Stylus Summer '26 (vol. III)

PLEASE NOTE: Any order before the 20th August 2026 is considered a PRE-ORDER and will be dispatched on the 20th August. We are pleased to launch our third volume of STYLUS for August 2026. Thank you for your interest and support in our growing Dark Branch Press!

Our Summer theme is ‘en plein air’, a term which translates to ‘in the open air’ coined during the impressionism movement which rapidly gained popularity in 1860s France for veering away form rigid aesthetic conventions at the time. It features a range of brilliantly talented writers, artists, and creators - some familiar and some entirely new. We typify the impressionist period with the energetic brushstrokes of Monet, Renoir and Bazille who formed the in-crowd of the Paris impressionist scene. The ‘en plein air’ artist is characterised with a Pochade Box (a brief-case like wooden box containing everything he or she required to paint outside), a parasol, sun-hat and finally; a blank canvas.

We have chosen this theme to encourage a similar burst of organic creation, seized in the moment and energetically painted (or penned) when inspiration takes hold and imagination flourishes. We have once again been delighted by our creative contributions to this summer edition, and we know you will be too.