A total work of art

I have spent the past few days launching Into the Forest, in a library, in bookshops, with a poetry group, with school kids and last night in style at the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. The most delightful thing is watching people stroke the gorgeous cover, with its stunning Carrie Akroyd artwork, and then discover the chapter illustrations for each of the tree species featured in the book, like the oak leaf above. These were created by Kate Cranney and they're rich in folklore and ecology, as well as being simply beautiful. Thanks so much to these talented artists and to Jo Morley who designed and typeset the book, and to Sara at Saraband who makes the whole thing happen. It is a work of art, and I'm so delighted that everyone else seems to think so too.

It's in aid of Trees for Life, and tonight we hear that they won the People's Lottery prize yesterday. Congratulations to them. May the woodlands flourish! You can make a donation to them by buying a copy of the book on my website.

There are two launches left - the first is tomorrow, on Saturday night (30 Nov, St Andrew's night) at Glencanisp Lodge, near Lochinver. The final launch will be at the Findhorn Foundation at 7.30pm on Sunday 8 December, with poetry readings by John Glenday, Margot Henderson and other poets accompanied by a slideshow of tree images. All welcome!