One Week Down, Two to Go!
over 4 years ago
– Wed, Aug 14, 2019 at 08:47:41 PM
Thank you for your support of Winter's Tale. Children's publishing is a new venture for Twelfth Planet Press, and we're delighted that so many of you are joining us on this voyage!
One week down, two to go. Please signal boost as far and wide as you can if you want to see more books like this in the world.
We've updated the rewards quite a bit over the last few days, with some new and exciting additions. In particular, we are launching a set of 4 art stickers which will be based on Shauna's vivid illustrations from the books -- and we'll reveal which illustrations as the campaign continues.
The first sticker reveal will be at 100 backers! All levels at $75 and above will include a sticker set, and they are also available at a $10 level with the pdf. You'll be able to order these as add-ons in Backerkit if we fund.
We've also added some more of Terri's gorgeous etched glassware into the mix, including a special gift level where you get a glass tumbler featuring one of Shauna's illustrations (I want the hare!), and an EXTRA FANCY top tier featuring a carafe and drinking glass set, plus many other goodies.
This book is dear to our hearts here at Twelfth Planet Press, because we strongly believe that it's vital right now to put books into the hands of kids that represent the gender diversity of the world around them. Our Titania imprint was set up specifically to support inclusive stories for young readers. We want kids to pick our books up and see themselves and their friends and siblings reflected there -- happy, loved, and supported.
Read what Nike and Shauna have to say about Winter's personality, gender identity, and all the other aspects that went into depicting them as a complex, layered central character.
Nike Sulway, Author:
"Winter is a nonbinary person, and it was clear from the moment they arrived in my imagination, and on the page, that they were going to refuse any effort by me (or anyone else) to have them choose a gender identity that was more familiar for me, but uncomfortable — the wrong fit — for them.
"I think the challenges were less about the fairly straightforward grammatical challenges of using gender-neutral pronouns than about thinking very compassionately and thoughtfully about what Winter’s experiences of themself were. How this young person, who has found themselves shuttled from family to family within a caring but inadequate foster care system, knows who they are but struggles to be seen, accepted an ultimately loved by others. How they seek to communicate with a world that is uncomfortable with their refusal to conform to our pre-conceived and narrow ideas about how a child (how a person) should express their gender. Partly, if anything, the challenge lay not just in showing what Winter was like, but showing how easy it was for Winter’s new family, teachers, and friends to relate to Winter in meaningful ways.
"I wanted to write sensitively, subtly, but explicitly about Winter’s gender identity. I wanted it to be a part of their identity, but not their whole identity. Winter is also a person who likes skateboarding, and supports the Rabbitohs. Someone who likes peanut butter on their pancakes and is both curious about the world, and a little anxious when faced with how confusing and complex that world can be."
Shauna O'Meara, Illustrator:
"While Winter is an agender person, I did not design their look with this as my sole consideration. After all, an agender character can appear masculine or feminine or both or neither anywhere along the spectrum of gender presentation. So while, for clarity purposes, I did work on a principle of whether I as the artist could tell whether I had inadvertently skewed Winter’s design in favour of one gender or another, for me, Winter’s personal background probably had a much greater impact upon their design, including their hair and clothing style.
"Winter is a child of foster homes who by the time this story takes place has already been moved on from several family situations that have not panned out. They have had setbacks and disappointments and while they are still hopeful of finding a family and open to new opportunities, they have also been forced to erect guards around their heart lest past disappointments repeat. With this history in mind, I felt Winter would have an air of self-reliance and street-smartness about them mixed with pain and vulnerability, overlaid with a childlike wonder for the peculiar world they find themselves inhabiting.
"The final aspect of Winter’s character that should not be forgotten is that they are heir to the hare in the moon. For this reason, I coloured Winter’s hair and the moon in the same shade of yellow. And if you look closely, you will see that Winter’s shadows are not a darker version of the colour of their skin as seen in all the other characters, but the faintest shade of hare blue."
