Table of Contents (as of 02/09/22)

Illustrator

• Seth Brown (fiction)

Fiction

• "Strawberry Spring" by Stephen King
• "There Are No Basements in the Bible" by Josh Malerman
• "Three Nights of Shadows" by John Langan
• "Recognition" by Victor LaValle
• "Observer Dependent Universe" by Christa Wojciechowski
• "A Plague of Loving Grace" by Cody Goodfellow
• "The Kitowaj" by Roberta Lannes
• "Swan Song" by Elin Olausson
• "The Unburdening of Lavender" by Gene O'Neill
• "We Are Vignettes" by Tlotlo Tsamaase
• "Lifetimes" by Koji A. Dae
• "Falling Down the Wayle" by Kehkashan Khalid
• "Seeds" by J. Federle
• "What Is Lost in the Smoke" by Laura Blackwell
• "Impressions of a Vizard-Mask, Surrounding the Great Troubles of 1907" by Emily B. Cataneo
• "Persistence" by Jonathan Lees
• "Feeling Like a Big Kid at the End of the Beginning" by Paul Michael Anderson
• "Tears That Never Stain" by Jessica May Lin
• "The Drunken Tree" by Tonya Liburd
• "The Queen of Talley's Corner" by Gary A. Braunbeck
• "Sable's Bestiary for Those Who Remain" by Hailey Piper
• "Redstarts in the Last Summer" by Vajra Chandrasekera
• "Ancestries" by Sheree Renée Thomas
• "Elevator" by Michael Paul Gonzalez
• "I'm Not Sam" by Jack Ketchum & Lucky McKee (novella, paperback / hardback only)

Poetry

• "With the Black Ribbon" by Erik T. Johnson
• "My People" by Lulu L. Wong / "My People" by Langston Hughes
• "Deicide" by Henna Johansdotter
• "Sing My Carnage in a Hayfield" by Sara Tantlinger
• "Faith" / "At the Downtown University" by Lucy A. Snyder
• "Backspace Is a Language In Our Dreams" / "Every Day Can't Be April" by Nnadi Samuel
• "Chasing the Serpent" by Marge Simon
• "Dark Neighborhood" by Cindy O'Quinn
• "Corpuscular" / "Absence" / "Chalk" by Shane Douglas Keene
• "The Infinite Lives of the Little Match Girl" by Christina Sng
• "Seasonal Meat" / "Parable of the Blue Man" (flash prose) by Jamal Hodge
• "Asphyxia" / "Black Robes, Red Hats, and White Oblivion" (flash prose) by Maxwell I. Gold
• "Magmatic" by LH Moore
• "Yesterday at 1:53 p.m." by B.E. Scully
• "Spectacular Degeneration" / "The Tableau" by Zoje Stage
• "Colorblind" by Wrath James White
• "Seven Symptoms of the End/Beginning/End/Beginning…" by Linda D. Addison
   

The End Is the Beginning /
The Beginning Is the End

That's the theme for the fifth and perhaps final volume in the Chiral Mad series by Written Backwards. This anthology will be edited by Michael Bailey, recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Award, Bram Stoker Award, and a Shirley Jackson Award nominee. Is this the beginning of the end for Written Backwards, or will this be the end to a new beginning? You get to help decide. And while we're at it, we are going to raise some serious funds for Black Lives Matter, and represent the underrepresented in the literary world. It's time to listen.

Previous Written Backwards anthologies have always included emerging talent alongside known names in the industry, spanning short fiction, long fiction, graphic adaptations, poetry, and artwork, and ranging from dark science-fiction and fantasy to horror; all things speculative. For more information on previous anthologies, visit nettirw.com (but keep scrolling for now).

For this latest chiral dance, the focus is diversity. Past anthologies have slowly improved over the years in this area, with effort always made to find new voices in the literary world, but that has not been enough. We need to hit the world harder. We need to better represent the underrepresented. We need to listen to those voices screaming out. For this fifth act in the series, we are reaching out to places like Botswana, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa, Japan; basically, as far out as we can reach, all over the world, with an emphasis on highlighting underrepresented demographics.

And this time around Written Backwards is asking for your help, both monetarily and to shine light upon new and emerging writers and artists who need to be heard at this important time, those who are otherwise not-so-relatively-known but should be. To do that, we are going back to the roots of what originally launched this small press off the ground: charity.

The first Chiral Mad focused on bringing awareness to Down syndrome and raised over $6,000 for various charities, with all work donated, and with all proceeds going to organizations such as the Down Syndrome Information Alliance (DSIA). Chiral Mad 2 paid professional rates to contributors, and profit then went to charity, but didn't raise nearly as much for the greater good. And both Chiral Mad 3 and Chiral Mad 4: An Anthology of Collaborations were not designed to support charity. This time around, Chiral Mad 5 will pay professional rates to contributors of underrepresented demographics, with all proceeds (everything but the cost to initially create the book) going to Black Lives Matter, indefinitely. 

