Dodo Ink to publish mental health essay anthology

Indie press Dodo Ink is publishing a "broad and fascinating" anthology of essays by a host of writers on mental health in January 2020.

Trauma: Art as a response to mental health will tackle topics including grief, insomnia, anxiety, schizophrenia, meditation, abusive relationships, work, post natal depression, and the relationship between madness and creativity. The anthology will be edited by the publisher’s co-founders editorial director Thom Cuell and managing director Sam Mills.

Contributors include Sophie Mackintosh, Catherine Taylor, Monique Roffey, Neil Griffiths, Rhiannon L Cosslett and Kirsty Logan. The publication will be supported by a series of events and workshops to “encourage collaboration and dialogue between the worlds of art and medicine”.

Mills said: “I am thrilled that we are working with such a quality line-up of authors. The range of topics is broad and fascinating – from Emma Jane Unsworth writing about post-natal depression to Kirsty Logan writing about her experience of grief after the death of her father to Saskia Vogel exploring the legacy of emotional abuse from a romantic partner.”

“I'm delighted to be working with such a talented group of contributors, who will be addressing a broad range of important topics,” added Cuell. “We believe there are no easy answers or quick fixes for trauma, but that art and literature can play a key role in helping us to understand and endure. This is a subject that is personal to us both, and we are passionate about creating a space for inclusive and insightful discussion.”