We mailed them out in early June, to everyone who earned a copy by pledging $25 or more. By now, even our backers in far-flung parts of the world should have received their copy — so please let us know if you haven't.

We'd like to congratulate RICK PINCHERA for being the first (as far as we know) to read the book in its printed form. For those of you who didn't read COCKY online, please drop us a note once you read it, let us know what you think — we'd love to hear from you.

Finally, a note to the six backers who pledged $250 or more. Kristin Parker told us a while back that she'd personally mail or deliver the limited-edition prints/poems we owe you. We're guessing you've received them by now, or else that you will receive them very soon. Let us know what you think of the print/poem, OK?

Hope you're enjoying the summer,

MATT AND JOSH, editors of HILOBROW

All backers' books are in the mail now, except for the ones we're going to hand-deliver to local friends. (That means you David and Kristine, Tom, Brian, Mandy, Nancy and Rick, Tor, Kevin, Himal, and Peggy.) Prints by Kristin Parker to follow shortly for those who pledged $250 or more...

After a few delays (printer problems) we've got the limited-edition run of COCKY THE FOX in our possession at last, and this weekend we'll mail copies to those backers who earned 'em! The only prize that we haven't yet sorted out is the limited-edition print & poem — a handful of backers chose that one, and we'll get it done as soon as possible...

We recently sent out requests for your updated address info — if you haven't provided us with that yet, please do so now! Unless you're a local friend, in which case there is no need.

PS: HiLobrow's next serialized novel project, by Karinne Keithley Syers, began today. Each installment includes original artwork by Rascal Jace Smith and a ukulele song by Karinne.

http://hilobrow.com/2011/06/02/linda-1/

The limited-edition book should be printed by Friday. Hopefully this weekend or ealy next week the editors of HiLobrow will find time to get together with James and Kristin Parker (plus Susan Roe, who has supported the project in critical ways), to mail 'em out!

http://kck.st/l4p674

In the meantime, please consider supporting HiLobrow's next serialized novel project, Karinne Keithley Syers's hollow-earth novel (with ukukele songs) LINDA. It's 63% funded with 13 days to go — please spread the word!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1846415860/linda-a-serialized-singing-illustrated-novella

Something was screwy about the link to Karinne Keithley Syers' kickstarter page. Here it is again.

Please help Karinne and HiLobrow publish this serialized novel-with-songs!

Friends —

Thanks again for backing James Parker's COCKY THE FOX at HiLobrow. As mentioned recently, copies are rolling off the presses and will be mailed out soon!

Serialized next at HiLobrow will be Karinne Keithley Syers' novel LINDA: A HOLLOW EARTH RETIREMENT ADVENTURE. From June through November, we will publish LINDA — complete with songs composed and performed by the author, and illustrations by Rascal Jace Smith. Please help back this project!

Karinne is raising funds in order to commission illustrations; buy printing equipment and materials (so she can create a handmade edition of LINDA for subscribers); burn CDs of the songs; replace some old sound equipment; and make gifts for backers. She's raised 20% of what she needs via Kickstarter — by the end of the month, she must raise the rest.

Here's the Kickstarter page for Karinne's project:

http://kck.st/l4p674

Gifts available to Kickstarter backers include everything from a bookmark and embroidered hollow-earth patch to: a limited-edition copy of Linda (with art by Rascal Jace Smith and a line-dance instruction appendix), a CD of the song cycle, a party pack, a custom ukulele cover (by Karinne) of the song of your choice, an 8x10 print of one of Rascal's illustrations, and a hand-embroidered Spinoza flag.

Act now!

COCKY THE FOX Kickstarter backers who pledged $25 or more were promised a signed copy of the book's first edition — and yesterday we ran off a proof of that edition, at Harvard Book Store. It's gorgeous! Kudos to HiLobrow's Matthew Battles for the layout.

Photo below of the author and the illustrator accompanied by a HiLobrow editor and some street urchins. Later this month we'll print 100 copies of the book and mail them to the appropriate backers...

*Sigh.* No more installments of COCKY THE FOX. Only one more issue of THE SNIFFER. *Sigh.*

Some backers of the COCKY THE FOX project can at least look forward to receiving a signed copy of the book's first edition, which we'll begin planning later this month. A smaller group of backers will be thanked in the first edition's acknowledgments. And a very select group of backers will receive a limited-edition (signed) print, by Kristin Parker, featuring one of the book's original illustrations and a poem by James Parker. The prints are in the works, Kristin tells us. All of which is exciting! But still... *sigh.* We'll miss reading Cocky's adventures.

We'll be removing the serialized version of the novel from HiLobrow in the not too distant future; we don't want it to compete with the print version. So if you haven't finished reading it yet... here it is:

http://hilobrow.com/cocky/

Hope you're enjoying these outtakes from the Kickstarter fundraising video shoot. For reasons that should be apparent, we left them on the cutting-room floor. But they crack us up, so...

http://hilobrow.com/2011/02/17/cocky-the-fox-20/

And that's all he wrote, friends.

When Cocky tells you to do something, you'd better jump to it...

A mysterious fox makes a pot of tea in James Parker's kitchen.

http://hilobrow.com/2011/02/03/cocky-the-fox-19/

‘One for me and one for you, Chester,’ says Weasel Paul, attaching himself to the spine of the first rat and appearing to gorge upon its life-force. Two spasms and this rat is dead. But the second one, Chester’s, is a problem. Cornered? He couldn’t care less. He’s a veteran, heavily marked and death-happy. A real chewed-down stump of rat-ness. Having dodged Chester’s initial rush, he’s mincing and sneering and giving the kid a lot of rat-chat, which is psychologically dangerous.

‘Amateur,’ he says. His overbite glistens with contempt. ‘Neophyte. Child. Where’s your mum?’

‘I’m here,’ says Nora. ‘And I’m very proud.’

‘Shut up, mum!’ Chester makes a sweaty hop at the rat, easily evaded. I surmise that this is his first piece of solo rat-work.

‘Can you taste this bitter blood, you poor cub?’ says the rat. ‘Break these nasty bones? You don’t want it, not really. You think you do but you don’t. The little softy in you says no.’

‘Dont listen to him Chester,’ urges Shakes.

‘Oh no no no!’ sings the rat, in the voice of Chester’s inner softy. ‘Take me back to the tit! Don’t make me hurt anyone!’

‘Grrrrrrrr!’ says Chester.