BIG BOOK UPDATE: first-to-know for my readers
Hello dear readers of The Joy Rise,
Before the press release goes out to Australian industry media tomorrow morning local time, I am beside myself to share this news with you here first:
The news in plain text: I’ve signed a multi-book-deal to write three new books! My new non-fiction book will be published in late 2026! Two new novels will follow in 2028 and 2030! But first, my next and newest novel, THE WORLD BENEATH HER FEET, is coming in early 2026! (I just had to get up to dance-shake the adrenaline out of my limbs after typing that! Also, it’s clearly no time to be an exclamation mark minimalist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
The finer details: this news is, in part, a result of long, languid conversations I’ve been having for the last five years with my incredible publisher, Catherine Milne, about my stories and ideas, and the courage I’ve found to speak them aloud. Turning those ideas into pitches for books, which Catherine took to an internal Acquisitions meeting for discussion, and waiting for the outcome… and then getting a forking green light email was one thing. To sign this contract with Catherine, and the rest of my team at HarperCollins Australia, and to know that I’ll be writing, publishing and sharing books with you, my readers, for the next six years, is another forking thing entirely. It feels as miraculous and unfathomable to me as physics, deep time, or space. Nevertheless, here we are - all of the aforementioned is a reality, whether my brain can fathom it or not.
I don’t know how to be measured about sharing this update. Why, I ask myself, would I want to be? My knees genuinely gave out while Sam was hugging me after the green light email came. I’m keenly aware of what an extraordinary and privileged position this is to be in. And, of course, fear in all its facets is ready to pounce and list all the ways I don’t measure up, or could fail, or this could go wrong. However. Fear isn’t welcome at wheel in this magnificent moment. In the words of my beloved Pearl Jam: I’ve tasted a life wasted, I’m never going back again. I believe in myself, and my ability to do this work, writing the stories that call to me. Give me the signing pen! I’m extremely grateful to booksellers and readers at home and around the world for their support, and I’m very excited to continue growing my connection with you all through FOUR NEW BOOKS!
Before I sign off, some exciting Joy Rise updates:
This announcement came together very quickly and took priority because I offer you, my free/paid subscribers, first-to-know access to my writing updates.
My previously planned issue #4 of The Joy Rise for paid subscribers will now land in your inboxes in two weeks, mid-October, and is made of the very stuff of my heart.
Issue #4 of The Joy Rise, coming mid-October : a celebration of 15 years since I left behind a life that nearly destroyed me and moved alone to Manchester to follow my dream of becoming a writer, and, how that coincides with 15 years of being lucky to love and be loved by Sam… plus why I have author Stephen Chobsky to thank for a revelation that transformed my (writing) life.
Issue #4 will also herald the beginning of a new publishing schedule on The Joy Rise.
From this issue onwards I’ll be sending paid subscribers a newsletter every two weeks, instead of a mega issue once a month, with the intention of making The Joy Rise more accessible to read time-wise.
I’m not eliminating or minimising current quality and content. I am dividing the content that I write for you each month and hopefully, making it easier to access and have time to read. (This is one of the things I’m embracing and enjoying about Substack as a platform: it offers us the opportunity to stay connected while learning what suits us best here. I’ll be writing more about this soon as I reflect on my experience of my first four months here.) Nothing will change with our paid subscribers group chat about creativity, which, from our very first messages earlier this month, is proving to be a meaningful, moving, and supportive place for everyone who is participating.
I’ll also continue writing content every month for everyone to read, no matter your subscription level.
Whether you are free or paid, thank you for being here, thank you for sharing in this news, and thank you for supporting my work. I’m not the author that I am without you being the reader you are.
My website is always open - please let me know if you have a question about creativity, or what you’d like to read from me here: we’re building The Joy Rise together. I hope you’ve enjoyed this issue, it’s been a joy to write and share this news with you.
With a light left on AND FOUR NEW BOOKS TO COME!!!!!!!!!!
Yours, in a cloud of calm!!!!!!!!!
Hello everyone. Thank you so much for your responses - reading them has made me tear up, snort with laughter and feel very humbled. I’m deeply grateful for your support! Thanks for being here. Love, Holly ❤️🔥
HOLLY!!! You are so deserving of this, my friend. I’m on my front porch with my coffee this morning on the other side of the world, crowing into the wind for you. Selfishly, I imagine every new book is already straining to meet my hands. I cannot wait to read each one slowly and deliciously. But also, on behalf of us, your readers, and of the beloved family member whose passing created a doorway for Alice, thank you. We are all fuller, truer, and more alive because you have risked the unleashing of your voice. May you be ferocious in your celebration and in your writing. The salt has stayed on your skin and you have brought the sea to us all over and over again.