Book release date

I thought I’d write a quick update on how things are going with my upcoming book, Flying from Shangri-La. The good news is, I finally have a publisher! The book is currently being typeset and will be released in the UK as a hardback. It’ll feature dozens of colour photographs and hand drawn maps of the various locations I flew in throughout Indonesia to give you a taste of the adventure I went on. Frustratingly, the book world is nearly as slow as the aviation world when it comes to getting things done, but I do have an official publication date for you to add to your calendars:

Publication date: 28th September 2024.

Whilst that’s just over five months away, I am hoping that I will be able to sneak out some pre-release copies to anyone subscribed to this website. I’m in talks with the publisher about this and will keep you all posted. These will be part of a very limited initial print run in advance of the main retail print run, and will be on a first come first serve basis. If you’re not already subscribed, please do so here.

“…we would aim to be airborne just before sunrise, which was around 05:20. That meant starting up and taxiing out in total darkness, as Nabire didn’t have any floodlights for the apron. Actually, Nabire had no lighting at all, so before I departed each morning, I would backtrack the runway to ensure I woke up any sleeping drunk locals using the warm tarmac as a bed. Occasionally even the sound of a PT6 engine in full reverse pitch wasn’t enough to wake them up and so I would make a note of their location and ensure to be airborne before I ran them over during the take-off roll.”

Extract from Flying from Shangri-La by Matt Dearden

I’m still working on getting the hardback available outside the UK. As it stands, because the book will be printed in the UK, the shipping costs are somewhat expensive. I’m expecting Amazon to take the book on but I won’t have much control once that happens. Hopefully it will filter out to more than just the .co.uk website. Please do share news of the book with your friends and family. The more people that know about it, the better the chances of it being picked up by international retailers and thus making it more available for you all.

There will of course be an eBook version released at the same time; initially on Amazon Kindle. In the meantime, here’s a couple more comments I’ve had on the book:

“A very enjoyable read – well written and very honest.”

David, UK

“Just finished the book. Absolutely loved it and I felt a bit emotional as Matt said goodbye to Papua!”

Shaun, UK