I had the great pleasure of talking at Global Bird Fair on Sunday about my latest book, Cull of the Wild. It was touch and go as to whether I would make it - having tested positive for covid a week before.
If you are unfamiliar with Bird Fair, and have a love of nature, all I can do is tell you to wait until next July!
It was wonderful to bump into, even in the short time I was there, so many friends who I see far too little of - or even those who I know mostly from TV or social media. As I walked in through the gates at 10am I wondered whether I might meet anyone I knew and then looked up to see Lucy Lapwing (wonderful creator of props for Springwatch among MANY other qualities), Kabir Kaul, who I last saw giving a lecture in Oxford and is one of the youngsters on which we can rely to help clear up our mess, Mark Avery - Wild Justice stalwart and Nick Acheson - with whom I am plotting an event in the autumn in Norfolk - all in a gaggle.
The day was very like that! I even found a poster for my book as big as me!!
There is so much to love about this opportunity to gather so many likeminded people in one spot BUT …
And this is where I feel the connection to Amazon is important. I will start with that.
At Bird Fair the amazing team from Wild Sounds provide the bookstall - bringing the books of the authors speaking there so that there can be signing after the events, and so much more. They work so hard (and with a whisker of a margin) and still managed to find time to give me tea and cake!
One of the people on the stall overheard a potential customer say, about the book they had picked up and looked at, that they could get it cheaper on Amazon. There followed a polite exchange … an explanation about the iniquitous way they online retailer operates, the taxes that are avoided, the small shops that are steamrolled out of the way.
The customer left … but … returned a little later and bought LOADS of books (and was treated to a discount!)
This was a really positive encounter which revealed the reality that most of us live in - one of blinkered denial. The convenience and apparent cheapness of books bought through Amazon is very tempting.
Now I use Amazon - I will use links to Amazon to direct people to get my books. And I do that despite knowing that it is wrong. (I do also link people to other retailers too …. for example … Cull of the Wild)
Why? Because I am a tiny writer in a VERY full world of writers, many of whom can command far greater attention - when my books get bought through Amazon they rise in the ratings, when people leave reviews (the nice reviews!!) that helps draw attention too … And lots of people use the site, so can on a whim click and buy and move on.
I LOVE bookshops - but they can only ever stock a tiny fraction of the books that are written. It is actually rather disheartening to go into even the bigger ones and find that they have none of my books there … I know they can order them in but we are so tuned into instant gratification that they delay can result in a loss of interest.
I am riven with the conflict. I do not have the strength of character to boycott amazon - but I am aware of the negative impact that has.
Now - to Bird Fair. Global Bird Fair to be true to its name. The vast majority of stalls in the many tents of distraction are selling exotic holidays to far away places to see beautiful wildlife. Clearly a great deal of the income that allows the fair to happen comes from the fees these companies pay to have their stalls … and while they all profess their ‘eco’-tourism credentials, most of us also know that there is a lot of greenwash … even if we leave aside the enormous carbon budget that the far flung holidays burn through, many eco-tourism holidays are still extractive.
I am far from pure … while researching Cull of the Wild I flew to Scilly (the ferry was not running) and I flew to Orkney as I did not have the time to do the train and ferry route. Many years ago I did some travel writing for the Telegraph - and ended up going to a few amazing places, I have been part of the problem!
So the question - how do we reconcile these conflicts? Do we all leap into hair-shirts? Or do we try and navigate through the tricky ethics we are presented with?
I have done this with my diet - nearly 40 years of not eating meat - 10 years of which I was a strict vegan … but now I am a vague-an … vaguely vegan. As I wish I had written in Cull of the Wild - my veganism was impacted by the hundreds of talks I give to places like the Women’s Institute - where I discovered that my will power was not as strong as their cakes were good!
What are your suggestions? I have friends who have committed to no more flying ever - and others who will not touch Amazon … is there a path through this that reduces harm without cutting me off from a resource that I think is valuable?
Help!!
ps - a short review unlike any I have ever received …
I've come to the ripe old age where I've finally realised I can't save the world single handedly but that every little thing I do to try, makes a difference no matter how small. There's a saying in the dog rescue world 'saving one dog won't change the world but you changed the world for that dog' . So do what you can but always enjoy life if you can - it's too short and precious not to.
Ha! Love the review at the bottom. I avoid Bird fair due to its promotion of high carbon holidays, but I feel like I’m missing out on seeing excellent people, and also I’m another tiny writer who could do with promoting my books more! It’s all so complicated. And with Amazon, I try to avoid it but also need it! I guess we can only do what we can!