About Laura
Laura Jones-Rivera is a SGSAH AHRC PhD Researcher in Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling.
Her thesis, ‘“The Cathedral and the Stock Market”: Combining Cultural and Institutional Theories Towards SME Publisher Sustainability’ questions how the “cathedral” of publishing studies theory and the “stock market” of institutional theories can combine to identify cultural policy and business sustainability improvements towards consistent, and therefore, diverse cultural output.
She was the publisher and co-founder of the award-winning publishing company 404 Ink with Heather McDaid, which operated from 2016 to 2026.
Laura has offered book typesetting, ebook creation services and publishing consultancy since 2015, while also being Interim Publisher at Dead Ink from late 2020 to early 2022, and Operations Manager at Charco Press since September 2024.
She previously studied Publishing Studies MLitt at the University of Stirling and English Literature MA at the University of Edinburgh even more previously.
She lives in Edinburgh, Scotland with her husband.
Professional awards
Selected as one of the women who are shaping the future by Margaret Atwood in The Sunday Times Style magazine, 2019
WINNER: LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR 404 INK, 2025 (THE SKINNY’s BESTIES AWARD)
WINNER: SCOTLAND’S PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR, 2024 & 2025 (BRITISH BOOK AWARDS)
WINNER: PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR, 2022 (SALTIRE SOCIETY)
WINNER: RISING STAR AWARD, 2022 (THE BOOKSELLER)
WINNER: EMERGING PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR, 2017 (SALTIRE SOCIETY)
SHORTLISTED: KSW PRIZE, 2019, recognises the professional achievements and promise of women in publishing
SHORTLISTED: TRAILBLAZERS AWARD, 2018 (info)
SHORTLISTED: BEST PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 & 2023 FOR 404 INK (SALTIRE SOCIETY)
Publications & articles
Publisher Not Found: 404 Ink, 2016 - 2026 (404 Ink/Saraband, 2026) co-written with Heather McDaid
“Mouthpiece: Laura Jones-Rivera” (The List, 2024) [read]
“Nicola Sturgeon: Just a politician who wants to shake things up a wee bit” (BHP Comics/404 Ink, 2018)
“Generational Gridlock Scotland?” in Scotland the Brave?: Twenty Years of Change and the Future of the Nation (Luath Press, 2017)