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Restless Books: Reading is Resistance

Help sustain a nonprofit champion of internationalism, immigrant culture, and great literature!

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Restless Books: Reading is Resistance

Restless Books: Reading is Resistance

Restless Books: Reading is Resistance

Restless Books: Reading is Resistance

Restless Books: Reading is Resistance

Help sustain a nonprofit champion of internationalism, immigrant culture, and great literature!

Help sustain a nonprofit champion of internationalism, immigrant culture, and great literature!

Help sustain a nonprofit champion of internationalism, immigrant culture, and great literature!

Help sustain a nonprofit champion of internationalism, immigrant culture, and great literature!

Nathan Rostron
Nathan Rostron
Nathan Rostron
Nathan Rostron
1 Campaign |
Brooklyn, United States
$12,428 USD 122 backers
62% of $20,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Overview
At Restless Books, we’re passionate about championing internationalism, diversity, immigrant culture, and extraordinary writing from unexpected viewpoints. At a time when borders are closing, walls are going up, and people who look or speak differently are met with fear and suspicion, we believe reading and publishing this work is a vital act of resistance. Now that we’ve become a nonprofit, you—our readers and supporters—play an essential role in keeping reading global.

Reading is Resistance: help Restless Books champion diversity, immigrant culture, global voices, and great books—when we need them most!

Restless Books is a newly nonprofit, independent publisher devoted to stories that speak to us across linguistic and cultural borders. In a few short years, we’ve published celebrated English editions of eye-opening work from places as diverse as Cuba, Malaysia, Madagascar, Iceland, Pakistan, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Russia, Israel, and many more. In 2015, we launched the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing to celebrate the rich contributions to culture immigrants make. And now, at a time when anti-global, anti-diversity, anti-literary forces are growing, we are determined to resist—by amplifying voices that are suppressed or neglected and expanding our understanding of the world through fearless international publishing. Your help is essential in keeping the reading resistance strong!

 

 

We need your help to become a sustainable nonprofit

At the turn of 2017, Restless solidified our longstanding commitment to immigrant culture and diverse global literature by becoming a nonprofit. That status allows us to make new connections among authors, readers, and patrons of the arts. It means we can prioritize literary excellence and our global ethos over the dictates of the market. Nonprofit funding, however, takes time to develop, and in the meantime, we need your help.

Many of our indie publishing heroes have found success under a nonprofit model, such as Graywolf Press, The New Press, Archipelago Books, and Coffee House Press. These publishers have cyclical fundraising through government and corporate grants, foundation support, and individual donors. Restless is now incorporated as a nonprofit at the state level and we are awaiting 501(c)3 status from the IRS, which will allow us to apply for more grants and accept tax-deductible gifts. To tide us over during the four to six months the application takes to process, we’ve turned to Indiegogo to reach readers directly and sidestep the red tape while our own fundraising cycle kicks into gear.  

 

Your support will make a real impact!

Your contribution will support phenomenal international authors and translators and help them connect them with readers eager to hear their voices. You'll benefit some exciting new and ongoing projects as well:

Think of the last time you discovered something wonderful, surprising, eye-opening, or even life-changing on the page. You can help recreate that experience for countless others by helping Restless Books thrive. Come on and join the reading resistance!

 

The economics

Until we find the next Elena Ferrante, Roberto Bolaño, or Karl Ove Knausgaard, we're operating on a relatively small scale, which presents its own challenges. Smaller print runs are more expensive per-copy to produce and yield modest revenue. On the indie scale, even books that sell out their print runs end up breaking even. With nonprofit funding, we can ensure authors, translators, and staff are properly compensated, and we can continue to take editorial risks and publish creatively and ambitiously. 

 

What you get

In addition to earning our undying gratitude and the tremendous feeling of supporting international authors and translators, every supporter of our Indiegogo campaign will get a shout-out on a special page of our website. And we've got some other fun ways of saying thank you....

 

Reading is Resistance swag—choose from two logos

 

 

Signed books from one-of-a-kind authors

Yoss: rock star of Cuban Science Fiction

 

Alejandro Jodorowsky: legendary filmmaker, Tarot master, spiritual guru, and novelist

 

Oddny Eir: a Björk collaborator's erotic and philosophical autofiction

 

Copies of The Face—signed for you personally by the author!

 

Ruth Ozeki

 

Chris Abani

 

Tash Aw

 

International Jewish fiction hardcover set

 

Together we can make it happen!

