Where I've been (and why so quiet)

hi, hi, hiiiiii.... kia ora everyone. It's been so long since I last published a blog, almost three months. I know we've all been slammed in different ways but I've missed keeping in touch. I really wanted to share more about these final stages working on the book, especially some of the behind-the-scenes structural decisions and amazing editorial and peer-review process, as well how I've resolved as various challenges, but despite having started about half a dozen newsletters, I just haven't had the energy to do anything other than hold on and complete the next thing [this is solid advice for life in general].

Looking back, knowing what I know now about the overwhelming pressure of bringing a book into the world, I'm not surprised I went to ground. I even stopped writing in my journal. There's been no sewing, no making, and only a few sad collages:

The biggest thing I've been wrestling with is the fear I might not actually get there. Often, a book is announced three or four months ahead of its release. I'm so glad that promotion for my book didn't get out in advance of me actually finishing it. It gives me the chance to share it with you now, privately, before the official stuff goes out next week. Please believe me when I say that your support, and this community, has played such an important role in this book actually existing. I don't know if I tell you enough, partly 'cos I don't want to it be awkward, but serzly, the support of paying subscribers has remained steady for a long time, despite sporadic offerings from me and ever worsening economic circumstances. I am so grateful. Your support has been helping me keep the lights on at home, practically and emotionally, so I could focus on this project and nothing else. It's only right, then, that I share this pretty momentous news with you first.

Anei!!! The next book in BWB's new essay series!!

Here's the blurb:

'Hope is a shovel and will give you blisters'

Overwhelmed and often unmoved by the scientific and political jargon of climate change, Nadine Hura sets out to find a language to connect more deeply to the environmental crisis. But what begins as a journalistic quest takes an abrupt and introspective turn following the death of her brother.

In the midst of grief, Hura works through science, pūrākau, poetry and back again. Seeking to understand climate change in relation to whenua and people, she asks: how should we respond to what has been lost? Her many-sided essays explore environmental degradation, social disconnection and Indigenous reclamation, insisting that any meaningful response must be grounded in Te Tiriti and anti-colonialism.

Slowing the Sun is a karanga to those who have passed on, as well as to the living, to hold on to ancestral knowledge for future generations.

I just wanna say a few tiny words about BWB, especially because so many of you are writers and lovers of books. The whole team have been absolutely-fricken-amazing. I've had an incredible experience from start to finish; a respectful process with really genuine care and HEAPS of investment of time and resource, especially to improve the work and ensure that it is a coherent collection. I think one thing I didn't anticipate about this project in advance, is just how hard it would be to create structure from a number of previously written essays, that don't necessarily conform to chronological telling. I also wrote a number of new essays, and these too had to find their place. I worked with the most awesomely talented editor, Anna Hodge, and she had an ability to see how we could create a narrative that would make sense of all these seemingly disparate threads.

I have heaps more to unpack and reflect, but I guess I just wanted to see if you had any pātai? Either about this particular book or publishing in general? I could blab on and on, but would love to offer something constructive or practical to others interested in this process.

In the meantime, here's a pic of the final draft printed for copy-editing.