*All $15+ awards receive electronic copies of the book.
Summary
I am VERY passionate about getting more women and kids interested our tabletop RPG hobby. I'm just as passionate about wanting to advise women on how break into the gaming industry as writers or editors, as well, as women are often more fearful of putting themselves out there--whether it be the fear of rejection or failure. But the hobby just flat-out needs more female representation!
Now, even though I've been nicknamed THE Feminist Conspiracy, I really enjoy my male gaming friends! So note that this is not a book I will write to exclude them or degrade them; in fact, I'll seek some male perspectives on the issues brought up within the book. But I do want to discuss the problems we face as women gamers and how to overcome them, and some of those problems involve dealing with guys who are not very open minded or who simply see women as objects. I also want to introduce readers to some positive women role models who are industry professionals, and I want to talk about how women can break into this industry--if that is their goal.
This book has been inspired by the many panels I've done on the topic of women and gaming, especially by the Gamer Girls Unite & Write panel I did with Amanda Hamon and Amber Scott at PaizoCon 2013. Those have all been well-attended--by both men and women--panels.
So, I guess you might want to know who the heck I am before supporting this project. I've been a gamer since the early 1980s, having started with D&D. I play Pathfinder (including PFS), Savage Worlds, Castles & Crusades, and RIFTS, mostly--but I will try most any RPG. I had my first publication in Dungeon #61, which I co-authored with a friend. Nowadays, I write, edit, develop, and publish gaming material. I'm a developer with Rogue Genius Games and Misfit Studios; and I publish my own line at Christina Stiles Presents. I've done freelance work for Paizo Publishing, Kobold Press, Green Ronin Publishing, White Wolf Studios, Troll Lord Games, and many others. In 2012, I was a GenCon Industry Insider Guest of Honor. You can find my website (which needs updating to add more book releases) at www.christinastiles.com. One of my upcoming projects is Strange Brew: The Ultimate Witch & Warlock for Pathfinder, which is relaunching in March.
In short, I love RPGs! I love them so much, in fact, that I want to write, edit, develop, and publish them on a full-time basis. So backing this electronic book (pdf, mobi, epub) helps me leave the day job behind and be able to support my family. My husband and I have had a very hard time of things over the last few years (he's been unable to work for 3 years, and has been (unsuccessfully) trying that long to receive disability; because of this, I had to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy), but I believe we are headed for better times; and my working on the things I love and being at home will help me and the husband enjoy a closer relationship.
So, support a book about women and gaming to help a woman gamer and game designer make a full-time go of her dream.
What I Need & What You Get
I'd like to be able to support my household while I work on this book and build up my releases for Rogue Genius Games and Misfit Studios. So, there is a certain amount of money needed for that. Then, I'd like to be able to pay for some contributions from industry women; I've contacted several already, but I don't know how much I will need for that at this time. Lastly, I'd like to be able to have print copies made to sell at cons I'm attending, such as ConCarolinas, where I will be the Gaming Guest of Honor for 2014. This assumes the book comes out earlier than I have listed, however.
$1500 will get me through mortgage, utilities, and car insurance for a month, but I could use four times that amount to pad in some security. I'm hoping some freelancing and income from my various pdf releases will pick up to allow me to pay for other needed things--like health insurance, food, and medicines (my husband and I are on many). All other monies not earmarked for contributors or a few print copies goes to support my move to full-time game design, though some folks have said they want Support THE Feminist Conspiracy t-shirts. I'll have to check into the cost of that.
This book will be a valuable resource for women gamers, and it is a book that many cons may wish to sell to attendees. Let's get more women in the hobby!
Other Ways You Can Help
If you don't have the funds to support the project, please just help spread the word. All help is appreciated!
Who Is In On This?
I've reached out to several friends and industry women for this book. So far, I will have contributions from the following:
Jason Andrew (writing "A Parliament of Stars: Encouraging Diversity in the LARP Community”; article received)
Janet Bell (writing "Does It Matter?"; article received)
Bethany Black (Awesome gamer girl, age 12, 7th grade; writing "GMing for Kids (By a Kid)"; article received)
Trinity Black (Awesome gamer girl-age 14, 8th grade; writing "Feminism in Gaming: a Teen's Point of View"; article received)
Jodi Black (Award-winning editor & licensing for Pinnacle Entertainment Group, makers of Savage Worlds--one of my favorite games; article received)
Jessica Blair
Emily Care Boss (she of RPGGirl Zine; draft received, but waiting on one thing)
Paris Crenshaw (writing "Gamer Dads with Gamer Girls"; article received)
Darlene (artist extraordinaire, writing the foreword and an article on her time at TSR)
Steve Darlington (topic: Men Ending Slurs and Sexist Attitudes in the Gaming Environment )
Venus DeCoy
Amanda Hamon (Paizo contributor and editor on several Kobold Press projects)
Lynne Hardy (she who moonlights as a biomedical researcher and lecturer while writing steampunk games and freelancing; topic: breaking into freelance writing)
Tracy Davis Hurley (Game writer, superhero, she who incites web wars with a mere feminist word and ruins games for all men--writing about the video game industry)
Victoria Jazco (Paizo Publishing's 2014 RPG Superstar! Victoria is writing about her rise to Superstar!)
Nicole Lindroos (Green Ronin)
Monica V. Marlowe (Superhero; "Raising a Conscientious Gamer Son")
Emily Mottesheard (My Rogue Mage layout guru and an accomplished artist--we'll be doing a panel on women and gaming together at Mysticon in VA in Feb)
Sabrina Pandora (Comics producer)
Jen Page
Zoë Robinson (Sr. Assoc. Art Director for Fantasy Flight Games; topic: Inclusiveness in Gaming Art)
Amber Scott (First female Paizo AP writer MAY be joining us)
Carinn Seabolt (Game company owner and power GM)
Lj Stephens (Superhero, she who owns Owen Stephens, power GM; "Sacrificed to the Volcano God: Being a Woman Gamer")
Christina Stiles (Medusa, THE Feminist Conspiracy, she who writes cheesy adventures, she who adores bards, she of the great cackle, she who burns water)
William Stoddard (writing ?)
Cat Tobin (Cat Tobin – Pelgrane Press production manager, organiser of UK and Irish conventions, avid scenery-chewing larper and occasional story gamer; topic: advice on getting published)
Clarisse Thorn (she who writes and speaks about subcultures, sexuality, and new media. Her best-known book is "The S&M Feminist."; topic: rape in gaming)
Margherita Tramontano (bird-brain poet, writer, teacher and manga lover, would-be Pathfinder freelance designer, she who manages to find time to write with an inquisitor, a little paladin and a baby cavalier in her life--"Sex and Pregnancy in Games")
Naomi Tripi (Game designer, entrepreneur, mother, fangirl, she who lives the dream, mediocre cook, and awkward dancer)
Rachel Ventura (Legendary Games's business manager, she who reads Cthulu stories at ice cream gatherings, and she of the cutest twins who ever played Faery's Tale; topic is gaming with young children)
Rachel Welham (teenaged PFS player and daughter of an RPG Superstar--I think this is her writing debut! Watch out gaming world!)
Patricia Willenborg (4 Winds Fantasy Gaming contributor, she who runs dnd.kismetrose.com and wod.kismetrose.com, she who brings naughtiness to every game)
Filamena Young
