Lush Book Club: Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Hi Guys, OK so this has taken me ages to write up but Sept/Oct is a crazy busy time for PR Publishing folk!!

So, I went to the Lush Book Club for the first time a couple of weeks ago to hear Anna James in conversation with Kiran Millwood Hargrave (author of The Girl of Ink and Stars & The Island at the End of Everything). It was such an incredible evening – Anna’s questions were really interesting, Kiran was wonderful and utterly inspiring, and LUSH were so generous and passionate about books!!

The evening started with Kiran reading from The Island at the End of Everything, it was utterly captivating. This book had been on my TBR for a while but now it’s shot right to the top!

Then she discussed her writing process for her debut novel, The Girl of Ink and Stars – did you know it started out at 100,000 words before being cut down  to just 45,000? It took Kiran 10 drafts over 2 years with Chicken House to get it right,  so remember that if you’re an aspiring writer!

“Writing is rewriting” – Kiran Millwood Hargrave

One of the things I found most interesting was that Kiran doesn’t think of herself as an author, but rather a storyteller. Her books are based on mythology from around the world, inspired by travelling and stories of other cultures.

Then we moved on to some of Kiran’s obsessions, and what was top of the list? You guessed  it:

• Maps – Kiran’s parents have a giant times atlas of the world and she and her brother used to make up adventures based on locations picked at random. She also travelled a lot as a child which helped to fuel her passion for cartography. Maps are a form of history, she said.

• Islands – Kiran has an obsession with island mentality and ecology, plus it makes it harder for her protagonists to escape!

I also learnt some exciting news at the LUSH Book Club – Kiran is working on an adult book with “dark themes”… Intriguing!! She’s also working on a third island based children’s book, based on Scandinavian mythology this time (YAAASSSS!!)

The discussion ended on the topic of hope in children’s books – is it necessary? Kiran says yes.

“Children’s books should always have an element of hope… Dark things happen but there has to be hope, and there is always hope.” – Kiran Millwood Hargrave

She went on to clarify that hope can often be confused with happiness and lightness and that this is not the case. Literature reacts to bleak stuff in life, and she said if you “tell a kid something and they won’t listen, show them and they will take it on.” – empathy is the buzzword in children’s books at the moment at Kiran totally gets that.

“When huge things are happening it’s important to show that change starts with individuals.” – Kiran Millwood Hargrave

After this incredible discussion, we were given Kiran’s books (purchased for us by LUSH, Thanks guys!) and the chance to get them signed. We then got a gorgeous vegan cupcake themed after The Island at the End of Everything AND loads of LUSH bath goodies themed to Kiran’s books – it was incredible and so well thought out.

And if all that isn’t enough for you, did I mention this entire event was free?! I almost feel like I should keep this a closely guarded secret so I can ensure I can always get tickets, but I felt I needed to share the incredible work that LUSH and Anna have been doing.

The LUSH Book Club is an amazing new venture and I can’t wait for the next one!