Here's the story of how we made a book.

A good few years ago, I was getting the tram to Bilston to watch Half Man Half Biscuit and @craigfots told me about this concept '101 Things Birmingham Gave the World' — but unlike most things we actually do it. It started off as a Tumblr (remember them?) but was the only thing…

to carry over when Birmingham: It's Not Shit became @paradisecircus. (If you find why that happened interesting, there's a loong bit here http://www.paradisecircus.com/2014/09/27/burn-your-house-to-the-ground-why-you-need-to-kill-your-darlings-to-maintain-your-independence/).

It was loads of fun.

I wrote the first 5 or 6, they were simple, short and big things: Tennis, Nuclear War etc

But it went on they got sillier, and other people (like Craig, @jonhickman and Jez from @brummusicpics) wrote from different and more tangential ways. In some the gag might have been just how slight the connection was - eg the 66 World Cup, won because we'd invented the stamp.

Then, we (Jon H and I) decided to make a book. We'd got to 50.

And we kicked off a hugely fun crowdfunder. (the best reward? Posting a copy - & a match - to Manchester - the oddest? Signed ebooks, & ones translated by google . We also did one where we gave a copy to libraries)

We sort of over-promised. We needed to pump out another 51 in the space of a couple of months. Which meant a spreadsheet — we'd add inventions or gags to it and say 'i'll write that' or which was more likely 'I know who we can get to write that'. That meant we got to ask loads of

great people: like @probablydrunk (obviously) but also @pezholio @libbyhb @catnip and people not on Twitter like Liz to do stuff about things they knew and cared about. They were always cleverer, funnier and better than they claimed they would be (although not than we suspected).

The kickstarter burned through the stretch goals - we got to commission @moif to do an excellent cover, we had a launch party, although we never got to buy a whole Gala Pie.

And we hit 101 — I remember waking up in the night and writing the entry about the Modernist Novel on my phone. And then Libby, Julia and Jon H did a wonderful job on the proofing and layout.

Jon had also found a Birmingham-based printer that could do our print run.

We also really wanted a Foreword - we asked two people:

Jasper Carrott and Stewart Lee.

Jasper's people said he was too busy, but I got an email as I was about to get on a plane at Luton airport. It was from SL: "It's me. Yes, what do i have to do." and that was the full text .

We sent him some bits of the book and he wrote a long, funny and very complimentary bit

"Paradise Circus’s Birmingham is funny, profound, innovative, historic, and blessed with both a sense of its own absurdity, and a modest pride in its often unheralded achievements."

That slayed me.

The launch party was immense. We got there early and signed around 200 copies and stuffed them into jiffy bags — a production line on the pool table in the upstairs room of the Old Moseley Arms.

Then we raced to the Post Office. Getting there at 10 to closing on a Friday night.

They were stunningly helpful - even printing out stickers with our return address for the bags. They did laugh at use ferrying carrier bag after carrier bag over the Alcester Road though.

And it's kept selling - after the first couple of thousand on Print on Demand and ebook - ever since. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1782803998?ie=UTF8&camp=3194&creative=21330&creativeASIN=1782803998&linkCode=shr&tag=thekittenchan-21&linkId=EUWKJKWWCFALBS53&=books&qid=1418670075&sr=1-3

We made our money back, and enough to keep the @paradisecircus site going to a good few years. And that's thanks to all those who worked on it.

The other thing I haven't said is how extremely proud I am of it.

I think I wrote about 50 of the entries, Jon and Craig the majority of the rest — but it was a huge team effort, and that's why it was so much damn fun.

We eventually trickled most of the entries online http://paradisecircus.com/category/101-things/ - but some just didn't work, or we wanted to

keep them exclusive. So there are around 10 that are in the book that aren't online - plus number 102 that was a Kickstarter perk that only around 10 people have seen - which is nice. I like the fact that it isn't the same in both media — we've talked about a podcast too and

that would be different again.

Now all 101 are online (see the thread) https://twitter.com/paradisecircus/status/1291850854820188161 so that's sort of a line underneath it all, hence this thread.

PC ( http://www.paradisecircus.com/ ) is still going, which lot o great content — and we have another idea that might come good soonish. Watch this here space

But mainly I wanted to say 'thank you' to everyone who read, bought, cared about, retweeted, wrote, proofed, partied, laughed with us. And I feel such huge pride and togetherness with my co 'producers' on it — it's excellent.

So… if you have a funny idea (or a mate tells you

one in the little Sainsbury's when you are on your way to a gig) go for it. You can make it, and if it's decent I think it'll find an audience. But more than that - it's damn fun.

And Birmingham — in this case — gave the World this fun.

Smiles.