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This October the Neil Gaiman’s poem What You Need To Be Warm is getting the picture book treatment. The writer crafted the poem in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and @TwitterForGood. Now, this book from Quill Tree Books and Bloomsbury UK features drawings from an all-star lineup of artists. The artists will highlight the refugee and displacement crisis currently affecting the world. Plus, all of Gaiman’s profits from the release are going to the UNHCR.
What reminds you of warmth?
Calling on your words/thoughts for both inspiration and inclusion in a special Twitter story I'm writing for UNHCR & @TwitterForGood to support Syrian @refugees this winter.
Reply to this tweet with #KnitForRefugees.
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) November 20, 2019
Using Twitter For Good
Back in 2019, Neil Gaiman tweeted out a question to his followers: “What reminds you of warmth?”. He then shared that the answers would help as inspiration and inclusion in a “special Twitter story” from the writer and the UNHCR. Eventually, this became the poem What You Need To Be Warm. Which aimed at raising awareness and support for the Syrian refugees.
The Neil Gaiman poem also became a symbol of solidarity in the form of a scarf. The folks at Kniterate knit Gaiman’s words into a special scarf representing the millions displaced from their homes. As a result, the poem is a symbol of humanitarianism and solidarity.
Neil Gaiman Poem
Now, the Neil Gaiman poem is becoming a picture book. Quill Tree Books and Bloomsbury UK are publishing the piece and recruiting thirteen artists to help visualize it. Those artists include Chris Riddell, Benji Davies, Yuliya Gwilym, Nadine Kaadan, Daniel Egneus, Pam Smy, Petr Horacek, Beth Suzanna, Bagram Ibatoulline, Marie-Alice Harel, Majid Adin, Richard Jones, Plus, Oliver Jeffers is crafting the cover for the book.
In a statement, Neil Gaiman shared that he is “thrilled that the words originating from a single tweet [are] pages in a book.” Plus, he is excited that his words are “imagined through the eyes of 13 wonderful artists”. The writer hopes that the memories woven in this poem, and these images, are shared far and wide. After all, “the humanitarian message is even more urgent today than it was when [he] typed that original tweet.”
What You Need To Be Warm hits shelves on October 31 in the US and October 26 in the UK.