#Rainbow Railroad

[duckprintspress]

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH, EVERYONE! We are thrilled to announce our second-annual Pride Bundles for Charity with two all-new short story bundles – 30 stories total! – that we are selling at a discount to raise money for our chosen queer charity!

Last year, our debut Pride bundles raised almost $350 for queer charities. This year, we’re back with a new General Imprint Bundle and a new Explicit Imprint Bundle, each discounted 20% from their list prices (and each including multiple stories that aren’t for sale and are usually only available to our backers on Patreon) and with 20% of the net profit going to Rainbow Railroad.

How This Works

you buy one or both bundles between now and July 8th, 2024.

we tally up all the proceeds earned and do some math-e-magic to figure out how much we’re donating!

before the end of July, we donate the raised money to Rainbow Railroad, we post the proof we’ve done so.

you get fantastic stories!

we all get that happy, glowy feeling of knowing that money has been well-spent on fantastic causes!

About the Press

Duck Prints Press is a queer-owned indie press, founded to publish original works by fancreators. We’ve been in operation for over 3 years, and in that time we’ve worked with well over 150 creators to publish six anthologies and almost 100 other stories, from shorts to novels, and we’ve got more on the works (our next anthology, our first erotica collection, will be crowdfunding within the next month!). The vast majority of our creators and their creations are queer/LGTBQIA+ (maybe even all, but we don’t out anyone and we don’t ask demography because, frankly, it’s none of our business).

25 of our authors have chosen to include their short stories in one or both of these short story bundles, and all our short story authors nominated potential charities and voted to select Rainbow Railroad as the beneficiary for our 2024 Pride Bundles.

About Rainbow Railroad

In countries around the world, LGBTQI+ people face violence and oppression simply because of who they love or who they are. Rainbow Railroad helps them get to safety! Rainbow Railroad is a global not-for-profit organization that helps at-risk LGBTQI+ people get to safety worldwide. Based in the United States and Canada, they’re an organization that helps LGBTQI+ people facing persecution based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics. In a time when there are more displaced people than ever, LGBTQI+ people are uniquely vulnerable due to systemic, state-enabled homophobia and transphobia. These factors either displace them in their own country or prevent them from escaping harm. 

Note: This charity isnot affiliated with the Press, do not know we’re doing this fundraiser, have not endorsed this in anyway and are, as such, utterly uninvolved in this beyond being the beneficiaries of our efforts! Text is from the Rainbow Railroad website.

About the Bundles

We are offering two bundles, one with 18 short stories published under our General Imprint, the other containing 12 stories published under our Explicit Imprint. The shop listings include details about and excerpts from all the stories. Here’s the gist…

Titles in the General Imprint Charity Bundle:

The Princess and the Maze by A. L. Heard

Of Loops and Weaves by Catherine E. Green

Glass Slipper: A Dance by Cedar D. McCafferty-Svec

Songs, Suppers, and Stories by D. V. Morse

Waiting for the Tide to Turn by Genevieve Maxwell

Chinaski’s Dirty Work by J. D. Harlock

Foundations by Johnathan Stern

Seal Island by K. B. Vimes

Into the Wyvern’s Lair by Mikki Madison

Sarisa by N. C. Farrell

Whispers of Atlantis: A Tale of Discovery and Belonging by Neo Scarlett

Be Not Afraid by Nicola Kapron

Awkward and Oblivious by R. L. Houck

Washer Wars: A Laundromat Feud by Samantha M. Piper

The Wayward Timekeeper by Terra P. Waters

if it’s meant to be by Tris Lawrence

Meet C(omm)ute by Violet J. Hayes

Chrysopoeia by Zel Howland

18 stories. 254 pages. 82,462 words of fiction!

Price: $22.50

Approximately 20% of the list price of this bundle will go to Rainbow Railroad.

Titles in the Explicit Imprint Charity Bundle:

Brambles, Pollen, and Other Natural Disasters by A. L. Heard

A night such as this by April Steenburgh

Theirs All Along by boneturtle

Orchidelirium by Dei Walker

Old Kings and New by Lyonel Loy

Weather the Storm by Lyn Weaver

Pretty 7 Days a Week by R. L. Houck

Adventures of the Scarlet Sentry: After Dark by Samantha M. Piper

Worlds Apart (but Still Close) by Sanne Burg

Taken at Sea by Shea Sullivan

Warm Anything You Want by Tris Lawrence

LA Photographs Itself by YF Ollwell

12 stories. 198 pages. 69,550 words.

