Making the world a safer place for women and girls... geek style!
The Pixel Project is a global, virtual volunteer-led nonprofit working to raise
awareness, funds, and volunteer power for the cause to end violence against
women worldwide through global online campaigns that combine the power of the
internet, social media, new technologies, and pop culture/the arts.
The
“Read For Pixels” 2015 (Fall Edition) campaign features live readings+Q&A
Google Hangout sessions with 12 award-winning bestselling authors in support of
the cause to end violence against women. Participating authors include Tad
Williams, Colleen Gleason, Kimberly Derting, Jonathan Maberry, Andrea Cremer,
Rick Yancey, Kate Elliott, Leigh Bardugo, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Scott Sigler,
Jim C. Hines, and Meg Cabot.
These
awesome authors have donated exclusive goodies to the “Read For
Pixels” Indiegogo fundraiser to encourage fans and book lovers to give
generously to the Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign. Additional
goodies come from Penguin’s Berkeley/NAL imprint and HarperCollins' HarperTeen imprint.
The
Pixel Reveal campaign aims to raise $1 million to be shared between The Pixel
Project and the USA’s National Coalition Against Domestic Violence to keep our
respective campaigns and programs alive and kicking butt in the fight to end
violence against women. Check out how the funds raised (including your
donation) will be used here: http://reveal.thepixelproject.net/the-campaign/project-breakdowns/
The
Pixel Reveal campaign aims to reach the $1 million fundraising goal by rallying
the global audience to collectively unveil a one million pixel mystery collage
of world-exclusive celebrity male role model portraits online. Every dollar
donated will reveal 1 pixel. As more pixels are revealed, the cover picture
will fade out to uncover the portraits underneath it. Our distinguished line-up
of male role models includes a Nobel Laureate, a Pulitzer Prize Winner, and a
world-renowned environmentalist.
Once
this Indiegogo fundraiser is completed and all donations received and toted up,
our team will unlock the corresponding number of pixels covering the mystery
portrait collage. So if we only get the meaning of life ($42), we will unveil
42 pixels. If we meet and exceed our modest starter goal of $5000 (which the
authors and us darn well hope so!), we’ll unlock 5000 pixels... or more.
Read
For Pixels fundraisers on Indiegogo have collectively raised $11,796 (11,796 pixels) to date, so please
donate generously to help us unlock more pixels! Don’t you wanna know who the
first male role model is?
The Glorious Geek-tastic Goodies
Ready
to get your mitts on some seriously cool treats and experiences
courtesy of your favourite authors?
With
the support and generosity of all Read For Pixels authors, we have a ton of GEEK-A-LICIOUS
goodies to give away as donor perks for geeks, fans, and supporters to claim. The
pile of goodies is so AWESOME that we'll be releasing them in waves with new
goodies added to the list of donor perks every few days!
All perks come bundled with a virtual toolkit of resources to help donors learn about violence against women, how to kickstart conversations about stopping the violence in their communities, and what donors can do if their family, friends, or anyone else they know is facing domestic violence or rape.
Here is
the 4th wave of goodies on offer:
(A) Contests! Contests! Contests!
As we sail past our initial $5,000 goal, enter the final 2 weeks of this fundraiser, and head towards our $10,000 stretch goal, we - in collaboration with 2 Read For Pixels authors - are kicking off two (2) different contests with AWESOME rewards for donors:
Contest #1: Jim C. Hines's Operation Cover Pose 2015 Voting Contest
In 2012, Hugo Award-winning Fantasy author Jim C. Hines wanted to tackle the issue of how women are portrayed on book covers and “how saturated we were with imagery that emphasized women as sexual objects at the expense of power, agency, realism, and so on.” To provoke discussion in a positive way and raise funds for charity, Jim, with the help of his wife, took pictures of himself hilariously contorting his body to recreate some of the female book cover poses. For example:
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Now, Jim will do one (1) custom gender-flipped cover pose to encourage the Science Fiction & Fantasy community to support our efforts to reach our $10,000 stretch goal.
