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DARK

By James Wilkins

An A to Z of the Cosmos

Art | Science

118% funded

434 supporters

Preparing for print

Publication date: 05 October 2023

Support this project

REWARDS
ABOUT THE BOOK

The edits are done – you can still pre-order but your name will not appear in the book.

FEATURED REWARD

$40 + shipping

137 pledges

Art Print + Hardback Book

A print (30x40cm, unframed, 180gm matt paper) of an illustration, chosen by the author, from the book

PLUS:

first edition hardback
the eBook

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FEATURED REWARD

$65 + shipping

41 pledges

Unframed Bespoke Initials Print + Hardback Book

A print (30x40cm, unframed, 180gm matt paper) of your initials in our original 'Astronomy' typeface

PLUS:

signed first edition hardback
the eBook

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$35 + shipping

182 pledges

Hardback Book

First edition hardback, the eBook

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$45 + shipping

66 pledges

Signed Hardback Book

A signed first edition hardback

PLUS:

the eBook

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$65 + shipping

2 pledges

Podcast Shoutout

James will give you a personal shout out on his podcast show

PLUS:

signed first edition hardback
the eBook

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$65 + shipping

2 pledges

Twin pack

Two copies of the hardback

PLUS:

the eBook

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$90 + shipping

6 pledges

Read with a Friend

Two signed hardbacks

PLUS:

the eBook

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$125 + shipping

3 pledges

Twin Bespoke Initials Print

Two personalised prints of your initials in our astronomy typography

PLUS:

two signed first edition hardbacks
the eBook

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$150 + shipping

1 pledge

Cover Print

A fine art print of the book's cover

PLUS:

signed first edition hardback,
the eBook

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$190 + shipping

2 pledges

Observatory Visit & Drinks

A visit for two to the Hampstead observatory with James & Andreas chatting space and graphic design – couple of drinks afterwards on us!
Travel not included

PLUS:

two signed first edition hardbacks
the ebook

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$190 + shipping

3 pledges

Selected Prints

Art prints (30x40cm, unframed, 180gm matt paper) of 5 illustrations from the book, chosen by the author

PLUS:

signed first edition hardback
the eBook

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$375 + shipping

Talk

A talk at your school, office or college to discuss the themes of the book

PLUS:

five signed copies of the first edition hardback
the eBook

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Sold out!

$1,250 + shipping

Patron

Your name/organisation printed in the front of the book thanking you for your contribution
Only three available

PLUS:

five signed first edition hardbacks
the eBook

$6,250 + shipping

Corporate Patron

A special full-page dedication for your organisation printed in the front of every edition of the book
Only one available

PLUS:

ten signed first edition hardbacks
the eBook

Frequently Asked Questions

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Every person who pledges to help to make a book gets their name included in a supporter section as a thank you as long as they pledge before the list closing deadline. If you want to add a different name, this can be changed in your account after you have completed your pledge.

Will the book and rewards that I receive look the same as the images shown on the Unbound website?

Book designs, cover and other images are for illustrative purposes and may differ from final design.

Still have a question? Visit our Help Centre to find out more.

Ever wanted to know more about The Big Bang but didn't have Brian Cox's email address? Ever wanted to shout out "what on earth is a black hole?", but were afraid you'd be shouting into the abyss?

Ever wanted to know how gravity works but never found the book to pull you in? Well, have no fear, DARK: The A to Z of Black Holes, The Big Bang and Everything In-between can help with all of these things (apart from supplying Brian's email address.)

DARK is an easily digestible guide to the Universe in a handy A-Z format and, what's even better, it will all be presented in a beautifully designed package, making you want to keep it out on display and be compelled to dip into it every time you have the urge to find out exactly when Planet Earth will become engulfed in the fiery furnace of our very own sun.

This book is part-handy guide to the Universe, part-graphic design eye candy so please get your copy now before Elon Musk buys them all and fires them in a Tesla into the Kuiper Belt.

We've created a number of design elements that feature throughout the book, including an original piece of art to accompany each of the 26 chapters, a bespoke astronomy A-Z font used at the beginning of each chapter and inspiring quotes about space over double page spreads with beautiful typographic consideration.

So if you want to brush up on your astronomical ABC's while simultaneously having a visual massage from some rather splendid art and design, then this may very well be the cosmic-coffee table book for you (or your friend/ brother/sister/husband/wife).

We've condensed a lifetime of loving space and design, 1000s of hours of research, 100s of hours of podcasts and dozens of hours looking up at space shouting "WHYYYY" to bring you the definitive alphabetical guide to space.
Black holes, dark matter, intergalactic travel, the multi-verse, gravity, Hubble, the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence are just some of the subjects we've gone slightly mad trying to comprehend.

Perhaps, after purchasing a copy, you'll one day find yourself shouting "WHYYYY" at the heavens too?

