The Stormbird Press mission is to defend nature and empower communities through the power of story.
Our passion is not commercially driven but comes from a genuine desire to be a conduit between world-class environmental authors and socially conscious readers. Sounds like the perfect formula, doesn’t it? A dream job, even! And it has been, but we would be lying if we said this year has been an easy one.
Bushfires on Kangaroo Island have impacted us
Stormbird Press lives and works out of pristine Kangaroo Island – Australia’s third largest island.
Founders, Margi and Geoff Prideaux have spent decades working to protect the environment in Australia, the Pacific Islands, in Africa, and most recently campaigning on behalf of their community against the planned oil exploration off Kangaroo Island, that will endanger the marine ecosystem, wildlife including Australian sea lions, and the livelihoods of local fishermen. Apart from the immediate impacts of exploration, they have continued to warn of the climate change consequences of continuing to burn fossil fuels.
Recently, Australia’s 2019–2020 bushfires, where people were killed and an estimated one billion animals lost, made international news. Margi and Geoff were volunteer firefighters who battled alongside so many others to help protect lives and homes. Fires raged for several months. Sadly, during this time, fire also engulfed and destroyed their home, acres of wildlife refuge, and the Stormbird Press office.
In the aftermath, we worked hard to find solutions (financial, marketing, etc.) to get back on our feet, noting that we have lost a significant amount of time and resources, directly from the fire and due to prolonged firefighting efforts.
Bushfires and climate change
At Stormbird Press, we know there is a clear link between climate change and the recent bushfires that devastated Kangaroo Island. The Climate Council provides clarity about what is to come:
- The catastrophic, unprecedented fire conditions currently affecting much of Australia have been aggravated by climate change. Bushfire risk was exacerbated by record breaking drought, very dry fuels and soils, and record-breaking heat.
- Bushfire conditions are now more dangerous than in the past. The risks to people and property have increased and fire seasons have lengthened. It is now harder to prepare for worsening conditions.
- As seasons overlap and fires become more destructive, governments will be increasingly constrained in their ability to share resources and the costs of tackling fires will increase.
- All governments must develop an urgent plan to prepare for the future. There are very few signs this is going to happen.
Stormbird Press has decided we were not waiting for governments to act. We are rebuilding and planning for this climate-changed future. We intend to survive and thrive.
COVID-19
Then, just as we were about to relaunch, the global pandemic swept across to the world. There is little else we need to say about COVID-19. You know the situations as well as we do.
We emerged from the bushfires with one plan and are now pivoting as fast as we can to reset our work in this new COVID-19 world. But we are not daunted. Growing stronger from this adversity is our focus this year. At no point will we stop releasing cutting-edge books for you to read.
If you join our mailing list, in the coming days and months, you will hear more from us. There will be new ways to access our content, new opportunities to engage with our authors, some inside snapshots about who we are, where we work, and what’s happened to Stormbird in the past three months. There will be some existing competitions and new deals on all our books. And, we welcome any ideas from you about how we might work together in this COVID-19 world.
We understand that these are challenging times for us all. Many of you are isolated at home. Others of you are alone in an empty subway train on your way to perform of the essential work so needed by us all.
You need to feel tethered to something. We get it. We feel the same. We are offering Stormbird Press as that tethering point. Together we can stay connected about what we believe in, and what remains important—defending nature, empowering communities, cherishing Earth.
What we are asking from you
Please keep returning to our website and following our progress over the coming days and months. As books come out, please buy them for yourself and your friends. Join our mailing list. Talk to us. Tell us what you want. Share your ideas.
We appreciate you. We need you. Our authors need you. Activist literature shape the hearts and minds of humankind and there is no greater need right now.
In solidarity,
The Stormbird Press team.
