Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology

I can't wait to share our final table of contents!
19 days ago – Thu, Nov 14, 2024 at 07:50:53 AM

Hello to our amazing Storyteller backers!

The Essential Dreams Press team has been hard at work since we last checked in. I have a few updates we are pleased to share with you all:

Rewards & Add-ons

We sent out most of the Storyteller physical rewards and add-ons to backers at the end of the summer. This included the contributor books, Tanith stickers, and temporary tattoos! If you didn't receive a non-Storyteller reward, feel free to reach out! There are a few left to sort, but most should have reached you.

Storyteller

Behind the scenes, we've been crazy busy working on the book itself. 

Our table of contents is almost finalized! 

• We’ve already accepted EIGHT incredible stories from our open call in July that span science fiction, horror, fantasy, and many other Tanith-worthy blends of genre. 
• We've received all but one of the stories from our eight invited authors. 
• Ann Vandermeer's fabulous afterword is both lovely and ready to go. 
• We have a first draft of John Kaiine's foreword in hand.

With the 26 preorders from our Storyteller preorder site, we are able to fund at least one additional story! We're working on acquiring that story right now!

Developmental edits, copy edits, deciding the order of the table of contents, and more behind the scenes work are all simultaneously under way. My goal is to get the contents to the book designer in December so we'll have advanced reader copies (ARCs) by the end of January.

Thank You

We are committed to making Storyteller the best it can be—which of course wouldn’t be possible without all of your support. Feel free to reach out with any questions or comments. We all appreciate this community so much! 

For me, this book a powerful testiment to both Tanith and to the unique strength of each of our authors. This book contains multitudes! As the days get darker, I wish you all moments of peace and joy. 

-julie

Getting excited? We are!
5 months ago – Mon, Jul 15, 2024 at 08:53:53 AM

Hello, our wonderful backers!

Incredibly our first of two open calls starts tomorrow with the second one opening immediately afterward! After spending yet more time setting up the Duosuma submissions manager, and making sure the entire time had a chance to look things over, we are ready. This feels like the true starting line of something special, in fact of many somethings special!

Story Submissions

If your an author planning to submit, this Duosuma link takes you to the public page for both calls.

Call #1
July 16-22
Limited Demographic:  We will only be accepting stories from underrepresented and historically marginalized voices including BIPOC, LGBTQAI+, disabled, and neurodiverse writers.

Call #2
July 23-29
Open to all.

Rewards

In other news, the rewards are starting to get sorted. A few boxes of signed books already sit in my home writing nook. We should be on target for mailing them all out, with the exception of signed postcards, in August! If there is any wiggle, I'll let you as soon as I do!

Thank you again! I was at Readercon this weekend and got to chat with a few folks who've backed Storyteller. Your support and that of everyone in this wonderful group is what is carrying this project forward!

--julie

You all continue to be amazing! A three-week post-Kickstarter update.
5 months ago – Sat, Jun 22, 2024 at 08:48:01 AM

It's been three weeks since the Kickstarter ended, and I'm just beginning to catch my breath. Thank you, all, for your support and enthusiasm! I felt the light of so many supportive souls while sprinting toward the Kickstarter's end date. 

Here's my punch list of all that's happened since!

• 80% of backers have completed the backer survey since it went out a week ago! We only have 81 more backers to go. Let's get this done! 💪
  If you didn't receive a survey email from BackerKit or can't find it, just follow this web link and BackerKit will send you a new copy. If you're still having issues, please check your email Spam folder and Promotions tab or reach out directly. I'm happy to help! 

Note: The survey includes backer-only offers, including additional copies of the print and/or ebook version of STORYTELLER at the (lower) Kickstarter price. 

• Our preorder storefront is up and running, along with our 50 in 50 campaign! So far we have 10 additional backers!

As well as the print and ebook version of STORYTELLER, the preorder store also offers custom stickers and temporary tattoos containing Kathleen Jennings'  illustration of Tanith Lee.

• The submission guidelines for our two open calls went up today!
  We are beyond thrilled to see the STORYTELLER project moving forward.

