The Bare It For Books campaign is on a mission: a mission to show the world exactly how exciting and funny and yes, SEXY Canadian literature can be. To do this, we've teamed up with a host of well-known Canadian authors who are passionate enough to bare it all in the name of literature!
With their help, we are going to produce a 2014 calendar featuring 12 prominent Canadian authors in classy, nearly-nude poses. The calendar will be sexy and cheeky and lots of fun all at the same time. We want to raise awareness of our authors and the contributions they've made to the Canadian literary landscape, and give back to our literary community all at the same time. We want to get people reading. We want to get people talking about books. And here are the wonderful authors who are going to help us do it!
Angie Abdou – Ms. January
Trevor Cole – Mr. February
Farzana Doctor – Ms. March
Dave Bidini – Mr. April
Miranda Hill – Ms. May
Steven Heighton - Mr. June
Yasuko Thanh – Ms. July
Terry Fallis – Mr. August
Sachiko Murakami – Ms. September
Vincent Lam – Mr. October
Saleema Nawaz – Ms. November
Yann Martel – Mr. December
With cover illustration done by Sarah Leavitt
We're Allegra and Amanda, two friends who are passionate about Canadian literature. Give us a good book and a piece of pie and we're pretty much set -- and we'd like to spread the love.
All proceeds from the sale of our 2014 calendar will be donated to PEN Canada. Literature isn't just a fun way to pass the time; it's important. Our books tell us many things about our culture, our times, and the spaces in which we live. They bring joy, reprieve and hope to people day after day, all throughout the year. They are also a wonderful reminder of the fact that we live in a country where freedom of expression is encouraged; where our authors can bare themselves on the page without fear of persecution. We'd like to highlight this by donating the proceeds from calendar sales to PEN Canada, who campaign for the right to freedom of expression all over the world. What better way, ultimately, to celebrate the contributions of our authors than by creating a calendar that reminds us, every day, of the wonderful Canadian books that grace our collective shelves?
What We Need & What You Get
We are aiming to raise $20,000 with our Indiegogo campaign -- this will cover printing and production costs, and allow us to get the calendars out to you. Many people have already made gifts of their time to the campaign, and we owe a great deal to their skills and expertise. To honour them (and sell calendars!) we want to ensure that the finished product is as professional as can be. The money raised from this campaign will go a long way towards helping us acheive this.
The Impact
Canada has a great literary culture and a great reputation on the literary stage, but all too often this same literature of ours is branded as stodgy and boring. Yet this is so very much not the case! Our literature is hilarious. It's heartbreaking. And yes, it is most definitely hot stuff. We want to create a keepsake for people that will remind them of this, and hopefully fan the flames of literary love.
Other Ways You Can Help
There are so many ways that you can help us with this campaign. Click on the Indiegogo share tools to help spread the word about the campaign. Feel like talking our project up at a party? Go right ahead! Want to take part in a mailing extravaganza? Follow us on Twitter and stay tuned for details. Or you can link to us on your blog, or make friends with the #bareitforbooks hashtag, or start a discussion about the campaign on Facebook.
Show us some bookish love, friends. We'll show it right back.
