Over the past few days, with increasing virus activity throughout the world, and the knock-on effects on people’s livelihoods and the world economy, IFWG has decided on a number of changes to our production, distribution and marketing arrangements for as long as this crisis exists.

When facing something as serious as COVID-19, we can choose to panic, capitulate, exclusively react to events as they play out, or MANAGE our business as logically and proactively as possible. We choose to control our destiny, and work within a manageable business model, and at the same time, do everything we can to support our authors, artists and staff.

Consequently, with effect immediately, the following changes have taken place:

1. We will delay release of every upcoming new title until the marketplace is healthy again, and people are able to purchase our books.

2. However, we intend to work on getting our books print ready as if there was no delay in release. We want to carry on producing these wonderful books and have them waiting in queue for release when the crisis is over. We will announce the completion of each print-ready title as per normal.

3. We were planning on a short story call-out in May, along with a supplementary crowd-funding exercise—the book was scheduled for February 2021. We will still make the callout, and pay authors soon after, but we will move the crowd funding (for enhanced illustrations only) until after the crisis is over.

For those of you who have preordered Silent Sorrow by Russell Kirkpatrick, we will honour the offer and supply the book to you before 1 June 2020.

We know many of you will be disappointed, but we hope, on reflection, you recognise that this move is the best way forward. We refuse to be paralysed at this time… we will manage this through.