All donors who contribute to the campaign between October 5th - November 1st 2015 will be emailed the link to the voting page to vote on one of three book cover poses. The cover post with the most votes will be the one that Jim will, in his own words, duplicate “no matter what the cost in pain or chiropractic bills” once $10,000 has been reached.
BONUS: If we zoom past $10,000 and reach $15,000 by or before November 1st 2015, we’ll open the remaining two cover poses for voting and Jim will do a
SECOND custom gender-flipped cover pose together with New York Times bestselling author Chuck Wendig! POSE-OFF, AHOY!
Contest #2: The Kimberly Derting "Minor Character" Contest
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We and international bestselling author Kimberly Derting are are jointly inviting fans and supporters to use the power of unique Indiegogo referrals to help us spread the word about the Read For Pixels fundraiser via social media to help us reach our $10,000 fundraising stretch goal.
The contestant whose referrals amass the biggest amount of donations by the time the fundraiser closes at 11.59pm PST, November 1st 2015 will be immortalised as a minor character in Kimberly’s next book.
The contest will be open to everyone worldwide. Anyone can join at any point while the contest is open between 6.00am PST October 5th – 11.59pm PST November 1st 2015. Just get a free Indiegogo account, donate at least $5.00 via the special contest perk listing so we can log your participation, and you're off to the races!
For more information on how to join the contest, visit
the contest page.
(B) Get immortalised as a character in an author’s book! We all love
immersing ourselves in the wondrously imaginative and addictive worlds of our
favourite authors. So 4 of our "Read For Pixels" authors have donated
a chance to either become a character in their next book (or comic book) or
have a character in their next book named after them! 4 of our “Read For
Pixels” authors have each donated one of these rare treats.
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Here are the current opportunity available:
(C) Exclusive author goodies. LOTS of exclusive author goodies. Signed books, exclusive swag bags and more. There's something for everyone:
Lots of special or first editions, book sets, and swag such as t-shirts and
pins ready to go!
Here's pictorial/video proof of perks currently available:
If you’re a budding author who is in the middle of polishing your skills and writing your yet-to-be-published novels, international bestselling author Kimberly Derting is happy to read and critique a 1,000 word excerpt from your work-in-progress OR your query letter that’s due to go out to agents and editors.
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Wallpaper your screen with kickass heroines! As a token of appreciation for our small donors, we have put together an exclusive set of Read For Pixels wallpapers featuring 4 book covers of some of today's coolest female characters from the books of Elizabeth Bear, Jaye Wells, Seanan McGuire, and Yasmine Galenorn. These are available to donors worldwide. Here's a sneak peek of one of 'em:
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Book covers are courtesy of:
The Winter Song - DAW Books, Chris McGrath (artist); Panther Prowling - Yasmine Galenorn; Karen Memory - Elizabeth Bear, Cynthia Sheppard (artist); Deadly Spells - Orbit Books .
(D) Original Stories Just For You!
Every
book lover dreams of the day when their favourite author would pen a story just
for them (or a very small, select group of folks including them) and through
Read For Pixels, a few authors are keen to make this dream come for some
generous donors.
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Acclaimed Science Fiction & Fantasy author Kate Elliott will write a Drabble (100-word story) for donors on the prompt of their choosing. The Drabble will be set in one of her story worlds (which the donor will get to choose). This handwritten story treat will be available to only three (3) donors, so donate your $150 quick and grab it while it's still available! (Available for donors worldwide).
- Kate Elliott will also write a piece of flash fiction for fans who crave a longer original story written just for them on a prompt of their choosing. The story will come in at just under 1,000 words and will be set in one of her story worlds (which the donor will get to choose). This handwritten gem of a treat will only be available for one (1) donor. So donation your $500 ASAP to get hold of it! (Available for donors worldwide).
-
Colleen Gleason, New York
Times bestselling author of the STOKER & HOLMES series will
compose a handwritten 500-word story
for one (1) generous donor and send it straight to them. In other words – a
story for your eyes only! (Available for donors in the U.S./Canada).