ABOUT THE BOOK

Hardback
120 pages
30 full-colour, original illustrations

Support this project

Quick select rewards

FEATURED REWARD

$40 + shipping

137 pledges

Art Print + Hardback Book

A print (30x40cm, unframed, 180gm matt paper) of an illustration, chosen by the author, from the book

PLUS:

first edition hardback
the eBook

Choose this reward

FEATURED REWARD

$65 + shipping

41 pledges

Unframed Bespoke Initials Print + Hardback Book

A print (30x40cm, unframed, 180gm matt paper) of your initials in our original 'Astronomy' typeface

PLUS:

signed first edition hardback
the eBook

Choose this reward

View all 14 rewards

James Wilkins

Hailing from Essex but now living in North London with his wife and two daughters, James spends his days as Creative Director at JOE.co.uk and his nights trying to read 'A Brief History Of Time' to his 3-year-old. Despite not pursuing physics beyond GCSE, his love for all things space and graphic design has led to him spending too many evenings trying to comprehend time-dilation. Oh, the irony.

About the Illustrator

Andreas Brooks is a graphic designer living in London. He is currently working on album artwork for Ed O’Brien from Radiohead and a series of book covers for Penguin, as well as being the co-founder of design studio Wide-Eyed. Along with being James' brother-in-law, he also loved space and is responsible for the illustrations and design of the book.
10th February 2023 A Message from Unbound

--This is a message from Unbound--

Dear readers,

James and Andreas have worked hand in hand with our editorial and design teams to curate the content, images and fine-tune the layout in an immense labour of love which we know will be reflected in the final book.

Due to delays during the design process and the longer lead times now required for printing, regretfully we have had to move the…

23rd November 2021 95%!

Hi everyone,

I genuinely can’t believe I’m updating everyone to say that we’re now at 95% funding. It’s suddenly feeling incredibly real and I wanted to thank you for all your patience and for supporting this book. Andreas and I can’t wait to get it made and share it with you. Over the last three years we've put an awful lot of time and love into it so we really hope you enjoy it.

While I have…

20th February 2020 MEET THE AUTHOR

INTERVIEWING THE AUTHOR:

With so many great projects on Unbound, some of the authors have started interviewing each other to help shine a light on like-minded projects. One of my fellow authors at UNBOUND is the very talented Tom Ward – not only has he has won the GQ Norman Mailer Award and the PPA New Consumer Magazine Journalist of the Year Award, he’s also written The Lion & The Unicorn…

20th October 2019 50%!

Hello everyone – I wanted to take a moment to update everyone that DARK has reached 50% funding which is a major milestone for me and is a testament to your generosity for pledging in advance for this book. This book would not happen without your support so I am in a state of perpetual gratitude!

I am hoping to battle my way through the remaining 50% as quickly as possible to ensure that the book…

22nd September 2018 Thank you! (and a quick update)

39% and 120 backers!! I was waiting for 40% but then realised that 39% was as good as any percentile to take the opportunity to say hello and more importantly to say a gargantuan thank you to all of you who have supported this book so far.

To anyone that has undertaken a project like this (as some of the Unbounder pledgers will testify), crowdfunding is almost as big a task as writing the book…
These people are helping to fund DARK.

Chance Austin-Ricketts

Tereza Ljutic

Pedro Neves

Cheri Chiu

Jillian Nelson

Amandeep Kaur Uppal

Ronan Jennings

Lawrence McCrossan

Robbie Tingey

Cat Macdonald

Christopher Allen

Barry Hasler

Kenny Chapman

Jeffrey Paparoa-Holman

Michael Pretty

Erica Bullivant

Bruce Bowie

Jo Cosgriff

solveiga unger

Nancy Baynes

Rajiv Shah

rob alley

View more
Bobby Kent asked:

Is there any info available for the book, such as page number count, or estimated delivery time upon publication? :)

James Wilkins replied:

hey Bobby - thanks very much for your question - the book will be around 200 pages long (perhaps slightly longer depending on design elements). I'm not sure estimated delivery but it seems to be around 6months after the target is reached - which I'm hoping will be sooner than later!! Hope that's not to vague an answer for you James

Hal Capps asked:

Hey, James. I'm curious how entry-level of a book this is. I'm 26 years old and incredibly interested in the subjects you've got compiled in this book, however I don't want something that's TOO entry level, but I DO want something that's easily digestible. Would this be along the same lines of difficulty as A Brief History of Time or will it be more/less complex? Hope this question makes sense.

James Wilkins replied:

Hi Hal - sorry about the delay! I didn’t notice the question so please accept my apologies! This is not as complex as A Brief History Of Time which I found increasingly complex as the book progressed - but my book definitely isn’t entry level either - I’ve tried to explain all the subjects in as digestible fashion as possible while still not dumbing anything down. If you want to email me jimcharliewilkins@gmail.com I’d be happy to send you a sample chapter?

Arild Stromsvag asked:

Has the project been cancelled? If so, what about refunds?

James Wilkins replied:

Hi Arild, thanks for the question - absolutely not! The book is still alive and well and hopefully now in the final stretch now that we've passed 75%. Myself, Andreas and Unbound will be doing a big promotional push in the next few weeks so hopefully we'll reach target soon! Thanks for your patience - it'll be worth the wait.

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