108 stories in one book
Author/publisher taking final steps to make Guinness World Record official
ONE Cape Town author and publisher was brave enough to take on the challenge of breaking the record for “most authors contributing to an anthology of short stories”. And, while he has already surpassed the previous record, he is now in the last stretch trying to make it official.
Owner of Celenic Earth Publications, Shaun M Jooste, has been hard at work orchestrating a South African Guinness World Record attempt, by having the most writers involved in a short story anthology.
“We are now at the publishing stage… the online launch was on Saturday and all our online distributors are ready to roll with the paperback and ebook launches all across the world.
“We were going to have a physical book launch, but Exclusive Books have cancelled on us and we are now looking for alternative venues, maybe even a book launch tour at different malls over the next few weekends,” Jooste said.
The previous record had 50 writers, but Jooste has more than doubled that by including 108 stories in his anthology.
“We have passed the record, but it has not been verified by Guinness World Records,” he said. “There are three more milestones to achieve before we can submit all our evidence: (We need to) hold a physical launch event that is filmed; have two witnesses with English Lit qualifications confirm that we have met the Guinness Guidelines for this record; and print 1 000 paperbacks with 1 000 sales being received in paperback and ebook form.
“We have been reaching out for the witnesses and hope to have them signed up soon.”
It has not been an easy process for Jooste, as he has had to take the process one hour, not one day, at a time to prevent himself from being overwhelmed.
“It has been a really stressful experience, with every day being a prayer that certain dominoes pull together. South Africa has a poor support model, especially for writers, since our retailers tend to aim more towards overseas celebrities rather than homegrown heroes in the written word.”
Though it has not been an easy journey for him, he has appreciated getting to meet writers, not only from South Africa but from all over the world.
“This has become less about me and the record and more about everyone that has contributed.
“I have discovered what I personally can be capable of if I put my heart, not mind, to it. I feel there is more a passion in doing what I love rather in what the country drives us to do.”
So far, the book has 115 pre-orders, 35 of which have been South African; 100 additional copies have been printed for a planned physical book launch.
“In terms of sales, we need to get at least another 785 paperbacks printed and sold to qualify for this record,” he said.
“I’d like to urge people to buy the books directly from the website, since we keep it as close to cost as possible, while physical and online retailers will add their fees. You will never find a better price for a 570-page A4 book with 108 stories ever again.
“The best way people can contribute is either through sales, or by sharing as far and wide as possible. The sooner we get to 1 000 sales, the sooner we can verify the record and obtain a new Guinness World Record for South Africa.”
Jooste can be contacted by https:// celenicearthpublications.wordpress.com/ or via email at shaunmjooste@celenicearth.com