Gabriel Hemery's Blog: Gabriel Hemery, page 9

Flight 0646

An Illustrated Short StoryBY GABRIEL HEMERY

I am pleased to publish here a short story with accompanying photographs. I can’t say much about it without giving the plot away, but I hope you enjoy it. I’ve published the story using Adobe Spark which is a new technique for me as it allows me to display long text dynamically alongside images. I hope you enjoy the story. Do let me know by leaving comment below!

the turbulent air tumbled over its high crenelated ridges which scarred the landscape with blades sharpened by shadow and light

Flight 0646

If the embedded story is not displaying properly, trying clicking the button below.

The post Flight 0646 appeared first on Gabriel Hemery.

The New Sylva Republished

At long last the wait is over … Bloomsbury Publishing has released details of a new version of The New Sylva coming this October.

Since selling out towards the end of 2020, there has been continued demand for the original The New Sylva, first published in 2014. The original version had already had two major print runs.

The new version of the best selling book comes in a slightly smaller hardback edition, its quality hardback cover redesigned to distinguish it from the original published in 2014. Bloomsbury Publishing has managed to reduce the book printing and production costs in this new version, and while the feel of the book may not be quite as luxurious and the size slightly reduced by about 25%, it still has a significant heft in the hand and exudes quality. The book’s spine is a rich dark blue with silver lettering, and this edition also comes with illustrated endpapers and a ribbon marker.

The New Sylva 2021The New Sylva 2021The New Sylva 2021 Gabriel HemeryThe New Sylva 2021 by Gabriel HemeryThe New Sylva 2021

The 2021 hardback edition is very competitively priced with a RRP of £30.

I understand that a reprint of the original edition will come in 2022, which will be badged as the ‘deluxe’ edition.

£30.00 RRP | ISBN 9781526640109 | 253 x 222 x 42mm (10 x 8.75 x 1.75″ approx.) | 400pp.

Visit Bloomsbury Publishing to find out more

Buy from AmazonBuy from Bookshop.org

The post The New Sylva Republished appeared first on Gabriel Hemery.

Stories of Trees, Woods, and the Forest

A new anthology featuring the best writing about trees, woods, and forests is to be published this autumn. It’s a huge honour to see one of my short stories featured alongside those from notable writers from around the world.

Stories of Trees, Woods, and the Forest

Edited by Fiona Stafford
496 Pages | ISBN 9781841596310
Everyman’s Pocket Classics

Authors featured include Daphne du Maurier, Jane Austen, Washington Irving, Stella Gibbons, Angela Carter, and Jean Giono. My story is The Man Who Harvested Trees (And Gifted Life), taken from my first collection Tall Trees Short Stories Vol20. It sits alongside The Apple Tree, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, A Tale, The Shades of Spring, Cold Comfort Farm, The Transformation of Daphne, Maid Marian, The Company of Wolves, and Under the Banyan Tree, to name a few of the wonderful short stories and extracts in this collection.

In her preface, editor Fiona Stafford draws upon the multiplicity of trees and our experiences of them in hedgerows, fields, around waterways, and woodlands, and compares these with the diversity of literary fiction and how the writer finds inspiration from the beauty, utility, nature, mystery, and history of trees. She sensibly suggests that the reader can take the stories outside to read under a tree!

The life of a tree, so intertwined with the life of human-kind, at once counterpart and counterbalance, offers vital connections and contrasts to earlier selves and selves to come.

Fiona Stafford: Preface, Stories of Trees, Woods, and The Forest.

See also: gabrielhemery.com/portfolio/tree-stories

The book is officially published in October but is available to pre-order now.

Buy from AmazonBuy from Bookshop.org

You may also like:

Tall Trees Short Stories Vol21, signed paperback £10.99 Add to basket Tall Trees Short Stories Vol20, signed paperback £10.99 Add to basket

The post Stories of Trees, Woods, and the Forest appeared first on Gabriel Hemery.

