Every so often, a publishing milestone reminds me why Mixed Heritage Press (MHP) exists.

Yes, our books travel far. Yes, they have been celebrated internationally, featured on mainstream media, embraced in university archives, and recognised with global book awards as well as personal five-star reviews and recommendations internationally.

But at the very heart of what we do is something much simpler and yet more profound: local stories finding their way home. Today, I’d like to share exactly that kind of news.

A Local Triumph

I’ve just received a beautiful update from the Caribbean:

Our recent title, The Fitt’s Village Story: From Sugar to Salt, has reportedly sold out its initial trial stock of 60 copies in just three days at one of the Jordans Supermarkets in Barbados. The store has already requested another 100 copies. 🇧🇧

Moments like this capture the heartbeat of Mixed Heritage Press.

Moreover, positive feedback for the book continues to arrive from the UK, the United States, and beyond – including a growing wave of 5-star Amazon reviews. One UK reviewer recently shared:

“A fantastic insight into life back then. I am able to research the names and get a good understanding and view of the life that was lived by our ancestors.” ★★★★★

Congratulations to authors Ward Scott and Winston Baird, whose dedication to preserving Barbadian history from the bottom up continues to touch readers internationally and locally.

Local Success, Global Footprints

While this achievement in Barbados is deeply rooted in place, it also reflects a broader story – the Mixed Heritage Press journey itself.

Three years ago, we published our very first title. What began as one author and one book has become a vibrant cross-continental community of writers, editors, and creative collaborators – bringing heritage-centred stories to life together.

We’ve recently celebrated Ay Ya Yai! Miss Lou: Voice of the Jamaican People receiving recognition as a Distinguished Favourite in the NYC Big Book Award, competing alongside traditionally published books. It has also been added to the Miss Lou Collection at McMaster University in Canada, preserving it for future generations of scholars and readers.

Our work has also been featured on BBC UK, CBC Canada, and CBC Barbados, and at international festivals and exhibitions in France. From the UK to Jamaica, from Europe to the USA, we are shaping conversations about identity, memory, language, and culture.

These international successes sit beautifully alongside local milestones like the one unfolding right now in Barbados.

Why This Book and This News Matter

The Fitt’s Village Story carries the voices, histories, and heritage of Bajan people. It goes far back, exploring ancestral ties all the way to slavery, humanising the stories of enslaved people, sharing their journeys from slavery to indentured servanthood to freedom, and calling these people by name (not by number).

It equally celebrates the families and transformation of Fitt’s Village – from sugar plantation to a fishing village, and eventually to the wonderful tourist destination it is today. This place has such a rich history that it’s worth exploring globally.

Yet to see it embraced so warmly at home – while also reaching the wider diaspora – is a reminder of something essential: global storytelling is only meaningful when it remains rooted.

Mixed Heritage Press is global, yes. But we are also deeply local – driven by the communities whose stories we help to preserve.

This is the balance we aim to honour with each book:

• global media features alongside local store shelves

• fancy book awards alongside university archive collections

• international readership alongside home-grown celebration

This is heritage publishing.

This is cultural storytelling.

This is Mixed Heritage Press.

To our readers, retailers, and supporters: thank you for championing independent publishing and for recognising the value of heritage books that preserve community stories.

To Ward Scott and Winston Baird: congratulations once again. Your book continues to do exactly what we hope for every MHP title – connect past and present, home and away, even sugar and salt.

And to the readers discovering this book for the first time:

The Fitt’s Village Story: From Sugar to Salt is now available locally at the Fitt’s Village Jordans Supermarket in Barbados and worldwide on Amazon.

Here’s to more bridges, more books, and more beautifully rooted success stories. If you have a story to tell, get in touch with us here, today – why wait?

Monika