New indie publisher to use books sales to help restore a Welsh woodland
A new Welsh independent publisher wants to provide ‘books that give back’ with an innovative partnership project with a woodlands trust.
A percentage of sales from the books sold by Aderyn Press will be donated to Penllergare Trust to support the planting of trees in the Swansea woodland area.
Author Rebecca F. John decided to launch Aderyn Press as an ‘act of defiance’ during the height of lockdown as the pandemic disrupted many people’s lives.
She said: “While the Government closed down arts projects and facilities with flippant assurances that the UK’s host of world-class artists could ‘retrain in cyber’, the population turned to books in ever greater numbers.
“Our response to that frightening upheaval was to seek out stories. I wanted to honour that response by opening up opportunities for more writers and, in turn, readers, but it was also important to me that Aderyn did more.
“I came to the conclusion that Aderyn’s publications could and should be ‘books that give back’.”
Restoration
Rebecca approached the Penllergare Trust which oversees the restoration of the Swansea woodland which had suffered from more than half a century of neglect.
The Penllergaer estate was developed by 19th-century photography pioneer and botanist John Dilly Llewelyn.
Stuart Hemsley-Rice, of The Penllergare Trust, said: “The Trust was delighted to be approached by Rebecca with this innovative and exciting project, that will see books sales turn into new native woodland at Penllergaer.
“The trees that we will plant as a part of the project will be sourced and grown locally by the Coeden Fach Nursery.”
Gallopoli
Aderyn Press will publish its first two titles in 2022: The Empty Greatcoat, by John herself; and The Sandstone City, a debut novel from Irish writer Elaine Canning.
The Empty Greatcoat was inspired by John’s great-great-uncle and is a reimagining of his time fighting on Gallipoli during the First World War.
Every ten books purchased through the publisher will buy one oak tree from Coeden Fach Nursery, which will be planted within the woods.
The books will also be posted in 100% recyclable packaging, to ensure that Aderyn Press operates as sustainably as possible.
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His mother may have called him John Dilly – I doubt if anyone since has dared do so
Believe it should be Penllergaer. Not “gare”.
The village is Penllergaer, the estate was in is Penllegare. From their website; After coal mining began on an industrial scale in the area in the mid 19th century (1843 onwards) and the railway arrived in 1881, William Lewis of Melin Llan started his tinplate works to the west near Rhydymaerdy. The emerging township became known as Lower Cors Einon and eventually dropped ‘Lower’. The newly built railway station there was called Gorseinon. To differentiate between the two places – the village at the top of the hill became synonymous with the Dillwyn Llewelyn estate of Penllergare and took its… Read more »
Honour to you Rebecca F. John. I salute your courage, energy, morality and pragmatism. I like your chosen title Ederyn/ Bird. In the first prose stories ever composed, Pedeir Cainc y Mabinogi/ the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, there are consistent links between powerful women and Adar/ Birds. There are the famous Adar Rhiannon (who inspired much 20thC nationalist poetry) who rule the forces of life and death itself, and work trances. There is Branwen’s starling, the fateful messenger which crossed the Celtic Sea to raise a terrible war. There is a wren which died so that Arianrhod was tricked… Read more »
Oh I forgot the bids who were often llateion/ messengers between lovers in Welsh poetry.
I’m proud of such people as Rebecca F. John. I think we need to support them as hard as we can. I hope that she’ll manage to do everything that she wants. For once please we need every single person on this planet to help. This is our home and we are just looking and waiting for it to die slowly, I believe there are still chances so we really need to take that chance before it’s too late…