About
Heartwood: Non-binary Tales of Sylvan Fantasy
$77,358
2,010
HEARTWOOD: Non-binary Tales of Sylvan Fantasy is the first ever non-binary comics anthology, made entirely by cartoonists who identify as a non-binary gender! The book is 250+ pages long, B&W interior, and features 21 young-adult stories.
Across time and cultures, humanity has spun tales about the forest: tales of caution, adventure, rites of passage, and discovery. Some of those stories persist as the folklore and fairy tales that delight our imaginations today, and the forest remains a symbol for facing the unknown and emerging transformed.
This anthology is for everyone who’s walked through the undergrowth, in the silence of nature, and longed for an adventure of their own to unfold. These stories of modern-day sylvan fantasy showcase some of the best non-binary cartoonists of our day, guiding characters like us into the woods and back again.
A.B.V. and Orion • Annabelle H. • Ashanti Fortson • Brian Wolf • Chlove • Cori Walters • Diigii Daguna • Emily Madly and Maria Li • Ezra Rose and Jey Barnes • Joamette Gil (editor) and Corey Ranson • Juliette G.M.M. Lopez • Mar Julia • Polly Guo • Raven “raveyrai” White • Rhiannon Rasmussen and Chan Chau • Rii Abrego • S.J. Miller • Sunmi • Sunny Ôchumuk and Shaina Lu with Vivian Ho • Ver • Xanthe Bouma • Z. Akhmetova • Eli Baum (cover) and Viv Tanner (cover)
Every single cent of our budget is earmarked for paying our creators a fair page rate and producing the best quality books, rewards, and experience for you -- the backers!
We've teamed up with some outstanding non-binary designers and illustrators to create limited edition and one-of-a-kind rewards beyond the book itself, including Maia Kobabe, Odera Igbokwe, Eli Baum, Viv Tanner, Hex Hive, and even HEARTWOOD creators themselves.
Rewards also include copies of our POWER & MAGIC ANTHOLOGY series about queer witches of color (Lambda, Prism, and Ignatz nominated comics)!
From the digital wallpaper version of the gorgeous HEARTWOOD cover to the custom 3D portraits by Hex Hive, all pledge tiers include the rewards from the previous tier. The more you pledge, the more we have in store!
Once we've fulfilled our goal, additional funds will go straight into enhancing the book's production value, then into strengthening our non-binary comics community. Because we need more stories that center us and more career opportunities where we can represent ourselves, the majority of our stretch goals will go toward:
- raising contributor page rates above $105/page,
- and commissioning NEW digital comics from additional non-binary cartoonists (exclusive to all backers for one year)!
Let's see what we can UNLOCK!
More HEARTWOOD Pages!
Special Thanks:
- Corey Ranson (Partner-In-Crime)
- Rhiannon Rasmussen (Print Consultation)
- Lucia Retamales (Kickstarter Video Production)
- Roger Plexico over at FreeMusicArchive.org (Video Music)
- Covervault.com (Cover Mock-ups)
- Anthony Boyd (Wallpaper Mock-up)
- C. Spike Trotman (For lighting the way)
Risks and challenges
All contributors are either applying finishing touches (like shading and lettering) or completely finished, so we're on track to head to the printer this fall! As with all publishing endeavors, the risk of printer/shipping delays is always there. That said, this is our 3rd Kickstarter campaign in as many years, and all were successfully fulfilled. We got this!
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Funding period
- (30 days)