The Lost Spell

By Yismake Worku (translated by Bethlehem Attfield)

Tuesday, 7 September 2021

Preparations

Thank you so much for your support of The Lost Spell, a hotly anticipated book! 200 copies of the book have been preordered by bookshops already, and interest has been building among publishers and translators on social media. 

Yesterday we conducted a deep clean of our studio in anticipation of an Autumn that will see us complete The Lost Spell and half a dozen handmade editions. You may have noticed that publication was delayed: in our 15 years of creating, our studio has never faced upheavals like these before. It is particularly frustrating to go from being the punctual press we were to such a thinly oiled machine. But knowing that we have people awaiting our books, and continuing to order them, has been a massive encouragement for us throughout.

Barriers to trade resulting from Brexit mean we unexpectedly have to rebuild our online shop, loss of income and unsolicited admin. The pandemic has resulted in long-term illness, closure due to homeschooling, strain on our mental health and extraordinary lead times for our collaborators, where as many of three personnel changes have taken place due to illness and furlough.    

Right now we turn to editing the manuscript with Bethlehem Attfield, and finalising the design and print process. Then at the beginning of 2022 we will turn to the handmade edition. 

 

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