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Welcome to Atthis Arts’ third anthology: Community of Magic Pens, edited by E.D.E. Bell. This fun collection will showcase a wide variety of genres and voices, celebrating community, writing, and magic. We are really excited about it – and the more we think about what different stories might match the theme, the more excited we get.
If you’re still thinking about it, please click “♥ Remind me” at the top right, just under the “Back this project” button.
This book will be a collection of new, original flash fiction and short stories, each telling a story somehow related to the idea of magic pens. The tone of the collection will be joy, hope, and community – stories we think we need right now.
The stories will be across genres – whether humor, thriller, science-fiction, romance, or a combination – they will be sure to be unexpected. These stories will come from writers around the world, and as with all our collections, we encourage the writers to highlight their perspectives, cultures, and passions through their stories. We really think this will be special!
By supporting the campaign now, you’ll receive a copy prior to the book’s release, as well as updates until then on how the project is going. Thank you!
We are a small, independent publisher out of Detroit, Michigan. We believe in the artistic voice of the author being at the core of our projects. We thrive on the authenticity and diversity of the writing community.
This anthology is designed to be safe for a diverse reader base. Our Anthology Content Guidelines specifically prohibit harmful messaging regarding culture, background, religion, ethic, gender, orientation, attraction, race, ethnicity, disability, or body. The stories will be intended for adult audiences but will be appropriate for teens.
We take pride in not editing the author’s voice out of the stories. This is a philosophy we’re really proud of. That means stories may be in international dialects, regional dialects, Black English, or a variety of other styles. And it makes the collection so much better!
If you back this project, most importantly, you’ll get a copy of this fun collection prior to its release.
More than that, you’ll be part of something really special. We are committed to paying professionally qualifying rates to the writers. Those rates went up this year – and we really need the money to pay them. Your pre-orders will help pay for those author royalties and also cover and editing costs. This will take a ton of stress off the team and allow us to focus on the art of the project. Thank you for sharing the project – please help us get people excited!
Your support is truly critical.
When you back this project, you help a small indie press supporting indie writers. And if you order a print copy, you’ll also get an included e-book version.
The funds raised through pre-orders will pay for:
*Yeah, really. $10K just for cover, editing, and royalties with no profit to us, including what will be months of Emily’s work. Please remember that the amount of money we receive for the project is far less than the amount pledged. The amount pledged includes Kickstarter fees, BackerKit fees, credit card fees, book production cost, and shipping costs.
Atthis Arts expects to make no profit off of this anthology; while we are struggling financially as a company, we believe open submission anthology projects help lift up the writing community and are an important part of why we exist. If you agree with those values, please help support this project and please look at our other titles, listed separately on atthisarts.com. If you want to help Emily feed her family, buy signed copies of her books at store.edebell.com. (Store works in US, contact sales@atthisarts.com to place an international order.)
Sharing the project link with a recommendation helps a ton.
With an open submissions process, that means we don’t yet know what stories will be included. That’s the fun! And I know writers are excited to write for you – I’ve seen the buzz on places like Twitter. (#MagicPens)
The stories will be multi-genre: for example fantasy, romance, contemporary, mystery, satirical, literary, humor, steampunk, sci-fi, hopepunk, on and on – what we’ve learned is that once you break down genre walls, authors will cross genres within each story as well, creating some really new, fresh ideas. We expect a wonderful variety! The tone of the collection will be joy, hope, and community – stories we think we need right now.
Often, to get an anthology funded, you recruit notable authors and use their reputations to sell the collection. I get that! And that’s a great model. However I really worry about the impact of cliques and privilege, when: Our goal is to share diverse, including unexpected, voices. We hope you will believe in that goal, support this project, and trust that those stories will be great.
We also hope that our last collection, Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove, shows what we can do. (See the reviews!) And we’ll do it even better, with more experience and more visibility.
If you’d like a better idea of what will be included and don’t mind a bit of the weeds, please check out the submission guidelines. But I’m trying harder not to bias the submissions this time, so I’m keeping things a little more vague. I really want to see where people will take it! (The theme seems simple, but if you really think about it, it gets trippy fast. We’re so excited to see what people come up with, as well as how they give it their own stamp.)
Our collections tend to be fun, hopeful, a little serious, and with a lot of love and compassion, for each other as well as our own backgrounds and identities. They are generally non-violent and always queer-friendly. We are proud that all those qualities shine through in the writing.
Yes, we like to move fast. Life is short, and I’m a hasty ent! Here’s the timeline:
We delivered last year’s collection on this schedule so I’m ready to be ridiculous again. However, if there were any life-induced delays we’d keep open communication. These projects are so close to my heart; I’d never let one drop while still sentient.
If you’d like additional print copies of Community of Magic Pens (or our previous anthologies), please increase your pledge accordingly. These prices, in USD, include shipping and apply anywhere in the world – but they must be added to a level that already includes shipping.
As Told by Things features 25 short stories from US and Canadian authors told from the perspective of inanimate objects: a 20-sided D&D die, a sleep scarf, a hijab, a ’57 Ford, a mirror that sees a trans-positive journey unfold, and many more.
Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove features 59 short stories from authors all over the world, all taking place within five minutes, all in the same hotel. Whether there’s an incident at the front desk, something not quite right with the room, a bear stopping in for a beer, or a resolute robot revolt, lives change by the minute within the grounds, rooms, and corridors of the legendary Hotel Stormcove. Lovers meet, witches gather, friends connect, and those in need always find shelter.
If you’re interested in additional limited-edition copies or have a larger order and would like custom shipping costs, please message us (or email Chris at kickstarter@atthisarts.com) and we’ll work something out. Thanks!
All levels that do not include the signed limited-edition will be drop-shipped outside of the US, providing global-friendly shipping. The first two anthologies will ship alongside the new anthology in May 2020. If you’d like the first two anthologies sooner (e.g. for holiday gifts) we are going to offer an expedited shipping option for those levels in BackerKit. (At checkout, in early December.)
We will add stretch goals if the campaign goes well, but be aware that we would need to reach around $10,000 before even our minimum costs (excluding our time and labor and not paying for the print run!) are covered.
Many thanks to the video cast:
That’s alright. We really appreciate you giving this project a look. Could we ask you to mark a reminder on this project, and in the meantime follow Atthis Arts at Facebook.com/atthisarts or sign up for updates (no spam!) at atthisarts.com.
Yes! Please see our guidelines and also view the project FAQ.
The risks on this project are low. Atthis Arts has successfully delivered on 13 campaigns, with 2 others still in work. We know what it takes to compile and deliver an anthology and have done it twice before. We take honest and open communication seriously. Thanks for your support!