Book Release Date and Competition for You All!

Right then. I’ve got two bits of news and both of them are good, which makes a refreshing change.

There’s No Place Like Summer Camp is officially launching on 4th April 2022. I know, I know — I’ve been building up to this for a very long time. Some of you have been here since the early podcast days when I was recording in a room that sounded like a broom cupboard, talking about a book that felt like it might never actually happen. Well, it’s happening. 4th April. Mark it in the calendar, tell your friends, shout it from the rooftops if you’re that way inclined.

The book will be available in paperback, ebook and hardback from launch day. The audiobook is also in the pipeline, but that one’s coming slightly later — recording yourself speaking for hours is, it turns out, a very specific kind of experience. More on that when it’s ready.

For anyone stumbling across this episode without much context — There’s No Place Like Summer Camp is a true memoir of my time volunteering with Camp America in 2014. I packed a bag, flew 6,000 miles to Atlanta, Georgia, and spent a summer as an Outdoor Living Specialist at a Jewish summer camp called Camp Honeystone.

What followed was three months of chaos, campfires, incredibly loud American children, a bear encounter or two, Jewish traditions I absolutely did not know before I arrived, and some of the best friendships I’ve ever made. The whole thing was documented in a diary at the time, and that diary became the book.

It’s funny. It’s honest. It does not glamorise volunteering at summer camp while also making you desperately want to go and do it yourself. I think that’s the right balance.

Now for the second bit of good news. I’m running a competition to give away free copies of the book before launch day. Because why not. You’ve all been along for the ride and the least I can do is try and get some of you a free copy.

To enter, head to theresnoplacelikesummercamp.com/competition and follow the instructions. It involves following along on social media, which I’m aware is a big ask, but it takes about forty-five seconds and you might win a book, so I’d say that’s a reasonable deal.

The competition closes on 1st April — which I’m aware is April Fools’ Day, but I promise this is not a joke. The book is very real and so are the prizes.

If you don’t fancy your chances in the competition (or just can’t wait), the book will be live on Amazon from 4th April. You’ll find it by searching There’s No Place Like Summer Camp, or by heading to the https://theresnoplacelikesummercamp.com/books/.

Thanks for being here, genuinely. This has been a long road and the support along the way has meant a lot. Now go and enter the competition.

Book 1: There’s No Place Like Summer Camp Book 2: Camp America: Second Summer Shenanigans