My publisher Authors Reach has released a brand new anthology of short stories and poetry, which is being sold in aid of Southampton charity Board in the City. The book has been created by Managing Director and young adult author Richard Hardie, and I spoke to him recently about what the charity does and how the collection came about.

Board in the City paperback book for sale at £6

How did you become involved with the charity Board in the City, and what do they do?

BOARD IN THE CITY CIC, is the first dedicated not for profit boardgaming drop-in cafe in Southampton, where vulnerable gamers of all ages have the opportunity to play over 1,000 games helped by trained and friendly volunteer staff. Fresh food and drink are available to help everyone keep up enough energy to deal with trolls and marauding alien armies!

They provide a community where the vulnerable, the ill and the very lonely can receive physical and emotional support from trained staff and other gamers, as well as to offer a safe and welcoming fun alternative way to support everyone who needs it.

They encourage respect for others and a welcome to all as well as integrity and transparency, Equality and inclusiveness. You can find out more about BitC via this link: https://www.boardinthecity.co.uk

How did you and Authors Reach get involved with Board in the City?

Well, let’s face it there is no greater thrill for an author than to be in a bookshop signing copies of their latest work, especially if there’s a small queue. Two years ago I was signing books in W H Smith’s Southampton branch, when I started chatting to a lady called Karen who told me about a drop-in café her daughter had helped establish and runs with the help of trained volunteer staff. It is now a highly respected and welcome daytime refuge for the vulnerable, the lonely and the unwell in Southampton, serving food, soft and warm drinks and most importantly providing tables and a great selection of board games for people to play.

I was intrigued! 

Author Richard Hardie holding a copy of new Authors Reach anthology Board In The City
Richard with our new book

How did the idea for the anthology come about?

Karen and I talked about the possibility of Authors Reach as a publisher giving a talk in the café, however we quickly put that idea to one side as customers of Board in the City go there to relax, not to be talked at! So I suggested that as paying the bills is always a pressure for the café, perhaps we could probably produce a book with contributions by all the Authors Reach authors and where the proceeds from sales should all go to help fund Board in the City. The Authors Reach authors got together on a Zoom call and discussed the possibilities of an anthology and the viability of the project, given that we are all productive authors in our own right. We agreed to go ahead.

Over the next few months a number of short stories covering all genres and several poems were written, proof read, edited and finally approved by all of us. To keep costs to an absolute minimum and therefore royalties to a maximum, we decided to do all the preparation work internal prior to printing. A superb cover was produced by one author (FJ Mitchell) and two others did the proof reading and editing (Teresa Bassett and Francesca Tyer) and the book was eventually ready to be formatted and sent to the printer … all so that people can buy it, enjoy it, hopefully tell other people to buy it, in order that Board in the City can continue doing the fantastic work they do in helping the people of Southampton.

Tell us more about this new anthology

The Board in the City anthology is a collection of short stories of various genres written especially for this project. It also includes a number of poems ranging from the comic through to the very pensive. In short, there’s something for everyone to read and hopefully enjoy!

Rather than try to get bookshops to sell it, we decided to look at more unusual distribution routes. As a result The Dolphin pub in Hursley and the Paulton Park Golf Club are actively selling it, the Natty Noo design shop in Horsham has placed copies on their counter and all the authors involved in the project are doing whatever they can to sell it. Of course, the Board in the City café is being very proactive in selling copies as well and indeed the first print run has nearly sold out.

To try to promote the book through the media I approached BBC Solent Radio and we were lucky! One of their research journalists was putting together a spot all about board games, and whether they’re just for Christmas. That resulted in the journalist spending a highly enjoyable three hours at Board in the City, playing board games she’d never heard of and interviewing both the staff and gamers alike. The spot went out just before Christmas and was repeated a number of times.

The premises of charity Board In The City in Southampton
Board in the City cafe in Southampton

What was your favourite part of the process?

Like most authors, I’m used to writing novels with around three hundred pages, so penning a short story of fifteen to twenty pages which has to be short and snappy was a challenge, but one I thoroughly enjoyed. I also found convincing a country pub and a golf club to become booksellers most satisfying!

 I’m certain that everyone at Authors Reach discovered a talent they didn’t know they had, beyond merely putting pen to paper, or fingers to the keyboard. That alone makes the project extremely worthwhile.

However, without a doubt, helping to raise the profile of a fabulous organisation and providing it with badly needed funds has to be my favourite part of the whole process!

Thank you Richard. It’s been a pleasure to be involved with the project and I hope it makes lots of money for such a deserving cause.

Buy it here:

Apart from the outlets Richard mentioned, the book may also be bought from Amazon, priced at £5.99 for the paperback for £1.99 for the ebook

For US readers: Amazon.com

Find out more about Richard’s books here: Amazon

Find out more about my books here: https://teresabassett.co.uk/my-books

Board In The City!

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