This amazing opportunity to project manage a great little 32 page paperback with some fantastically talented at Falmouth University was an amazing experience . ..

In Dark Places

In November 2016 an email dropped into my inbox detailing an incredible opportunity to work with the School of Writing and Journalism.

The email was a call to become involved in a live brief with the students of Falmouth University, the National Trust and the 2017 South West Outdoor Festival. This landmark project, supported by Katie Bond (Head of NT Publishing) also involved with local author, Wyl Menmuir.

Never one to shy away from a challenge I promptly said YES. And at the beginning of February 2017, Katie Bond and Pat Kinsella (director of SWOF) briefed us on the task at hand. Work on campus started almost immediately with two experienced members of the Falmouth University staff (Luke Thompson & Anna Kiernan) to guide the student team. 

With a generous budget supplied by the University, the reputation of the National Trust, a renowned author and an up and coming illustrator on board success was almost guaranteed. But a chink in the process at any point could mean failure. Ensuring the student group realised the seriousness of the project was essential to working effectively and efficiently towards our mutual goal. Tasked with this and more I was in my element managing the team, juggling the schedule for the production process and organising the exclusive book launch at Cheddar Gorge.

As predicted the project proved to be a great success and the first test print rolled off the press in June.  And the first copies of the deliciously written and illustrated In Dark Places were bound and ready for distribution by mid-August.

After all the preparation, our Publicity campaign began in earnest in June and our first sales took place exclusively at the South West Outdoor Festival, in Cheddar Gorge in September 2017. By October the bijou books were available in all of the National Trust bookshops.

In a mere ten months, I had helped guide this amazing project from the initial brief to the bookshelves of nearly every National Trust shop in the country.