SA writer working hard to break anthology record
THE OWNER of Celenic Earth Publications, Shaun M Jooste, has been hard at work orchestrating a SA Guinness World Record attempt, by having the most writers involved in a short story anthology.
While he has already surpassed the previous record, he is now in the last stretch trying to make it official.
Jooste has two goals that he has to achieve to ratify the Guinness World Record. He has a print goal of 1 000 books published, 479 of which have already been published. He also has a sales goal of 1 000 books, of which 237 have been sold.
The anthology tackles a wide variety of stories, due to the many writers involved from all across the world. It includes horror, contemporary fiction, children’s stories, science fiction and fantasy.
It has not been an easy process for Jooste, as he previously revealed that he had been handling the process one hour at a time.
“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 home grown heroes.”
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.”
Jooste has been methodically seeking investors to help with getting the book printed and been tirelessly working to achieve the goal.
‘THIS HAS BECOME MORE ABOUT EVERYONE THAT HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE BOOK’
“If anyone in Cape Town, specifically book stores, can offer us a book launch venue where local writers can sign books, that would be great,” he said.
“Also, I’m still looking for two witnesses with English literature qualifications to sign statements that we’ve met the requirements of the record.
“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.”
Shaun Jooste can be contacted by https://celenicearthpublications. wordpress.com/ or via email at shaunmjooste@celenicearth.com