I've always dreamed of being Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz; I've always dreamed of assembling an offbeat team and sharing our books with the universe. And after decades of slowly turning from frustrated author to an apprentice publisher, when it came time to form my publishing company, Eukalypto, I thought, “How hard can it be?” After all, I already had my share of bookish friends and budding authors, among them Scarecrows, Lions, Tinmen and Tinwomen, all skilled—and indispensably neurotic. As I soon discovered, the journey would be far from simple.

Innovative, green, and free, Eukalypto was launched in Beirut in the summer of 2019. Why summer 2019 and why Beirut are stories for another time. For now, just know it was a few weeks before Lebanon slipped into dystopia. We’ve faced it all: a global economic crisis; the theft of Eukalypto's seed money by the Lebanese banks; a pandemic; lockdowns; a historic explosion; earthquakes; a country without a president and run by mafia, and now—because, why not?—a fully-fledged war.

But we're still here, and proud of the books we've produced so far: six novels by authors from around the world. And while each is unique in genre and style, they are all audacious and engaging, thought-provoking and funny. Driven by our love for books, even under bombardment, we carry on. We pop in earplugs, and we write, edit, and format. We argue for hours over a single comma—and we love it! In between chapters, we soothe our cats and dogs, traumatised by the explosions. At least, cats and dogs don’t criticise our use of semicolons.

Recently, we thought it was time to share our behind-the-scenes adventures with you through this newsletter. Our goal is to connect with as many book lovers as possible. Every month, I’ll provide updates and maybe a few tales of our more amusing internal dramas. Just like Dorothy’s journey down the Yellow Brick Road, building Eukalypto is full of twists and challenges. Not to mention the occasional flying monkey. Every step is worth it, and I’d love for you to join me on this adventure. And if you’ve enjoyed this first glimpse into our story, share it with fellow book lovers!

One last thing: You can discover here Roof Cats, our latest novel, a collaborative and experimental work, composed with the assistance of AI tools. And, in the innovative spirit of Eukalypto, its French version will be available in two options: one in classical French grammar, and another written in an inclusive grammar imagined by Eukalypto to fight French grammatical sexism.

Enjoy!

Youssef