Price: $21.50

Approximately 20% of the list price of this bundle will go to Rainbow Railroad.

Come get some great stories, support a queer-owned business this Pride, and benefit two fantastic causes. Win-win-win situations don’t get much better than this!

These bundles will only be available for one month, so don’t miss out. Visit our webstore between now and July 8th and get yours!

[nieded]

#RAINBOWROAD for Rainbow Railroad Charity Drive Redux Pre-Orders are open!

I am so excited to announce that I am taking preorders for copies of the entire #RAINBOWROAD trilogy starting today! Preorders will be open starting today, February 14th (happy Valentine's!) to March 13th. It will close at 11:59 MST.

Please reblog so we can spread the news!!!!

>>PRE-ORDER HERE<<

This past summer, I did a print run of the first part of the series, Sit Tight, Take Hold and printed 94 copies for charity. Many readers asked for books 2 & 3, and I had many others express interest in a 3-part bundle who missed the first run. I've spent November, December, and January prepping the next parts for print, and I'm so excited to share them with you.

So, what is included?

Option for a 3-book bundle including:

Book 1: Sit Tight Take Hold 424 pages on matte 80lb text paper, color printing throughout. Cover has matte lamination in color. Dimensions of the book are 6x9x.93. Weight ~2 lbs Art by Blairamok (See cover art above)

Book 2: How do you solve a problem like Ezira?, Accept a Little Spin, and Oh, there's a long way to go 408 pages on matte 80lb text paper, color printing throughout. Cover has matte lamination in color. Dimensions of the book are 6x9x.93. Weight ~2 lbs Art by DustandHalos (cover art below)

Book 3: Fools Rush In and bonus content, 0-60 in 3.5 468 pages on matte 80lb text paper, color printing throughout. Cover has matte lamination in color. Dimensions of the book are 6x9x1.06. Weight ~2lbs Art by Pyracantha (cover art below)

PDF copies of all three parts

Option for a 2-book bundle including only Parts 2 & 3 + PDF copies. This is an option for people who already own the first book.

Limited option for Part 1 discounted damaged books (15 available). This does not include PDFs. These books have cosmetic damage to the covers from shipping. Damage does no affect the print quality of the text.

Limited postcards that were extras from the first run (only 8 available)

Remaining Corvette Crowley posters, including A/B grade options, 12x18".

$20 PDFs of all stories that will include all the formatting of the print run and cover art! (Screenshots from the PDF proofs below)

Where are the proceeds going?

Rainbow Railroad is a North American-based organization that works globally to ensure safety and asylum to LGBTQIA+ individuals. This is the same charity we donated to last time, and it was a resounding success. Last time, we were able to fundraise $1,600!

Continued FAQ below:

How much does shipping cost?

For US residents, bundles will cost a flat fee of $10. They will ship via media mail through USPS.

For anyone outside of the US, shipping has been estimated through the cheapest carrier, either USPS or UPS minus $10. Unfortunately, I cannot control the cost of shipping, and I know that it is extraordinarily high. The bundles will weigh anywhere between 4-6+ lbs, which is expensive to ship.

Wait, I'm from the US. Why am I paying more for Media Mail?

While Media Mail typically would cost $4-6, the increased price is to offset international orders, whose shipping will cost anywhere from $20-60 with the discount. I hope you understand. I want to make this as accessible as I can without personally eating any costs. I am not making any profit off of this project.

When do orders ship?

Once pre-orders close on 3/13, I will order the books. There is typically a 2-4 week turn around for them to be printed and delivered to me. I then have to package and ship everything from my house. I hope to have everything shipped 1 month after pre-orders close, but I am only human.

US mail should take 2-8 days. International orders can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks, so please be patient.

If you are only ordering a damaged copy or postcards, both of which have already been printed, I will ship those out sooner.

When do I get my PDFs?