Blough

“Of course, blough contained not only the spent and the dead, but the living. Spiders and their silken cocoons, fungal spores, beetle eggs, homeless feather mites, seeds seeds scarification. Life passing by, life in waiting, life in motion.”

Fragments, Tall Trees Short Stories Vol21
Gabriel Hemery

Tall Trees Short Stories Vol21, signed paperback £10.99 Add to basket Tall Trees Short Stories Vol21, ebook £3.99 Add to basket

The post Blough appeared first on Gabriel Hemery.

What Future for our Oak?

A new research project is aiming to gain a better understanding of a serious threat to the health of our trees and a possible ‘cure’ in the form of a modified ‘oak microbiome’. If you own or manage oak trees, the researchers are keen to hear from you.

Visit the Future Oak project website

The project, known as Future Oak, is led by Bangor University, and I’m pleased to be involved in this fascinating research as a social scientist working with Sylva Foundation which is a partner in the project.

Acute Oak Decline (AOD) is a serious threat facing native oak trees in Britain. The threat is widespread in southern and central England, where about one-third of woodlands are affected. Symptoms of AOD include bleeding stems, necrotic lesions and larvae of the bark-boring beetle Agrilus biguttatus, and can result in tree death within five years of the first symptoms.

Previous work on AOD has revealed that these lesions are caused by a bacterial “pathobiome”, a collection of bacteria that together cause damage to oak trees. Trees in warmer or drier regions are more likely to suffer from AOD, with extreme environmental conditions, such as drought, weakening trees to the point they cannot fight off these pathogens. To control or halt the further spread of AOD, we need to develop an understanding of forest health that combines knowledge of these biological and environmental elements.

As well as pathogenic bacteria, oak trees play host to a vast array of microorganisms, known as the oak microbiota, many of which have strongly beneficial effects on tree health. For example, mycorrhizal fungi on the roots of trees provide trees with nutrients required for growth, and some bacteria found on leaves may protect trees from infection by preventing the growth of pathogenic bacteria. This collection of microorganisms, along with the ways they interact with each other and the conditions in which they occur, is known as the oak microbiome, and is the context in which these health benefits occur.

The aim of the FUTURE OAK project is to gain a better understanding of the identity of these microorganisms, what they do, and their role within the oak microbiome. An important component of Future Oak is also to engage with key stakeholders in oak woodlands, particularly woodland managers, in order to understand their attitudes towards and knowledge of microbiomes and their role in tree health. Sylva Foundation has just launched a new British Woodlands Survey.

If you own or manage trees and have a concern for tree health, please do take part in this important research. Visit sylva.org.uk/bws2021 The survey remains open until 11th July.

Oak diseases in the UK

The post What Future for our Oak? appeared first on Gabriel Hemery.

A Writer’s Ear for Words

Tall Trees Short Stories Vol.21 has been reviewed by Lawrence Illsley for the summer issue of Living Woods Magazine.

I feel that the reviewer — writer and poet Lawrence Illsley — really engaged with my writing and understood its central force. It is always a huge privilege to have the attention of talented writers, and never more so when they get under your skin: “This collection is both human and natural, urban and wild. It allows us to consider the connections between us and the world we inhabit rather than focussing on the separation between humans and the Earth.”

“Hemery has the scientist’s eye for detail and the writer’s ear for words.”

Lawrence Illsley

The brilliant Living Woods Magazine is free to download

Short Story paperback bundle Sale Product on sale £21.98 £17.99 Add to basket Tall Trees Short Stories Vol21, signed paperback £10.99 Add to basket Tall Trees Short Stories Vol21, ebook £3.99 Add to basket

I am very grateful to Living Woods Magazine and Lawrence Illsley for the review.

The post A Writer’s Ear for Words appeared first on Gabriel Hemery.

New Range of Fine Art Greetings Cards

I am pleased to launch a new range of fine art greeting cards in my online shop featuring my tree and wildlife photography.

