The best stories you've never heard
Hi, we are Ariane, Ditte, Louise, Maria and Maya and we want to bring you the best stories you've never heard! We've been reading and studying literature for years, which is a lonely pursuit. Now we want to share all we know, all we are yet to know, and all we will never know with all of you. Because we want to. Because it is a necessity. Because people need more questions than answers.
ark books is more than a bookshop - it is an idea, a dream, an ambition. An ambition of literary exchange and a greater selection of world literature than seen to this day. A dream of live events offering a greater curiosity, a greater insight into each author, each translator, each story. We will read all the books and pick the best ones for you to browse in our shop.
ark books is not just for us, it is for all of us. ark books is part of an even bigger plan of making Møllegade the literary center of Copenhagen - we are not alone. In this street we already have venue space LiteraturHaus, danish bookshop Møllegades Boghandel, publishing house Det Poetiske Bureaus Forlag, literary festival Møllegades Litteraturfestival, and quality cartoon shop Komikken. We are excited and honored to join this party and make every day in Møllegade a literary day.
Do you want this too? You can get it. You can get everything we can possibly give you. Be we can't do it without your help. We have no rich uncles in America, no nice friends in the bank. We need you. Every contribution to our campaign, small or big, is a part of making ark books a reality. And you know what? The shop is registered as a non-profit organization, so everything we make go right back into the shop, making it better day by day!
Do you think we can do this? We have no doubt. Everything we have stuck our noses into so far, has been a succes. Some of us are behind the well-attended LiteraturCafé in LiteraturHaus, just across the street. Some of us are teaching all kinds of stuff - literary and non-literary. Some of us are making literary broadcast radio. Some of us have been working in publishing houses for years. Some of us have worked in bookshops all over Europe. Some of us created Møllegades Litteraturfestival; an entire day of literature in Møllegade - the street closed for traffic - and more than 400 visitors. We can do this.
You can make this happen
We have been fundraising our butts of, and emptied all our piggy banks. We have adjusted our budget to the absolute minimum. Furniture and shelves will be taken from our own homes (too bad, boyfriends and roommates) or built by our sweet sweet craftmanfriends. We will keep track of our stock on old fashioned paper instead of expensive software. We will paint our walls with all the leftover paint we can find. Actually we don't need to buy anything but books. Can you believe it? That's really all we need.
That is also why our campaign is fixed, because if we don't reach our goal, we can't make any bookshop or any of the nice things we want to do. We will have to give back all of our fundraised money.
(A fixed campaign means, that your donation will be pulled from your account, only if and when we reach our goal. If we don't reach our goal, you will keep your money.)
If we exceed our goal, we will certainly find use for the rest of the money - 7500 euro is the absolute minimum we can do this for. If we manage to raise more, the bookshop will be even better. With for example 1000 euro extra we will be able to buy a cheap projector for our virtual skype events all across the globe or maybe even fly in some amazing authors. We will be able to do a lot of things but most importantly we will be able to put even more great books in the shop.
We don't have much to give, but we will give you everything we got as a thank you. Check out our list of perks in the side menu - everything from coffee and totebags to personalised posters and a newly-painted shed.
Whatever you choose to donate, you are more than welcome in the shop for a cup of coffee on us, so we can thank you in person. We need you, and we hope you need us. Or at least just like us.
No contribution is too small - everything will get all of us closer to our goal of a wonderful non-profit bookshop driven by enthusiasm and hard work rather than paychecks.
It is not all about the money
BUT! If you don't have anything to donate, you can still help us. You can share our story and this campaign with your friends, family, colleagues and whoever might be interested. We hope you will do this - help us get the word out in any possible way!
If you have a favorite book that you would just love to see in our shop, please let us know about it.
Together we have the chance to make ark books happen. No matter how you choose to help you will have our sincere and eternal gratitude (and coffee!). Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!
