We’re so lucky that Algonquin Books has provided 5 sets of the wonderful PEN/Bellwether Prize winning books for you to have if you donate to the Mixed Remixed Festival. Plus you get a Festival tshirt! How can you beat that? Get good karma and get great books and support the Festival you love!
What makes you feel better than being able to help someone out? And doesn’t it feel even better when it’s super-easy to help too? We think so. And we hope that you’ll help us out today.
We’re in the middle of our annual crowdfunding campaign and we’ve got just a couple of weeks left to raise almost $3700. We can do it with your help. All we’re asking for is your $5 donation. Yup. Just $5.
Why $5. Well because 1) if everyone who attended the Festival gave $5 we’d meet our goal easily; 2) If everyone who follows us on Facebook or Twitter or even here gave $5, we’d meet our goal easily; 3) it’s fun to say Feel Good Five Dollar Friday!
Please give $5 today. (Or more if you can afford it.) And show us that even the Festival is free to you it’s something that you value. The Festival won’t continue in future years if we don’t have your support plain and simple. Please donate now! Celebrate Feel Good Five Dollar Friday!
Editor Chandra Prasad was kind enough to answer some questions about the anthology
Clare Ramsaran (CR) What prompted you to choose fiction for this anthology?
Chandra Prasad (CP) Two reasons! First, as a reader and author of fiction, I’ve always found it easier to connect to characters and ideas in fiction as opposed to nonfiction. Perhaps fiction makes it easier to suspect disbelief and to use my imagination in order to forge personal connections to the text. I think this is true for many people, especially younger readers.
The second reason why I chose fiction for MIXED is that there was simply no other fiction collection on the market. MIXED fills a unique and important niche in the multiracial-themed book sector.
CR: How was the anthology received?
CP: MIXED was received extremely well by critics and readers alike. One of the contributors, Mat Johnson, a prolific and extremely popular author, said he receives more emails about MIXED than about any of his other work. I, too, regularly receive inquiries about MIXED from students, teachers, and others, which I think is testament to the anthology’s relevance and staying power, especially in classrooms. As for critical praise, Booklist, the San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times, and many others gave it raves.
CR: What was most surprising when gathering material for the anthology?
CP: I was most surprised by how many of the contributors I contacted instantly said, “YES, I would LOVE to contribute!” I contracted many authors and only a couple turned down the chance to write an original story for this anthology—and those that turned down the chance did so because of time constraints or previous obligations rather than lack of interest. The vast majority of prospective contributors appreciated and championed the idea of a multiracial-themed fiction anthology from the get-go.
“Globally, the number of multiracial people is exploding. The United States alone currently counts at least seven million multiracial inhabitants. By the year 2050 more than one in five Americans will be claiming mixed ancestry. Yet it was only as recently as 2000 that the U.S. Census Bureau began to allow citizens to check off as many racial categories as are applicable. Previously, Americans were allowed to check off only one, leaving multiracial people invisible and unaccounted for.
A greater awareness of multiracial people is underway. Dozens of web sites devoted to multiracial issues have sprung up, and novels and memoirs on the topic have proliferated. In Mixed Chandra Prasad has created the first anthology of its kind, bringing together eighteen stories by both new and noted writers about the experience of coming from a multiracial background.
With contributors such as Danzy Senna, Ruth Ozeki, Cristina Garcia, Peter Ho Davies, and Mat Johnson, and an illuminating introduction by Rebecca Walker, Mixed gives voice to the multiple identities of the rising generation. It also provides some of the most fresh, engaging, and vital original literary fiction in recent memory.”
This is a perk you really shouldn’t miss out on! We have an amazing show lined-up for this year’s Storyteller’s Prize Presentation and you can have 2 reserved VIP seats with a contribution to our Indiegogo campaign. We only have 20 of these perks available!
This year we’re honoring The Daily Show’s Al Madrigal who recently produced the wonderful special Half Like Me AND New York Times bestselling writer Jamie Ford author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet (which has sold 1 million copies and counting!) and Songs of Willow Frost. They have both confirmed their attendance and we couldn’t be more excited!
HURRY! Donate now!
Here’s your chance to grow your kids’ library of books with mixed-race and biracial characters. Contribute to the Mixed Remixed Festival Indiegogo campaign and you will get a copy of I am Mixed by Garcelle Beauvais and Sebastian Jones, Amy Hodgepodge by Kim Wayans and Kevin Knotts, and Mixed Me by Tiffany Catledge.