Currently, six designs are available; three portrait and three landscape. Among the designs are a red squirrel, a herd of red deer, and some stunning treescapes.

The high quality cards are perfect for someone special, or ideal to keep for yourself and easy to frame as a beautiful wall print.

Measure 7×5″ (approx 18x13cm)Printed on finest art quality Mohawk Superfine 324gsm Card*Blank inside for your own messageIncludes a blank envelope to address to recipient

* Mohawk Superfine is the finest printing paper made today. No other paper has the same reputation for quality, consistency and uniformity.

Red Deer Greetings Card £2.95 Add to basket Solstice Treescape Greetings Card £2.95 Add to basket Larch Flowers Greetings Card £2.95 Add to basket Scottish Loch Greetings Card £2.95 Add to basket Red Squirrel Greetings Card £2.95 Add to basket Caledonian Pinewood Greetings Card £2.95 Add to basket

Or take advantage of a super deal by purchasing all six and save 30% …

Fine Art Greetings Cards – Pack of 6 £12.00 Add to basket

The post New Range of Fine Art Greetings Cards appeared first on Gabriel Hemery.

A Green Canopy for the Queen

The Queen’s Green Canopy has been launched as a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, inviting people from across the United Kingdom to Plant a Tree for the Jubilee.

The initiative was launched last week with a somewhat damp fizzle in the national press, clashing with the launch by Defra in England of a new tree action plan with no obvious link between the two. Meanwhile, our national broadcaster the BBC, founded on a royal charter, has also launched their own tree planting initiative Plant Britain. Another group also launched Trees for Tomorrow supported by Countrylife. And finally, make sure that you don’t confuse this new royal initiative with the former Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy! Why, oh why, can’t we come together in an organised and clear fashion? It’s great that there is so much interest in tree planting, but you would think that there could be some co-ordination between major initiatives.

Britain is one of Europe’s least wooded countries (read more) and British people are among the most tree-impoverished populations in the world (read more) with shocking green deprivation and inequality in many areas across Britain (read more). There is no argument that we need more trees, but let’s hope that we can come together strategically as well as practically. Only then will we be able to generate opportunities to raise the funding necessary, persuade landowners about the merits of giving up land for eternity, let alone growing enough quality plants in our tree nurseries to support these and other initiatives.

The Queen’s Green Canopy websiteMore about the Queen’s Green Canopy

The Queen’s Green Canopy is encouraging everyone from individuals to Scout and Girlguiding groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporates to play their part to enhance our environment by planting trees from October, when the tree planting season begins, through to the end of the Jubilee year in 2022.

With a focus on planting sustainably, the QGC will encourage planting of trees to create a legacy in honour of The Queen’s leadership of the Nation, which will benefit future generations.

Plant a Tree for the Jubilee

The Queen’s Green Canopy

As well as inviting the planting of new trees, The Queen’s Green Canopy will dedicate a network of 70 Ancient Woodlands across the United Kingdom and identify 70 Ancient Trees to celebrate Her Majesty’s 70 years of service.

The Queen’s Green Canopy is an inclusive national initiative, meaning that everyone from across the United Kingdom can get involved. Whether you’re an individual hoping to plant a single sapling in your garden, a scout group planting a large tree or a City Council intending to plant a whole avenue of trees to mark The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the below pages will provide the information you need to plan and deliver your project.

The planting of new trees across the United Kingdom may take the form of:

Individuals planting trees on their private land.Corporates and businesses planting trees on their land and creating tree planting projects with employees.Platinum Jubilee Community Planting projects for youth groups, Parishes, Residents’ Associations.A Platinum Jubilee Avenue of medium-sized or large trees ideal for cities, large estates, new housing developments and parishes.A Platinum Jubilee Copse on private land or land allocated by the County or Council.A Platinum School Tree: on school grounds involving students and teachers.

To find out more, visit the Queen’s Green Canopy website

The post A Green Canopy for the Queen appeared first on Gabriel Hemery.

