Publishers of Traditional Catholic Books
1400 years after St. Augustine first brought hope to the English, the true faith that he preached still inspires young hearts and minds
25 Years of the best in Traditional Catholic Publishing
Twenty five years ago, there were no traditional Catholic book publishers remaining in England. The big names of English Catholic publishing, Sheed & Ward and Burns & Oates had all been sold to global publishing houses. Smaller publishers had simply closed.
While Catholic publishing had all but vanished, thanks to the Agatha Christie indult, a traditionalist movement still existed and bishops granted permissions for the ‘Mass of all ages’ to be celebrated.
The Saint Austin Press was founded above a shop in Southampton in 1996 by a group of young Catholics headed by Ferdi McDermott, a Gaelic speaking traditional Catholic who had then recently graduated from university.
Our founder: Ferdi McDermott
The Saint Austin Press was founded with the hope and prayer that by bringing back good Catholic titles that were out of print in the aftermath of the second Vatican council, more souls in the British Isles would discover the deposit of beauty and truth found within the Church.
In 1998, the Press moved to the London suburb of Brockley and hereafter started a prolific chapter in its history, publishing a number of titles for which the Press has been remembered. In 1999, Robert Asch, a convert from Judaism joined the Press as the editor, a position which he continues to hold today. Under Robert’s guiding hand, The Saint Austin Press became well known for its beautifully bound books on theology, culture, poetry, fiction, and philosophy.
Robert Asch – Our editor
The bookstore in Brockley, London circa 2000.
Since being founded in 1996 in Southampton, England we have published dozens of books on a wide a range of subjects including literature, the arts, spirituality and the saints.
Some of our publications from our early days.
When the Jesuits announced in 2001 that they were ceasing to publish England’s oldest Catholic culture magazine, The Month, the Saint Austin Press made a request to take it over. Alas the Jesuits decided to close The Month, and so the Saint Austin Press started a new magazine of Catholic culture and ideas, called The Saint Austin Review (StAR). Although now published by another publisher, twenty years later, our editor, Robert Asch continues to co-edit this publication with Joseph Pearce.
The Saint Austin Press today:
In 2021, we restarted our publishing programme with the aim to publish and promote important Catholic titles that will continue to attract readers and are cherished by owners, in lasting beautiful hardcover editions. See our page on how our titles are made to learn more about how we work to preserve and continue our publishing tradition.
Inspired by our patron saint, St. Augustine of Canterbury, the evangelizer of England, we are dedicated to restoring Catholic intellectual and cultural life, by publishing and promoting the most important and influential titles on a wide range of disciplines by British and European Catholic thinkers.