Cape Town - One Cape Town author and publisher was brave enough to take on the challenge of breaking the record for "most authors contributing to an anthology of short stories". And, while he has already surpassed the previous record, he is now in the last stretch trying to make it official.
Owner of Celenic Earth Publications, Shaun M Jooste, has been hard at work orchestrating a South African Guinness World Record attempt, by having the most writers involved in a short story anthology.
“We are now at the publishing stage, with the online launch being 14 October 2017 and all our online distributors ready to roll with the paperback and ebook launches all across the world.
“We were going to have a physical book launch, but Exclusive Books have cancelled on us and we are now looking for alternative venues, maybe even a book launch tour at different malls over the next few weekends. We have the book launch stock ready to go,” Jooste said.
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“We have passed the record, but it has not been verified by Guinness World Records.
"There are three more milestones to achieve before we can submit all our evidence: Hold a physical launch event that is filmed, have two witnesses with English Lit qualifications confirm that we have met the Guinness Guidelines for this record, and print 1000 paperbacks with 1000 sales being received in paperback and ebook form.
"We have been reaching out for the witnesses and hope to have them signed up soon.”
It has not been an easy process for Jooste, as he has had to take the process one hour at a time to prevent himself from being overwhelmed.
“It has been a really stressful experience, with everyday being a prayer that certain dominoes pull together. South Africa has a poor support model, especially for writers, since our retailers tend to aim more towards overseas celebrities rather than homegrown heroes in the written word.”
Though it has not been an easy journey for him, he has appreciated getting to meet writers, not only from South Africa but from all over the world.
“This has become less about me and the record and more about everyone that has contributed.
“I have discovered what I personally can be capable of if I put my heart, not mind, to it. I feel there is more a passion in doing what I love rather in what the country drives us to do.”
Author, Shaun M. Jooste, will be orchestrating a South African Guinness World Records attempt by getting 100 writers involved in a short story anthology. Video: Theolin Tembo
So far Jooste says the book has 115 preorders, 35 of which have been South African, with 100 additional copies have been printed for a physical book launch that is being planned.
“In terms of sales, we need to get at least another 785 paperbacks printed and sold to qualify for this record,” he said.
“I’d like to urge people to buy the books directly from the website, since we keep it as close to cost as possible, while physical and online retailers will add their fees. You will never find a better price for a 570 page A4 book with 108 stories ever again.”
The best way people can contribute is either through sales or by sharing as far and wide as possible. The sooner we get to 1000 sales, the sooner we can verify the record and obtain a new Guinness World Record for South Africa.
Shaun Jooste can be contacted by https://celenicearthpublications.wordpress.com/ or via email at [email protected].