When I saw the play Island at the National Theatre, it made me cry. I cried because the story was sad and true – it’s about a melting island in the arctic. I cried because the story was beautiful, and beautifully told. And I cried because it was written by my sister, Nicky Singer, and I was proud.
It’s such an important story, that Nicky naturally wanted to revisit it as a novel – since being a novelist is what she’s always done. So she wrote the book, and felt that the last pages were some of her best writing ever. But when it came to publishing, there followed a tale that would make you weep tears of frustration.
And so I want to share Nicky’s own telling of that story – how the novel was deemed a ‘quiet book’ (i.e. not going to earn a load of cash for the publishers in a difficult financial climate) and how she decided to do something about it by starting a Kickstarter campaign.
There are three days to find the remaining £1,000 for Nicky’s campaign. Would you like to be a backer? The first level of backing is just £5. For £15 you get a first edition of the book, so it’s just like a pre-order really. Or. for £500, you could have her come to do a day of bespoke workshops / talks in a school. See more here:
If you can help in any way, I’d be very grateful.
The post Slow Books – Melting Islands, Arctic Bears and the State of Publishing appeared first on The Hummingbird Lodge.
Source: Hummingbird Lodge