Privacy Policy – Strathdon Press

Privacy Policy — Strathdon Press

Last updated: July 2026 — Strathdon Manor Media (Pty) Ltd

Strathdon Press (Pty) Ltd (“Strathdon Press”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy, in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”) and, where applicable, the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) for visitors and customers in the European Union or United Kingdom.

This policy explains what personal information we collect through this website, our online store, and our manuscript submissions process, why we collect it, and the rights you have over it.

1. Who We Are

Strathdon Press is the publishing house of the Strathdon Group, publishing physical and digital (ebook) titles for readers, and accepting manuscript submissions from authors. Day-to-day operations, including data processing for this website, are managed on our behalf by Strathdon Manor Media (Pty) Ltd, under our instruction.

Our Information Officer can be contacted at: privacy@strathdonpress.co.za.

2. Information We Collect

Order information: name, delivery address, email address, phone number, and order history, when you purchase physical or digital books.
Payment information, processed by our third-party payment provider (see section 7) — we do not store full card details ourselves.
Manuscript submissions: your name, contact details, author biography, and the manuscript or sample material you submit (see section 5).
Newsletter and marketing preferences, where you sign up to hear about new titles.
Technical and usage information collected automatically, and via cookies (see section 10).

3. Why We Collect It, and Our Legal Basis

To process and fulfil your book orders, including physical delivery and digital download access — necessary for that contract.
To review manuscript submissions — necessary to take steps at your request, in considering your submission for publication.
To send marketing communications about new titles — based on your consent, withdrawable at any time.
To maintain website security and improve our services — our legitimate interest.
To comply with legal and tax obligations.

4. Order Fulfilment and Couriers

To deliver physical orders, we share your name, delivery address, and contact number with our courier and delivery partners, solely for the purpose of completing delivery. For digital (ebook) purchases, no physical address is required or shared.

5. Manuscript Submissions

When you submit a manuscript, we collect and retain your submission and related personal information for the purpose of reviewing it and corresponding with you about it. Submissions not progressing to a publishing agreement are retained for up to 12 months after our response, then deleted, unless you ask us to delete them sooner or a longer retention period is agreed for feedback purposes. Full terms governing submissions, including originality warranties and how we handle similar or overlapping ideas, are set out in our separate Submission Guidelines and Waiver, available at strathdonpress.com/submission-guidelines

6. Marketing Communications

We only send marketing emails about new titles, events, or offers where you have subscribed or consented, or where you are an existing customer and the communication concerns similar products, in line with section 69 of POPIA. Unsubscribe at any time using the link in any marketing email.

7. Payment Processing

Payments are processed by a third-party payment service provider in accordance with its own privacy policy and applicable card industry security standards. We do not store your full card details.

8. Sharing Your Information

Courier and fulfilment partners, for physical orders (section 4).
Service providers supporting our operations — hosting, email marketing, analytics, and payment processing — under contractual confidentiality obligations.
Strathdon Manor Media, which manages this website and our publishing operations on our behalf, under our instruction and subject to the same protections as this policy.
Law enforcement or regulators, where required by law.

We do not sell your personal information.

9. Cross-Border Transfers

Some service providers may process information outside South Africa, including in the European Union, United Kingdom, or United States. We only transfer personal information across borders where the recipient offers an adequate level of protection substantially similar to POPIA, or with your consent, in line with section 72 of POPIA.

10. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Strictly necessary cookies — required for browsing and checkout to function.
Analytics cookies — help us understand how visitors browse the catalogue and site.
Marketing cookies — used for any advertising or social media integrations.

You can manage cookies through your browser settings or any cookie consent tool presented on this site.

11. Data Retention

Order and payment records are retained for as long as required by tax and consumer protection law (generally five years). Manuscript submissions are handled as described in section 5. Marketing preference data is retained until you unsubscribe or after a reasonable period of inactivity.

12. Your Rights

Access, correction, or deletion of your personal information.
Objection to processing, including direct marketing.
Withdrawal of consent at any time.
Complaint to the Information Regulator of South Africa (section 14).

EU/UK visitors and customers have equivalent rights under the GDPR, including data portability and the right to complain to their local supervisory authority.

13. Children’s Information

Where our catalogue includes titles intended for younger readers, we do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children through this website. Purchases and account information should be provided by a parent or guardian on a child’s behalf.

14. Contact Us and the Information Regulator

Email: privacy@strathdonpress.com Postal address: PostNet Suite 157, Private Bag X5, Aston Manor, 1630, SOUTH AFRICA

If unsatisfied with our response, you may contact the Information Regulator of South Africa: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za / complaints.IR@justice.gov.za (please confirm current details at www.justice.gov.za/inforeg).

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time; the date at the top shows the last revision.