RPG Creator Relief Fund Achieves 501(3) Status and a Look Ahead

RPG Creators Relief FundIf you recall, you might remember that I’m part of the RPG Creator Relief Fund. I’ve got great news! This year, we achieved 501(3) status and this will help the charity grow in the future to help other creators in dire need. Plus, if you’re looking for charities to donate to, your contributions are tax deductible.

Today, I’d like to share a statement from Sean Patrick Fannon, our Communications Director.

RPG Creator Relief Fund Entering 2017

Greetings to all of you who love RPGs and the folks who make them! There’s no arguing that 2016, while a fantastic year in terms of RPG releases and the immense creativity behind them, was a bit rough on a lot of folks who make this their vocation. Injuries, illnesses, and serious financial setbacks hit a lot of great folks, and still others are facing major challenges in the days, weeks, and months to come.

This is exactly why we created the Roleplaying Game Creators Relief Fund. Inspired by such great efforts as the Hero Initiative, we wanted to put together a way to help RPG writers, artists, editors, and other creative folks who work professionally in this field to gain help through tough times. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization, we need as much help as RPG fans can give us in order to fill the Fund with assets that can be called on when needed.

We experienced a lot of success this year, but we plan to do much more in 2017 and beyond. We’ll be creating more great bundles for you to purchase, with the proceeds going to the Fund. As well, we’ve got some special, exclusive projects in the works, designed specifically for the RCRF to generate much-needed money to give those in need.

We’re also exploring charity drive initiatives, such as auctions at conventions; live-cast gaming feeds; gaming group challenges; and other creative and energetic concepts to motivate the RPG community to help those who make the games and worlds we all love.

We’d love to know what gamers would like to see, as well, so please reach out to us and let us know. You can find us online at our website, or on Facebook. If you want to look at the bundles we have available at any given time, check out our DriveThruRPG page.

To all who’ve supported us so far, we thank you most profoundly, and we hope you’ll help us spread the word and get more gamers involved. We all know important it is to team up to fight the darkness and help our fellow adventurers heal and survive when times are bad.

For the RCRF Board of Directors, Board of Applicants, and Advisory Board,

Sean Patrick Fannon
Communications Director, RCRF

[New Release] The Cainite Conspiracies Anthology

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I am pleased to announce that The Cainite Conspiracies, a collection of fourteen stories set in the world of Vampire: The Masquerade Dark Ages is now available. Stories were written by these fine authors, which include exemplary storytellers and Vampire: The Masquerade developers past and present: Maurice Broaddus, Renee Ritchie, Justin Achilli, Russell Zimmerman, Andrew Peregrine, Catherine Lundoff, Eddy Webb, Jacob Klünder, Ree Soesbee, David A. Hill Jr., Alan Alexander, Richard Dansky, Danielle Lauzon, and Neall Raemonn Price.

In celebration of this release, three of our authors wrote about their stories. You can read about “Family is Family” by Renee Ritchie, “Sand and Dust” by Andrew Peregrine, and “A Quest for Blood” by Russell Zimmerman.

I hope you enjoy this collection. I had a lot of fun putting The Cainite Conspiracies together!

Announcing a New SFWA Column about Game Writing

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I am pleased to announce I’m writing a new column for SFWA.org about game writing. In my debut column, I address a few definitions and misconceptions about writing for games. I hope you’ll check out the article, and comment if you have opinions. Words matter!

Words are integral to game design and gameplay. –SOURCE: Writing for Games: Introduction and a Few Misconceptions

Save the Date! Reddit Fantasy AYA for Worldbuilders Charity

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I am happy to announce that I will be participating in an “Ask You Anything” on Reddit to support awareness for Pat Rothfuss’s Worldbuilders charity fundraiser on Tuesday, November 29th.

What is the Worldbuilders mission?

From the website: “Worldbuilders is a charity founded by author Pat Rothfuss in order to use the collective power of readers, fellow authors and book lovers to make the world a better place. During the Worldbuilders fundraiser, Pat blogs about the cool book donations we receive from authors and publishers (and all the other cool swag from artists, webcomics, etc.) Everyone who donates to Heifer International through our Team Heifer page is eligible to receive one or more of those cool books and swag at the end of the fundraiser.”

Although I am only participating on Tuesday, this event will take place each day from Monday, November 28th through Friday, December 2nd and will include several other authors, artists, editors, and publishers. It will be hosted by the r/Fantasy community over at www.reddit.com/r/fantasy to support awareness of Worldbuilders. Hop on over each day and see what questions we have to ask you. Then, let’s kick some ass and raise some funds for an awesome charity!

Official Release Date for Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling

Upside Down Inverted Tropes in Storytelling CoverApex Publications is happy to announce the upcoming release of Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling edited by Jaym Gates and Monica Valentinelli.

Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling is an anthology of short stories, poems, and essays that will highlight the long-standing tradition of writers who identify tropes in science fiction, fantasy, and horror and twist them into something new and interesting.

Successfully funded through Kickstarter, Apex will release the anthology on December 13, 2016. Pre-orders are now available through Amazon.com.

“Speculative fiction fans tired of clichés will want to grab this expectation-subverting anthology.”
–Publishers Weekly, starred review

Over two dozen authors, ranging from NYT-bestsellers and award winners to debut writers, chose a tired trope or cliche to challenge and surprise readers through their work.

Read stories inspired by tropes such as the Chainmaille Bikini, Love at First Sight, Damsels in Distress, Yellow Peril, The Black Man Dies First, The Villain Had a Crappy Childhood, The Singularity Will Cause the Apocalypse, and many more… Then, discover what these tropes mean to each author to find out what inspired them.

Join Maurice Broaddus, Adam Troy-Castro, Delilah S. Dawson, Shanna Germain, Sara M. Harvey, John Hornor Jacobs, Rahul Kanakia, Alethea Kontis, Valya Dudycz Lupescu, Haralambi Markov, Kat Richardson, Nisi Shawl, Ferrett Steinmetz, Anton Strout, Michael Underwood, Alyssa Wong and many other authors as they take well-worn tropes and cliches and flip them upside down.

ISBN: 978-1-937009-44-1
Title: Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling
Release date: December 13th, 2016
Cost: $18.95 (trade paperback)
Page Count: 365 pages

Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling is editor Jaym Gates’s (War Stories) second anthology with Apex Book Company, and it is the first for editor Monica Valentinelli. The two have put together an anthology with a strong mix of fiction and essays that is sure to both entertain and educate readers on tropes and how they are used by writers.

About Apex Publications: Apex Publications is a small press dedicated to publishing exemplary works of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Owned and operated by Jason B. Sizemore, Apex publishes the thrice Hugo Award-nominated Apex Magazine. The Apex catalog contains books by genre luminaries such as Damien Angelica Walters, Catherynne M. Valente, and Brian Keene.

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