J.K. Rowling Contributes to “A Love Letter to Europe”
The backlash to Brexit has grown ever more fervent in recent months, and Coronet, an imprint of Hodden & Stoughton, itself an imprint of the publisher Hachette, has commissioned a response. A Love Letter to Europe, commissioned by publisher Mark Booth, is a collection of writings from Britain’s finest, including author Neil Gaiman, multi-instrumentalist Pete Townshend, and J.K. Rowling herself.
The book will be released on October 31, the day Prime Minister Boris Johnson has decided Britain will leave the European Union. The list of collaborators is the stuff of legends, with scholar Mary Beard, actor Simon Callow, University of Essex chancellor Shami Chakrabarti, novelist Sebastian Faulks, novelist Alan Hollinghurst, actress Ruth Jones, novelist Deborah Moggach, author Onjali Raúf, and University of Portsmouth chancellor Sandi Toksvig all making contributions. Raúf says that the project is meant to be a source of unity for the divided nation:
As the United Kingdom stands divided by fears, hostilities and a heartbreakingly negative view of all that our union with Europe once gifted us, it’s crucial that we remember the real and often beautiful impact that being a part of Europe has had on our personal histories and daily lives. This book is a celebration, and a much-needed reminder to all, of what we, and our coming generations, now stand to lose so painfully.
Booth added that the book will share several deeply personal stories or expressions of love for the EU as a celebration of unity and a protest against the move to leave:
We’re publishing it on 31st October when Boris Johnson says we’ll be leaving: no ifs, no buts. Who knows what will be happening then? But like a love letter this book will be something to hold on to as a token of authentic feeling – at a time when public discourse seems to have little that is authentic about it. I’m moved that so many feel deeply enough to write for this book, and more, that many of them have contributed some of their most inspired, passionate and precise writing
A Love Letter to Europe will be released on October 31, so you’ll be able to read J.K. Rowling’s contribution along with many others’ in just over a month!