Housekeeping
Hi everyone, I thought I’d use this weekend’s epistle to catch a few things that have been going around and to answer a few questions I’ve been getting online.
Mountain Retreats is out now. If you’re looking for a copy these are the different ways:
In Japan the easiest way to get it is from one of the upcoming events (more on them below). Kinokuniya has stock on order but as far as I know it hasn’t arrived yet (they stock via Gardner’s). Amazon Japan is being an utter pain in the hole, first listing it at more than 5000 yen a copy for no obvious reason (note, it should not ever cost that much) and then saying there are no copies at all. No idea why, Amazon US and Amazon UK have no such problems. You can also get direct from me or the publisher. Drop us a line.
UK: Amazon is the easiest way. They are listing bizarre shipping dates but these change quickly. One person ordered at the end of Feb, was told 4 month to ship, and it arrived a week later. Again, no idea what Amazon are up to.
Slightly more effort but infinitely ethically superior is to go to your local indie bookstore and order through them. Gardner’s definitely has stock and as most UK indies use Gardner’s, there should be no problems. This has the added bonus that if they order one copy for you, they usually add a couple extra for the shelves. Plus you’re supporting actual bookshops and not, you know, evil.
US Amazon should be working fine. I haven’t heard otherwise. Everywhere else in the world, some version of the above options will hopefully work for you. Thanks!
So to events. On March 24th, I will be launching the book alongside some frankly intimidating poets at the Ryozan Park Lounge. It’s near Sugamo station on the Yamanote and we’ll be there 7pm-10pm. It’s free, and as well as me you’re getting a plethora of poets like Eric Selland and Taylor Mingon.
On April 21st I’ll be flying solo in Nagoya with a launch at the Imaike Library Club. Events there have become a regular thing, they are always well attended and always a lot of fun. It’s at 1pm, will last roughly an hour, and then I imagine we’ll go for some refreshments after. We always do. If you want to come, please register by following the QR code on the poster below. It’s free but the space is small so we need to know how many to expect.
As always, if you do get a copy of the book I’d really appreciate a review on Amazon or Goodreads, a social media post, or anything that generally helps get word out. I can’t stress how much all this matters, especially to small indie presses like Isobar. We don’t have a marketing department or huge advertising budgets. It’s Paul and his poets, a lot of love, and word of mouth, so please take a few minutes to give it five stars somewhere.
Finally, here’s a lovely review of The Japan Lights, written by Patrick McCoy and published in the latest issue of Kyoto Journal.
