Dickimaw Books Blog

Tales for Our Times Book Launch 🔗

All profits from the sale of this book will be used to help raise funds to support Norwich-based St Martins Housing Trust in their work to help the homeless into independent living. Tales for Our Times includes a foreword by Dr Jan Sheldon, Chief Executive of St Martins.

The event started with an introduction by Shirley who paid tribute to the late Graham Porter, to whom the book is dedicated, who was instrumental in forming the Ex-Cathedra writing group, developed from a creative writing course studied at Norwich Cathedral in 2008 and 2009. Shirley spoke of the group’s previous anthology, Ten Minute Tales, also published by Smokehouse Press (2017), the sales of which raised funds for the Alzheimer’s Society. The stories and poems from Ten Minute Tales were deliberately short and intended to provoke memories in those who either heard them read or were able to read them themselves.

Shirley went on to recount the group’s itch to publish again, and the excellent suggestion of Thea Abbott of Smokehouse Press to consider St Martins Housing Trust as the recipient of funds this time around. Shirley reminded us of St Martin of Tours who cut his cloak in two to give half to a beggar dressed only in rags in the depths of winter.

Dr Sheldon then spoke about the St Martins Housing Trust and the invaluable support they provide. It was shocking to hear the difference in life expectancy of a homeless person compared to the average for the general population. St Martins supports people out of homelessness and into independence, helping focus on the lives they want to lead.

Shirley introduced and welcomed Alison and myself as new members of the group who joined after the publication of Ten Minute Tales. Alison read one of her stories, Connor and Megan: A Tale from the Plague, about a young lad intent on making his girlfriend’s birthday special whilst trying to adhere to the lockdown restrictions during the pandemic. I read one of my stories, The Town House, a supernatural story about a Georgian gentlemen who refuses to leave his town house after his death and spends the next 100 years trying to evict the “pests” who keep infesting his home. After that, Shirley presented the library with 25 copies of Tales for Our Times.

On behalf of Ex-Cathedra, I would like to thank all those who helped and supported us in the launch of Tales for Our Times. Thank you to the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library for hosting the event and facilitating the launch, especially to Daisy Bentley for coming in on her day off. Thank you to Dr Sheldon for an excellent talk and for providing the foreword for the book, to Helen Baldry for liaising with us, and to all the St Martins street collectors who turned up to the event. It’s the first time I’ve given a reading to an audience that included people dressed as large furry animals! Thank you to everyone else who turned up to the event, to all those who gave encouraging feedback, and to everyone who has purchased a copy of the book. Especial thanks to Thea Abbott for her invaluable advice and literary critiquing, and thank you to Ian Clarke of the Eastern Daily Press for giving our event a great write up.

We are delighted to announce that we have so far raised over £1,000 for St Martins. If you missed the book launch, you can catch us at the Harford Bridge Tesco Superstore, outside Norwich on the A140, on Friday 6th December, 10am-12noon, as we sell copies of Tales for Our Times alongside the St Martins collection. It would be great to boost the amount already raised, and we look forward to presenting St Martins with a cheque afterwards. If you are unable to attend, you can purchase a copy from the Smokehouse Press website or visit the St Martins website to make a direct donation.

Photos from the event can be viewed in the gallery.