A Joyful Start to 2026 at Grace Bell Publishing

Written by the publisher, Justine:

I deeply love books and bookish treats! It is an absolute dream to own a publishing company and get to play creatively all day (okay, I don’t play all day, but I do get to think creatively a lot of the time, which brings me so much joy!).

I thought I would take some time to blog about the business and what has been happening at Grace Bell Publishing at the start of 2026.

In an earlier blog post I talked about bookmarks, and why we are selling them. And I am happy to report that my bookmarks are selling. YAY! This is wonderful because as a new publisher every sale helps. I love creating bookmarks on my iPad, drawing for hours. If you missed the blog about bookmarks, here is the link. I’m planning my next bookmark series, which will be chocolate themed… perhaps?

I recently put in a repeat print order for more stock, so that is lovely and promising. You’ve got to love a fun bookmark. My favourite is the Summer Bookmark Set.

Secondly, I have been busy preparing two books for the printers.

There is a lot of work in getting a book ready, and I am LOVING the joy of seeing a gorgeous Christmas picture book come together.

Oopsie Gardeners Book 2 has been given the green light to proceed, so that book will be coming out in September 2026. (It was quite a surprise that Oopsie 1 sold okay.) Today, I looked at pages of illustrations of mud cakes. This afternoon, a friend asked me what I was thinking about, and I said “cake”. Now that I think about it, there has been a lot of cake-themed content in my work life recently!

Thirdly, CPI and the cost of living are definitely having an impact on the business.

As a new start-up, I don’t have the luxury of a large budget that can absorb unexpected cost increases, so please do keep Grace Bell Publishing in your prayers. The world needs more wholesome, joyful, good books.

Thank you for supporting Grace Bell Publishing.