F(r)iction Magazine — Storytelling Brought to Life
Created by F(r)iction
F(r)iction is a compendium of all things unexpected: gorgeous, art-drenched books that raise money for charity! Helping global literacy has never looked so shiny!
Working with diverse creators from around the globe, each issue of F(r)iction encompasses stories, poems, essays, comics, and custom art that dare us to think differently.
To find out more about us, take a look at our website: frictionlit.org
Latest Updates from Our Project:
HALFWAY, BABY! (Oh, and stretch goals unlocked!)
over 3 years ago
– Thu, Oct 29, 2020 at 05:44:08 PM
OUR EDITORS’ HEARTS ARE A’FLUTTER!
After just eight days, we are HALFWAY through FULLY funding our entire next year of literature and art! Our Memory issue is fully conscious! Legacy is halfway there (53% to be exact)! And Arcana is biding its time like the sly dragon it’s shaping up to be…
None of this would be possible without you amazing folks. THANK YOU!
Stretch Goals UNLOCKED
Not only have we reached the halfway point of the campaign (and of our LOVELY Legacy Issue), we also unlocked TWO new stretch goals—a busy 24 hours!
250 Backers UNLOCKED: First, since we blew 250 backers out of the water, now ALL BACKERS (even you wee $1 kids) are gonna get a pack of stories that our editors fought for the hardest! With full art and fuller awesomeness, this will be delivered FREE to everyone once the campaign closes. Get ready for stories that will enchant you only to break your darn heart. Don’t worry, we went through it too and we’ll be here to talk you through the heartbreak.
$12,000 UNLOCKED: To celebrate the halfway mark, we have released a special Celebrity Pledge Tier! Benjamin Percy—critical darling and author of The Dark Net, Refresh, Refresh, and Suicide Woods—is the genius behind some of the best comics DC and Marvel have been dishing out lately. He was our Pioneer for the Monsters issue (because who better to bring that amazing theme to life than the master of things that go bump in the night). Ben wrote us a killer story in which he explored “monster as place,” bringing twisted backgrounds to life as our bloodthirsty villain (BE WARNED: ONLY 3 REMAINING).
If you’re unfamiliar with just how expansive bringing together our Pioneer Features is, please check out this rad video of how the artist— Ejiwa "Edge" Ebenebe—and our EIC and Art Director—Dani Hedlund—brought the beast together.
Now that we’re halfway through funding our Legacy issue, it’s time to let you in on a little secret we’ve been keeping in the F(r)iction vault. Our Legacy issue is a beast that we’ve been working on for over a year now, and we wanted to make sure this issue—with such an important topic—wouldn’t just explore the Western concept of Legacy. We dreamed of a diverse lineup of authors, poets, comic creators, and artists from different nations, different backgrounds, and vastly different experiences to show us what Legacy means to them.
Thus, after one hell of a hunt—and some very kind help from the wonderful Charlie Jane Anders—we are OVERJOYED to announce that our Legacy Pioneer is going to be the one, the only…
(DRUM ROLL PLEASE)
Silvia Moreno-Garcia!
If you haven’t read Silvia’s Nebula and Locus Award nominated Gods of Jade and Shadow, her now-optioned-by-Hulu, bestselling novel Mexican Gothic—or any of her SHOCKINGLY long list of short stories, essays, NPR reviews, or Washington Post articles—then may we please introduce you to some CRAZY talent.
In addition to an in-depth interview with our Boss Lady, Silvia will be giving us an exclusive peek into her next novel, A Dangerous Eagerness, a glimpse into her process—prepare yourself: it’s on napkins—and a look into the timeline of her life—moving from Mexico to Canada, her first ten dollars earned as an author, and endless evenings spent crafting stories with one hand, and rocking her wee babe with the other.
Right, that’s enough typing for now! But we’ll be back soon with even more new releases—including another cover reveal and some stellar backer tiers from Victoria Schwab and Emily Duncan!
But for now, thank you. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Cheers,
Dani, Helen, and all the Misfits at F(r)iction
FIRST STRETCH GOAL UNLOCKED
over 3 years ago
– Mon, Oct 26, 2020 at 08:41:49 AM
Hello you lovely readers!
It’s only the third day of the campaign, and we’ve already whizzed through our first stretch goal! (If you really listen you can hear the sound of all us teeny-tiny editors ringing our teeny-tiny bells.)
Anyway... stretch goals!
