the newsletter is the best place to be. We write when there is something worth saying — which means when we land in your inbox, it is worth opening.
About the Press
Built around stories worth telling.
Simile Press was founded by Johannesburg author and creative Gerhi Janse van Vuuren — writer, former art teacher, and lifelong reader. We publish fiction that could become somebody’s favourite book, poetry that earns its place, and non-fiction that gives South African readers something genuinely worth their time. Everything we publish is chosen because we believe in it.
Submit Your Work
We’re reading. Are you writing?
Simile Press is open for submissions — VELDT, novels, short fiction, poetry, and experimental fiction. No reading fees. No agents required. Just a fair agreement and a genuine commitment to your work.
→See all current submission calls
Our Model
Fifty-fifty. No fine print.
After production costs are covered, every rand of profit is split equally between the press and the author. You keep your rights. You share in the upside of your own work. No advances that never earn out. No royalty rates designed to delay payment. Just a clean, transparent split.
Building the Press
How a micro-printing press gets made.
We are documenting the process of building our in-house printing operation openly — what we have, what we still need, and how we are getting there. It is the foundation of VELDT and the first step toward a full in-house paperback production capability.
Catalogue
What we’re publishing.
Our catalogue is growing. Check back here for new titles, forthcoming releases, and everything Simile Press is putting into the world.