The Publishing Industry Has Failed Dyslexic Readers. Here’s How We’re Changing It

When I started Scorpius Books, I wanted to create a company that challenged the somewhat antiquated way the publishing industry operates — because sometimes, breaking the rules is a good thing.

Having worked as an editor for over fifteen years for both publishers and authors, as well as being a published author myself, I’d seen enough of the industry from both sides of the fence to recognise that many practices existed simply because “that’s how it’s always been done.” To me, that’s a terrifying way of approaching just about anything.

I wanted Scorpius Books to be different. To break the rules.

And so we did…in the biggest way possible.

​On 5 June 2020, Scorpius Books was born, and our first dyslexic-friendly book for adults was published — the first of its kind by a trade publisher in the UK.

It’s estimated that 1 in 10 people in the UK are dyslexic, with around 1 in 6 adults having the reading level of an 11-year-old, often due to a lack of support in school. Many were educated at a time when dyslexia was misunderstood, and children were labelled as lazy or unintelligent, neither of which is true. This has recently been brought to the forefront by celebrities such as Jamie Oliver and Chris Packham.

My husband is dyslexic. Despite being a huge book lover, our shelves are filled with military fiction he struggles to read due to the layout and font size. Some book fonts are so small that even I struggle to read more than a few pages at a time without needing a break.

So, I decided to look into dyslexic-friendly fiction, but I simply couldn’t find anything. There were plenty of options for children, but nothing for dyslexic adults. Absolutely nothing. I was shocked. It was as if the publishing industry assumed dyslexia disappeared once you reached adulthood.

I spoke to dyslexia associations, individuals and booksellers. I kept thinking I must be missing something — that at some point it would all click and I’d realise why it wasn’t that simple. I’m still waiting. The industry just didn’t want to know, despite there being a clear demand for accessible books. The Big Five’s default answer — “there are ebooks and audiobooks” — wasn’t good enough. Why shouldn’t an adult with dyslexia enjoy the same books as everyone else? Why couldn’t they have the latest Stephen King or Colleen Hoover?

The most frustrating part is that it’s not difficult or expensive to produce a dyslexic-friendly book. For publishers already producing traditional books, it simply requires a different template and a few extra clicks. The lack of interest is therefore even more disappointing.

Our approach at Scorpius is simple: a dyslexic-friendly sans serif font in a larger size, which is easier to read. We increase the line and character spacing to reduce blurring and distortion. The text is left-aligned instead of fully justified, which helps with word processing. And we print on crème paper, which softens the contrast between the text and the page — another common issue for dyslexic readers.

These design choices extend to our covers and blurbs, and we use a larger trim size to allow for better spacing throughout.

We launched in the middle of a pandemic. Bookshops and libraries were closed. We had no shop front, no physical outlets, and an industry looking on wondering, “Who the hell are you?”

Yet five years after releasing our first dyslexic-friendly book, we’ve made real strides. We’ve spoken with Big Five publishers about adopting dyslexic-friendly practices — Bloomsbury was the first to heed the call — and we were finalists for the British Dyslexia Association’s Innovation Award in 2023.

We were named Regional Small Press of the Year 2024 at the British Book Awards — a major achievement for such a young press — and finalists again in 2025.

We’ve partnered with a scheme to supply our books to inmates in the U.S prison system, featured in Dyslexia Scotland’s The Voice Magazine, joined Theo Paphitis’ Small Business Sunday network, and secured rights to release dyslexic-friendly editions of books by bestselling horror writer James Herbert and Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson.

We’ve signed brilliant debut authors, some of whom are dyslexic themselves.

The feedback since day one has been extraordinary. We’ve sold dyslexic-friendly books across the globe, and heard from readers who had long felt excluded by traditional publishing. Some had never picked up a book since school; others had given up altogether. Our format has helped many discover a love of reading — and not just those with dyslexia. People with sight impairments or simply tired eyes have told us they prefer our layout, too.

It’s a shame the industry is so mired in convention. Great fiction should be available to everyone. Publishing should always be accessible and inclusive. There’s no “maybe” about that.

Our core belief — that great stories should be accessible to everyone — is as true today as it was five years ago. We’ll keep pushing for change, because the publishing industry needs it.

Readers need it. And readers deserve it. That’s why we made a change.

And we’re proud to keep doing so.

Story edited by Belters News