This is the Start of Something Big
Chapter One in a new reading adventure
There’s enough great reading in Medium already. Enough to fill a lifetime. So why would anybody want or need more?
Because some of the best stories are also the biggest. Who doesn’t enjoy snuggling up with a good novel or a popular history book and letting the hours slide past as the adventure unfolds, the only breaks a resupply of coffee and chocolate and cats, until the final page is turned and the story ends with a sigh of mixed satisfaction at a well-turned conclusion and sadness that the tale is done and the real world awaits.
Medium doesn’t really offer up much long-form reading. Most stories are a couple of thousand words; enough to make a point, give a few details, sketch out a scene, play the word music of a poem, and then you and the writer part minds, move on to the next story, and the magic has passed.
All that is changing
ILLUMINATION is breaking new ground here. With the introduction of ILLUMINATION Book Chapters, a longer, richer, and deeper reading experience becomes available on Medium.
Our new publication has nothing but longform stories, divided up into chapters. Here the writers spread out their biggest and best work, and readers can immerse themselves in the experience, coming up to draw the occasional breath of the everyday world when it’s time to click on the link to the next chapter.
Given the calibre of our writers, I’m expecting great things from ILLUMINATION Book Chapters. Great reading, that goes without saying, but here is the place for novels, themed collections, textbooks on specialised topics, detailed exploration into history, travel, the world, and the cosmos.
Maybe some of the masterworks to come will be the basis of movies, screens full of titles on Amazon, real printed books on library shelves.
Forget “maybe”. It’s a certainty. Some of what you read here on ILLUMINATION Book Chapters will end up as actual books in a reader’s hands.
As a published author myself, I’ve serialised books here on Medium, and I was delighted to find in my Amazon sales report that somebody had ordered a printed copy of my naughty little Route 66 adventure story.
This is really big
As an editor in the ILLUMINATION family, I am excited about this new adventure. What we will be presenting in our brand new publication is something that goes beyond a few minutes, takes the reader past a brief encounter with the writer’s mind, lays down something almost tangible in life, and in some cases will result in things that you can touch and hear and enjoy.
For the writers, it may be a few dollars in income. For readers, it might be a life-changing insight or decision. For the world as a whole, it could be a book on a shelf, an audiobook, maybe a movie. I’m not ruling anything out.
Take a look for yourself, and remember we’ve only just begun.
The books on the shelves:
The Garrulous Glaswegian is four chapters into what I freely admit is an intriguing story of sex and cultism in Scotland. I have some experiences of my own in that direction, which I shall be recounting in due course, with appropriate depth of steamy detail, so I’m hanging out for the next chapter with quivering anticipation.
Shashi Sastry is laying down the building blocks of something solid here. As a philosopher myself, the big questions are the ones I want answered, and this promises to be a meaty look at life, the universe, and everything that matters.
Phil Truman begins his collection of short stories with a golfing tale that opens with a death on the first hole. A bit like my own short-lived golfing career, really, complete with jokes and colourful characters. Tee up and take off for a big score.
Karen Madej pushes my buttons with a solid opening. Travel, emotion, conflict, and sex. Get it into you!
Phil Rossi fires the first shot in a coming-of-age novel about school, war, memories, and big plans. He sets up the opening neatly. Climb aboard to see where the big yellow bus takes us.
But wait, there’s more!
Head on over to ILLUMINATION Book Chapters to get in on the ground floor. Readers, I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed; there’s something here for everyone and more to come. Writers, this is your BIG chance.
And on that note, I’d like to give notice that I have a project I’m aiming to put up in the new pub. Something completely different. Keep your eyes on ILLUMINATION Book Chapters. Forget Elon Musk — this one’s heading for the stars!
Britni