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Calling all Guy Gavriel Kay fans! Due to popular
demand, we’re giving GGK readers another chance to get hold of two Drabbles (100-word stories) that Guy has written exclusively to help raise
funds for the cause via the Read For Pixels campaign. One takes place after the
conclusion of his SARANTINE MOSAIC, two novels inspired by 6th century
Byzantium. Because this has an implicit ‘spoiler’ effect for those who haven’t
read the books, he is also offering a Drabble that takes place before the
opening of THE SUMMER TREE, the first volume in his high fantasy trilogy, THE
FIONAVAR TAPESTRY. There is a motif that links both Drabbles.
Perks Are Like Potato Chips - You can't just have one...
For
those of you who have never taken part in an IndieGoGo fundraiser, you can have
as many perks as you’re willing to donate for! You don’t have to limit yourself
to just one perk but you have to remember:
- Do
each as a separate transaction.
- It’s
“first come, first served”, especially for the rarer items and experiences!
- Some
perks are only available for donors in the U.S.
No credit card, only PayPal? Just head to the alternative Read For Pixels donation page at
http://is.gd/R4PRazoo2015 to donate using PayPal. Donations there begin at as little as $10. All donors there receive a set of Read For Pixels wallpapers.
After
the campaign closes, we’ll make arrangements with the authors to send the
books/postcards directly to you or to set up a time for your Skype chat, make
further arrangements for the critique session etc. If we need to collect
information from you, we’ll contact you for it once the campaign has ended.
We'll keep you updated with the progress of things as the fundraiser goes on,
and afterwards.
We and
the authors will collectively do our very best to make sure that:
- All
tangible perks will be delivered before Christmas (barring delays caused by postal
services, publication dates of certain books etc).
- All
intangible perks (like Skype calls etc) will have their arrangements set up
between the author and the donor claiming the perk.
The Impact Your Support Makes
Your
support will help make an impact on 3 levels:
Level 1 - Helping efforts to shift the Global
Perspective on Violence Against Women:
Through
the Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign (and its supporting
campaigns like Read For Pixels), we are working to accelerate the end of
Violence Against Women (VAW) by re-characterizing it from a “women’s issue” to
the human rights issue that it really is. VAW impacts families and communities
regardless of gender. Men may be responsible for most violent acts against
women, but decent, non-violent men far outnumber them and have largely remained
silent on the issue. For VAW to end, these men need to be involved in efforts
to end the violence.
The
Pixel Reveal campaign intends to do just that by triggering conversations about
VAW worldwide and inspiring men and boys to take action to stop VAW in their
communities.
Level 2 - Keeping anti-Violence Against Women
work alive and kicking, grassroots style!
Violence
Against Women is a cause that is chronically underfunded despite the global
severity of the issue.
The $1
million we are aiming to raise via the Pixel Reveal campaign will be shared
between The Pixel Project and the U.S.'s National Coalition Against Domestic
Violence.
It'll
help keep both organisations's respective anti-Violence Against Women campaigns,
programs, and projects alive and thriving.
Here's
the complete breakdown of how the funds raised will be used:
http://reveal.thepixelproject.net/the-campaign/project-breakdowns/
Level 3 - Helping Reach Your Communities To
Get The Conversation Started
We've
listened to many folks over the years who wish to help stop the violence but
don't know where to begin.
Therefore,
as part of the outreach efforts of "Read For Pixels", we'll be
providing all "Read For Pixels" donors with a special virtual toolkit
- a set of links to resources for you to learn more about violence against
women, how to start the conversation in your communities (and with the men and
boys in your communities), and how to help victims and survivors of domestic
violence and rape.
Other Ways You Can Help
We know
not everyone presently has the means to donate to this campaign. We completely
understand that. There are a few other ways you can help us out:
- Spread
the word far and wide. Tell your family. Tell your friends. Tell your neighbours.
Post on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest. Shout it from the rooftops
with a megaphone. Heck - send it out by Morse code!
- Read
up on the work that we do at The Pixel Project. Read up on the work that our
partner, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence does. If it helps
inspire you to save up for our next fundraiser in our journey towards $1
million dollars raised and 1 million pixels revealed, we'll accept that too.
