A Difficult Update :
A Difficult Update
By Sophia Salazar, Editor-in-Chief
It is never easy to write a letter like this.
We have spent the past few years building something we believed in—a home for stories, a place where voices could carry tales into the world, a community of listeners who trusted us to bring them something wonderful.
We have poured our hearts into this work. We have shared stories that made people laugh and cry and think and feel. We have found voices that brought those stories to life. We have built a universe that we are deeply, profoundly proud of.
And we have been attacked.
Not in person. Not in a way that you can see. But in a way that has made it impossible for us to continue as we are.
What Has Happened
Over the past several months, we have been the target of repeated, persistent, and increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks on our streaming service and online audiobook shop.
These attacks have been relentless. They have compromised the security of our platform. They have made it impossible for us to guarantee the safe, reliable experience that you deserve. They have forced us to spend countless hours trying to protect what we built—hours that we would rather have spent making stories.
We have sought expert advice. We have strengthened our defences. We have worked around the clock.
But we have come to a difficult, painful conclusion.
We cannot continue as we are.
What This Means
After careful consideration and with a heavy heart, we have made the decision to step away from digital streaming.
We are suspending our free streaming stories and Hocksbox Shorts for the foreseeable future. We are postponing A Wonderful Year in Stories indefinitely.
This is not a decision we have made lightly. It is not a decision we wanted to make. It is a decision we have made because we believe it is the right one—for our readers, for our team, and for the stories we love.
We know how much these stories meant to many of you. The quiet moments they filled. The bedtime routines they accompanied. The joy they brought to small listeners.
We are sorry. Truly, deeply sorry.
An Apology
We want to apologise—to you, our readers, our listeners, our community.
You trusted us. You opened your hearts to these stories. You let them into your lives. And we have not been able to protect that experience in the way we wanted to.
We are sorry for the disruption. We are sorry for the disappointment. We are sorry that we cannot continue to offer these stories in the way we had hoped.
We know that an apology cannot undo what has happened. But we want you to know that we are sincere. We are heartbroken. We are doing everything we can to make this right.
What Comes Next
We are not giving up.
We are turning our attention to what we can control. What we can protect. What we can do well and safely.
We are focusing on physical publishing.
In the coming months, we will be releasing beautiful physical editions of Joules Young's stories. Books you can hold. Books you can share. Books that will sit on your shelf and wait for you, always, patiently, safely.
We will also continue to share stories through our YouTube channel, The Wonderful World of Hock, where we can control the environment and ensure a safe, joyful experience for everyone.
And we will keep you updated. There will be news. There will be announcements. There will be more stories.
Just in a different form. Just in a way that feels right for this moment.
A Final Thought
We started Hollyhock Books because we believed in stories. We believed that they could comfort, challenge, inspire, and heal. We believed that they deserved to be treated with care, with love, with the kind of attention that has become increasingly rare in a world that values speed over substance.
That belief has not changed.
What has changed is the way we can bring those stories into the world. And we are adapting. Not because we want to, but because we have to.
We are sorry. We are heartbroken. And we are still here.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Thank you for trusting us. Thank you for believing that stories matter.
We will continue to bring them to you. Just differently. Just carefully. Just with the same love we have always brought to everything we make.
With warmth and regret,
— The Hollyhock Books Team
Look, Listen, Linger, Laugh, and Love.
Even when the path changes, the story continues.
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