The SiF IW Anthology

Written by Clay

“PS - Hopefully we can get someone else on this like Clay, who hopefully will have something to tell you with regard to his SiF Independent Works Book, which we're publishing through online Book Retailer, Lulu, to raise money for various charities.”

OK Ryan, only because you asked so nicely. :)

So with the Five Year Anniversary already three months ago (!), the millionth visitor to Sodor Island Fansite lurking about somewhere, regular interviews with producers, actors and illustrators alike, you’d think we could be excused for resting on our laurels.

Not so.

The SiF IW Anthology (sounds so much more impressive than ‘book’ :P ) germinated from a discussion during the week in Wales during August 2007. The discussion mainly centred around the publishing site http://www.lulu.com/ and the possibility of publishing our own works – Laggan Railway and Gifted being the two mentioned. That was pretty much it, and the idea was not entertained further upon the meeting’s end.

That was pretty much it for the next three months, until one night driving home I suddenly hit on the idea of compiling the IWs of SiF and publishing them together as part of the one volume.

A bit of discussion here and there, a bit of support, a lot of belief, and away we went. About three months on, and the editing / layout stage is just about complete, with a few minor kinks to sort out prior to full upload and publication. Some of the IWs being published include:
- The Laggan Railway;
- Scarlet & Co;
- Gifted;
- Nerds;
- The Jacob Diary;
- Steam Engines of the Forest;
- A Very Pinchy Life

And so on and so forth.

All profits made from sales of this anthology (not book ;) ) will be split between the UK Autistic Society and David Maidment’s Railway Children Charity (http://www.railwaychildren.org.uk/). So not only is it a way to get the work of many SiF members out into the public, it’s for a worthy cause as well, so when the book does get published (and it’s closer to being published than not being published), pick up a copy. You’ll find it’s worth the investment. :)