You will love these wonderful books that reflect the complexity and the fun of coming from a blended family. Make sure your kids, or nieces and nephews have these books on their bookshelves and support the Mixed Remixed Festival!
To find out what other great perks we have check out our Indiegogo campaign here.
This is an amazing perk for aspiring filmmakers and screenwriters: you can get a 3-month subscription to The Black List with your $200 donation to the Mixed Remixed Festival Indiegogo campaign.
The Black List offers mentorships, workshops, fee-based script-coverage services and a free and comprehensive database of scripts ready to be paired with a prospective producer, financier, agent or manager.
Founder Franklin Leonard has said: “We’re the eHarmony of the moviemaking business.”
Take your writing to the next level and support the Festival. Donate now!
Mat Johnson is an all-time Mixed Remixed Festival favorite. He’s the author of the amazing novel, Pym, a frontrunner to receive the (unofficial) People’s Pulitzer, and the graphic novel Incognegro among others. His highly anticipated new novel, Loving Day, comes out in May and you can get a copy with your contribution and support the Mixed Remixed Festival.
Don’t miss out on this great perk only 20 copies available!
For a $30 contribution to the Mixed Remixed Festival Indiegogo campaign you’ll get a hardcover copy of Mat Johnson’s highly anticipated new satiric novel, Loving Day, about a gathering of multiracial families and individuals that transforms into a self-governing utopia for mixed-race folks and blended families. And don’t forget you’ll also get a social media shout out, and your name listed in the Festival program.
This is what folks are saying about Loving Day:
“Writers who are as smart as Mat Johnson are rarely as funny, and those who are as funny are rarely as smart. He is unique, and simply must be read. Loving Day, a tender, ribald, fast-moving novel, is the perfect place to begin.”—Teju Cole, author of Open City
“Hilarious, sometimes discomforting, always brilliant, Loving Day tackles with heart and sly humor identity, family, and finding that elusive place where you belong. This is an awesome, viciously witty novel.”—Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist and An Untamed State
“Loving Day is wonderful satire, sharp and funny about so many contemporary themes and anxieties, including race, money, family, sex, and love. Mat Johnson has a deep comic gift, and his laughs always come with real thought and feeling.”—Sam Lipsyte, author of The Ask and The Fun Parts
“This is what happens when races mix: Mat Johnson. Not a soul or a post-soul is spared in his brilliant and hilarious satire of modern American tribalism.”—Danzy Senna, author of Caucasia
“Genius! Mat Johnson is hands-down one of my favorite novelists writing today. He writes about the difficult stuff—the stuff that matters—in the most humorous and heart-wrenching way. Loving Day is Johnson’s triumph and a reader’s great joy.”—Heidi Durrow, author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky
“Since this is a book by Mat Johnson, one of the best American satirists since Mark Twain, I don’t have to tell you it’s as funny as it is smart.”—Emily Raboteau, author of Searching for Zion
I “discovered” this perfect thing to do in Los Angeles and every time I mention it I feel torn: it’s so special I don’t want everyone to know about it, but it’s so special I can’t help but talk about it.
I took my first day sail on the Cruise Invictus about three years ago when my mom was in town. She loves the water. At first, all my searches for cruises turned up (out-of-season) whale-watching trips, and booze cruises–not exactly the scene for a 70-year-old. But then I found Cruise Invictus. I couldn’t know how perfect it would be when I booked it, but I had a feeling. We had an amazing day sail. There were four other people aboard. Yummy snacks were served and some of the others brought and enjoyed their own wine. And it was, well, perfect.
Why am I going on and on about this on the Festival blog? Well, you and a friend can experience this too with a donation of just $250 to the Festival’s Indiegogo campaign. You’ll have a great day and you’ll be supporting the Festival you love. Please contribute now and get this great perk before it sells out. Only 2 available!
And don’t just take my word for it. See the great reviews on Yelp –all 5-stars!–Heidi Durrow
Want to dine with Keegan-Michael Key? Half of the hilarious hit comedic duo Key & Peele? Well here’s your chance. We’re in the midst of our annual crowdfunder campaign for the Mixed Remixed Festival and your donation of $1000 will give you and a friend a chance to hang out with one of Hollywood’s hottest and most talented actors right now. Don’t miss this great perk! And help the Mixed Remixed Festival reach our funding goal!
stristr(): Argument #1 ($haystack) must be of type string, array given
