The planners are no longer available through this IndieGoGo fundraiser, but I didn't completely sell out, so they will be available in my shop at TudorFair.com in November. And thanks!
Overview:
Hi! I'm Heather and I'm passionate about building peace and empathy through learning history. To that end, I've been podcasting on Tudor history since 2009 when I launched the Renaissance English History Podcast. Even before then, I built my first history website in 1998! In 2016 I created the Tudor Planner, which brings together all the awesome of a weekly/monthly diary with Tudor history. There's This Week in History, musical listening lists, quotes, all wrapped up in a gorgeous cover that looks like a manuscript.
The Basics About the Tudor Planner:
I'm passionate about planners myself, and am always checking out new ones. This planner incorporates planning elements that I love, in a layout that will be familiar, while also mixing in tons of Tudor history, in a style that resembles a manuscript.
- The pages are 6x9 inches (close to an A5 size). The cover adds a bit of extra space, but doesn't hang out very much further (see photos for more detail).
- The cover changes each year, but is always a Tudor period work, evoking the feel of 16th century England.
- Dated Weekly and monthly layouts, the Tudor Planner runs from December 2020 to February 2022 so you can start to use it straight away, and it will carry you through planning early in the following year.
- End-of-month check in pages to keep you on track with your goals, and set the stage for a productive new month.
- Plenty of notes pages, including dotted, lined, and plain.
- Three pages of stickers.
-
Two sided pocket in the back to hold papers and notes.
-
All major holidays noted, as well as many Tudor feast days. Of course the Tudors lived through the Reformation (which manifested itself a little differently in England than in the rest of Europe) so the holidays our Tudor friends would have had in 1590 were different than in 1510. Still, the major and most popular ones are included.
- Each week has an interesting Tudor fact that happened that week.
-
Music suggestions each month, and a link to a Spotify playlist so you can listen to Tallis while planning.
- All planners shipped through this IndieGoGo fundraiser will include a signed thank you postcard.
- Spiral binding allows the planner to lie flat.
- High quality 120gsm Golden Sun Uncoated Woodfree paper
- Shipped from Maryland, USA
- Created with love by a writer who has been sharing stories about history online for over 22 years.
- The Tudor Planner layouts run Monday to Sunday.
Benefits of being an early backer:
Of course there are intangibles - you'll have my deepest appreciation, and the good feeling that comes from supporting creative projects. But you'll also be among the first to receive the Tudor Planner when it arrives and ships.
Plus, the cost of the Tudor Planner will go up considerably after this funding period is over. The retail price is $39.95, and it will stay there until I discount any that are left in March, 2021.
Also, you'll guarantee that you get one. I print a limited amount, and previous years have sold out.
People Love the Tudor Planner!
![]()
Amazon reviews from previous years:
![]()
June 19 Quick Update (and stretch goals):
I'm completely blown away by the outpouring of support for the Tudor Planner, and I'm so incredibly grateful to everyone who supported the project so far! I wanted to add in a few stretch goals and bonuses as we enter the home stretch of the final 9 days!
First off, if we hit $30,000 all backers, no matter what level, will receive several Tudor themed printable to-do lists and daily planners that you can print out at home (or use on your device).
If we hit $35,000 all backers will also get a Tudor rose laptop sticker AND a pad of Tudor themed sticky notes.
If you haven't yet shared the project, please do so, and let's smash the stretch goals!
Meet Heather (aka the Backstory)
I've been writing and talking about history since 1991 when I started a summer job at a Revolutionary War museum when I was in high school. In 1998 I built my first history website, on Colonial America. And in 2009 I started the Renaissance English History Podcast, which makes it one of the longest continuously running indie history podcasts. Since then I've spoken about podcast community building at writers conferences, and at conferences including the Sound Education conference at Harvard.
In late 2016 I created the 2017 Tudor Planner, which was a mix of two of my favorite things - Tudors and planning! It's a weekly/monthly planner that brings together history with planning - something that I definitely need as a busy mom with a young kiddo. I've always loved planners, since I bought my first Ziggy assignment book in 1989 - I color coded my assignments with Crayola skinny markers in Bold colors.
Here's the cover from the 2017 Tudor Planner - the very first one:
![]()
It was one of those things that I wanted to create basically so that I could buy it. I thought it would be fun, and I might sell a few dozen. But that first one was way more successful than I ever imagined, and for the 2018 one, I worked with a custom printer. I've been working with the same printer since then, and this year I'm updating the design, and adding more planning tools and stickers.
The Tudor Planner is a gorgeous book that will lead to people wandering by your desk just to check it out, and will cause spontaneous conversations whenever you take it out :) Because each planner is a unique work of art. It's like having art, history, and planning all wrapped up in one. I mean, what else is there!?