In our few years of learning and growing, our “restless” energy has brought our small publishing operation some full-sized success and accolades:

The Wall Street Journal named György Spiró’s Captivity one of the 10 Best Fiction Books of 2015

Yoram Kaniuk’s Between Life and Death was a finalist for the PEN Translation Prize

Deepak Unnikrishnan’s Temporary People was named a top-ten summer book club pick by the American Bookseller Association

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Where the Bird Sings Best was named one of the Best Books of 2015 by NPR

Tash Aw’s The Face was excerpted in The New Yorker and named a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose

Cuban science fiction author Yoss was profiled in The New York Times

With your help, there will be so much more great bookish things to come. 

 

Other ways you can help

 

Read the books:

Visit our bookstore for the latest and greatest international reads.

 

Spread the word:

Tell your friends, share the campaign, tweet, post, instagram, blog, shout, dance, etc!

 

Stay tuned:

Sign up for our Newsletter, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and check out our blog for updates.

 

Our team

Ilan Stavans, Publisher

 

Nathan Rostron, Editor and Marketing Director

 

Brinda Ayer, Managing Editor

 

Jack Saul, Assistant Editor

 

Alicia Lopez, Editorial Assistant

 

Annette Hochstein, Editor-at-Large

 

Gaby Flores, Intern

 

Rafaela Bassili, Intern

 

Sabine Kwan, Intern

 

Delia Davis, Intern

 

Sophia Ramos, Intern

 

Our authors, translators, and contributors

Our growing list of authors, translators, and artists from around the world:

