Its the actual Eighth Anniversary PARTY (Book Launch) for No Spider Harmed in the Making of this Book (Part One)

It’s here – weeks of planning, recording, editing, uploading (and a bit of cursing) and finally we have an online book launch for No Spider Harmed in The Making of This Book.

(You may not be able to hear it but thousands of spiders are twanging their webs and stamping their feet in celebration.)

You can buy the book from our website, (or a bookshop, but we see more of the money if you buy direct, and if I’m feeling generous, you might get a random badge too)
We are also having a sale (this book not included) Add ARACHNEVERSARY at checkout to get your discount and check out the special offers button too.
If you want an ebook your usual supplier will have it, We recommend Hive for ePub.

The file for the launch ended up being so HUGE I had to split it, so there is a brief interval and the other half is at 9.02pm* BST. Just time for a comfort break or to refill your glass.

*on here it’s 2 minutes later than on YouTube to give the file a chance to go live for the premiere, they have this really annoying countdown!)

First half features

introduction by head Arachnid, Cherry Potts with BSL translation by Marcel Hirshman.

Kate FoleySpin
A. Katherine BlackEven People who’d been Accidentally Turned into Giant Murderous Mutant Spiders (extract)
Greg Page as Incy Wincy
Daniel Olivieri Revenge One JSTOR article at a time
Jackie TaylorGoodbye Spider
Carrie Cohen as Ms Muffet
KT WagnerAcross the Void
Marcel Hirshman performing Jennifer Rood‘s Spider Queen, in BSL
cover design Karen Boissonneault-Gauthier used repeatedly! Dancing spider gif created from photo by Martha Nance

Lockdown Interviews: no29 Karen Boissonneault-Gauthier interviewed by David Mathews

Twenty-ninth  in a series of author-to-author interviews to distract them, and you, from lockdown torpor.

David Mathews interviews Karen Boissonneault-Gauthier (Noon, No Spider Harmed in the Making of this Book) about her writing, photography and book design work, which includes the cover for No Spider Harmed…

Preorder No Spider Harmed… – out 8th August for our eighth anniversary, when we will be launching online at 8pm BST, with readings from authors, including David.

See more of Karen’s photography and designs  on her website  and follow @KBG_Tweets

The Spider has landed

box of spiders

Traditional box of books image: No Spider Harmed in the Making of this Book has arrived.

We did think about delaying this book, what with the Covid situation, but thanks to the power of multiple authors, (Anthologies are so handy that way) we were able to garner enough pre-orders to pay up front for the printing, thus minimising the risk of the books sitting sadly at the distributor with nowhere to sell them.  And I have to say TJ International have done a brilliant job, and Karen Boissonneault-Gauthier‘s cover looks BEAUTIFUL.

It’s Independant Bookshop Week, this week by the way, and lots of bookshops have just reopened, in a careful socially distanced way, so you could order a copy through your local indie, or you can order from us.

There will be an online launch on 8th of August, when we will be celebrating our Eighth Anniversary. (Technically a few days before, but all those eights lined up and called to me.)

Bookshops, place your order with NBNI or via Inpress.

Those of you who have already ordered – there are a LOT of you, and we are prioritising the overseas orders to ensure everyone gets their books before publication day – and when I say ‘we’, I mean me and the cat, who lovely though he is, doesn’t help much in the way of posting stuff, and is more interested in sitting in the boxes when they are emptied, so please be patient, I know it’s exciting, I’m excited, but I can only get so many parcels to the post office at a time.

 

 

For NFFD Brockley Max does Solstice Shorts Stories

Today is National Flash Fiction Day, so we’re sharing some of our latest live flash fiction with you… scrooooll down!

Also several of Arachne’s authors are taking part in FlashFlood today

And we kick off our launch events for Story Cities (max 500 word flash stories about cities) at 10am this morning with a panel discussion from the editors all about getting the book together. Early birds, join us, it’s free (tickets)

The deadline for submitting to Time & Tide is nearly on us – get a move on! Music, Stories and Poetry set on or beside the coast or tidal rivers, with an historical slant. Yes we accept Flash!
via submittable by 23:59 BST on 21st June.

Ok, made you wait long enough…
Here are those flash fiction pieces from Noon that were read at Brockley Max this month, hosted by the very welcoming Brockley Brewery.

Marika Josef reads Toast Crumbs by Karen Boissonneault-Gauthier

 

A Vampire at Noon, by Patience Mackarness, also read by Marika

Up on the Roof, by Lily Peters read by Cherry Potts

Under the L, by Liam Hogan

Solstice Shorts line up for London

Our London line up:

 Stories

A Vampire at Noon, Patience Mackarness
High Noon, Marka Rifat
Toast Crumbs, Karen Boissonneault-Gauthier
Under the L, Liam Hogan

Poems
An Autumn Noon, Ian Grosz
Arthur Streeton Advises his Students, Mandy Macdonald
I am not Beautiful at Noon, Elinor Brooks
Mad Dogs and English Men, Laila Sumpton
Noon Son, Alison Lock
Precarious, Michelle Penn
Still No Name, Marika Josef

FREE TICKETS from Eventbrite

Performers Marika Josef and Michelle Penn will read their  own poems, and the excellent Carrie Cohen and Grace Cookey-Gam will be helping us out with work by authors who can’t be there in person.

Music will be provided by regular Solstice collaborators Ian Kennedy and Sarah Lloyd.