Bloomsbury Wildlife to Publish The Forest Guide

I am excited to announce that the publisher for my next work of non-fiction The Forest Guide will be Bloomsbury Wildlife.

I had the privilege of working with Bloomsbury Publishing when writing The New Sylva and have always since hoped to work with the company again. As an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, and as the preeminent publisher of wildlife writing, Bloomsbury Wildlife was always in my sights as I developed my proposal for The Forest Guide.

Respected and well-loved, Bloomsbury Wildlife is the proud home of many of the best and most passionate nature writers around. With books on everything from mushrooms to marine mammals and ducks to dinosaurs, readers of all levels and interests are sure to find something engaging among our extensive range of natural history titles.

I am also able to announce that The Forest Guide will be published in a series covering the copses, woods, and forests of Britain, starting with Scotland. Admittedly, I’m a little trepidatious about the amount of work before me, but I’m equally excited by the opportunity of visiting old silvan haunts and unexplored natural wonders across Scotland over the course of the next 12 months. Publication is timetabled for 2023.

About The Forest Guide

The Forest Guide is a project of author Gabriel Hemery who is working on a series of guidebooks featuring the woodlands of Britain, from the largest forest to smallest copse. The idea is to celebrate their beauty, purpose, history, current nature, and ownership. Ultimately the author aims to reconnect society with the natural world.

The copsewoodforest.com website has been created to enable people to contribute to the project, whether landowners or members of the public. Contributors can also become a Supporter or Book Patron, not only supporting the development of the books, but having the satisfaction of their name (or a chosen giftee) listed in the published books.

Visit copsewoodforest.com to find out more

The post Bloomsbury Wildlife to Publish The Forest Guide appeared first on Gabriel Hemery.

Book Review: Deeper Into The Wood

My review of Ruth Pavey’s latest memoir Deeper Into The Wood, about her Somerset wood to be published by Duckworth in May.

Declaration: I was provided with a free advance review copy of this book by the publishers with an invitation to provide a fair and balanced review. No cash payment was received for this review and the views expressed are free of any interference by the author and publisher. This post includes affiliate links, which means that I will earn a small percentage from any purchases following any link provided.

Deeper Into The Wood. Coming May 2021.

Pre-Order from Amazon

Pre-order from Bookshop.org

Following the success of Ruth Pavey’s debut memoir A Wood of One’s Own (Duckworth, 2019), which introduced readers to her four-acres of verdant land in the Somerset Levels, Ruth reflects further on the fate of her wood.

I had the privilege of listening to the author reading some extracts from her first book at a book festival in 2019. I was intrigued by how someone completely new to the complexities of owning and managing a wood might ‘have a go’. I found the author’s storytelling highly readable and engaging, and her own illustrations delightful.

With this her second memoir, coming next from month from Duckworth, Deeper Into The Wood takes a much deeper delve … well, into the wood. But it is much more than that. There is a gradual unveiling of the author’s realisation of the fragility of the natural world, and not just in the context of her own wood.

Ruth Pavey spins a delicate web between the many branches of her little Somerset wood. Her closely-observed changes of wildlife and the changing seasons, echo a growing awareness and concern for life on Earth itself. The author’s growth and metamorphosis into an amateur naturalist who has learnt to read the language of trees is profoundly inspirational.

Ruth Pavey spins a delicate web between the many branches of her little Somerset wood. Her closely-observed changes of wildlife and the changing seasons, echo a growing awareness and concern for life on Earth itself. The author’s growth and metamorphosis into an amateur naturalist who has learnt to read the language of trees is profoundly inspirational.

Although there is no necessity to do so, if you’ve not read A Wood Of One’s Own, I recommend you do so before exploring Deeper Into The Wood, not least because you will find double the satisfaction in a good read.

Publish Date: 15th May 2021
Publisher: Duckworth
ISBN: Hardback 9780715654279 | Paperback 9780715654279

The post Book Review: Deeper Into The Wood appeared first on Gabriel Hemery.