UPDATE 4/12/2021: Books purchased after December 2 (and UK orders placed between Oct 28-Mar 17) were shipped mid-late March. If you haven’t yet received your copy, it should arrive very soon! Books ordered after March 17 will be shipped within the next 2 weeks. Thank you for your support and patience.
As we say goodbye on Indiegogo, we wanted to let you know that we now have plenty of purchasing options through our We Animals Media HIDDEN webpage, including our newly released HIDDEN E-Book.
See the "Updates" tab above for our latest updates and news.
UPDATE 12/2/2020: We officially released HIDDEN on November 17th, 2020 and are now sold out of the first print run! We are thrilled to know that people think this book is timely and important, and that it's reaching so many of you! We’ve shared an update, including details of our announcement of a second print run. See the "Updates" tab above for our most recent information and shipping timelines.
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HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene is an unflinching book of photography about our conflict with non-human animals around the globe. Through the lenses of forty award-winning photojournalists, HIDDEN shines a light on the invisible animals in our lives; those with whom we have a close relationship and yet fail to see. They are the animals we eat and wear. The animals we use for research, work, and for entertainment, as well as the animals we sacrifice in the name of tradition and religion. HIDDEN is a historical document, a memorial, and an indictment of what is and should never again be. HIDDEN needs to be seen by as many people as possible, and this can only happen with your support.
Thank you for visiting our crowdfunding page. I’m Jo-Anne McArthur, a Canadian photojournalist as well as the founder of We Animals Media (WAM). My vision for this ground-breaking new book was inspired by the war photography that has shaped history. Images of conflict and suffering have always played a crucial role in exposing atrocities and galvanizing the masses. In her book Regarding the Pain of Others, political activist Susan Sontag asks who should look at suffering? When is it useful to do so? The answer is that anyone who can help should look, and that is all of us. Billions of animals suffer needlessly each day within the constructs we’ve built. We believe that the time to bear witness is now. Will you help animals by joining us to get these images seen?
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OUR TEAM
The strength of this book is in its team. HIDDEN features the work of forty award-winning photographers who have defied the odds to capture the most poignant and iconic images from animal industries around the world. Joining the We Animals Media team and I in the creation of HIDDEN is acclaimed photo editor and journalist Keith Wilson, as well as world-renowned designer David Griffin. Keith is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the founder and past editor of Outdoor Photography and Wild Planet magazines. He has interviewed the best-known photographers of our time. This will be his ninth co-produced book. David was the visuals editor of The Washington Post, director of photography of National Geographic, and has held many other design and photography positions in the media. Joining our team in colour editing is the co-editor of Photographers Against Wildlife Crime, photographer Britta Jaschinski, and Sarah Janson joins us as our intrepid project manager. We are also honoured that the book’s foreword will be written by none other than longtime vegan animal rights advocate, Joaquin Phoenix. We Animals Media will publish HIDDEN.
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OUR PHOTOGRAPHERS
HIDDEN represents the work of forty photojournalists who have - and continue to - document animal stories. These photographers are the heroes who work globally to investigate and expose animal use. Their exhaustive and in depth work has resulted in some of the most compelling and historic images of animals that we have seen. Among them are (in alphabetical order): Aaron Gekoski, Aitor Garmendia, Amy Jones, Andrew Skowron, Britta Jaschinski, Daniel Beltrá, Francesco Pistilli, Jan van IJken, Joan de la Malla, Jo-Anne McArthur, Jose Valle, Kelly Guerin, Kristo Muurimaa, Konrad Lozinski, Louise Jorgensen, Luis Tato, Paul Hilton, Sabine Grootendorst, Selene Magnolia, Stefano Belacchi, Tamara Kenneally and Timo Stammberger.
The work of our contributors has been celebrated by Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Nature Photographer of the Year, Festival della Fotographia Etica, Alfred Fried Peace Award, the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, World Press Photo, NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism, Sony World Photography Awards, Picture of the Year International, Latin International Photography Award, DAYS Japan, and Prix de la Photographie.
Our photographers have also been published in and interviewed by publications such as National Geographic, GEO, BBC Discover Wildlife, The Guardian, CNN, Telegraph, New Scientist, Newsweek, The Sunday Times, Nikon Pro, Black+White Photography, Vice, La Repubblica and The Washington Post. Additionally, their work has been used in animal advocacy campaigns worldwide.
