Raynor Winn's follow-up to The Salt Path postponed

Michael Joseph has pushed back the publication date of Raynor Winn's The Wild Silence, from 30th April to 3rd September 2020.

The author wrote on Twitter that the publication of the book—the follow-up to her Wainwright prize-shortlisted and Costa-shortlisted novel The Salt Path—had been postponed "with careful thought and consideration" because her husband, Moth, isn't well and he "needs me fit and healthy to care for him". Moth was diagnosed with a rare degenerative brain disease, CBD, in 2013. In this context, and amid the coronavirus outbreak, Winn said a book tour in May "would be unwise".

"We're working hard to rearrange the scheduled events," she said. "I really hope you understand and I'm very sorry to keep you waiting. I'd like to thank all the booksellers and readers for their continued love and support of my work—without you none of this would be possible."

A spokesperson from Michael Joseph confirmed the change in publication date.

The decision follows the postponement of Ruth Jones' second book, Us Three, with Transworld, from May to September. "We took the decision to move Ruth's publication date because so much of the success of her debut novel, Never Greener, was as a result of her meeting readers, supporting bookshops on tour and having the space to talk about her book at public events. Ruth wants to do the same again for her new novel" her agent Jonny Geller explained last week.

Through the Nielsen BookScan Total Consumer Market, Winn's The Salt Path has sold 237,745 copies for £2.04m across all editions.