React
React
Bleeding Edge Press
50,000+ copies sold
The Press
My Five Ravens
A small press for fictional novels — written by humans, to be read by humans. Founded in 2026, focused on giving debut authors the careful editorial home they deserve.
Manifesto
Why a small press, now.
After twenty-one years at Backstop Media shipping technical books for the world's biggest publishers, I wanted to build something of my own — a press that could say yes to the first-time novelist, the story that doesn't fit a formula, the voice that deserves a careful editor.
My Five Ravens is small on purpose. We publish fiction written by humans, to be read by humans. No AI-generated chapters padded for word count. No algorithmic cover art. Just writers and editors doing the old, slow, good work of making a book.
"If you find a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." — Toni Morrison
If you're an author with a manuscript — or a reader looking for something different on the shelf — we'd love to hear from you.
What we stand for
Five ravens, five principles
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I
Human voices
Stories written by people, edited by people, and sold to people who love books.
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II
Debut-first
We actively seek first-time novelists. Everyone deserves a careful first editor.
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III
Craft over churn
Fewer titles, each given the time they need — developmental, line, copy, proof.
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IV
Transparent terms
Plain-language contracts. Honest royalty splits. Author-first revisions.
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V
Independent forever
No acquisitions, no outside pressure. The list stays small; the care stays big.
The Founder
Meet Troy Mott
Troy has spent fifteen years in publishing — acquiring, editing, and producing more than 200 titles through Backstop Media for partners like O'Reilly, Microsoft Press, Packt, and Bleeding Edge.
My Five Ravens is the press he always wanted to run: smaller, slower, author-first. A place where a debut novelist's manuscript gets the care a Microsoft Press exam reference would have — only aimed at a very different reader.
Read the full bio →On the shelf
A career of titles
A selection of books Troy has acquired, edited, or produced across Backstop Media and partners.
Vue.js
Vue.js
Bleeding Edge Press
Framework reference
Nest.js
Nest.js
Bleeding Edge Press
Backend architecture
Deep Learning
Deep Learning in the Browser
Bleeding Edge Press
ML on the edge
Objective-C
Objective-C Fundamentals
Co-authored with J. Fahrenkrug
iOS foundations
MS Press
Microsoft Press Exam Refs
Microsoft Press / Pearson
25+ titles delivered