BECOMING DANGEROUS: A book about ritual and resistance
Created by Katie West
Twenty-three personal essays from witchy femmes, queer conjurers, and magical rebels on summoning the power to resist.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Sorry about the MASSIVE images!
over 6 years ago
– Thu, Dec 07, 2017 at 06:03:55 PM
Sorry! I didn't realize the images in the last update were so massive? They didn't look like that in the preview, but when I got the email, they were enormous! Sorry, not sure how that happened!
Also, if you haven't filled out your backer survey from BackerKit (there's only 103 of you left!) please do so ASAP! Putting in final numbers on all items very shortly!
Can't remember if you filled out your survey? Need to change your address? Forgot to add an extra book or pin to your order? No problem. Click here and enter your email address. You can do whatever you need to do from there. :)
❤Katie
p.s. I'm starting to think it's just my email? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Edits are almost done + here's some artwork from the illustrated version
over 6 years ago
– Thu, Dec 07, 2017 at 06:02:49 PM
Hello everyone!
Sorry for the lack of communication, I just didn't really have anything to update you on! Edits are still happening. Hope to have them done by December 12. Then I put the design together and it's off to the printers, probably in January. So we're a little behind schedule, but hopefully it won't affect the release date too much.
Alright, that's all for now! Hope you're all having a lovely holiday season, or at least enjoying holiday eating. :)
If you want to give someone a copy of Becoming Dangerous for Christmas, well, you can't. But you could pre-order it for them and they can get it in February? JUST AS GOOD.
You can also get items like the Jen Bartel Resist/Persist pin set, the Kate Leth stickers, the Julia Scheele poster, or the Becoming Dangerous enamel pin. (Those also won't ship until February though. I'm really not very helpful for Christmas presents, am I?)
Talk soon!
❤Katie
Everything is (almost) going as planned
over 6 years ago
– Wed, Nov 15, 2017 at 11:29:14 PM
Hello everyone!
Just a quick note to let you know that everything is (almost) going as planned.
Edits are under way and I am blown away by the breadth of topics these essays are covering. You want to read about fashion magick? We've got that. How about boxing? Yep, we got that. But what if you're into Scottish mythology? Yes, we have that too. Okay, but what about finding power in Desi salons? Yes, we definitely have that.You want to read about going to an all-boys high school and not yet knowing you were a girl but knowing you're definitely different so you become a witch? You can do that in this book. This book has something for everyone, is my point.
I moved to Scotland this past weekend and I'm playing catch up right now, but I'll be back on schedule shortly. It's also co-editor Jasmine's birthday today, so I told her she wasn't allowed to do any work. Only eat cake and read good books.
Unfortunately, Jaliessa Sipress has had to drop out of the book due to scheduling conflicts. This leaves us with 21 authors, and in the Kickstarter I guaranteed you would get at least 20, so we're still okay. I'm sad to see Jaliessa go, and I hope we can work together on something in the future, as her writing is powerful and inspiring.
The two newest writers for Becoming Dangerous!
over 6 years ago
– Tue, Nov 07, 2017 at 07:11:56 PM
Hello!
My co-editor, Jasmine Elliott, and I have started editing the Becoming Dangerous essays. I am already amazed at the vulnerability, ferociousness, and beauty of these pieces of writing. I can't wait to share them with you!
In the meantime, I wanted to properly introduce the two newest writers to Becoming Dangerous.
First, Avery Edison, who I've mentioned before, but who I now mention again! Avery Edison is a comedian and humourist who has written and performed extensively about her experiences as a transgender woman. Her writing has been published in The Guardian, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and The Toast. She lives on Twitter, where she spends all day making terrible puns and talking too much about her genitals.
And secondly, Nora Khan. Nora is a writer of fiction and criticism, focusing on issues in digital visual culture, philosophy of technology, artificial intelligence, electronic music, and games. She is Acting Editor at Rhizome. Her criticism won a Thoma Foundation 2016 Arts Writing Award in Digital Art. She has published in 4Columns, Flash Art, Art in America, California Sunday, Spike Art, Conjunctions, The Village Voice, Rhizome, After Us, Kill Screen, and contributed to books from Sternberg Press and Mousse. This year, Primary Information published Fear Indexing the X-Files, her essay with Steven Warwick, as an artist's book. She speaks frequently on the cross of art and AI, most recently at Gray Area Festival, transmediale in Berlin, UCLA IDEAS, the Whitney Museum, New Museum, New School, and NYU.
The stretch goal for adding new authors to the book had mentioned adding three new authors. I had three new authors lined up, but due to a last-minute scheduling conflict, the third had to pull away from the book. The schedule was too tight to then try to find someone else to create a 3000-5000 word essay in the amount of time available. Sorry about that! Such are the perils of creating an anthology with a collection of really talented, in-demand writers!
In other news, 80% of you have filled out your survey from BackerKit. Thank you thank you thank you! If you haven't yet, please do so by checking your email, or going here and entering your email address.
Backer surveys from BackerKit have been SENT!
over 6 years ago
– Thu, Nov 02, 2017 at 03:55:04 PM
Hello!
I've sent out the backer surveys from BackerKit today, so please be checking your inbox for an email from BackerKit, not Kickstarter, in order to fill these out!
When you fill out your backer survey, you'll be able to add on extra books or pins or whatever else you'd like! With BackerKit you can also go back to the site and update your address if you happen to move before the books get sent out in February.
Also, if you know someone who wished they'd gotten a book, BackerKit also does preorders and you can point your friend in this direction!
Please fill out your backer survey as soon as you can as stragglers can end up costing a project much more than was budgeted.
Thanks so much for your help! I've been deep in talks with the printers arguing about foil options; all the essays from writers are coming in this weekend and editing will begin; all the witchy rewards are ready to be ordered--things are progressing on schedule.
Oh! And on November 19, we shoot the cover for the limited edition illustrated hardcover. Ellen Rogers and I are so excited to show you that finished project.
In the meantime, you can check out the Fiction & Feeling Instagram to see several of the illustrations from the book!
