October 1, 2026Guest Posts, Member News, Publisher Profile

Publisher Profile: Sweet Cherry Publishing

2026 marks the 15th anniversary of Sweet Cherry Publishing!

The CBC asks Sanjee de Silva, Publisher, questions about the publisher.

How did your publishing house start out?

Our publishing house was started in 2011, making us 15 years old this year! We were the brainchild of Abdul Thadha. As the youngest child of an immigrant family, Abdul was determined to ensure his children did not fall through the same reading gaps that he did. He set out to create Sweet Cherry Publishing to fill the gaps he observed in an industry he was already serving. Abdul also runs an online book retailing company.

What is your publishing house most known for?

We are known for diverse, accessible, and forward-thinking books—often books that are well ahead of their time. We are the first publisher to push for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) children, and we have published books covering topics like Bipolar disorder as well as books specifically for Muslim children.

In our 15 years as publishers, one of our most wonderful lessons has been ….

We can literally do anything we set our minds to.

Fifteen years ago, when we began, we never imagined that a non-reader could not only start their own publishing house but also make it a global success.

Fifteen years ago, he never imagined he would be responsible for starting the careers of so many young publishing hopefuls, giving them their first introductory start to the industry, and watching them flourish and grow in publishing houses all around the UK. It is great to be a part of their journeys and watch them not only fly but succeed, knowing they had their start at Sweet Cherry!

Fifteen years ago, he didn’t imagine he would be instrumental in game-changing initiatives like free audio, SEND publishing, symbolised publishing, and a Muslim imprint.

After 15 years in the publishing game, we are not only grateful to still be here, but proud of the impact we have had by actively being the change we wanted to see in publishing.

Where in the country is your house based? What do you love about being based there?

We are based in Leicester, in the middle of England, and we are super proud of our heritage. Most of the publishing industry exists in and around London, so we feel this gives us a unique selling point (USP). We are fortunate to be surrounded by a large immigrant population with specific reading needs, and we enjoy making books for them that are also useful globally. Our inclusion of free audiobooks with every title is fantastic for immigrant families who may not have the opportunity to read or be read to. Additionally, this has great benefits for children around the world who are learning English, as they get to hear wonderful stories while learning proper pronunciation.

What conventions and conferences does your publishing house usually attend?

We attend the three major international fairs: the London Book Fair, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, and the Frankfurt Book Fair. Over the years, we have also attended others like Guadalajara, and this year we attended the American Book Fair in New York. We have also attended the ALA (American Library Association) annual conference in previous years.

In addition to these, we attend:

The Bookseller Conference
The Children’s Media Conference
The Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) Conference
Licensing events, including the London Licensing Expo and Licensing Expo in Las Vegas

How many employees does your house have?

We currently have 21 employees.

How many books does your house aim to publish per season/year?

We publish 80 to 100 titles per year.

Which genres does your house prefer to publish?

We publish everything from fiction to nonfiction. We try to find subjects that will engage children and get them into reading, so our list spans across sports, science, adventure, and picture books.

Which formats does your house prefer to publish?

We prefer black-and-white B-format paperbacks, which tend to be our best sellers due to how cost-effective they are. However, we also produce picture books, board books, and sticker books.

What are some of your house’s publishing priorities over the next few years?

As the only Special Educational Needs (SEND) publisher on the market, it is important for us to partner with other publishers to help them become more SEND-friendly. We have done a great job with this so far through partnerships with McDonald’s and Hasbro, utilizing their Peppa Pig IP.

Which title has your house recently rallied behind?

Growing with our readers, we will be publishing our first YA book, Girl of Darkness, a title we purchased that was already successful in Sweden. This will be our lead title this year. Last year, we had enormous success with ADHD Wrapped Up, which went on to sell 57,000 units and became a Sunday Times Best Seller. We look forward to emulating that success with its follow-up.

Which title does your house feel deserved more love than it got?

Bipolar Blob. This spectacular title was written and illustrated by an author-illustrator with Bipolar disorder to explain to her daughter why mummy was sometimes unwell. It was greatly loved by our team, even if it didn’t get the traction we hoped for with retailers.

Which upcoming titles is your house buzzing about?

Apart from Girl of Darkness and ADHD Leveled Up, we are super excited about our book advent calendars coming out for Christmas, featuring some of our best-selling books to be read each day leading up to the holiday. Following that, we have created a similar advent calendar for Ramadan, and we look forward to seeing how it is received by the community we designed it for.

Which of your frontlist titles would be great for a school or public library?

All of our books are great for schools and libraries, especially our SEND range, which is specifically designed for classrooms. The concept is unique: no matter which accessible version of the book a student receives, every child in the classroom will be on the exact same part of the story on any given page. This allows classrooms to read together rather than being segregated by reading ability, ensuring everyone can enjoy the story as one group.

Which of your frontlist titles would be great for a classroom? Which grade?

Our Easy Classics range is perfect for getting children excited about classic literature. It provides them with an opportunity to share their knowledge of these classic stories with their parents and educators.

Which of your frontlist titles would you like to see get more attention from bookstores?

We would love to see bookstores champion our SEND range, largely because no other publisher is creating books specifically for these children. We believe our books are unmatched; for the exact same retail price as a standard book, we offer far more value, including free audiobooks and teaching resources available to download online for free. Our SEND books also come with free signed videos, audio glossaries for tricky words, and symbolised reading tools.

Name a few of your favorite backlist titles that people should check out.

A highly popular choice would be our Sherlock Holmes backlist, which currently features 30 books in the collection. As these books have continuously been our best sellers for 15 years, we are commemorating their success this year with a brand-new graphic novel version.

What else would you like to tell us about your house and the amazing work you all do?

We aim to be the change we want to see in publishing, and we boldly publish titles that no other publisher would dare to.