Dear Network,

Hope you’re keeping well and apologies for the longer than usual break between newsletters.
Domestic, rather than creative, pursuits have taken over my life these first few months of 2022, in the form of a new kitchen for my home in London.

Also I must confess that I’m sometimes finding it hard to be creative in these troubled times. As I write, I feel a great sense of sorrow and helplessness when reading the terrible news from the Ukraine, wondering what to do to help. Feel free to get in touch and share your thoughts, if you have ideas.

Despite the continued challenges that many creatives are facing due to the pandemic, there are some positive signs and glimmers of hope. People are reading more and independent bookshops are starting to recover. The initiative Bookshop.org, supporting independent bookshops with their online presence, is a highly recommended alternative to Amazon. Two of my books can be found via their website; one of my older guidebooks (to Colombia) and my first collection of short stories:
https://uk.bookshop.org/books/1605841760_boldly-into-darkness-go-a-collection-of-short-stories/9781916082526

Several of my books are now also available from smaller, quirkier shops, such as Oh So Swedish, down in Brighton:

Welcome To Oh So Swedish

And all my books are still available via my web shop as well, of course:
www.amhellbergmoberg.co.uk

As always, I’m very happy to contact your favourite bookshops, if you have any recommendations or know of anywhere that might be interested in stocking my books. It could be a giftshop, café or similar, in your area (in the UK or elsewhere).

Last autumn I was working on an interview feature on self-translation for the Swedish Book Review and I’m very pleased to say the feature was published on the 3rd of March:
https://swedishbookreview.org/stepping-self-translation
It was a fun and interesting piece to both research and write and it gave me the chance to meet some fascinating people, including Swedish writer Eivor Martinus. She translated My life as a dog into English, a book that was turned into a successful film in 1985, among many other works.

As mentioned in my last newsletter, during 2021 I was contributing to a new cookbook, focusing on South America and I’m very pleased to say it’s due to be published in September by Bradt Guides (https://www.bradtguides.com/). More details to follow.

As you’ve probably gathered, my fiction output has suffered a bit of “pandemic writer’s block” and I’ve focused my creative energies elsewhere, but this month I’m putting pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard) at a week-long writers’ retreat near Caernarfon, North Wales. I’m very much looking forward to immersing myself in stories again and will in no way be distracted by the fact that the retreat has an outdoor hot tub!

Comments, images and recommendations are always welcome.

Keep well,

AM Hellberg Moberg