By Georgia Appleyard and Amy Joan Sayner
Neem Tree Press has acquired The Vanitas & Other Tales of Art and Obsession, an exciting collection of eight short stories penned by debut author Jake Kendall.
Recently shortlisted for the Scottish Arts Club annual short story contest, Kendall shared, “This collection was designed to refract some of the concerns and anxieties facing us today through the timeless imagery of Caravaggio, Bosch, Gericault, Van Gogh, and others. I am excited to share the artistic obsessions of characters, real and imagined, with the world, along with the agonies and ecstasies entailed by the act of creation.”
In this debut collection, Kendall skillfully incorporates various art styles such as Cubism, Surrealism, and the Baroque into his prose. Each narrative is enriched by black and white illustrations by artists Simona Slavova and Emily TahaBurt.
Neem Tree Press, an independent publisher specialising in non-fiction, fiction, and children's books that seek to broaden perspectives, was founded by Dr. Archna Sharma who has recently been appointed to the IPG's Board of Directors.
Dr. Sharma, CEO and Publisher of Neem Tree Press, said, "We are incredibly excited to be publishing Jake Kendall’s collection. This is a tour de force that explores the obsession of art and artists through unconventional and visceral writing. Jake takes the reader deep into the psyche of infatuation, both from the perspective of an art aficionado and the practitioner, and he does this while taking the reader on a tour of art history.”
The Vanitas & Other Tales of Art and Obsession is slated for release in paperback and eBook formats in February 2024. Copies are available for preorder here.