Arran anthology hits the shelves
A new compilation of stories written by local people about subjects relevant to Arran is now available at outlets and bookshops around the island.
Entitled KA278 - the area code prefix covering Arran – the book is a compilation of local memories, history, art, opinion and the creative output of numerous contributors who have helped to populate the book’s glossy 164 pages.
The A4-sized book is the brainchild of Heather Macleod and Graham Chappell of Arran Media who are the hosts of What’s Happening on Arran (WHOA), an online weekly entertainment and chat show.
Graham Chappell told the Banner where the idea for the book came from. He said: “Media is making serious moves to go digital at every opportunity. We don’t think Arran is quite ready for that and, fundamentally, who wants to look at a screen all day when you can flick through a book. Crucially, we wanted to allow everyone to submit their own stories, memories, photos and ideas.
“The aim was to create something between National Geographic and Readers Digest, with some humour throughout, all with an Arran theme. When we started receiving articles, we realised this was actually going to be a serious look at Arran in terms of history, recent memory and the island as it is today, with some humour thrown in.”
The content is varied and is roughly classified into four categories: historical; Arran today; creative; and things to amuse. The intention was to accommodate a wide range of topics. Graham explained: “This is a book to pick up and flick through. Not everything will appeal to everyone, but our aim is to create a range of publications that you can give to a friend elsewhere and say, ‘here... this is Arran’. We have included a lot of ‘insights’ into things that readers can look further in to if they are interested.
“We have QR codes linking to videos, websites and other resources. We also have the results of local social media polls we conducted in the winter, a collection of owners’ dogs, a word-search and other items of interest.”
The idea for the project came about in January after Graham and Heather felt they needed to expand their online presence into a more tangible product. They put out a request for contributions on their Sunday show and were overwhelmed by the response.
The book took more than 150 hours to design and countless hours of collating, researching and many telephone calls and emails. Graham and Heather are pleased with the final product and have already started compiling the second version.
They hope to release another book as soon as they have received another 160 pages of content.
The next edition is expected to be released next winter with Heather explaining what can be submitted.
She said: “What we are looking for is more of the same. We would also like to hear from children – either writing, stories, artwork or experiences on school trips and music events.
“We would like to know more about people who have lived here all their lives, unique events, things that have been discovered and things that have taken off in terms of business ideas. We do not accept everything but the first book should give people a good idea of what we’re looking for.”
The book was launched at a special event at the Douglas Hotel last Sunday, just before the WHOA show. A limited number of copies are still available. Further print runs will be made as required. KA278 is available at a number of outlets on Arran and copies can also be purchased online at www.arrangraphicsonline.com/ka278.
‘When we started receiving articles, we realised this was actually going to be a serious look at Arran in terms of history, recent memory and the island as it is today, with some humour thrown in.’