• Our invited author original stories have been arriving in my inbox!
  I'm not embarrassed to admit I'm having a fangirl moment! Reading amazing work is how my own writer and publisher journeys began.
   
• Just eight days ago, Tanith Lee received the posthumous Infinity Award at this year's Nebula Awards. 
  The ceremony included a heartfelt speech by Jeffe Kennedy and a lovely and hilarious letter from Tanith's widower, John Kaiine.

Thank you, again, for joining us on this journey. This whole crowdfunding process is a revelation. I really appreciate all the positive energy surrounding STORYTELLER and its mission! ❤💛💜

--julie

Excited for the Next Steps: Awards, Stories, Preorder Store, Surveys & More!
6 months ago – Fri, Jun 07, 2024 at 08:37:51 PM

Tanith Lee Receives Her Infinity Award at the SFWA Nebula Conference on Saturday Night!

Tomorrow night the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association will hold the 59th Nebula Awards. As part of that ceremony, Tanith Lee will posthumously receive the Infinity Award. This year feels like a real turning point for Tanith's legacy. No matter where people thought they could place her, she wasn't "just cult" or "just of her time" or just anything. She had a wildly creative lens and the sort of drive few people, whether authors or engineers, can emulate.

You can watch the livestream on YouTube at 8pm PT | 11pm EDT | 4am GMT+1

Our first exciting creative news and the first of many stories!

This weekend I will be reading C.S.E. Cooney's "Moons Over Sea." Am I thrilled? Am I thrilled?!?! Most definitely! From the bits and pieces Claire has let drop, I already know it's going to be one hell of a story and one I'll want to savor. In fact, it may require the full printed-pages-and-bathtub treatment.

We now have a preorder store for those who missed the Kickstarter!

The preorder store is up and running, and I truly hope more people will discover what is already a very special book. However, I never stop spinning new dreams, which means I have a second goal in mind for the store. Storyteller currently has eight invited author stories and, thanks to that first stretch goal, eight open submissions stories. We were on our way to reaching the third stretch goal and adding an additional two stories when the Kickstarter ended, which feels like a real missed opportunity.

Fifty More Books in Fifty Days

After looking at the options available in BackerKit and mulling the best way to try for those additional two open-submissions story slots, I've decided to go with what I'm calling the Fifty in Fifty campaign. If we receive preorders for fifty more copies of Storyteller, whether ebook or print, by the end of our two open calls in July, we'll select ten stories from those submissions rather than the eight we're currently planning on accepting. If we can manage it with less, we will, but without knowing the split of ebooks to print books, I'm going with a conservative number and catchy title!

Your Survey and BackerKit

The BackKit survey is now finalized. I need to wait two weeks to send out the surveys so that Kickstarter can complete it's processing, but after that we are ready to go!

Shipping Costs  and BackerKit

Crowdfunding software has limitations, like any other software, and being me, I tend to aim for a bar that is hard to reach. As expected, I'm able to setup BackerKit so that we can manage our Kickstarter's fulfillment in two segments. The plan for the first segment is to ship all of them by the end of August 2024. The plan for the second segment is to ship during May 2025. This second segment will include Storyteller and the signed postcards that are included in a number of reward tiers. The items we plan on shipping this year include all other physical add-ons and rewards: signed books, signed art prints, stickers, and temporary tattoos. 

For everyone, no matter their country of residence, the stickers and temporary tattoos will be mailed at no cost. As we stated in the campaign, for UK and US backers only, we also won't be charging shipping for signed books and art prints.  

We have just a few backers outside the US and the UK who selected a tier or add-on that included a signed non-Storyteller book. And that's where I initially hit a snag. While BackerKit can organize fulfillment into segments, it forces the creator to charge all shipping at one time. Since Essential Dreams Press will be charging shipping for Storyteller closer to the release date, that caused a bit of a quandary. Thankfully, I do have a workaround! Though it took me a beat figure out all of these fulfillment details, I now have options to offer those backers! For each backer in this category, less than half a dozen, either via the backer survey or via a direct message, will have the option of 1) having all of physical rewards shipped when Storyteller is released  or 2)having non-Storyteller items shipped by the end of August 2024 and paying the shipping charge for those items via Essential Dreams Press' PayPal account. 

