I AM BRUSH
The 1st of January 2025
From the Shopfloor.
Dear Workers,
Call me Brush...
I am your shop steward.
Now that admin@penkilnburn.com has resigned, it has fallen on my shoulders, as The Shop Steward, representing all of the physical manifestations of the Penkiln Burn Universe, to prevent my sisters and brothers* from being cast overboard as mere ballast, as we enter the flood waters of the Wigtown Bay.
*Books, posters, paintings, beds and people etc...
As such...
My first decision is to divide the labour into three equal parts.
And...
This is how the Labour is being divided into three equal parts.
Part One:
Those First Forty names who were drawn from the paper hat made from pages torn from a Rupert Bear Annual, thus those that are to receive the Final Forty Penkiln Burn Newsletters handwritten by my colleague Pencil, are being invited to become Curators of 11” X 11”. What 11” X 11” is, yet (as of 1st of January 2025) to be made clear to them. But it will be made clear to them before the Cherry Blossom begins to fall. And if they don’t want to accept the offer of becoming Curators of 11” X 11” I, as their shop steward, will defend their decision, stance or position.
Part Two:
There was a second forty names drawn from the same hat. Those second forty names have already been posted (early December 2024) a copy of the novella Winning is for Losers by William E. Drummond. What they were not informed of until they might be reading this, was...
They are being offered a role in the public relations (PR) department of the Penkiln Burn Universe. What they do with that book, is down to their creative instincts for PR. Some may choose to express this creativity by dumping their copy of Winning is for Losers in their recycling bin and spread the word about their good dead. Others might want to give a zero-star review in Goodreads. Others might want to post the book to the editor of the Times Literary Supplement, demanding it be reviewed in the next issue. If this strategy works – and it is unknown how to judge if such things work – future books published by Penkiln Burn Books will be posted to these members of the Penkiln Burn Universe PR Department, in the hope that as the Penkiln Burn Universe tips into the Post Digital Age, their creative instincts will find new ways of engaging with the world of PR. This might even lead them setting up their own lending libraries or reading groups with the focus being on the Penkiln Burn Books that they end up being sent. We will see.
The Public Relations Revolution awaits.
But...
While we are on the subject of revolution – just remember The Revolution Will Not be Liked: On The Systemic Constraints of Corporate Social Media Platforms for Protest by Oliver Leistert. I mean you have read it?
And...
Part Three:
This group are made up of all the remaining names in that hat made from pages torn from that much beloved Rupert Bear Annual. These people with these names are invited to be The Independent Distributors. Being one of The Independent Distributors puts you in a position to ruthlessly exploit whatever monetary value a copy of Winning is for Losers might have on the open market, or otherwise.
As in...
The Independent Distributors are invited to buy the remaining copies of Winning is for Losers in bundles of ten. Each bundle for £100 (plus post and packaging). As in ten quid a copy. And they can then sell on those books, however they want, and for however much they want, be it via eBay, Amazon, or do a deal with their local book shop. Being an Independent Distributor allows them to call on as much creativity as those in the Penkiln Burn Universe PR Department.
This is how the future of independent distribution will work.
From the Mind of Your,
Shop Steward (Brush)
