So when I heard that Alisa Kranostein, the principal behind TPP, was dipping her toe in the crowd funding wading pool, I was keen to support them. A bit of a blurb for the campaign follows (from their Pozible campaign page) :
Kaleidoscope is an anthology of diverse contemporary YA fantasy & science fiction stories, which will be edited by Julia Rios and Alisa Krasnostein, and published by Twelfth Planet Press. Too often popular culture and media defaults to a very narrow cross section of the world’s populace. We believe that people of all kinds want to see themselves reflected in stories. We also believe that readers actively enjoy reading stories about people who aren’t exactly like them. We want see more stories featuring people who don’t always get the spotlight, so we’re gathering a wonderful variety of:
* YA fantasy stories [Update: As of 10/23 we are also open to science fiction]
* Set in the modern world
* Featuring teen protagonists from diverse backgroundsThe main characters in Kaleidoscope stories will be part of the QUILTBAG, neuro-diverse, disabled, from non-Western cultures, people of color, or in some other way not the typical straight, white, cis-gendered, able-bodied characters we see all over the place.
That said, these aren’t going to be issue stories. The focus here is contemporary fantasy, and while the characters’ backgrounds will necessarily affect how they engage with the world, we’re not going to have a collection of “Very Special Episode” stories about kids coming to terms with their sexuality/disability/mental illness/cultural identity, etc. We want to see protagonists from all sorts of backgrounds being the heroes of their own journeys.
It sounds like a great book, and while I’m not really a YA reader I love to see this kind of focus on diversity and on non-US/UK based publishers using new media to source funding for interesting initiatives.
So, if the premise of the anthology looks interesting or you just want to support Australian small press publishing, I’d really encourage you to head on over to the Kaleidoscope Pozible campaign page and pledge. At the time of writing, there are only 5 days to go in the campaign (deadline 31 October 2013 for those of you reading <echoey-voice>FROM THE FUTURE</echoey-voice>).
Go on. You know you want to.
Edit 1/11/2013
The campaign has finished, and the funding goal was met so Kaleidoscope will be going ahead. Congratulations to everyone behind the project and well done.