Trolley Books

Trolley Books is an independent United Kingdom publishing brand established in September 2001 by Gigi Giannuzzi and based in Fitzrovia, London. Its publishing programme is centered on art and photography books, with a particularly strong emphasis on documentary photography, social reportage, photojournalism, current affairs, contemporary art, and architecture. The imprint has developed a reputation for books and exhibitions that address politically sensitive, socially marginalised, or otherwise unconventional subjects, and has been described as having a left-of-centre and sometimes controversial character. The company’s best-known work is closely associated with documentary and conflict photography. Its catalogue has included projects on war, displacement, political violence, environmental damage, migration, post-conflict societies, and the long-term consequences of state and military action. Trolley has worked with several photographers connected to Magnum Photos, including Chien-Chi Chang, Werner Bischof, Carl de Keyzer, Thomas Dworzak, Alex Majoli, Paolo Pellegrin, Ilkka Uimonen, and Philip Jones Griffiths. Among the notable publications associated with the imprint are Griffiths’s Recollections and Agent Orange; Nina Berman’s Homeland and Purple Hearts: Back from Iraq; Kurds – Through The Photographer’s Lens, produced with the Kurdish Human Rights Project and the Delfina Foundation; Pierpaolo Mittica’s Chernobyl – The Hidden Legacy; and New Londoners – Reflections on Home, created by PhotoVoice with twelve young refugees living in London. Trolley’s social-documentary list also includes George Osodi’s Delta Nigeria: The Rape of Paradise, Tom Hurndall’s The Only House Left Standing, and Alixandra Fazzina’s A Million Shillings: Escape from Somalia. Fazzina’s book was associated with her receiving the Nansen Refugee Award. Alongside reportage, the publisher has issued contemporary-art titles, including works by Nick Waplington, Paul Fryer, Damien Hirst, and Laureana Toledo. Its catalogue therefore combines conventional monographs and documentary investigations with more experimental artist-led publications. Although photography remains the defining area of the imprint, Trolley expanded into fiction in the early 2010s. Iphgenia Baal’s The Hardy Tree, published in 2011, was identified as Trolley’s first fiction title, followed by Baal’s short-story collection Gentle Art in 2012. This move broadened the brand’s literary range without displacing its core commitment to visually driven and socially engaged publishing. Trolley Books forms part of a wider creative and charitable network. The Trolley Charitable Trust supports long-term photographic projects that result in a Trolley publication, linking grant-making and publishing. The related TJ Boulting exhibition space on Riding House Street in London is run by directors Gigi Giannuzzi and Hannah Watson and provides an exhibition context for visual artists and photographers associated with the wider Trolley operation. The brand’s international profile has been reinforced by critical recognition for its books at photography and publishing awards, including the Rencontres d’Arles Prix du Livre, ICP Infinity Awards, World Press Photo, and other specialist photography-book programmes.

Trolley Books was founded in London in September 2001 by Gigi Giannuzzi as an independent publishing house specializing in art and photography. From the beginning, the imprint concentrated on documentary photography and photojournalism rather than on a broad commercial publishing list. Its subjects have included conflict, migration, social inequality, environmental destruction, political repression, and the consequences of war. This focus positioned Trolley within the documentary-photo tradition while allowing it to publish books with strong editorial and visual identities. During its early years, Trolley built a catalogue involving both established and emerging photographers. It worked with a number of Magnum Photos photographers, including Chien-Chi Chang, Werner Bischof, Carl de Keyzer, Thomas Dworzak, Alex Majoli, Paolo Pellegrin, Ilkka Uimonen, and Philip Jones Griffiths. Early recognition came through publications such as Deirdre O’Callaghan’s Hide That Can and Alex Majoli’s Leros. Hide That Can received the Prix du Livre at Rencontres d’Arles in 2003, while Leros and other Trolley titles gained recognition in international photography-book and photojournalism awards. The publisher’s catalogue expanded through books dealing with the human and political effects of war and displacement. Philip Jones Griffiths’s work included Recollections and Agent Orange, while Nina Berman’s Homeland and Purple Hearts: Back from Iraq examined American military experience and its aftermath. Other notable projects included Open Wound: Chechnya by Stanley Greene, Ghetto by Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin, Zona by Carl de Keyzer, and documentary projects on Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, the Kurdish region, and the Chernobyl disaster. These books reinforced Trolley’s reputation for publishing visually ambitious work on difficult and contested subjects. Trolley also developed a contemporary-art programme. It published several projects by Nick Waplington, including Double Dactyl, as well as books connected with Paul Fryer, Damien Hirst, and Laureana Toledo. This broadened the imprint beyond strict photojournalism while retaining an emphasis on artist-led and image-driven publishing. The publisher later moved into fiction, identifying Iphgenia Baal’s The Hardy Tree, issued in 2011, as its first fiction title. Baal’s Gentle Art followed in 2012. The publishing house is linked to a wider Trolley family of cultural activities. The Trolley Charitable Trust supports long-term photographic projects that lead to Trolley publications, providing a structure for sustained documentary work rather than only short-term book production. The wider group also includes TJ Boulting, an exhibition space on Riding House Street in London associated with directors Gigi Giannuzzi and Hannah Watson. Together, these activities connect publishing, exhibition-making, and support for socially engaged photography. By combining documentary books, contemporary-art monographs, occasional fiction, exhibitions, and charitable support for photographic projects, Trolley Books has maintained a distinctive position in independent British visual publishing. Its public profile has been shaped less by mass-market scale than by critical recognition, specialist distribution, and a catalogue addressing international social and political issues.

