The Country That Shook: A book illustrated and written to raise money for Nepal

Sophie Maliphant

Visited Nepal: April 18, 2015

– May 2, 2015

Last year I was in Nepal when the earthquake struck. It was a pretty terrifying and life-changing experience.

Since then I have created a project called The Country That Shook to raise money to help the people of this beautiful country rebuild their lives.

At the core is a children’s book, which I have written and illustrated. It is the story of a young girl, caught up in the catastrophe, who discovers the surprising cause of the quake and has to bravely stand up for her country to stop the shaking.

In the meantime I contacted book printers in China, our next destination, and selected Gold Printing, a company who were particularly helpful, spoke great English and provided me with a competitive quote. We went in to meet them in Shenzhen, southern China, and collected the sample of the book and poster that I had requested. We also visited the factory where the book would later be produced which was a great experience.

The limited edition screen printed T-shirts were produced on The Isle of Wight.

Once printed the books and the posters left China bound for the UK on a cargo ship, the AL MURABBA. They docked in Felixstowe on 21st October 2015 and made their way to my parents’ home. My family are helping me to distribute them to buyers from all around the world.

The pre-order was launched on Sunday 25th October 2015, exactly six months after the quake. Kickstarter pledgers received their rewards first, then the orders started to flow out.

The books are also being sold in selected independent bookshops around the UK.

In the first two and a half months the project raised £3,500, all of which will go to Nepal. The current goal is to raise £6,000 by Easter when it will be decided how the money will be distributed.

This journey is far from over, there’s still a long way to go. If you would like to buy something or donate to the project please visit our website www.thecountrythatshook.com. If you have any ideas about how to publicise it further I’d love to hear from you!