Privacy policy.
Version: 1.0
Last Updated: 5 July 20261. Introduction
Welcome to Pen and Candle Publishing.
Pen and Candle Publishing is operated by Lisa Candel, trading as Pen and Candle Publishing, a sole trader based in England, United Kingdom ("Pen and Candle Publishing", "we", "our", or "us").
We are committed to protecting your personal information and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and the rights you have regarding your personal data.
This Privacy Policy applies to the Pen and Candle Publishing website and any purchases or enquiries made through it.
2. Data Controller
For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Controller is:
Lisa Candel
Trading as Pen and Candle Publishing
England, United Kingdom
Email:
lisacandel@penandcandlepublishing.co.uk
Correspondence Address:
322 Grange Road,
E13 0HQ, NewHam London
3. Information We Collect
Depending on how you use this website, we may collect the following information.
Information you provide voluntarily
This may include:
your email address when contacting us;
your name (if you choose to provide it);
information contained within your message through our contact form;
your shipping address when placing an order;
your billing information where required;
your telephone number where required for delivery purposes;
any information you voluntarily provide when requesting a personalised dedication for a signed edition.
Providing optional information is entirely your choice.
Information collected automatically
When you visit this website, certain information may be collected automatically, including:
IP address;
browser type;
device information;
operating system;
pages visited;
referring website;
date and time of your visit;
approximate geographical location derived from your IP address;
website usage statistics collected through analytics services.
4. How We Use Your Information
We only collect personal information where there is a legitimate reason to do so.
Your information may be used to:
respond to enquiries submitted through our contact form;
process and fulfil orders placed through our shop;
arrange shipping and delivery;
provide customer support;
communicate regarding purchases or pre-orders;
comply with legal, tax and accounting obligations;
improve the performance, accessibility and usability of our website;
understand how visitors use our website through analytics.
We do not automatically subscribe customers to our newsletter after making a purchase.
Newsletter subscriptions are managed separately through Substack and require your explicit consent.
5. Lawful Basis for Processing
Where required by UK GDPR, we process personal information under one or more of the following lawful bases:
your consent;
the performance of a contract;
compliance with legal obligations;
our legitimate interests in operating and improving our business, provided these interests do not override your rights and freedoms.
6. Payments
Payments made through this website are processed securely by trusted third-party payment providers, including:
Squarespace Commerce;
Stripe;
PayPal.
We do not receive or store your payment card details.
These providers process your payment information in accordance with their own privacy policies and security standards.
7. Orders and Deliveries
When you place an order, we collect the information necessary to fulfil your purchase.
This may include:
your name;
delivery address;
billing address;
email address;
telephone number (where required for delivery).
This information is used solely for processing, dispatching and supporting your order.
8. Newsletter
Our newsletter is hosted entirely through Substack.
If you choose to subscribe, your information will be processed according to Substack's Privacy Policy.
Purchasing from our website does not automatically subscribe you to our newsletter.
9. Analytics
To help us understand how visitors use our website, we use:
Squarespace Analytics;
Google Analytics.
Analytics information helps us improve the website and understand which pages visitors find most useful.
Where required by law, analytics cookies will only be used after obtaining your consent.
10. Cookies
Our website uses cookies to ensure it functions correctly and to improve your browsing experience.
Some cookies are essential for the operation of the website.
Others help us understand visitor behaviour through analytics or enable embedded third-party content.
Further information is available in our separate Cookie Policy.
11. Embedded Content
Pages on this website may include embedded content from third-party services, including:
Instagram;
YouTube (where applicable).
Embedded content behaves in the same way as if you had visited the third-party website directly.
Those services may collect information about your interaction in accordance with their own privacy policies.
12. External Links
Our website contains links to third-party websites including, but not limited to:
Amazon;
Waterstones;
Barnes & Noble;
Goodreads;
Instagram;
YouTube;
Substack.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of external websites.
We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information.
13. Data Retention
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
Where information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or anonymised where appropriate.
14. Data Security
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information from unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction.
However, no method of transmitting information over the internet or storing electronic data can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
15. International Transfers
Some of the third-party services used by this website may process information outside the United Kingdom.
Where this occurs, those providers are responsible for ensuring appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.
16. Your Rights
Under UK GDPR, you may have the right to:
access your personal information;
request correction of inaccurate information;
request deletion of your information where appropriate;
restrict or object to certain processing;
request transfer of your data where applicable;
withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
Further information about your rights is available from the ICO.
17. Children's Privacy
This website is intended for a general audience and is not directed towards children under the age of 13.
While some creative works published by Pen and Candle Publishing may be suitable for teenage readers, we do not knowingly collect personal information from children without appropriate consent where required by law.
If you believe personal information relating to a child has been provided to us in error, please contact us so that we can remove it where appropriate.
18. Changes to This Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in legislation, website functionality or business practices.
The latest version will always be available on this page.
19. Contact
If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled, please contact:
Lisa Candel
Trading as Pen and Candle Publishing
Email: