Since the reveal of the cover for Wild Folk, and the news that subscribers will receive an exclusive ‘cloak’ or dust jacket for their pre-ordered copy, we have seen another huge surge in numbers of goodly folk pledging for our book. 

The two activities of creating a book and reading a book can be solitary pursuits. For me the co-creation of Wild Folk with Unbound as our publisher has been the most cooperative work I have probably been involved in for years. The book itself is collaboration between Jackie Morris and myself but it would not have come into existence without the presence and support of John Mitchinson who was there before the beginning. Most recently we have been joined by the incredible designer, Daniel Streat, who has taken our words and images and is bringing them into an enhanced reality that we know you are going to love. 

But the backbone of all of this is our Wild Folk community. All of you who have pledged for a copy of the book from those who helped us nourish the tiny seed of our Wild Folk creation back in January 2024, to all the many visionaries that we have gathered along the way.  

The destination is now certain, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who is part of Wild Folk. In my head I see us all as a stream of people following the characters and stories across a beautiful, wild landscape, both real and imagined.  

We walk together with chalk-white dusty feet along the Ridgeway, people streaming ahead and behind, chatting and laughing, and singing and playing music. 

We travel under wide Hebridean skies to see the wonders of Callanish and hear the mythical cuckoo and the shining one call us. But although the distances are long, we never grow weary, for amongst our number there are wonderful cooks, clever navigators, carers and survivors, and we all help each other to see and hear and feel the wonder. 

Those who wish to may swim in the salty sea where the seal people live, and the air makes way for the haunting sound of curlew and the voices of ravens. Others may choose to sit on the sand and knit a magical garment made of all the wonders of the sea whilst others sleep serenaded by owls and nightingales. 

And sometimes we may gather together around many fires and take comfort in one another’s company when the stag bellows and the fox barks and we look to the nature of our own shape shift.

Many of our pledges have sold out but we continue to think of new additions to our exciting collection. We have a new poster pledge, and we will shortly be revealing the seven designs for the badge set which I now like to think of as pilgrim badges. In the medieval period pilgrimages to shrines or holy wells were the popular way to holiday and travel the land whilst also saving ones own soul or praying for loved ones or special requests. Along the way, or at the destination, pilgrim badges were sold as souvenirs so that others could see what pilgrimages you were on or had been on. These took many forms, including birds and animals, and I see our badges as fitting quite neatly into this format as a kind of Wild Folk pilgrimage set. 

Writing, illustrating and reading are a little like making a pilgrimage. Time spent in a book is so often well spent, and we hope this is what you will feel as you follow the pathways of our stories, like pilgrims.

Thank you for joining us.

- Tamsin