End of year update

As it’s been a while since my last news round-up, I wanted to let you know about a few relevant goings-on, before letting you know how we are closing the year with our charitable activities here at The Dalai Lama’s Cat: Buddhist compassion in action.

The Dalai Lama’s Cat audio editions: it’s now or never

I am sorry to have to pass on the very sad news that the first three Dalai Lama’s Cat books will no longer be available in audio after the end of this year. At least, not read by me.

Hay House, which has been acquired by Penguin Random House, will not renew the licence of Bolinda Audio, my audio publishers, when it expires. This is despite Bolinda offering a very generous advance, and the added irony that these books were among those that streamed so well in 2024 that Spotify unexpectedly created an animated ‘wrap’ video to celebrate the fact.

I am told that this decision is part of a broader move by traditional publishers away from original recordings, like mine, towards AI recordings where they can choose from a library of sampled voice actors, to produce more polished results for a fraction of the cost of paying a real author to sit in a studio.

A move from the authentic to the artificial as a means of communicating the Dharma. There’s something here I’m just not getting ….

The take-out from this is that if you are an audio-book listener, and you’d prefer to hear me, rather than an AI voice, read The Dalai Lama’s Cat, The Dalai Lama’s Cat & The Art of Purring and/or The Dalai Lama’s Cat & The Power of Meow, best buy them/stream them right away.

The latter three Dalai Lama’s Cat books are unaffected, because I own the audio rights – namely, the Dalai Lama’s Cat & The Four Paws of Spiritual Success, The Dalai Lama’s Cat: Awaken the Kitten Within and The Dalai Lama’s Cat & The Claw of Attraction. And I won’t be letting those rights out of my paws …

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Good Karma Refuge for Elephants

During the year I shared chapters of the novel I’ve been working on, the first set in my homeland of Zimbabwe. I really appreciated all your wonderfully encouraging and supportive responses. What’s happened to it, some of you have asked, and when will it be published?

Well, a lot has been happening. I’ve been editing it intensively in recent months, including inputs from a number of unofficial editors. After a lot of re-working it is finally in the hands of my wonderful agent, Monica Meehan at DropCap. We will see if we get any attractive traditional publishing offers. If not, I will publish the book under my own independent Conch Books imprint in 2025.

It’s too soon to tell you exactly when, next year, but stay tuned and I’ll let you know in a future update. I really wish that the publishing process wasn’t so torturously slow, but I am really hoping that you will feel the result was worth waiting for when it finally emerges into the world.

It has certainly been a very emotionally-engaging book for me to write, and I hope that my own heartfelt connection to both Africa and the Dharma connects with you!

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A walk through my books

Does this mean no new book for 2024? I’m afraid it does, dear reader.

But not all readers have read all my books and perhaps a previous novel may help fill the void! I plan on doing a short video very soon, offering a helicopter tour of my work, and perhaps there may be a title or two in there you didn’t know about and may be interested to explore.

To this panel below, I need to add the new Dalai Lama’s Cat & The Claw of Attraction.

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Substack update

When I started this newsletter on Substack over two and a half years ago, I wanted to create something that matters. I knew there were people out there with whom my books resonated, but how to connect with them? How to create a sense of community, a ‘virtual sangha’ among people who may have a variety of inner lives, beliefs and practices, but who share the same core values?

If I could connect with enough such readers what collective impact might be possible? My goal remains to share the wisdom of my teachers, to offer encouragement and support, to be the change I wish to see. And in the most basic, measurable way, to use Substack’s paying subscription function to contribute meaningfully to charities in my homeland of Zimbabwe who do so very much for suffering animals and people, stretching every donor dollar in extraordinary ways.

As my wonderful guru, Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden told me, the last time we met before he died: “A Dharma group that does nothing to help others is useless!”

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During 2024, the number of free subscribers rose from 11,600 to 14,200, and paying subscribers to around 1,100. I was able to donate just over $50,000 of subscribers’ money to supported charities. This brings our total donations, since March 2022, to $115,000.

Very recently, my wife, Koala, helped set up a facility that enables people to make donations directly to the charities we support via a new partnership with Global Development Group (GDG). As well as making it very easy to make donations, a particular benefit is that residents of USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands get tax-deductible receipts.

Already, in the past month, subscribers have offered $3,758 to our three supported charities directly through this facility. Which means our combined total donations for 2024 are $53,800.

If you are interested in using the new facility to donate in your own capacity, or via a company or organisation you manage or belong to, you can find out more about the new GDG/Michie Foundation here.

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One of the things that pleases me most is the quality of the readers who are drawn to this Substack page and the civility of your comments. In 33 months I have had only one instance of trolling!

I am also very happy that our average retention rate is 87% at one year – that is, only 13% of paying subscribers unsubscribe after 12 months. And it’s wonderful that our little community of readers is truly global, as this map from my dashboard shows:

As much as I find joy in creating and sharing my work, I’ll admit that one of the frustrations is this: out of every 100 readers, only eight choose to become paying subscribers.

I deeply understand that many people are facing tough times, especially retirees and others struggling to make ends meet. To those in this position, please know you’re welcome here, no questions asked. I’m always happy to offer free upgrades to anyone who needs them.

For newer readers who are still “test driving” my work, I completely understand taking your time before deciding to subscribe. I’m grateful you’re here and hope you’ll find value in what I share.

As for the majority of the other 92 out of 100 readers, I’d like to turn to you to ask: how might I inspire more of you who can afford it to step forward as paying subscribers? What might I be doing better or different? Please feel free to use the Comment box below or to reply to this email directly.

The financial support of subscribers not only sustains the time and energy I put into this work but also enables me to extend compassion to the vulnerable beings and communities we support. I so wish to be able to help them more.

If you have ideas—big or small—I’d love to hear them. We are, after all, on a shared journey.

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How we are helping

On the basis that a picture paints a thousand words, here is a nine-thousand-word reminder of just a few of the many beings we collectively helped in 2024.

Please take at least one long, deep breath and exhale slowly before looking at these images. They are real beings, out there in the world at this moment, and because of you their lives have been made safer, more fulfilled, more joyful and in some cases even, possible.

My heartfelt thanks to you for helping me help them. In so doing, you make my own life more worthwhile, as well as theirs and your own. Through this generosity may we all quickly quickly attain enlightenment in order to benefit all living beings without exception.

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