This will be the 5th year that I've created the Tudor Planner, and I rely on these IndieGoGo fundraisers to pay for the printing and distribution - this is all an independent project that I do on my own - there is no publisher involved other than me. So I rely on your support to bring this planner to life each year.
![]()
Why I'm Running this IndieGoGo (aka, the expenses)
The main expense for the Planner is printing. But I am also updating the design of the pages this year, requiring the skill of a designer. Plus the cover image requires the purchase of a high res photo that can run into several hundred dollars, and a designer to make it all look great! Then there is warehousing the books at a location in Maryland, and that's where they are packaged and shipped from.
Every bit raised will be put towards that work, and the project will happen whether the goal is reached or not.
The perks I'm offering include all kinds of great stuff, including a digital-only copy of the planner, a new activity book on the Six Wives, gift cards from my shop (TudorFair.com), a podcast episode on a topic of your choice, and tickets to the 2021 Tudorcon (plus the 2020 Virtual Tudorcon). The planners themselves will be shipped around the end of November, in time for the holidays. This is also the lowest price that the planner will be until I discount whatever is left in March of 2021. So hop on now to get the best deal, AND Tudorific perks!
The Impact (I mean, WHY does anyone want a Tudor Planner?):
I'm going to be totally honest here, and share that I actually considered not doing the Tudor Planner this year. The world seems like it's going crazy - between the economy and the pandemic, plus killer hornets thrown in on top of it all. I mean, is anybody even interested in getting a Tudor Planner right now? I thought that maybe I would skip this year entirely. But I polled some listeners, and people on my mailing list, and what I found was that yes, people actually did still want a Tudor Planner! And as I thought more about it, I became more excited.
Because maybe now is actually the best time for a Tudor Planner. Maybe now it's more important than ever to connect with the people of the past - especially the Tudors who endured summer after summer of plague and sweating sickness and economic uncertainty - and find within that our common humanity. Maybe now, in the midst of a pandemic and political arguments, now is the time to find ourselves in the people who came before, in their stories, and sew a connection that spans centuries. And by doing that, we might be able to sew deeper connections within our own communities.
And then of course there's also the idea that when we manage our lives with a planner that helps keep everything organized, the chaos seems a little less scary.
So yes, it's a crazy time, and because of that I'm also adding in a special perk I've never done before, the Digital perk for those who want to support the project and get a Tudor Planner of their own, but just don't have the budget for the full copy right now. That perk will receive a digital copy of the planner that can be printed out at home, or imported into a note taking app like GoodNotes.
I always say that I'm a storyteller who makes history accessible because I believe it's a pathway to understanding who we are, our place in the universe, and being more deeply connected to our own humanity. And I try to do that in a physical way with the Tudor Planner each year.
That sounds pretty heavy for a planner, right? Who knew that a planner could have such a deep meaning? You just want to track your habits and remember your appointments. But for me, writing out our lives like that is actually kind of sacred, because who knows who will find it in several hundred years, and piece together stories of our own lives from the record we leave in our journals and calendars?
A couple of bonuses:
Every backer will receive access to two short courses I did a few years ago on Kick@ss Women in Tudor England as well as Pregnancy and Childbirth in Medieval and Tudor England. Many of you will already have access to those when I sent them out to the mailing list earlier this year, but if you are new to me and my work, they have been really well received, and were incredibly interesting to research. I'll send out the link each week to new backers.
I'll also send you the list to all the videos of previous Tudor Summits that I did, starting back in 2017. These were online events that happened every six months for two years featuring leading Tudor authors and historians. I don't do them anymore because of my focus on Tudorcon planning, but there are over 35 talks filled with everything from visiting Tudor London to digging deeper into Mary Tudor. Again, once a week I'll send out a PDF with all the links to all backers.
![]()
Risks & Challenges
This is the 5th time I've published a Tudor Planner, so things are a lot more clear now than they've been in the past, but there are always underlying risks. The printer could drop the ball, or the shipment could get delayed and stuck in customs. But since I'm using the same printer I've used for the past three years, and on pretty much the same schedule as before, I'm not anticipating any issues around that.
Of course, if you're not happy with the planner, I will do my best to make it right for you. Last year we had more printing errors than normal, and when I asked the printer about it, they told me they had switched to a different plant because demand was high. They assured me that this year they will be back in the original plant, so those errors shouldn't happen. We did send replacement copies to anyone who found an error.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can't contribute (or you just don't really care about planners, but you want to support the podcast anyway) I would love any and all shares of this campaign! Let's get the word out to other Tudor history lovers - or planner lovers who also love history! - and let everyone know that the world just got a LOT more Tudorific, and they can add a dash of history to their lives every day of the year with the 2021 Tudor Planner!
Thank you so much for taking the time to consider supporting the Tudor Planner, and for those of you who do support it, I want to add an extra big Thank You.
Yours in Tudor Love,
Heather