Founded in 2025 by Craig Lee Snelgrove, Cooper Lee Press is an independent publishing house committed to platforming aspiring writers.
"Visceral, lyrical, compelling. Craig Snelgrove is a new authentic northern voice. The stories in this collection are rich and distinctive and explore northern working-class life with a tender insight. Does for Manchester what James Joyce's Dubliners did for Dublin." - Michael Stewart
A lad is taken up Holcombe Hill in the grip of existential angst; a musical duo attend Media City to audition for a TV talent show, and they are not taking no for an answer; a woman roams the city at night, dismayed by her observations; a man goes back to confront painful memories of a cemetery chapel; a mental health support worker becomes disillusioned with the system.
Alienated from the city and themselves, young Mancunians struggle for a meaning in uncertain times. They are looking for something but don’t know what it is. They are seeking answers but unsure of what they are or where to find them. Nothing ever happens but always does. Events unfold at rapid speed throughout the sluggish days. The present merges with the past, the future has already been and gone.
Young Mancunians depicts the city of Manchester in the 21st century, a city re-born from post-industrial decline, re-made in the image of neo-liberalism, haunted by a past that can’t be erased. Behind the façade of the city centre, ever changing and in constant need for economic and territorial growth, issues of poverty, crime, and addiction are more prevalent than ever.
In his collection, Craig Snelgrove confronts the self-mythology of Manchester, offering a unique portrayal of modern life within the city, one at odds from its mainstream perception, challenging the injustices and absurdities people are faced with through original short stories, providing fresh insight into the alienating effects of the modern city.
Spanning seven decades, The Adolescent Anglers is a story not of record fish but of the friendships that outlast them.
Ian, Harry, and Phil first meet as boys on the Thames in the 1950s—three lads from three different backgrounds, bound by fishing and a shared instinct for adventure. From pushbikes and punts to Irish holidays, brushes with authority, and Harry and Phil’s move to Australia as Ten Pound Poms, their lives diverge yet remain deeply entwined. Across oceans and eras, through letters, aerogrammes, visits, and the great Australian seascapes, their bond endures. In retirement, the catches grow smaller and the conversations grow warmer, but the companionship is still what really matters. A memoir of rivers crossed, seas travelled, and a friendship strengthened by distance, change and time.