“WB Yeats Was An Indie Author” says Orna Ross, Irish Director of the Alliance of Independent Authors, launching her new book which combines Yeats’ short story collection with her novel in a special tribute edition for #Yeats2015.
15.7.2015: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Irish Launch: At the Yeats International Summer School, Yeats House, Sligo (Aug 3 2015, 5pm)
&
UK Launch: At The London Irish Centre, Camden, London (Aug 20 2015, 8pm)
Leading Irish self-publisher and Director of the Alliance of Independent Authors, Orna Ross, will launch Secret Rose, a unique two-in-one book tribute for #Yeats2015 in Sligo and London this August.
The Secret Rose is WB Yeats's talismanic short story collection, published in 1897. Her Secret Rose is Orna Ross’s new novel, which will publish in ebook and paperback in December 2015. Both are being brought together by Ross in a unique two-in-one commemorative edition for #Yeats2015.
This special edition hardback has been lovingly crafted in close replica of Yeats 1897 first edition and supported by a successful crowdfunding campaign through Pubslush.
(See Video of Orna Ross talking about the crowdfunding campaign here: Ingram Spark Interview re. Crowdfunder)
Her Secret Rose
Orna Ross’s novel, set against the background of fin de siecle Paris, London, and Dublin tells the true story of the fascinating relationship between WB Yeats and his long time love and muse, the English heiress turned Irish revolutionary, Maud Gonne.
The Secret Rose
Yeats’s short story collection was not published as the author originally envisaged, the publisher having insisted on removing the last two stories, as they were too full of Celtic mysticism. ‘One of the things I most love and admire about Yeats is the care he took with his books, not just in their writing —- he was an avid reviser and improver -—but in their design and presentation', says Orna Ross, ‘and in how they reached their readers. This means makes him an “indie author” as defined by The Alliance of Independent Authors (See “What Is An Indie Author” in ALLi FAQ Page) and he went on, of course, to virtually have his own printing press with his sisters' publishing imprint, Cuala Press.
‘I haven’t been able to find any record of what he felt when the publisher broke his careful arrangement of The Secret Rose but I can’t imagine he was anything furious. So I am thrilled to be presenting these stories as their author intended back in 1897 and I hope to bring more readers to these tales, which are strange, fantastical prose poems. The Secret Rose is, I believe, a neglected and important work of fiction in its own right and not just, as it has been largely treated by the critics, an insight into the workings of Yeats’s mind at that time.'
More about Secret Rose's publication history here.
This elegant, cloth-bound hardback with gilt-foil stamping, in the mystical design created by Yeats’s friend, Althea Gyles, makes a unique and exclusive gift book. Five hundred (numbered) copies will be made available, only through the author’s website at a cost of £50 each.
Secret Rose will also be available in ebook format (£4.99) and is now available for pre-order on Amazon, iBooks, and Kobo.
- The Irish launch of Secret Rose is on 3rd August, at the Yeats International Summer School 2015.
- The UK launch of Secret Rose is at a special event at London Irish Centre on August 20th, with Yeats music and song, including Ambassador Dan Mulhall and Damien Brennan, immediate past president of the Yeats Society, a film poem by Shevaun Wilder featuring Michael Gambon.
For interview requests, review copies or more information, contact Valerie Shanley, press [at] allianceindependentauthors.org
Orna Ross writes and publishes novels, poetry and nonfiction. Her work as Director of the Alliance of Independent Authors has seen her named as one of The Bookseller’s “100 top people in publishing” in 2013 & 2014. Orna blogs regularly on her Author Blog and ALLi’s Self-Publishing Advice blog and can be found, most days, on Twitter: @ornaross.