When I signed the contract with NewSouth for Eating with my Mouth Open, we agreed on an August 1 release date – this would position the book well for 2020 festivals, and it would be a six-month turnaround of editing, layout, design, marketing, the whole shebang. It was overwhelming and fast – exhilarating.

Since then, the world has dropped into a pandemic, and the publishing landscape looks pretty different. The 2020 festivals have been cancelled or moved online in radically different formats; publishers everywhere are pushing back new releases; people’s reading habits and disposable incomes are both shifting. NewSouth and I have agreed to rethink the timeline given the current climate, and it seems smart to delay the release for a while to give my little book the best chance it can have in the world.

I’m pleased to share that Eating with my Mouth Open looks like it will be a February 2021 baby!

Work on the book continues apace – we’re currently discussing cover art, and have been sending the book to some of my very favourite writers and thinkers, asking for them to say some words about it that we can use for endorsement. The extra time before release also gives me time to write more tie-in essays, and do some work online to share the ideas I explore in EWMMO.

I can’t wait to launch the book in person with you all in February, to hug you tight and celebrate both the book and our being able to be together again.

Stay safe, stay well, look after each other. x