Stage one of 26 Under a Northern Sky is almost complete, as final drafts from our 26 plus writers are due by the end of this week.
Thanks to my fellow editors June Mong, Faye Sharpe, and Katie Treggiden for encouraging, chivvying and offering advice to our journey of writers. And to those who are still tarrying, a reminder that this project has a timetable to stick to, so don’t get left on the platform.
This is only my second 26 project, and my first as an editor. It’s been thrilling to see the idea, which began as a twitter conversation between myself and Sandy Wilkie, has been brought to life by some really imaginative writing.
Inspired by the name of a station on a route between Newcastle and Glasgow and a song title from Nick Drake, our writers have already embarked on some amazing journeys, both real and virtual.
The final collection promises to include prose and poetry, folk-tales, history, a treasure hoard, a giant, a night time garden, and bees. And I haven’t even read all of the pieces yet.
My project partner, Sandy is still wrestling with timetables and train companies to make final arrangements for the launch on 25th April, when we hope many of the writers will join us to take the actual journey and perform their pieces. For those who can’t make it, we also aim to publish the work on the 26 website.
It promises to be a wonderful musical journey.