Okri’s urgent climate collection goes to Apollo

The Apollo imprint at Head of Zeus will publish Tiger Work by Ben Okri. Inspired by environmental activism, the new collection combines stories, essays and poems. 

Maggie McKernan acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Georgina Capel at Georgina Capel Associates. The book will be published in hardback and e-book on 6th July.

The synopsis reads: “This Earth that we love is in grave danger because of us. Forests are becoming legends, rare as unicorns. 

“If we continue to live as we do now, Okri argues in this evocative collection, there will be no world left for us to fix. He imagines messages, sent to us from beyond the end from those who saw it coming—from Africa, Europe, the Americas and the rest of the world—exhorting us to change, now.

“Inspired by environmental activism, the latest collection from Booker Prize-winner Ben Okri makes a powerful and very personal appeal for change. Combining fiction, essay and poetry, Tiger Work displays Okri’s classic blend of storytelling, fantasy and magic.”

Okri said: “Tiger Work is a special book for me to be publishing now. It is a suite of stories, poems and essays about climate change. This is the single most important issue of our times and I feel a great responsibility to draw attention to it the best way I can, using the immense powers of literature. Stories and poems and essays can shake the heart and help us see clearly and feel truly. For me it is all about perspective and consciousness. With the right perspective we can see that it is possible to alter our path and make a new destiny for humanity. With the right consciousness we can act with love and courage to save our world. That’s why this is a time for tiger work, the work of strength and beauty of spirit in the service of a better future.”

McKernan added: “Ben’s vision is so clear in this collection, his call for change so passionate, his imagery so inspired, it will change the way you see our future.”