Hermit Crab Press sells nearly 400 books in three days, plus pilgrimages and a last Dark Mountain book

The author gives an update from Hermit Crab Press, the family publishing outfit launched three days earlier. The response has been strong: nearly 400 books sold, orders still arriving, and a second printing ordered of the poetry collection 'These Were the Stories of My People', something the author notes is rarely said of a poetry book.

Some readers have also sent donations. The team is preparing and packing orders, with Nav putting time into making each package a lovely item in itself. All envelopes are being handwritten rather than printed by machine, which takes time, and the author asks for patience while several big trips to the local post office are arranged.

A support button is offered for those who want to help buy envelopes or, jokingly, fund a giant AI robot to do the work.

On pilgrimage news, one place remains on the tour around Ireland the author will lead next summer; after that a waiting list begins. A second initiative has also appeared: a week-long pilgrimage to Iona, the ancient holy island of St Columba and now home to a new Orthodox monastery. The author will be one of three teachers alongside former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Marcus Plested, newly appointed Chair of Divinity at St Andrews University, whose recent inaugural lecture the author recommends.

The theme is 'the world as sacrament', with teaching sessions combined with silence, prayer and exploration. The author jokes about reading stories from the forthcoming Book of Wild Saints to get away with it in such company.

Finally, the last ever Dark Mountain book will be published at the end of this month, sixteen years after the first issue. The author has written a piece for it looking back on the project. A launch takes place in London on 30th October, which the author will miss, being in Florida. Two public talks in America are also coming, in Wisconsin and Atlanta.