If you have a problem with that, there's an X at the top right of your screen you can click, or simply throw your phone across the room if that's what you're using to read this.

Here's what we are hoping to accomplish with this not-for-profit project:

• Support and bring awareness to the Black Lives Matter movement
• Raise as much money as humanly possible for that cause 
• Create an incredibly diverse anthology of fiction, poetry, and artwork
• Bring underrepresented talent to the limelight
• Pay professional rates to that talent
• Not make money off this anthology whatsoever (other than for the charity)
• Promote change inside and out of the literary world

The goal is to keep overall cost minimal. More well-known writers invited to the anthology (there are some big names already attached) will be asked to forego payment to keep cost down. Contributors of underrepresented demographics, however, will be offered professional payment (6 cents per word for fiction, a dollar per line for poetry), but may donate their work in lieu of payment if they so choose.

Also, all Written Backwards titles purchased as add-ons during this campaign (60 days) will benefit this campaign to help raise money for the cause, with no profit made by the editor or publisher whosoever.
 

What We Need & What You Get

Chiral Mad 5 will be made available worldwide in a deluxe signed & numbered hardcover (with all the bells and whistles, and signed by the editor), trade hardcover, trade paperback, and eBook. So, what exactly is needed to make that happen?

Michael Bailey will be designing the cover and interior files and donating his time, and the anthology will be made available for purchase online around the world, with printing services provided by high-quality print-on-demand (except for the deluxe hardcover). This will keep cost down. A little less than $5,000 is needed to get this project off the ground, initially, which is the first goal (less depending on work that is donated. Here's how that looks:

• $3,000 for fiction / poetry, to pay $0.06 per word for fiction, $1 per line for poetry to contributors from underrepresented demographics. $0.08 per word if campaign reaches 150% funding.
• $1,000+ to cover printing costs (depending on number of books ordered)
• $295 for ISBNs, barcode creation, etc.
• $250 for viral marketing / promotion
• $250+ for Indiegogo's 5% cut (for that initial $5K amount)
• $150 for distribution
• That's about it.

No profit will be made by the editor or the publisher, whatsoever.

This is a charity anthology, after all, so during this campaign the prices might seem a little steeper than what one might expect at Amazon or elsewhere for an anthology. Why? To help make sure this important project happens. To raise the initial amount donated to Black Lives Matter as quickly as possible so they have it sooner rather than later. So the amount raised can grow until a large chunk of money can likewise go to writers of underrepresented demographics for making their voices heard.

Shipping & handling will be added to the end of all physical orders so as much money as possible can go to the charity. Funds not spent on shipping & handling or otherwise will go toward the greater good.

Post-campaign, all profit made from this anthology, indefinitely, will support Black Lives Matter, as well as any and all funds not used for the production of the book. *Please note that as more hardcovers are ordered (especially signed & numbered), the $1,000 amount above will increase proportionally. And post-campaign, transparency will be key.
 

What's available initially?

• $10 - eBook
• $20 - trade paperback 
• $35 - trade hardcover w/ dust jacket
• $75 - trade paperbacks of all fiction & poetry by Michael Bailey
• $85 - trade paperbacks of all 5 volumes of Chiral Mad 
• $95 - deluxe signed & numbered hardcover (signed by the editor)
• $135 - short story edit by Michael Bailey (includes deluxe signed & numbered hardcover)
• $165 - novelette edit by Michael Bailey (includes deluxe signed & numbered hardcover)
• $250 - novella edit by Michael Bailey (includes deluxe signed & numbered hardcover)
• $450 - novel edit by Michael Bailey (includes deluxe signed & numbered hardcover)
• $450 - trade paperback & ebook design by Michael Bailey (includes deluxe signed & numbered hardcover)
• Various monetary amounts in show of support (includes deluxe signed & numbered hardcover and trade paperback), with special acknowledgment at the end of the book and / or in the introduction
• Various multi-book deluxe signed & numbered hardcovers for other small presses or collectors / dealers to sell elsewhere
   

Add-ons

• Most Written Backwards titles in trade paperback
• The complete Michael Bailey collection in trade paperback
• Monetary donations
   

What's available in the future?

• Perhaps interior artwork to be included in Chiral Mad 5 (secured!)
• Perhaps other fun perks from contributors
• Future goal unlocks, and more perks!
   

The Impact

Black lives matter. Plain and simple. We need to fix this world, and we can help do that by raising awareness, raising money, and through expression in fiction, poetry, and artwork. And, of course, by listening.
 

Risks & Challenges

The initial amount to be raised means this is all or nothing (at least at the beginning), but we'll get past that rather quickly with your help.

Future goal unlocks will be announced after hitting the initial fund goal.
 

Other Ways You Can Help

Some people just can't contribute, but that doesn't mean they can't help:

• Ask others to get the word out and make noise about this campaign
• Share across social media platforms
• Visit blacklivesmatter.com to see how you can help otherwise
• Recommend underrepresented writers to Written Backwards
• Listen