I emailed them this morning, and have just received the following reply:
Thank you for your email, albeit I think you may be mis-informed of our
publishing methods. We do not necessarily charge to publish an author's
work, nor will we offer to publish at all until we have reviewed the work
and feel that it merits publication on our lists. Moreover, we consider
each submission carefully with a view towards a non-contributory publishing
contract.
It is sometimes the case that we feel a book is publishable on its literary
merit but is constrained by commercial factors. In these cases we ask for a
contribution from the author towards the cost of production. However, there
is no figure set in stone. Each book is considered individually.
We will welcome a synopsis and a few sample chapters, if you should wish to
submit work to us. However, if you are looking to self-publish, then Austin
& Macauley is probably not for you.
Yours sincerely,
***** * *******
Editorial Department
Definitely a vanity press trying to pretend that it's not.