The PDFs and book proofs are the same, and they are 90% done. PDFs will be delivered via email by me once pre-orders close. I am still doing small changes and edits to make sure they are perfect!

If I order a bundle, do I also need to order PDFs if I want digital copies?

NO! PDFs are included with the bundles and only the bundles. You will not have access to them immediately, only once pre-orders close and I email them to you! Like I said, they are 90% finished, and I am stilling making small adjustments. (Kerning, I loathe you!)

What percent of proceeds are going to Rainbow Railroad?

100%! This excludes the cost of printing and shipping. For reference, the first print run cost $1,254 for the books alone, not including shipping and packaging supplies. Anything remaining goes directly to charity. I am not keeping any costs for labor or making any profit on this.

Wait, there's bonus content?

Remember when I said I was done after the trilogy? Well, @tut557 popped into the Discord server and said, 'Hey, what if they played Mario Kart...' This spiraled into a long conversation about all the different media promos they might do, and then I spent this past November writing another 50k of the #RAINBOWROAD universe for NaNoWriMo. This is also available on AO3, and I will be posting weekly while preorders are open. You can find it here.

[fandomtrumpshate]

FTH 2023 Supported Organization: Rainbow Railroad

In many countries around the world, LGBTQI+ people face not just discrimination, but violence, simply for expressing their authentic selves. Only 33 countries legally recognize same-sex marriage, while 70 countries still criminalize same-sex intimacy —some with punishments that include the death penalty. People in these countries face threats to their lives and rights every single day.

Rainbow Railroad is a global not-for-profit organization that helps LGTBQI+ people facing persecution based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics. LGBTQI+ people are uniquely vulnerable due to systemic, state-enabled homophobia and transphobia. These factors either displace them in their own country or prevent them from escaping harm.

Rainbow Railroad helps LGBTQI+ individuals find safety through emergency relocation and other forms of assistance through a variety of programs to support individuals’ unique needs and circumstances

You can support Rainbow Railroad as a creator in the 2023 FTH auction (or as a bidder, when the time comes to donate for the auctions you’ve won.)  

Signups are open!

[hellfirezine]

Hey everyone! I forgot to post this when I got it because I'm bad at email but:

Dear Stranger Things Queer Community,

On behalf of Rainbow Railroad, I am reaching out to give our sincerest thanks to the Hellfire Zine: Dungeons Dragons & Demobats Contributors and the Stranger Things queer community for their generous gift.

As a part of our community, your support is instrumental in moving forward Rainbow Railroad’s mission to help at-risk LGBTQI+ people get to safety worldwide. We are so grateful to count you in as a supporter and champion of our cause.

This year, we have a lot on our plate - we'll be moving 800 refugees to safety, including 600 Afghans, and we'll assist thousands more through cash assistance, our work with our partners on the ground, and our private sponsorship programs in the U.S. and Canada. We are also monitoring the situation in Uganda, where members of the LGBTQI+ are facing more violence and discrimination than ever after the Ugandan government passed an Anti-LGBTQI+ law a few weeks ago, further criminalizing the community. Requests for help from Uganda have already dramatically increased, as we've received over 1,000 requests for help in 2023, compared to around 300 in all of 2022.

Your donation will support this important work - empowering LGBTQI+ people to find safety and live authentically with integrity. We could only do our work with community members like yourselves.

Thank you again for your support. Our staff, board, volunteers, and the individuals Rainbow Railroad support are truly grateful. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about our work or are interested in continuing to partner with our organization.

Regards, Brittany Skerritt (she/they) Senior Development Officer, Community Giving Rainbow Railroad

[uptonogoodart]

The Whether or No Zine is finally out! 💜 It includes my art alongside with many talented artists' and writers' works @whetherornozine

Proceedings will be donated to Rainbowrailroad.org which helps LGBTQ+ people in danger in their countries 🏳️‍🌈

[usernamesarehard1]

Rainbow Railroad

[terrapwaters]

Just a few days left to buy my story, The Wayward Timekeeper, and a bunch of other great queer stories, and support Rainbow Railroad. RR is a fantastic charity that works to make sure LGBTQIA+ people around the world are safe. Check it out here: https://duckprintspress.com/product/pride-2024-general-imprint-bundle/

[fiddledo]

Hello everyone,

I'm super excited to announce that I'll be hosting my first solo charity marathon to run alongside The Summer of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon.

