10 years of The Peckham Peculiar - winner of the 2023 community newspaper of the year award

[markmc71]

We're hoping to celebrate 10 years of The Peckham Peculiar later this year (we launched the paper in August 2013) but we need a little bit of help to get us there.

When we brought out the first edition of The Peckham Peculiar, we were featured in a short film about hyper-local publishing with BBC1's Breakfast. Presenters Bill Turnbull (who has now sadly passed away) and Louise Minchin agreed at the time that The Peckham Peculiar is a “great name".

Since then, we’ve been interviewed by the Financial Times and have appeared on BBC Radio London several times. We have been mentioned in Time Out and the Independent and exclusive stories we’ve broken in The Peckham Peculiar have been picked up by local and national press on numerous occasions.

Earlier this year, the paper won community newspaper of the year at the national newspaper awards. The judges said:

"A wonderfully produced publication of the highest quality with beautifully designed light and airy pages and engaging articles… it reflects the arts and culture of its area of circulation perfectly. In terms of presentation and star quality, it was the standout publication on the table and a runaway winner with the judges."

Editor-in-chief of The Guardian, Katharine Viner, tweeted this about us to her followers a few years ago: “Since I’ve been away my old neighbourhood has acquired a community paper, The Peckham Peculiar. It’s really good, full of fascinating things.

“I really like the way it’s in a range of places in Peckham, and the content felt like it reflects the breadth of Peckham life. Also I learnt a few new things even though I’ve lived here for 20 plus years. Bravo!”

Through reading our newspapers, people have become involved with local charities and good causes they may otherwise never have known about.

A piece we ran on a Nunhead cafe for the homeless had this outcome: “I am pleased to report that from your story we had a number of enquiries for volunteering to help us run our weekly programme”; while Peckham charity the Menders’ Club said: “As a direct response we had two tool donations from local residents and a new member has joined us.”

We rely solely on advertising sales to keep us in print. However, this year has been a somewhat bumpy ride for many local businesses who have been regular supporters of the paper hence us needing to crowdfund again.

All revenue raised helps us pay our contributors and fund the professional journalism and high quality photography, illustration and design that are the hallmarks of the titles we produce.

The more money we have, the more stories we can publish and every single page of advertising is thoughtfully matched with a page of high quality and engaging editorial  (“all killer, no filler” to quote one reader), which increases reader “dwell time” and ensures that people linger on each spread for longer.

Our sub-editing also sets us apart, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by readers. One said: “I do like the paper as it stands – readable, relevant and above all literate. Thanks to your sub.” Another said: “I’ve been meaning to say that I’m really impressed by PP – it’s very well written with a great mix of articles, and it’s especially well subbed.”

We personally hand deliver every single copy of the newspaper to around 150 stockists across Peckham, Nunhead, East Dulwich and Camberwell.

We have a diverse range of stockists to ensure we reach the whole of the community, not just one part of it. You can find us in all sorts of places, from laundrettes, libraries and hair salons to shops, pubs and cafes.

We believe local publications should truly reflect the areas they cover and we always strive to represent the incredible diversity of south-east London on our pages. We invest a huge amount of time and effort in seeking out stories that no one else has written about and sharing them with our readers.

We aim to appeal to everyone in the area; those who have lived here their whole lives and those who have just arrived. 

For full information about our 10 year crowdfunding campaign, please go to: https://tiny.cc/pp10years The deadline to pledge is 30 June.

[markmc71]

Thank you to those that have made pledges via the EDF! Much appreciated!