DISPATCHES FROM NEW MOTHERHOOD
In May 2020 we celebrated the creation of the first ever Mothership Writers anthology, Dispatches from New Motherhood. Edited by novelist and Mothership founder Emylia Hall, the book gathers together the voices of 50 new mothers, all writing in the maelstrom of experience; these aren't narratives crafted at a distance, they've been set down with a pen in one hand and a baby in the other – often literally. And they’re evidence of the richly rewarding relationship between creativity and maternity.
While printed copies of the book were only intended as a keepsake for those involved in the Arts Council funded pilot programme, every week we post a different piece to the Journal pages of our website, building a one-of-a-kind online library of new motherhood. And the response to these writings has been extraordinary.
For the very first time we’re making a limited number of copies of the book available for sale, exclusively in aid of the Bristol-based charity Baby Bank Network. All proceeds from the sales – in fact all money, once postage is covered, so 86% of the price you pay – will go directly to Baby Bank Network, helping to buy baby essentials for families in need.
This is a one-off opportunity to buy a super limited-edition copy of Dispatches from New Motherhood – and do some good at the same time. There are just 30 of these beautifully produced paperbacks available, designed by resident Mothership artist Esther Curtis.
Update: All copies sold out within four hours - huge thanks to everyone who supported!
From the back cover:
50 new mothers, 50 new voices
In the spring of 2019 Mothership Writers was born, a groundbreaking creative writing programme for new mothers in Bristol. Over the next 12 months, three groups of women – and their babies – met for fortnightly workshops, led by novelist Emylia Hall. Many hadn't written for years. Every single one had a story to tell.
Dispatches from New Motherhood is an extraordinary collection of prose and poetry from the first ever band of Mothership Writers. This is writing done in stolen time, in the margins of the day and night, and each piece shines with honesty and immediacy; from a powerful account of postnatal depression to the soul-lifting effects of a bike ride, from a moving story of months spent in NICU, to feeling lost in suburbia. This anthology offers a tender, hopeful, unflinching documentation of what it means – right here, right now – to be a new mother.
£10 (price includes P&P*)
*Second class postage, UK only