• 2012

  Second Baal fiction title

  [1]Trolley Booksen.wikipedia.org

  Trolley publishes Gentle Art, Iphgenia Baal’s second book of short stories.

• 2011

  First fiction title

  [1]Trolley Booksen.wikipedia.org

  The Hardy Tree by Iphgenia Baal becomes Trolley’s first identified fiction publication.

• 2008

  Double Dactyl is published

  [1]Trolley Booksen.wikipedia.org

  Trolley issues Nick Waplington’s Double Dactyl as part of its contemporary-art and photography programme.

• 2005

  Recognition for Purple Hearts: Back from Iraq

  [1]Trolley Booksen.wikipedia.org

  Nina Berman’s Purple Hearts: Back from Iraq receives awards at the Days Japan International Photojournalism Awards and World Press Photo.

• 2003

  Recognition for Hide That Can and Leros

  [1]Trolley Booksen.wikipedia.org

  Deirdre O’Callaghan’s Hide That Can wins the Rencontres d’Arles Prix du Livre, while Alex Majoli’s Leros receives major recognition in international photography awards.

• 2001

  Trolley Books is founded

  [1]Trolley Booksen.wikipedia.org

  Gigi Giannuzzi establishes Trolley Books in London as an independent publisher focused on art and photography.

An independent, socially engaged art-book publisher whose identity is built around documentary photography, photojournalism, politically conscious visual storytelling, and distinctive contemporary-art publications.

• Photography publishing · 2001

  Documentary photography books

  The core of Trolley Books’ catalogue consists of documentary photography monographs and collaborative visual projects. These books commonly investigate war, displacement, migration, environmental damage, political conflict, and social inequality. The imprint places substantial emphasis on the sequencing, editing, and physical presentation of photographic work, making the book itself a principal form of documentary expression.

• Photojournalism publishing · 2001

  Photojournalism and current-affairs titles

  Trolley publishes books derived from long-term reporting and photojournalistic projects. Examples include work on Iraq, Chechnya, Nigeria, Somalia, the Kurdish region, and Chernobyl. Rather than treating current affairs as short-lived news coverage, these publications generally provide extended visual accounts intended to preserve context and document lasting consequences.

• Art publishing

  Contemporary-art books

  The contemporary-art programme includes artist monographs and visually experimental books connected with creators such as Nick Waplington, Paul Fryer, Damien Hirst, and Laureana Toledo. These publications extend the brand beyond documentary photography while retaining its interest in strong visual authorship and unconventional subject matter.

• Literary publishing · 2011

  Fiction and short-story books

  Trolley entered fiction publishing with Iphgenia Baal’s The Hardy Tree in 2011 and followed it with Gentle Art in 2012. The fiction list is smaller than the photography programme but demonstrates the publisher’s willingness to explore literary forms alongside visual and documentary work.

1. 1Trolley Booksen.wikipedia.org