Book publications
for sale
A Miracle of Nature, A Miracle of Love
All the poems in this collection were written as collaborations by Open Book groups meeting across Scotland, some in person, others on-line. The groups read prose and poetry together and the poems represent the responses of participants, captured by the Lead Reader facilitator and crafted into the pieces you’ll find in this book.
Though not always the case, some groups wrote together in response to the same poems. The diversity of the thoughts, ideas and experiences of the Open Book members is reflected in the poetry created. We’re grateful to our readers and writers for sharing their words in this latest collection.
BUY A MIRACLE OF NATURE, A MIRACLE OF LOVE FOR £7 PLUS POSTAGE
Unbound II
This collection of short stories and matched poems includes the work of Open Book writers-in-residence Alice Ash and Heather Parry, as well as new work by over a dozen other writers paired with matched poems. Organised to follow Open Book’s monthly themes, you’ll find a writer-in-residence story, a piece of new writing and a poem that fit together. Ideal for reading from cover to cover or dipping in and out of, this new collection gives a flavour of what our groups have been reading and thinking about over an 18 month period.
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I Give My Word
The words in this book come from across Scotland: from Shetland and Orkney to Aberdeen, from Ullapool to Brora, from Stranraer to Eyemouth and lots of the places in between.
All of the poems and stories were written as part of the Open Book 2021/2022 Community Project, where groups read texts aloud and used them as a springboard for their own writing, sometimes even writing collectively.
Thanks to the support of Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund, Open Book groups were able to create new works inspired by Hannah Lavery’s poem ‘Scotland, You’re No Mine.’ The Stories Across Scotland project explored our relationship to where we live, with creative responses celebrating the experiences of the people who live here – from those born and bred on Scottish islands, to recent refugees settling into the Central Belt.
Together, this collection of poems and stories from our groups represents another year of exploration, connection, and discovery of new worlds and how our lives connect to them.
BUY I GIVE MY WORD FOR £8 PLUS POSTAGE
IF YOU WERE ME
If You Were Me is a double pamphlet of writing from Open Book groups (and individual participants) during the 2020/2021 Community Project. It captures a year of reading and writing together across Scotland, from Orkney and Shetland in the north to Stranraer in the south, as well as the words of many of our groups in between.
Like previous pamphlets it reflects the diversity of voices in our groups, from participants in community projects, ESOL learners, those experiencing homelessness or domestic violence and the public. In a year where travel was restricted, many of the poems consider the acts of leaving, journeying and arriving and ask, reflecting Edwin Morgan’s exhortation in his poem At Eighty, whether “unknown is best!”
Buy If You Were Me for £7 plus postage
The Gift of Time
This Gift of Time is a remarkable collection of creative writing produced during our 2019/2020 Community Project, including work by individual participants and pieces by a whole group writing together.
Here, you’ll find poems about the sea and birdsong, second chances and dreams, opening doors and looking to the future, all written by our participants – those meeting in community projects, refugees and migrants, women living with domestic violence and those coming together in public spaces like libraries and galleries.
The poems hail from all corners of Scotland, from Orkney to Stranraer, Eyemouth to Aberdeen, Inverness to Ullapool, as well as Glasgow, Dundee, Paisley and Edinburgh, representing the diversity of voices in our country.
Buy This Gift of Time for £5 plus postage
Unbound
Unbound contains short fiction commissioned by Open Book during the 2020 Covid 19 lockdown. Written by well known and emerging writers, we asked for pieces that would take our readers out of themselves and allow them to experience the world anew at a
time when going beyond the front gate wasn’t always possible.
Each of these uplifting stories takes you on a journey – into the outdoors, into the past or future or into the inner life of another person – in a way that is surprising and thoughtprovoking.
Buy Unbound for £6 plus postage
I See My Voice
I See My Voice is our first Open Book publication and brings together some of the stunning new writing created by Open Book participants between September of 2018 and August 2019.
Composed by both groups of writers and individuals, the work included in this pamphlet reflects the rich diversity of modern Scotland, with pieces from new Scots, those involved in community projects and local libraries, and others living with homelessness and domestic violence. Contributions come from groups as far afield as Orkney, Ullapool, Glasgow, Perth, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Buy I See My Voice for £3 plus postage
DONATE
Thank you for visiting this page. At Open Book we use literature as a way of tackling social isolation, connecting communities and amplifying voices we don’t always get to hear.
Your support makes a real difference. We never charge anyone to attend an Open Book group, so making a donation allows us to increase the number of people we can reach. You can be sure that we’ll use all of your donation to train volunteers, fund and provide resources for groups and ensure that anyone can attend a group (no matter their background, income or personal situation). None of our administrative costs are supported by these donations.
You can make a one-off donation
safely and securely online below
£10 – provides a new book for use in a group – your book will become part of the Open Book library and be used by members from different groups for many years to come.
£25 – supports someone to take part in an author event that they otherwise wouldn’t get to attend. This provides a ticket, coffee and cake, helps with transport costs and allows us to gift a book as a memento of the day.
£50 – allows us to train a new Lead Reader to deliver sessions for Open Book.
£100 – allows us to run a shared reading session in a more remote community that doesn’t have access to similar opportunities.
£200 – funds a creative writing workshop allowing us to bring Open Book to new audiences.
If you’d like to donate another amount or set up a regular donations, please get in touch and we can chat to you about our plans and how your donation could be used.
Thank you for supporting Open Book. We promise we’ll make sure every vital penny you donate counts.