CHRIS ABANI, Author, Nigeria

JALAL AL-E AHMAD, Author, Iran

JON LEE ANDERSON, Introducer, United States

LAURA ATWOOD DURAN, Author, United States

TASH AW, Author, Malaysia 

JIMMY SANTIAGO BACA, Poet, United States

THOMAS BUNSTEAD, Translator, United Kingdom 

SEAN GASPER BYE, Translator, United States

NICK CAISTOR, Translator, United Kingdom

MIGUEL DE CERVANTES, Author, Spain

ROBERT CHANDLER, Translator, United Kingdom

ALLISON M. CHARETTE, Translator, United States

RICARDO PIGLIA, Author, Argentina

LAURA C. DAIL, Translator, United Kingdom

SIMIN DANESHVAR, Author, Iran

ISAAC DIGGS, Author, United States

PAQUITO D'RIVERA, Author, Cuba

W. E. B. DU BOIS, Author, United States

ODDNÝ EIR, Author, Iceland

EKO, Illustrator, Mexico 

ALISON ENTREKIN, Translator, Australia

CAROL ERMAKOVA, Translator, United Kingdom 

WILL EVANS, Translator, United States

MUSHARRAF ALI FAROOQI, Author, Pakistan

CARLOS FONSECA, Author, Costa Rica/United Kingdom

DAVID FRYE, Translator, United Kingdom

SILVANA GANDOLFI, Author, Italy

ARNO GEIGER, Author, Austria

HILLEL HALKIN, Translator, United States/Israel

SHULAMITH HAREVEN, Author, Poland/Israel

GITHA HARIHARAN, Author, India

BARBARA HARSHAV, Translator, United States

EDWARD HILLEL, Author, United States

MAREK S. HUBERATH, Author, Poland

HAMID ISMAILOV, Author, Uzbekistan/United Kingdom

ALEJANDRO JODOROWSKY, Author, Chile

MICHAEL KANDEL, Translator, United States

YORAM KANIUK, Author, Israel/United States

OLEG KASHIN, Author, Russia/Switzerland

JEFFREY LAWRENCE, Translator, United States

JOANNA KAVENNA, Introducer, United Kingdom

ALFRED MACADAM, Translator, United States

RICHARD MARNIER, Author, France

AUDE MAUREL, Illustrator, France

MEGAN MCDOWELL, Translator, United States/Chile

ROSARIO MORENO, Translator, Cuba

NAIVO, Author, Madagascar

ANDRÉS NEUMAN, Author, Argentina/Spain

VANN R. NEWKIRK II, Introducer, United States

TAL NITZÁN, Author, Israel

ACHY OBEJAS, Translator, Cuba/United States

JOHN ORMSBY, Translator, United Kingdom

RUTH OZEKI, Author, Canada/United States

ORLANDO LUIS PARDO LAZO, Author, Cuba

MARY JO PORTER, Translator, United States

HEBE POWELL, Translator, United Kingdom

FRANCINE PROSE, Introducer, United States

STEVE PRINCE, Illustrator, United States

SANTHA RAMA RAU, Author, India/United States

AGUSTÍN DE ROJAS, Author, Cuba

PHILIP ROUGHTON, Translator, United States/Iceland

SAMUEL RUTTER, Translator, Australia/United States

KIRA SALAK, Author, United States/Germany

CRISTINA SÁNCHEZ-ANDRADE, Author, Spain

ARSHIA SATTAR, Author, India/United States

LAWRENCE SCHIMEL, Author, United States/Spain

MAX SEDDON, Introducer, Germany

MARY SHELLEY, Author, United Kingdom

DAVID SHOOK, Translator, Mexico/United States

ANA SIMO, Author, Cuba/United States

LAVINIA SPALDING, Introducer, United States

GYÖRGY SPIRÓ, Author, Hungary

FILIP SPRINGER, Author, Poland

ILAN STAVANS, Publisher, Introducer, & Video Lecturer, Mexico/United States

WENDY STEINER, Video Lecturer, United States

PACO IGNACIO TAIBO II, Author, Spain/Mexico

VÍCTOR TERÁN, Author, Mexico

SAMUEL THROPE, Translator, United States/Israel

STEFAN TOBLER, Translator, Brazil/United Kingdom

FERNANDA TORRES, Author, Brazil

FRANCES TROLLOPE, Author, United Kingdom

DEEPAK UNNIKRISHNAN, Author, United Arab Emirates/United States

CARLOS VELÁZQUEZ, Author, Mexico

JUAN VILLORO, Author, Mexico

EDITH WHARTON, Author, United States

SARA WHEELER, Introducer, United Kingdom

TIM WILKINSON, Translator, United Kingdom

MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT, Author, United Kingdom

XIAO HAI, Author, China

YOSS, Author, Cuba

ADRIAN NATHAN WEST, Translator, Spain/United States 

ZHU YU, Translator, China

JORGE ZEPEDA PATTERSON, Author, Mexico

SONALI ZOHRA, Illustrator, India

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Choose your Perk

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Reading is Resistance Swag Bag

$150 USD
Get all the Reading is Resistance swag: a tote bag, T-shirt, sticker, and a surprise Restless book we think you'll love.
Included Items
  • Reading is Resistance t-shirt
  • Reading is Resistance tote
  • Website thank you
  • Reading is Resistance sticker
  • A surprise Restless book
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
4 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Thank you! ¡Gracias! !תודה

$10 USD
Thank you for your support—every little bit helps! We'll add your name to an honor roll of supporters on our website (anonymous donations also welcome). This perk is included at every donation level.
Included Items
  • Website thank you
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
3 claimed

Reading is Resistance sticker

$20 USD
Get the #ReadingisResistance fanged book logo printed on a 3" x 3" sticker.
Included Items
  • Website thank you
  • Reading is Resistance sticker
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
11 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Indie bookseller reading recs

$25 USD
Get an exclusive list of reading recommendations from one of our favorite indie booksellers! Choose one of the fabulous booksellers from our campaign video to select books just for you.
Included Items
  • Indie bookseller reading recs
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
1 claimed

Reading is Resistance T-Shirt

$50 USD
Join the reading resistance with this chic black T-shirt bearing one of two fearsome #readingisresistance logos! Available in your size.
Included Items
  • Reading is Resistance t-shirt
  • Website thank you
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
15 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Resistance tote + book

$50 USD
Pack some literary heat with this handy bag complete with one of two Reading is Resistance logos. Your tote comes with a surprise Restless book!
Included Items
  • Reading is Resistance tote
  • Website thank you
  • A surprise Restless book
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
17 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Oddny Eir/LAND OF LOVE—signed

$50 USD
Oddny Eir’s LAND OF LOVE AND RUINS reads like the Icelandic lovechild of Sheila Heti and Maggie Nelson. Get a copy signed by the author, whom her friend and collaborator Björk calls “an authentic author, philosopher and mystic.”
Included Items
  • Signed Oddny Eir—LAND OF LOVE
  • Website thank you
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
3 out of 15 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Restless Classics poster

$60 USD
Get a high-quality 3' x 2' blow-up poster of one of the gorgeous covers for our series of reissued classics: DON QUIXOTE, THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK, or FRANKENSTEIN.
Included Items
  • Website thank you
  • Restless Classics poster
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
0 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Yoss' XXL sci-fi—signed

