Ox-Tales
{{about|a set of anthologies benefitting Oxfam|the Japanese animated TV series|Ox Tales (anime)}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Short description|Anthology series}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2025}}{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox book series
| name = Ox-Tales
| books = Ox-Tales: Earth
Ox-Tales: Fire
Ox-Tales: Air
Ox-Tales: Water
| editors = Peter Florence
Mark Ellingham
| language = English
| publisher = Green Profile
| pub_date = 2 July 2009
| number_of_books = 4
}}
Ox-Tales refers to four anthologies of short stories written by 38 of the UK's best-known authors. All donated their stories to Oxfam. The books and stories are loosely based on the four elements: Earth, Fire, Air and Water.
The Ox-Tales books were published in partnership with Green Profile[http://irisonbooks.com/2010/11/10/green-books-campaign-ox-tales-earth/ "Green Books Campaign: Ox-Tales Earth"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072423/http://irisonbooks.com/2010/11/10/green-books-campaign-ox-tales-earth/ |date=4 March 2016 }}, Iris on Books, 10 November 2010.{{Cite web|url=http://www.profilebooks.com/catalogue.php?catalogue_id=4|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517043111/http://www.profilebooks.com/catalogue.php?catalogue_id=4|url-status=dead|title=Green Profile|archivedate=17 May 2009}} to raise revenue for Oxfam projects tackling poverty around the world.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfam.org.uk/|title=Oxfam GB {{!}} leading UK charity fighting global poverty|website=Oxfam GB|language=en|access-date=2019-06-05|archive-date=5 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605164516/https://www.oxfam.org.uk/|url-status=live}} Oxfam receives a percentage of the cover price of each book sold (£3.50 per book if bought directly from an Oxfam shop or Oxfam's website{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/content/books/default.html|title=Oxfam's Online Store|access-date=2 November 2009|archive-date=6 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100406073243/http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/content/books/default.html|url-status=dead}} and 50p if the books are purchased through other retailers).
Themes
The themes of the collections are intended to represent four aspects of Oxfam's work:
- Earth — land rights and farming{{Cite web |url=http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/learning/landrights/index.html |title=Oxfam GB: Land Rights in Africa |access-date=27 October 2009 |archive-date=30 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830064556/http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/learning/landrights/index.html |url-status=live }}
- Fire — campaigning for arms control{{Cite web |title=Oxfam GB | Campaign with us |url=https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-oxfam/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007142714/https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-oxfam/ |archive-date=7 October 2024 |access-date=7 October 2024 |website=Oxfam GB}}
- Air — combating climate change{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-oxfam/climate-action/|title=Oxfam GB | Climate Action|website=Oxfam GB|access-date=7 October 2024|archive-date=7 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007142543/https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-oxfam/climate-action/|url-status=live}}
- Water — safe water and sanitation{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam-in-action/current-emergencies/|title=Oxfam GB | Emergencies|website=Oxfam GB|access-date=7 October 2024|archive-date=30 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930222412/http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what-we-do/emergency-response/sierra-leone-cholera|url-status=live}}
Each book contains a poem by Vikram Seth and an afterword written by Oxfam, detailing their work in that area.
Authors
38 British and Irish based authors contributed to this project.
- Earth: Rose Tremain, Jonathan Coe, Marti Leimbach, Kate Atkinson, Ian Rankin, Marina Lewycka, Hanif Kureishi, Jonathan Buckley, Nicholas Shakespeare, Vikram Seth.
- Fire: Mark Haddon, Geoff Dyer, Victoria Hislop, Sebastian Faulks, John le Carré, Xiaolu Guo, William Sutcliffe, Ali Smith, Lionel Shriver, Jeanette Winterson, Vikram Seth.
- Air: Alexander McCall Smith, Helen Simpson, DBC Pierre, A. L. Kennedy, Kamila Shamsie, Beryl Bainbridge, Louise Welsh, Diran Adebayo, Helen Fielding, Vikram Seth.
- Water: Esther Freud, David Park, Hari Kunzru, Zoë Heller, Michel Faber, William Boyd, Giles Foden, Joanna Trollope, Michael Morpurgo, Vikram Seth.
Publication details
Ox-Tales were published by Green Profile (owned by Profile Books) on 2 July 2009. They were originally published to mark the start of Oxfam's first annual book festival, Bookfest (4–18 July 2009).{{Cite web |title=Oxfam GB: Bookfest |url=http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/content/books/bookfest.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090710013348/http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/content/books/bookfest.html |archive-date=10 July 2009 |access-date=27 October 2009}}
Reception
In Autumn 2009, the National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) recommended Ox-Tales to its readers as "enjoyable, thought-provoking reading for you and also for older students — well worth a place in the secondary school stock cupboard for KS4 of KS5."{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam-in-action/oxfam-blog/|title=Oxfam GB | Oxfam blog|website=Oxfam GB|access-date=7 October 2024|archive-date=7 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007142611/https://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam-in-action/oxfam-blog/|url-status=live}}
NATE reprinted Marina Lewycka's story "The Importance of Having Warm Feet" from the Ox-Tales: Earth collection in the October 2009 edition of their magazine, Classroom.[http://www.nate.org.uk/index.php?page=10&id=26 Classroom magazine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007142708/https://www.nate.org.uk/?id=26 |date=7 October 2024 }}, Issue #9, October 2009.
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jun/14/ox-tales-oxfam-short-stories William Skidelsky, "Charity aids the art of storytelling"], The Guardian, 14 June 2009.
- [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/fiction/article6571256.ece The Times Online review]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
- [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/boyd-tonkin-a-feast-of-stories-for-a-planet-in-want-1728902.html Boyd Tonkin, "Boyd Tonkin: A feast of stories for a planet in want"], The Independent, 3 July 2009.
- [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/oxtales-earth-air-fire-and-water-various-authors-1727741.html Katy Guest, "Ox-Tales: Earth, Air, Fire and Water, various authors" (review)], Independent on Sunday, 5 July 2009.
- [http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/3730483/telling-tales.thtml Sam Leith, "Telling tales" (review)], The Spectator, 1 July 2009.