Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology

Thanks to you, STORYTELLER fully funded in less than a week!
7 months ago – Mon, May 13, 2024 at 06:42:00 PM

A Huge Thanks to All of Our Backers!

Thank you so much for your interest in and support of this project! Thanks to you 241 amazing humans, STORYTELLER, our Tanith Lee tribute anthology, is now more than a drafted plan; it's a fully formed creative path. Kickstarter is both a surreal and wonderful experience. This is a first for me, and it's pretty damn amazing!

We're Not Done Yet

There are so many working authors who have a deep connection to Tanith Lee. As well as our amazing lineup of invited authors, I budgeted an initial six open slots. As authors, it was important to Carina and Craig as well as myself that we offer professional rates. Our first stretch goal, reaching $10,000, will create two more open slots for a total of sixteen stories, eight of them from from our invited authors and eight from an open call. I think this goal is attainable. ( I very much hope this goal is attainable!) There are so many genres and so many authors that have been influenced by Tanith Lee; we know the number of gifted and passionate writers who will be sharing their work is going to make it hard to only select a handful. 

I've already planned a number of stretch goals, just in case, and many add even more fiction, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. You, the backers of STORYTELLER, have already given myself and the entire team a true gift. This is going to be one amazing book, and it's all thanks to you!

Timing of the STORYTELLER Open Call

Now that we're fully funded we can share some more details regarding the open short fiction slots. There will be more details on the open calls in the next few weeks, but I wanted to get the word out ASAP. We are going to be running two week-long open calls.  We currently have slots for six open-call stories at 2000 to 5000 words and 8 cents/ word. The pay rate and number of slots may change depending on how many stretch goals we reach.

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.

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.

My Own Core Tanith Influences

These three books, The Silver Metal Lover, The Gorgon and Other Beastly Tales, and Electric Forest, are all from my early-to-mid teens. All completely immersive and gorgeously written, they found an immediate connection with younger me. I was at exactly the right age and in exactly the right frame of mind for Tanith's stories to burrow so deep they remain with me to this day.

Thank you once again! I can't wait to see STORYTELLER finally take shape!

-julie

We're 82% funded with over 200 backers and Kickstarter has designated us a Project We Love!
7 months ago – Fri, May 10, 2024 at 08:58:16 AM

Thank you! Thank you! Thank You! 

This tribute to Tanith Lee's legacy and these new stories by all our authors would not have happened if you hadn't backed the project! This new-to-me Kickstarter model highlights in real-time the relationship between readers and authors, and it's a thing of wonder. Wanting to pay authors appropriately for their work and wanting to fill this book with amazing fiction, I decided to try crowdfunding. I am so incredibly relieved and shocked (in the best possible sense) at the response!

New Reward Tiers

As many of the premium rewards are now fully backed I've added a few new ones: LOUISA THE POISONER, which includes a sticker of Kathleen Jennings' illustration of Tanith Lee and DAYS OF GRASS, a tier especially created for e-edition backers. As well as the e-edition of Storyteller, Days of Grass also includes both the personalized thank you postcard from the editors, featuring the cover art, and acknowledgment for your support of this project in the ebook. Plus, of course the limited tier PIRATICA, which offers special acknowledgment in the PRINT edition of STORYTELLER.

Kickstarter setup requires a lot of thought, and sometimes it doesn't quite go to plan. The authors and co-editors were so generous, that when I was building the Kickstarter, I had to move some really special premiums to the add-on section of the project in order to meet the guideline of ten tiers or less. Both of these premiums are ones I personally would love to obtain! With so many premiums now backed, I'm pulling them into their own special tiers. The new WOLF WING  includes two signed art prints by Terri Windling along with a number of other premiums. The new RED UNICORN includes both a seat in Carina Bissett's generative writing workshop at The Storied Imaginarium and a signed copy of Carina's just released collection Dead Girl, Driving and Other Devastations. Both tiers also include a special acknowledgement in the PRINT edition. 

Aiming Toward an Even Brighter Future

Thanks to you, myself, Carina, Craig, and Julia have such high hopes! We're going to continue to push forward to 100% funded and with some luck and wonderful support, perhaps even some of our stretch goals, which focus on adding even more stories to the anthology. 

And what makes this all so wonderful is that your enthusiasm for the project seems to have spread! There are so many well-wishers out in the world from fellow authors, like Laura J. Mixon and Angela Slatter, who have always loved Tanith Lee's work to readers who didn't realize anyone else even remembered Tanith's name! 

Thank You

Just for the joy of it, I created a short demonstrating what 90 Tanith Lee books would look like, if I actually owned all of her published work.

You Are Amazing

I feel so much gratitude to each and every one of you. I know this is going to be one incredible collection of fiction and I can't wait to get it into your hands.

--julie

A Milestone and a New Early Bird Reward!
7 months ago – Wed, May 08, 2024 at 07:04:32 AM

Thank you, everyone! In less than 24 hours we have 134 backers! This project means so much to everyone involved, editors, authors, and John Kaiine, Tanith's widower, who has been an amazing source of encouragement from our very first conversation! We didn't expect so many people to be so interested so early on. But a Tanith Lee tribute with stories written by such an incredible line-up of authors? Perhaps we should have known.

Because this is my first Kickstarter creating the rewards and figuring out what backers might like as an Early Bird Special was tricky to say the least! And like all first attempts, I don't think I got it quite right. After mulling a bit more, we've added 1 additional Early Bird Special: WOLF TOWER. 

This tier includes the e-edition of STORYTELLER, plus a personalized thank you postcard from the editors, featuring the cover art, and acknowledgment for your support of this project in the ebook. 

For the other tiers, most are already fully backed. I truly can't get over it. So this morning, before I get ready and head to work, Carina, Craig, and I came up with an additional tier: PIRATICA. 

For a limited number of people, along with the trade paperback and DRM-free ebook edition of STORYTELLER (plus the personalized thank you postcard from the editors featuring the cover art and the acknowledgment for your support of this project in the ebook) you will also get a special acknowledgement in the PRINT edition of the book.

I really do appreciate each and every one of you. Your support is making STORYTELLER, a book dear to my heart and that of everyone involved in the project, a reality. I am so so thankful.

-julie