Dear Handbook supporters :) 

I can finally confirm that the Handbook will be in your hands February 2023 and in stores Spring 2023. I know this sounds like such a loooong time to wait for a book. Please let me explain the reasoning for this timeline and reassure you that time flies, it will be worth the wait and it's important we create a thoughtful book that will be useful for years to come not a rushed job:

1. Unlike a number of publishers who have quick turnarounds, Unbound needs to show the distributors, Penguin Random House, the final completed book (including cover and layout for every page) a full nine months before it ends up in shops to plan their printing and marketing strategy. 
2. Unbound believes that it would be much better for the book to gain media attention and festival slots if it was released in the spring rather than autumn/winter. 
3. This book is multifaceted, and it will take time to write, photograph every element, collect the case studies from craftivists around the world and design each page. We want to create something beautiful, timeless and useful for people who genuinely want to improve our world. It can't be rushed.  
4. Our amazing Editor Lara is having a baby so needs some maternity leave.
5. This year is a vital moment for the climate emergency. The UK Government is hosting the UN Climate Conference (COP26) in Glasgow this November 2021. We need to show that it's not just your usual climate activist suspects who will be holding our Prime Minister and politicians to account for the results of this meeting with world leaders. Therefore this summer I'll be focused on creating a new climate campaign (that will be included in the handbook!) to galvanise the craft community and people who might never have seen themselves as activists, all joining us in our unique and intriguing happenings across the UK. We’re hoping to gain local, national and social media coverage where you might not expect to see climate change discussed and to help the climate movement grow in number and diversity. I hope you agree that this is a moment in history we cannot ignore and we are all needed to save our world from climate catastrophe now more than ever.

 

We've already made loads of progress with your support (thank you!): Every single page's content is mapped out and in order in our Masterplan spreadsheet. We have already completed the Gentle Protest colour palette pages with Colour Therapist Momtaz Begum, the Fonts pages with expert Sarah Hyndman and I've written the How To and Resource pages for over half of the projects. We will be photographing most of the projects in August. 

I will update you in June with our new climate project, which will also be in the book (we already have confirmed coverage in six national craft magazines this summer and will be spotlighted in September by the Crafts Council as part of Green Week!). In the meantime, you might enjoy enjoy: 

• A 39-minute interview for Be More Pirate I did last month, which was released last week: https://shows.acast.com/be-more-pirate/episodes/sarah-corbett
• The 60-minute BBC Craftivism documentary we played a large part in, broadcast in February and now on iPlayer: http://bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000rxn0/craftivism-making-a-difference 
• Our newsletter! Sign up to be the first to hear about the launch of our new climate craftivism gentle protest: http://craftivist-collective.com/

All my respect, admiration and appreciation for your patient support,