Darren Hopes x Folio Society

09 October 2026

Darren Hopes + Folio Society

What a commission. Darren Hopes isn't the only person in the CIA family who was thunderstruck by The Wasp Factory when he was young. The first novel from Iain Banks leaves an indelible impression and led the wrier of this newsletter to read every other book he wrote. It was an extraordinary thrill, therefore, to have the Folio Society, renowned for their highly covetable luxuriously produced books, get in touch to commission Darren to tackle this defining piece of literature.

As Darren says:

"It is an inspiring prospect to work on any Folio Society book but when that book is one you know and love, when it is the first fully illustrated edition of that story, it becomes a passion project, one that you know will define a part of your career in illustration and stay with you forever.

It was never going to be difficult to find inspiration in this dark tale, Iains prose ensures that the claustrophobic world of Frank Cauldhame flows in vivid visual detail from every page. It was in fact harder to tame the torrent of imagery, to distil it into something manageable that captures the essence of Franks strange personal mythology. I hope I achieved that.

I am truly sad to know that Iain will not get to hold the object that is the result of my deep admiration for his story, I hope he would have loved it. It was an honour to have the opportunity to work on such a seminal book from his incredible legacy.”