Writing Prize, books and submissions

Thank you again to all those who entered the inaugural Mother’s Milk Books Writing Prize. It’s been great to collect (and have a sneaky read!) of all the great entries, and I’m probably just as keen as the entrants to hear who the winners will be! We will have to wait patiently though as the judges, Angela Topping and Susan Last read and read and read… and then make their final decisions. I’m certainly looking forward to it.

As well as receiving a cash prize and a year’s worth of Juno magazines, the winner of the poetry competition will receive a limited edition hand bound hardback of Letting Go by Angela Topping. This book has been hand bound with such care and attention to detail – it is simply beautiful – and I’m sure the winner will appreciate the beauty of the words within and the beauty of the book craft too.

If you’re not sure about your chances of winning (!) or perhaps didn’t get around to entering the writing prize this year there is another way to get hold of this lovely book… We now have 2 copies for sale in The Mother’s Milk Bookshop, so if you’re looking ahead to Mothers’ Day and want a special something this could well be it! (With the JANSALE code you can also get 20% off your entire basket too.) The sale ends 31st January though, so if you’d like to stock up on breastfeeding-friendly books, mothering/new baby or general greetings cards, or art/poetry prints now is a great time. (Susan Last’s book Breastfeeding: Stories to inspire and inform is also available in the store. The prose winner will get a signed copy of this fab book, but again, if you’re not too sure that’s going to be you, you can get hold of a copy here!)

Thank you again for all your support and if you’re just as keen as me to find out who the winners will be, WATCH THIS SPACE!

p.s. we are also now open for submissions, so do check out our guidelines if you think your writing may well suit our publishing interests.

When they’re gone, they’re gone!

Back at the start of the year, Barb Sheppard, a long-term LLL Leader and supporter, hand bound a copy of Musings on Mothering (with accompanying handmade box) to auction off through ebay for the charity La Leche League GB. It raised over £70 for the charity – 100% of the proceeds from the sale going directly to LLLGB – with various interested parties making a bid for it at the last minute!

I had a few spare copies of Musings left in loose-leaf form after the original litho print run, so I thought it would be lovely to get them hand bound and offered for sale via our store The Mother’s Milk Bookshop – particularly for those who were interested in the auction. Barb kindly agreed to putting in the necessary work, so here they now are! We did have 7 but one has been snapped up already… I hate to say it, but when they’re gone, they’re gone! There are no loose-leaf sheets left and no plans on any more print runs so that’ll be it… a true limited edition. 🙂

If you’d like any more details about the book which has an RRP of £35 feel free to email me on: teika [at] mothersmilkbooks.com

And if you’re interested in doing some Christmas shopping over at our store, please do use the discount code PARENTING to get a further 15% off the price of your basket (valid until the end of November).

Thank you for your continued support, and happy shopping!

A few words from the winning bidder of the recent ebay auction…

I was delighted to receive the following feedback from Lucy Holmes, who was the winning bidder of the hand bound hardback edition of Musings on Mothering:

“The handmade boxed copy of Musings on Mothering is absolutely beautiful – perfectly put together by Barbara who did a truly amazing job. What a talent! There was even a lovely note in it from her, which I am leaving in for posterity and to remind me who made it. It’s really special to have managed to win the book as my two poems in it are the first ever to be officially published so to own a completely unique one-off copy of my first ‘publication’ is something to treasure and which will be handed down to my daughter in the future. What a perfect way to mark the creativity of motherhood! I was thrilled when it arrived… Thanks so much for putting this all together.”

I am so pleased to have been able to help raise just over £70 for La Leche League Great Britain through the auction, and doubly pleased that Lucy’s delighted with the book. Thanks again to Barb and to all those who got involved in the auction and helped spread the word.

Early auction of a unique handbound copy of ‘Musings on Mothering’ is now live!

I wanted to alert you all to a fundraising auction in aid of LLLGB. With the great help of Barb Sheppard, an ex-Leader and long-term supporter of LLL, I have put together an ebay auction of a unique handbound hardback copy of Musings on Mothering. 100% of the proceeds from the sale will go to LLLGB. Please do take a look at this unique book, which took Barb absolutely hours to produce, and share widely if possible.

I know I’m biased, but I really think this would make for a great Mothers’ Day gift! So if you’d like to make a bid, Barb and I would be delighted!

Thank you again Barb! You’re a real star. 🙂

The progress of a very special book

The lovely Barb Sheppard recently sent me some photos of the various stages involved in the binding of the one-off hardbound copy of Musings on Mothering. This is her ‘prototype’ and I think it looks amazing. I can’t wait to see the ‘real’ book, and remember, it will be auctioned off for LLLGB through eBay. And if you’d like to keep up-to-date with all the latest news from Mother’s Milk Books, please do consider subscribing to this blog; there’s going to be some interesting updates…

A very special book-to-be

Barb Sheppard, an LLLGB supporter and bookbinder, who really knows, and loves books, is going to make a one-off hardbound copy of ‘Musings’ to auction off for LLLGB in the New Year. I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished product. Here is a sneak peek of what she is up to… very exciting!