It takes a village...

There’s a saying that it takes a village to raise a child. It’s not clear where this saying comes from (there’s an interesting piece on NPR if you want to read more), but we like to think it is true of books and writing as well. It takes a village to raise a book.

To write takes the involvement of many others: the voices that have helped us to fashion our own voice; the friends and family members who support us; the readers and editors and agents and phalanxes of industry professionals; the people who make the software we depend on; the people who print our words on paper; and, ultimately, the readers as well.

This is why, at Wind&Bones, we see writing as something inherently social. And it’s also why we’re delighted to be running a new social writers’ café here in Tainan, with our friends from the Wansha Performing Arts Centre (涴莎藝術展演中心).

Gather and Write | 聚筆擷思之約 is a free, relaxed and informal gathering of writers in the beautiful Wansha café space, every other Thursday night. We talk, we drink tea, we chat, and we write, in whatever language we choose. The previous session coincided with Hannah’s birthday, so we had an abundance of cake, and sang Happy Birthday in three languages (English, Mandarin and Taiwanese). If you are interested in coming along, contact Wansha direct.

It’s a popular event, so make sure you book well ahead! And if you are interested in hosting a café elsewhere, let us know! We’d love to run more similar events elsewhere in Taiwan, the UK, or beyond!

In Other News

Speaking of taking a village to raise a child, we’re busy working with a whole village of writers and translators and friends as we put together the final proofs of our latest publication, Tâigael: Stories from Taiwanese & Gaelic.

The book has stories from four writers — Naomi Sím, Elissa Hunter-Dorans, Kiú-kiong and Lisa MacDonald — and brings together the cultures and languages of Scotland and Taiwan. The stories in the book are published in four languages: Gaelic, English, Mandarin and Taiwanese (Tâi-gí).

The book will be out in June 2025, and if you want to enter the village Hall of Fame, you can pre-order before May 1st 2025, and we’ll add your name to the list of supporters at the back of the book.

As ever, if you want to talk about working together, or have any ideas for fun collaborations, or want to say hello, just reply to this email!

All the best,

Hannah & Will