Paradoxa: Update 2

Delay and Design

Delay

Hello dear friends.

Happy (belated) New Year! I hope it has begun as you prayed it would. My own prayer for friends and loved ones was that 2026 could be a gentler year, in which we all have a moment to catch our breath from the whirlwind of the last few.

My own has, admittedly, not started that way.

Mid-December, an opportunity in the organization I work for opened in a different department, and though I threw my resume in with something more akin to a shrug (for anyone working within a “seniority rules” environment, you know what I mean), to my surprise I was awarded the position. Internal shuffling can be tricky, and as a result, I had to work both my prior role and my new position while we awaited my replacement. Once they were found and I took over the job full-time—which has a vastly different schedule from the one I was working before—it was an adjustment as I tried to figure out where and how SFP could fit into this new routine.

It is now February, and baby Jesus continues to rest in a manger within a nativity scene still laid out across the top of my living room bookshelf. I noticed a few mats behind the ears of my dog this morning. And I really need to vacuum. All of which is to say that, while I feel I’ve finally found a new work-life-press rhythm, unfortunately with the busyness of the holidays and this new change, Paradoxa is behind its projected schedule. I had hoped for a January or February release, but it will now most likely be April. I apologize for this delay, and thank all contributors (who have been previously notified) and those perhaps interested in snagging a copy for their ongoing patience and grace.

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Design

While I thoroughly enjoy everything about the book-making process, the design phase is probably my favourite part. After the more serious work of accepting submissions and compiling the manuscript, I then plunk everything into InDesign following a few editorial passes and start thinking a little more creatively.

When it comes to book design, the goal here at SFP is to synthesize physicality with content so that it might compliment the work inside and result in a more immersive reading experience. This drive largely comes from my interest in multimedia and video games, as I’m fascinated by the blending of various mediums in order to ignite a combined response from our senses. SFP attempts to embody the more ephemeral qualities of narrative, such as theme and intent, in its physical publications.

For example, one of Paradoxa’s major themes is the surprise in the unexpected. My hope was that this theme would draw pieces that prompt readers to consider a different perspective, and to acknowledge that two seemingly contradictory ideas can often exist at the same time, living in tension with one another. This tension can be uncomfortable, a sensation that humanity will often attempt to avoid or ignore at great length—even though it is usually to our benefit to learn to exist within it. And if we consider things from, perhaps, an eternal perspective, it might reveal that even in paradox, there is harmony. That there is intentionality in what appears random. That there is justice in what is unfair.

You’re probably wondering how in the world those notions can be embodied and simulated in a physical book. And frankly, I’m not really sure if they can, but I’m willing to give it a go. So here is a little peek into the design concept that I’m working with:

Here are some very early concept sketches back from March of 2025. What follows here is the materialization of those doodles.

As you can see, in this version (still lots of playing to be done here though!), I have stayed fairly true to my original ideas. I was quite set on the flipping of the text from the very start, as it does a few things: first of all, it is surprising in itself, because it subverts one’s typical expectations of a book’s format (I do realize I’m spoiling that surprise to an extent, though the above sample may or may not be in the finalized version). Secondly, it forces the physical simulation of looking at something from a different perspective, as a reader must hold the book at various angles in order to read it. And third, holding the book at these odd angles might be a little uncomfortable, and it’s meant to be that way—if your forearms tremble, or you struggle to find a comfortable position in which to read this book, my intention is that this will prompt you to consider the fact that you are holding the weight of paradox, and existing in the tension of mystery.

As I explored in this edition’s theme announcement, the hope is that through the element of paradox and surprise, in both Paradoxa’s content and physicality, readers will have a memorable encounter with the beauty and grace of Christ. I pray that readers may relish and wrestle with this book in a thoroughly embodied way—heart, soul, body, and mind.

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Paradoxa is now set to release April 2026.