London Lit Lab’s Lily and Zoe both published their second books on the same day, 17th March 2022 – which is astounding enough, but they were also both noticed by the book page editors, both reviewed very generously with widespread coverage.
Zoe Gilbert’s second novel, Mischief Acts (Bloomsbury) is British folklore like you’ve never experienced it before, and follows Herne the Hunter, mischief maker, spirit of the forest, on his travels through the centuries. It is stylistically masterful, playful and inventive.
Lily Dunn’s debut non-fiction, Sins of My Father: A Daughter, A Cult, A Wild Unravelling (W&N) – an intoxicating and dazzling literary memoir, that is also a detective story of a daughter trying to unravel the mysteries of a father who believed himself to be beyond reproach. It is clear sighted and honest on the universals of human frailty, and full of compassion.
We asked Zoe and Lily to reflect on what the last few weeks have meant to them:
Here’s Lily:
Anticipation is a strange thing, as you think you’re fine until you realise quite how exhausted you have been. For quite a few months, in the build up to publication day, I was trapped in a state of waiting for something to happen, and had no idea of what would be asked of me. It was such a relief to have Zoe going through it at the same time. I hadn’t had a book published for some years, so Zoe was able to fill me in on what publicity might do – whether or not I should be worried about this, or that. We had quite a few ‘checking in’ zoom calls! Publishing any book is exciting and nerve-wracking in equal measure – but when you make it a book of your personal life – the anxiety can reach new heights! I have been asked quite a few times – how does it feel to have your story out there? From here, it feels okay because the reception has been so warm and good. And I think the personal element is saved by the fact I worked hard on the aesthetic of the memoir – it was important to me that it was a beautiful thing, as well as being an extraordinary story. And this has paid off as those who have read it so far have really picked up on the craft of the writing. We have a lull now, as reviews come in and people read the book – and I am really looking forward to having conversations with people about what it brings up for them.
And Zoe:
I experienced thrills, dread, and probably everything in between. There is such a long build up from signing the contract to publication (about two years for both of us this time). When the moment comes you think you will be ready, but I’m not really sure what that would look like! It is complicated to be both in an enviable position (having a book published at all) and feeling terribly vulnerable – to fate, luck, opinions, the ‘market’. All of us who write for ourselves initially and then expose that writing to others go through this tricky transition. I had no expectations whatsoever when my first book, Folk, came out four years ago. This time, I dared to have hopes, which is harder! So, I have learned that the debut and the second book are definitely different, in terms of my own experience, but also in the eyes of publishers and publicists. What hasn’t changed is the need to let go and try to trust that, eventually, your book will find its readers. The pandemic made that much more fraught for both writers and book-lovers, so it has been heartening to see support not just for my book but for many others coming out this year into an even stranger world than the one in which they were written. The positive difference this time has been having friends being published concurrently, and being able to share fears, advice, and good news. As Lily says, the whole process can feel exhausting, emotionally; we are all more invested than feels comfortable, and I get a huge amount of vicarious pleasure from my fellow writers’ successes, which helps a lot! We have all worked so hard, but we have also been lucky: a thought both sobering and joyous.
Here is what some of their reviews have said:
‘Mischief Acts is conceptually and stylistically ambitious… Gilbert’s acrobatic style, which ranges from seventeenth-century courtroom speak to stripped back modern prose, is consistently engaging and mirrors the rich and multifaceted history it recounts.’ Times Literary Supplement.
‘Sins of My Father is Dunn’s attempt to know her father, constantly on the move, impossible to rely on… there is beauty in its crisp, cold clarity… as vivid an account of addiction as I can remember reading.’ The Guardian – Book of the Day.
‘In Mischief Acts, Gilbert has created a novel that is …entirely sui generis. Weaving together prose and poetry, myth and history, the past, present and future, it’s a work of extraordinary ambition, brilliantly realised.’ Observer
‘Considerable courage is needed to return to the stark, bright light of trauma in this shirking-nothing way; but writing of this intensity has delivered an astonishing and valuable memoir.’ The Spectator.
If you haven’t already bought their books – you can buy Zoe’s here, and Lily’s here.