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SUPPORTING THIS HISTORIC BOOK
Your support will make this epic undertaking a reality. We say “epic” because we are producing a tome, heavy in content and actual weight. At 320 pages, 9.5 x 12.5in and hard cover, this is a 5lb book which goes to print in Italy on September 7th, 2020.
NOTEWORTHY BOOK SPECS:
- Portrait Format - Dimension 320x240 mm - 12.6" x 9.5"
- 320 pages
- 204 historic images
- 4-colour printing
- 3 gatefold spreads
- Hard cover + foil stamping & debossing
- Printed on sustainably sourced paper
- Collectible limited edition
When you purchase your copy of HIDDEN or one of our perks, you’ll be helping us to reach our crowdfunding goal of $65,000 CAD. Our funding tiers start with the purchase of one book and end with opportunities to become Publishing Partners.
Our costs include:
- Printing! We will be printing 1500 copies of this hard cover first edition
- An honorarium to each contributing photographer, which will help keep them in the field, doing this important work that is often unpaid, and executed at great personal risk
- The purchase of archival images
- Book shipping and environmentally friendly packaging – at 5lbs, shipping is going to be a big expense!
- Distribution
- Advertising and PR
- Travel costs and overhead for conferences to present the book globally in 2021
- The people working on this book: the time of the co-editors, the designer, the colour editor, the project manager, as well as the We Animals Media team working on design, copy, social media, and video production for this book.
HIDDEN will be published by We Animals Media. As a result, any profit from HIDDEN will go directly into funding animal photojournalism and continuing to build our We Animals Archive, which makes images freely available to anyone helping animals.
OUR INAUGURAL PUBLISHING PARTNERS
We gratefully recognize the partners who have supported HIDDEN with funding leading up to our crowdfunding campaign.
Animals Australia is our first Senior Publishing Partner. This generous donation contributes specifically to the very practical reality of book-making: distribution, fulfillment, and shipping, helping us to deliver these 5lb books around the world.
Animal Equality, Anima International, Stephane Perrais, and Leila Boujnane are Founding Supporters. Their generous donation helps us to cover the extensive start-up costs of creating this historic book.
Casey Fisher is a Patron to the Photographers. Patrons help provide each contributing photographer with a larger honorarium for their contributions to this book.
We're tremendously grateful to these long time friends of Jo-Anne and We Animals Media! Please see our perks if you'd like to become a Publishing Partner.
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Your investment in this book through our crowdfunding campaign is your stamp of support and solidarity with our vision to help make visible the stories of animals and create a kinder world for all. The stories within its pages are revelatory and brutal. They are proof of the emergency confronting animals globally, from industrial farming to climate change, and provide valuable insight into the relevance of animal suffering to human health. With the current Coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc, never has a book been more relevant to the future of all animals, human and non-human alike. HIDDEN will help propel us into a new era of (re)considering our relationship with animals.
PROJECT IMPACT
The animals you will meet in this book are important, and the documentation of their lives is one crucial piece of the puzzle when it comes to animal justice. HIDDEN serves as a document that gives credibility to the coverage of its subject matter. Painful and graphic images are often overlooked by mainstream media, and they need a home that won’t disappear in the frenzy of social media or the daily news. HIDDEN creates historic representation, and we will make sure the the book will reach changemakers in the world of journalism, policy, and campaigning.
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We Animals Media’s previous crowdfunding campaigns have proven successful, each exceeding our goals, bringing our powerful books, We Animals (2014), and Captive (2017) to life. We hope you'll watch the video we’ve made, pre-order your copy of HIDDEN, and share this campaign. In doing so, you will be helping us produce, print, and distribute this hardcover first edition of HIDDEN. The book will retail for $95, which means you are receiving a $17 discount as an initial funder, and an even greater discount on the purchase of multiple copies.
Only with your support can HIDDEN become a positive turning point in the campaign to redefine humankind’s relationship with their fellow animals. A future that consigns animal suffering to the past.
Thank you for your continued support!
With gratitude and resilience,
Jo, Keith, and the We Animals Media team
P.S. Please help us make some noise about this campaign by sharing it far and wide!
P.P.S. Please make sure to select your perk; don't just hit the pink "back it" button unless you only want to donate toward the project. Thank you!
