Welcome to bookchat! Where you can talk about anything; books, plays, essays, and audio books. You don’t have to be reading a book to come in, sit down, and chat with us.
Remember 2020? That awesome runoff in Georgia? Two fundraisers — