What You Need to Be Warm

A powerful and timely new book from Neil Gaiman, illustrated by a group of extraordinary artists and published in collaboration with the UNHCR. Sometimes it only takes a stranger in a dark place … to say we have the right to be here, to make us warm in the coldest season. In 2019, Neil Gaiman asked his Twitter followers: What reminds you of warmth? Over 1,000 responses later, Neil began to weave replies from across the world into one poem in aid of the UNHCR’s winter appeal. It revealed our shared desire to feel safe, welcome and warm in a world that can often feel scary. Now publishing in hardback and illustrated by a group of artists from around the world, What You Need to Be Warm is an exploration of displacement and flight from conflict through the objects and memories that represent warmth. It is about our right to feel safe, whoever we are and wherever we are from. It is about holding out a hand to welcome those who find themselves far from home. A beautiful gift book, perfect for reading as a family and sparking conversations about the importance of welcoming those who have been displaced. What You Need to Be Warm shows that in our often-fractured world, we all yearn for the objects, memories and people that make us feel warm and safe. Featuring new, original illustrations from Chris Riddell, Benji Davies, Yuliya Gwilym, Nadine Kaadan, Daniel Egnéus, Pam Smy, Petr Horacek, Beth Suzanna, Bagram Ibatouilline, Marie-Alice Harrel, Majid Adin and Richard Jones. £1.50 from every copy sold will be donated to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, which helps forcibly displaced communities and stateless people across the world.