Where tracked items are not delivered on the first attempt, Royal Mail will usually make a second attempt the next working day. If they still cannot deliver your item, they will leave a card explaining your options for arranging redelivery or collection from the location named on the card (usually your local Royal Mail depot). Your item will usually be held there for up to 18 days. If your order confirmation or delivery tracking emails haven't arrived, please check your junk or spam folder.

Currently, we only ship within the UK. Further details are available on the Shipping page. Adding European destinations is under review, pending changes to EU de minimis duties. If you have any additional shipping questions, please get in touch.

If there is a gothic gap on the shelves, please get in touch. We can usually order most books within a couple of weeks.

Occasionally books will be available to pre-order, either because publication is several
weeks away or because a title is reprinting. An estimated availability date will be shown alongside the book’s description. Orders containing both pre-order and immediately available items will be shipped together when the pre-ordered book becomes available. If you would like available items sooner, please place them as a separate order. If your pre-order confirmation hasn’t arrived, please check your junk or spam folder.

Orders are packaged using Colompac® book box mailers made from FSC-certified materials. The stationery is produced locally in the UK using eco-friendly materials. Vanitas Press' own imprint will print locally in the UK using FSC-certified paper, as do many of the books available in the bookshop.

The bookshop is currently online-only. Please sign up for the newsletter or follow vanitasgothic on Instagram for news about upcoming pop-ups.

We have a 14-day return policy, which means you have 14 days after receiving your order to request a cancellation or return. You can find more information about returns here. If you have an additional returns question, please get in touch.

The Vanitas Press imprint will be opening for new gothic submissions during 2027. Information for authors including useful organisations and online resources are available on the For Authors page.

Vanitas Press does not publish AI-generated or AI-assisted work. All Vanitas Press titles are written by human authors. Vanitas Press does not use AI instead of traditional developmental editing, copyediting, proof-reading, design or illustration. The insight, creativity, judgement and decision-making (including any associated errors) are all human.

That sounds fun! Take a look at the For Collaborators page to see if it might be a good fit.

Yes, Vanitas Press takes privacy and data protection seriously and only collects information that is necessary for serving you as a customer or the work we do together. A full privacy policy is available here, outlining how your information is used, stored and safeguarded. 

Vanitas is a Latin word meaning 'vanity', in the sense of futility, something being 'in vain'. It is also used in art history to refer to the tradition of memento mori associated with Dutch still life paintings. These works often depict skulls, books, flowers, time pieces, gold and candles, acting as symbolic reminders of our own mortality, the transience of worldly pleasures and meaninglessness of gathering wealth. 

If you’re keen to explore these paintings further, Steenwyck’s ‘Still Life’ hanging at the National Gallery (London, UK) is an especially striking place to begin. The Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, UK) also holds fine examples in its  Dutch Still Life gallery with a Vaillant mezzotint and de Claeuw oil painting. 

You are welcome to get in touch through the contact form below or by email. A short outline of the nature of your enquiry is helpful for a prompt response. If your reply email hasn’t arrived, please check your junk or spam folder.