$75 USD
Have you ever wondered what it's like to be an intergalactic veterinarian tasked with scouring the innards of gigantic space creatures? Wonder no more! Cuban sci-fi rock star and trained biologist Yoss takes readers on a riotous, extrazoological tour in SUPER EXTRA GRANDE—and a rare signed copy could be yours!
Included Items
  • Signed Yoss—SUPER EXTRA GRANDE
  • Website thank you
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
1 out of 11 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Yoss' A PLANET FOR RENT—signed

$75 USD
Get a rare signed copy of Cuban sci-fi legend Yoss's English-language debut! VICE says, "This hilarious and imaginative novel by Cuba's premiere science-fiction writer... imagines a world where Earth is run as a tourist destination by capitalist aliens who have little regard for the planet or its inhabitants... a perfect SF satire for our era."
Included Items
  • Website thank you
  • Signed Yoss—A PLANET FOR RENT
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
1 out of 5 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Ozeki, Abani, or Aw — signed

$75 USD
In THE FACE series, some of our favorite writers offers unique perspectives on race, culture, identity, and the human experience via the stories embedded in their own faces. Choose Ruth Ozeki's, Chris Abani's, or Tash Aw's short memoir called THE FACE, and they will sign it for you personally!
Included Items
  • Website thank you
  • Signed Ozeki/Abani/Aw—THE FACE
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
3 out of 100 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

International Jewish fiction

$80 USD
Get three now-rare, beautifully designed hardcovers from our international Jewish literature series: Alejandro Jodorowsky's saga of his family's emigration from the Ukraine to Chile, WHERE THE BIRD SINGS BEST; Gyorgy Spiro's monumental novel of Jewish life in ancient Rome, CAPTIVITY; and Yoram Kaniuk's haunting final novel, BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH.
Included Items
  • Website thank you
  • Jewish hardcover fiction set
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
1 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Jodorowsky's ALBINA—signed

$125 USD
The LA Review of Books calls it “characteristically indescribable,” but we might describe Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ALBINA AND THE DOG-MEN as a hybrid of spaghetti Western, mystical folktale, werewolf horror story, and Jodorowskyesque fable. A literary treat unlike any you've ever read, and a rare signed copy from an infamous cult outsider artist.
Included Items
  • Signed Jodorowsky—ALBINA
  • Website thank you
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
0 out of 7 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Jodorowsky's BIRD—signed

$150 USD
John and Yoko discovered him. Kanye called him "A prophet of creativity." His unmade Dune paved the way for Alien and Star Wars. But while Alejandro Jodorowsky's surreal, epic films turned him into a cult hero, his autobiographical epic WHERE THE BIRD SINGS BEST is equally glorious and insane. We've got a handful of signed copies just for you.
Included Items
  • Signed Jodorowsky—BIRD
  • Website thank you
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
0 out of 10 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

A Year of Restless Books

$200 USD
Get a year's supply of far-flung literature delivered to your door! We'll will send you a new title from our list once a month for a year—along with the occasional extra surprise. Pick the books you want, or let us pick for you.
Included Items
  • A Year of Restless Books
  • Website thank you
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
1 claimed
Ships worldwide.

Original Poem by Tal Nitzán

$250 USD
The recipient of numerous awards, including the Women Writers’ Prize and the Prime Minister's Prize for Writers, Tal Nitzán told our publisher Ilan Stavans in an interview that she dreams in Hebrew – a language she calls “ideal for poetry.” Enter Tal’s dreamy world of essential sensibility by getting an original poem in English and Hebrew!
Included Items
  • Poem in Hebrew & English
Estimated Shipping
September 2017
0 out of 2 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Dinner with Ilan Stavans

$500 USD
Join Restless Books publisher—and polymathic and prolific author, editor, translator, Latino culture scholar, beloved Amherst College literature professor, and public intellectual—Ilan Stavans for a dinner in New York in the fall, for some wonderful food and conversation about books and the world at large. (Travel not included.)
Included Items
  • Website thank you
  • Dinner with Ilan Stavans
Estimated Shipping
October 2017
0 out of 5 of claimed

Sponsor a Restless Book

$1,500 USD
Take the lead in funding the acquisition, translation, and publication of a future Restless title, and be in close communication with the Restless team at every step in the process. Your contribution will be memorialized on the copyright page of the book for posterity.
Included Items
  • Website thank you
  • Sponsor a Restless book
Estimated Shipping
January 2018
2 claimed

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