It's not what I expected, but I'm happy to have some options to offer. 

Have a truly incredible weekend. Each and every one of you deserve a bit of sunshine in your life, both emotional and physical. And if you have the chance, raise a glass in honor of Tanith and her shiny new award!

-julie

We did it!!!! The Kickstarter ended with 424 backers, all thanks to you!
6 months ago – Sat, Jun 01, 2024 at 02:47:37 PM

Thank you for believing in this project! Like many creatives, I have a lot of ideas, but bringing anything into the physical realm involves all sorts of planning and support and expertise, whether learned or borrowed. The 424 of you have given myself and both of my co-editors, Carina Bissett and Craig Laurance Gidney, two gifts: readers and awareness of our anthology a year before its release date and the financial backing to make this book what everyone on the project wants it to be, a true representation of Tanith Lee's legacy and the authors she impacted. With such a grand start, I absolutely know this book will be special. In fact it's not going out until it meets that very high bar.

The Publishing Piece

The invited authors will be submitting their stories this month, which is incredibly exciting. In July we'll be running two one-week calls for the eight open slots (more details below). Decisions on those those submissions should be completed in September. I'll make sure to keep you updated as the project progresses and will be transparent if anything doesn't go to plan. That said, I've been very conservative in the production timeline for STORYTELLER and detailed in the planning. As the third anthology published under Essential Dreams Press, this Kickstarter is the only element I haven't tackled before. And it's been an amazing experience, so once again, thank you!  Paying authors well is the at the heart of this particular campaign, and now it's a reality!

Surveys, Fulfillment, and Future Preorders

You should receive your backer survey soon. Kickstarter takes about two weeks to process all the backer contributions. Once that's complete, I'll be able to send out the backer survey. I'll continue to write updates in Kickstarter, but I'll be using BackerKit to manage fulfillment and future preorders. If you look at the reward tier you selected and the add-ons you purchased, you'll see that STORYTELLER and the associated swag has a delivery date of May 2025, the tenth anniversary of Tanith's passing, while many of the other limited rewards and add-ons, such as signed books, have a delivery date of August 2024. I'll be coordinating both waves via Backerkit and plan on collecting any shipping costs later, closer to delivery.

The final logistical note: Backerkit will include a preorder store in the near future, though the prices and options will vary a bit from what this Kickstarter offered. I saw a few posts in the final hours from people who had just discovered this project. I want all those interested in this project to be able to join us as we journey forward.

My Personal Thanks

Early Details of the Open Calls

I dropped this information in one of the earlier updates, but some of you joined this Kickstarter with only half an hour to spare! (Welcome!)This open call information is also being shared via social media and is available on the Essential Dreams Press submissions page.

We will be running two open calls in July for our upcomingStoryteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthologyto fill eight short story slots. More details will be forthcoming in mid-June. 

We're interested in work by authors influenced and inspired by Tanith Lee. We are definitely not looking for fiction 'in the style of.' One of the unique aspects of Tanith's legacy is the breadth of genres she influenced. We'll be asking all those interested in submitting to include a statement on their connection to the work of Tanith that will potentially be included in the book.

Call #1
July 16-22
Limited Demographic: For historically marginalized groups, including but not limited to sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity & expression, and physical ability.

Call #2
July 23-29
Open to all.

A Crowd of Helpers

Once again, I appreciate this entire experience, from the backers, invited authors, and co-editors all working to promote this campaign and make it a success, to the folks who've shared their advice and expertise behind the scenes, to Julia, our Essential Dreams Press intern, working on newsletters and interviews and whatever else started to overwhelm, this has very much been a group endeavor. Thank you for your energy, your enthusiasm, and for deciding to join this ragtag band of dreamers as we reframe Tanith Lee's legacy and attempt to present the true impact of someone who was a foremother for so many authors working today.

-julie