Not only can you now add endless F(r)iction art prints to your walls (like our boss lady, who apparently owns no other decorations?), hitting $10k also means that we’re 20% closer to our second big goal—funding the second F(r)iction issue of 2021: Legacy!
"Um-xcuse me??Legacy?!”
We thought you’d wanna know!
Our Spring issue will explore the power of our legacies, reaching back in time, from the invisible ties that connect us to our ancestors, and stretching forward, to the people, traditions, and innovations we create for those who will outlive us. The work for this issue ranges from wild speculative fiction stories and comics about family curses and pending apocalypses to brave and bold realism about just how powerful (and dangerous) the things our parents leave us can be. Also, bats…There’s a whole story about bats.
And because we design EVERY ISSUE ANEW, the art and feel of this issue is going to be ancient, bold, and dripping in (often bloody) secrets.
Think Spirted Away meets the apocalypse (and yes, that WAS the art brief)!
The first part of the puzzle is the cover (by the ever-talented Jessica Fong). Here’s a preview of how that’s shaping up:
We’ll be back with more updates about Legacy (including the Celebrity Pioneer for the issue!) when we hit our next stretch goal. But until then, thank you for being a part of this amazing journey. You all snatch our socks off!
Cheers,
Dani, Helen, and the Misfits at F(r)iction
WE ARE FUNDED IN 9 HRS! (plus prezzies!)
over 3 years ago
– Wed, Oct 21, 2020 at 03:47:25 PM
Wow oh wow!
When we say we’re blown away by the amount of support and encouragement we’ve received today, we realize there aren’t enough grandiose words—or enough fancy fonts—to capture just how grateful we are!
In less than 9 hours, we’ve reached our goal of 8,000! If you made it to the part of the campaign page with the scary financial graph, you’ll know that that means we’ve filled our Barnes & Noble deficit for one issue of F(r)iction. How incredible!
Because of you, Memory—our darling, pink, brain-covered book—will come to life in all its holographic splendor.
THANK YOU PRESENT
As a token of our too-big-for-words gratitude, we wanted to give you all a wee gift of a story, an old staff favorite, “The Passing of Mr. and Mrs. Crow.” It’s a gorgeous spec piece about a lovely old couple with a mysterious secret…and not enough time (or, perhaps, too much power over said time…we shall see).
With one issue out of three covered, the battle isn’t over. We still need to find 1,000 new subscribers to make up from the COVID closures, but the fact that we made our first goal so quickly is SO VITAL TO THAT END. We now have the platform to reach brand new readers, find more new and experimental voices, and to keep F(r)iction alive, weird, and kicking.
But that’s for us to worry about. Instead, direct your focus to our new Stretch Goals! The Editors really put their heads together on this one (no not literally…come one, mates, social distancing),[CB1] to dream up literary and artsy splendors to tickle your fancy. We’ll be releasing more and more as we go, but here’s a preview of what’s in store:
Stretch Goals
Our stretch goals are gonna be a rad mix of free digital stuff (for everyone who backs the campaign), three-dimensional physical treasures for physical backers, and some simply very cool add-ons. We’ll keep you posted on which ones release as we go (some are financial goals, some backer numbers––one very odd one involves cats!).
Digital Bundles of our Best Wares (with full art!):
The Gallery (Editors’ Picks): An exclusive package of pieces the Editors fought for the hardest. (No stories were harmed in this professional joust—the Editors just enjoy a good scuffle now and then.)
The Templar (Comics): Intricate little stories bound to the page by frames and ink. Imbued with color, and lovingly captioned.
The Haunted Wood (Horror): Uncanny stories to chill your own skeleton. The nightmares pay for themselves.
The Spellbook (Fantasy): Our most magical and mystifying stories, from realms and creatures unknown.
New Tiers and Add-on Unlocks
Signed Books from amazing Celebrity Pioneers (Lev Grossman, Charlie Jane Anders, and Benjamin Percy)
Special Arcana Themed Issue…with a gilded metallic tarot deck too? I see that in my future!
Art Prints…but as an add-on. You’ll never need to buy wall art at Ikea again!
That’s all from us for now (because, you know, we haven’t slept since yesterday and we can’t remember how spoons work anymore). We’ll be back soon with more exciting stretch goals, add-ons, and who-knows-what! (We do.)
Thank you for helping us build momentum, for caring about the power of storytelling, and for being such shining stars in these weird times. You. All. Rock.