Introducing The Side Story Charity Marathon

The Side Story Marathon will help support the Rainbow Railroad and will be on September 7th at 11am PT / 2pm PT on Twitch.

During the marathon will be playing through all-five Special Episodes of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky.

Bidoof's Wish

Igglybuff the Prodigy

Today's "Oh My Gosh!"

Here Comes Team Charm!

In the Future of Darkness

Together, I hope we can save the lives of at-risk LGBTQI+ people get to safety.

I hope to see you there, thank you for your support.

-Fiddledo

[worldbeyondzine]

hey yall, finally got through all shipments and final things that needed addressing, and we've made our final donation!

excited to report that the World Beyond Our Station raised a total of $695.34 for the Rainbow Railroad!

when I came up with this zine idea, I never imagined it going this far--there will definitely be more to come after we take a break. keep your eyes out for the next edition--a horror-themed transmasc zine!

thank you to everyone for purchasing, sharing, and contributing.

ID: Screenshot of the Rainbow Railroad website, showing their donation page. The text reads: Thank you for your donation. Status: Approved. Transaction ID: (blanked out). Amount: $695.34. Currency: USD. Frequency: Give Once.

[duckprintspress]

Last Day to Buy Short Story Bundles to Support Rainbow Railroad!

We are in the final 24 hours of our Pride Month fundraiser, selling a General Imprint Short Story Bundle and an Explicit Imprint Short Story Bundle to raise money for the charity Rainbow Railroad! We’ve raised $135 to donate thus far, and we’d love to make that $150 or more with your help.

How can you help, I hear you ask?

Well, of course, you can buy the bundles yourself and get loads of awesome queer stories to support an awesome queer cause! But if that doesn’t appeal, it’s simple: you can help by boosting this post! Share it, reblog it, boost it, retoot it, every single time our posts spread, it helps and we appreciate it!

The General Imprint Bundle includes 18 stories and costs $22.50, and

The Explicit Imprint Bundle includes 12 stories and costs $21.50.

Approximately 20% of the sales price will go to Rainbow Railroad to help LGBTQI+ people escape repressive regimes to move to places where they can be themselves and safe.

Read more about Duck Prints Press, Rainbow Railroad, and the short stories in these bundles.

Help us give more to a great cause before time runs out!

[sam-the-tomboy]

if someone you know or even you are trans/support trans people and live in florida you need to flee NOW! If you need help fleeing look for rainbow railroad, they'll help you, this is the begining of the genocide....

[yther]

can anyone send me resources (anon ask is fine!! chat messages are fine too plz)

about "where".. I can talk to the right helpful people about stuff anonymously? stuff that I don't actually want to/can't safely post here. despite having no expectation of privacy after getting doxxed etc, I still want a new acct/different sites and to pretend I have privacy.

Everything is so Google/Meta intertwined and... reddit never recovered did it?

tumblr bans around related stuff are making me feel like I am being isolated from all the people and resources I'd normally hear about.

please

[marvelgreyson]

LGBTQ+ asylum seekers flee to U.S. to save their lives

[charlieisacastle]

god...its so frustrating to scroll thro the rainbow railroad tag. its just ppl calling them a wonderful charity and shit. which like yea, they r cool...i guess. and what they do is so fucking important. but trust me as someone who's had direct contact with them for 2 years and had to give up because they were basically just triggering me without actually helping (again for 2 years straight) they really arent as good as you all think they are

[trans-sarah]

My voice is not safe as a human rights defender in Kakuma and I will never stay silent while my fellow LGBTQ family is going through hell! Lesbians raped, gays assaulted and transgenders raped as well. Lesbians children not able to go to school. @FrontLineHRD rainb

[faerie-hideaway]

Hi everyone, my work is doing something amazing for Pride this year. If you follow the link or scan the QR code and send them a picture of a rainbow (it can literally be anything rainbow colored: clothes, flags, a real rainbow etc) they will donate $1 for each entry to Rainbow Railroad to help at risk 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

Please reblog and send in your rainbow photos! 🌈✨

https://qrco.de/bdwhYM