Privacy policy
Last reviewed 27 October 2026.
This policy explains what personal data the Poppy Oddwood website collects, why, who else handles it, how long it is kept and what your rights are. It is written to meet the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
Who we are
This website is run by Poppy Oddwood (“we”, “us”), an independent author-publisher based in the United Kingdom. We are the data controller for the personal data described here. You can reach us about anything in this policy through the contact page. Our full legal name and postal address are available on request.
What we collect, why, and on what basis
| When | What we collect | Why | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| You join the Oddwood Letters | Email address; optionally first name and reading preference (cosy, dark or both) | To send the newsletter you asked for, with news, new releases and the occasional free story, and to choose which books to mention first | Consent (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a); PECR regulation 22) |
| You send a message through the contact form | Name, email address, the topic and your message | To read and reply to you, and to keep a record of the conversation | Legitimate interests: answering enquiries (Article 6(1)(f)) |
| You buy a book directly from this site | Name, email address, billing country, delivery address for printed books, what you ordered and what you paid | To take payment, deliver the ebook or post the printed book, handle returns and keep the accounts the law requires | Contract (Article 6(1)(b)) and legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)) |
| You download a free story | Email address | To deliver the download and help you if it does not open | Consent, or contract where the download is part of a purchase |
| You visit any page | Technical data your browser sends: IP address, browser type, the page requested | To deliver the page, fonts and images, and to keep the site secure | Legitimate interests: running a secure website |
We do not use this data for automated decision-making or profiling, and we never sell or rent it. We only collect what is listed above. If you send us more than we need, for example in a message, we keep it only as part of that conversation.
The Oddwood Letters
Every letter has an unsubscribe link, and you can also ask us to remove you through the contact page. When you unsubscribe we keep your email address on a short suppression list so we do not write to you again by mistake. We may look at whether letters are opened and which links are clicked, in total, to see what readers find useful; we do not build individual profiles from it.
Who handles your data for us
We use a small number of trusted services. Each acts on our instructions as a processor or, where noted, as a separate controller under its own privacy policy.
- Wix.com hosts this website and stores newsletter sign-ups, contact messages and our contact list (processor).
- Payhip runs the checkout for books bought directly from this site and, for digital products, handles VAT reporting. Payments are processed by Stripe or PayPal; your card or PayPal details go straight to them and never reach us.
- Bookvault prints and posts printed books ordered directly from us, and receives your name, delivery address and order details for that purpose.
- BookFunnel may deliver ebooks and free stories, and receives your email address to do so.
- Google Fonts and Wix’s media servers deliver the typefaces and images on each page, and see your IP address as part of that.
Retailer and affiliate links (for example to Amazon, Apple Books or a bookshop) take you to sites we do not control. Once you arrive, that retailer’s own privacy policy and cookies apply. Some links in the Almanac may be affiliate links, which means the retailer may tell us a purchase came from this site; it does not tell us who you are.
International transfers
Some of these services store or process data outside the UK, for example in the European Union, Israel or the United States. Where they do, the transfer is covered by UK adequacy regulations or by contractual safeguards approved for UK transfers, such as the International Data Transfer Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses.
How long we keep it
- Newsletter details: until you unsubscribe, then a suppression record only.
- Contact messages: up to two years after the conversation ends.
- Order records: six years after the end of the financial year of the order, as UK tax law requires.
- Technical logs held by our hosting provider: according to its own short retention periods.
Keeping it safe
The site runs over an encrypted connection (HTTPS). Data is held by the providers above, which apply their own security controls, and access to our accounts is limited to the people who run this site.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
- have inaccurate data corrected;
- have your data deleted, where there is no good reason for us to keep it;
- restrict or object to how we use it, including objecting to anything based on legitimate interests;
- receive data you gave us in a portable format;
- withdraw consent at any time, without affecting anything done before you withdrew it.
To use any of these rights, write to us through the contact page. There is no charge, and we will reply within one month. If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk), though we would welcome the chance to put it right first.
Cookies and local storage
This site sets no advertising or analytics cookies. When you submit a form, your browser’s local storage keeps one strictly necessary item: an anonymous token that lets the form send securely. Payhip’s checkout sets its own cookies when you use it. The cookie notice has the details.
Children
The books are written for adults and this site is not aimed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect their data; if you think we have, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we use personal data, this page will be updated and the review date at the top will change. Significant changes will also be mentioned in the Oddwood Letters.