About the news coming out of London - I guess it would be good to start by saying that I am fine, and all of our London contributors are fine, to the best of my knowledge, and we’re all ok and just trying to get through this. The supermarkets are open, you can get carry out food, and the roads are still somewhat busy. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere anyway, but I know many people’s plans came to a screeching halt. So, hang in there, and I will try to keep you engaged for a few minutes so you don’t have to think about all that.  

As far as what we’ve been up to in the last month – Sending Nudes is the news. It’s our third anthology and I am pitching it as: an intimate collection of fiction, nonfiction and poetry that uncovers the various reasons (and ways) people send nudes. Our release date is 15 January and pre-orders are available here - gutspublishing.com/sending-nudes - with a nice discount. £7.95 from today until 14 January, then the retail price will be £9.  

We’ll be doing a virtual launch for Sending Nudes on 15 January (will keep you posted on that) with readings by these contributors: Molly McLellan, Shyama Laxman, Karla Linn Merrifield, Michal Piotrowski, Issy Flower and Lynda Scott Araya. For more details and to see the full list of contributors (with bios and photos) take a look here. I’m really excited about this and I’ve been hounding the writers and asking them to write blurbs about what they think about sending nudes, which will also be in the anthology along with 15 short stories and poems. Overall, it’s hard to say what the tone it, but I would say honest is the main one. Even the fiction seems more honest and vulnerable. And we have quite the provocative cover image (see below), a haiga by poet Karla Linn Merrifield called 'Tangibility'. 

Other news – we have been working on the Euphoric Recall audiobook and happy to let you know it is now available! It will be a while before it appears on Audible but for now you can check it out on at SCRIBD and soon you can get it at many other places including Apple, Audible, Amazon, Audiobooks.com, Google Play, Kobo and NOOK Audiobooks. If you just want to listen to Chapter 1, you can do that on our website: gutspublishing.com/euphoric-recall

Aidan Martin (author of Euphoric Recall) has been doing lots of public speaking on the subject of drug deaths in Scotland, which apparently is devastatingly high and on the rise. On 19 December, The Daily Record published an interview with Aidan in which he talks about his recovery and how he is now helping others with addiction, and working to raise awareness and create change in his country. You can take a look at the article here.

I’m very proud of Aidan and very proud to be the publisher of Euphoric Recall – a book that seems to have a life force of its own – reaching so many people and having such a positive impact. So, I’m really thankful for this year, and thankful that you have been with us for the ride.