A Wonderful Midsummer Event

Hi Everyone:

I hope you all are having a sunny spring. It’s lovely here in Indiana. 

I wanted to give you an update on how the money situation is going at EC. It’s much better, thanks to some incredibly generous giving on Patreon and through gifts received through PayPal. 

We can use more, though. As of now, if people continue with their pledges, we are getting nearly half of our monthly costs paid for by patrons. Amazing! Amanda, Molly, Kelly and I are all so grateful! Because of this generosity, we will be able to purchase a few extra bonus stories this year. (You don’t apply to have your work chosen as a bonus, it just happens through the usual process.) Bonus stories and poems earn the writer the same amount of money as everyone else: $50 each.

We can afford even more if you each give just a little! And to show you just how much you can benefit from being a patron, through Patreon, by rebating some money as a chosen writer for the site, or by giving through PayPal, you’ll be eligible to take part in the following special event. 

Remember, every dollar donated goes to making the site better and offering more opportunities to poets and writers. I do not benefit from EC financially at all.

Here goes:

I was in the process of creating a Facebook group for patrons, and dragging my heels for several reasons—not liking how Facebook has affected global discourse is just one of them. But the biggest reason was that EC already has a terrific fairy tale art focused group! With over 200 members, and growing daily, Classic Fairy Tale Illustrations is a great place to post pictures and talk about fairy tales. We don’t need another one. But those of you on Facebook, please consider joining if you haven’t already. You can post your own favorite classic fairy tale and myth illustrations as well as chat about the illustrations and fairy tales. Just ask to join, and you’ll be in.

But...

Instead of the Patreon Facebook group, we will have a seasonal virtual event. We’ll do a Zoom party for the Summer Solstice as the first one. People can read pieces of their fairy tale or mythic poetry or snippets of their short stories. Those who are just fans can read from their favorites. You don’t need to write anything. We can have a kind of fairy tale celebration. It won’t be a workshop, just fun, and you can participate as much or as little as you like. The work you pick can be from any fairy tale topic or focus. You can also just be an audience member—you can even stay mute and not show your face on video!

This idea is the result of a marvelous Zoom poetry event Kim Malinowski hosted on April 28. It was such fun! So, to be clear, I am ripping off Kim’s event. Thank you to Kim!

This will only be open to patrons at all levels. From

$1 a month to $7 a month. However, because this a reward, it means no patronage, no participation. This is a reward, after all. People who have recently given through PayPal are also eligible, as are writers who rebated EC some money from their payments. (If you’d like to give through PayPal or want to discuss a donation with me, just email me at katewolford1@gmail.com, or send a direct PayPal donation to ecsub2016@gmail.com.)

And there’s one more surprise: The fabulous Amanda Bergloff has created a set of printable bookmarks, just for the Summer Solstice event. Only participants receive them, and if you print them out on card stock, and cut the excess paper off, they will be sturdy bookmarks!

I’ve put a sample of the four beautiful bookmarks here, but I’ve blurred them so they won’t interfere with the big reveal at the Summer Solstice. But the real bookmarks will be crystal clear and very colorful!

Things are going well at EC, let’s keep the money momentum going.

Stay Enchanted,

Kate Wolford 

Editor-in-Chief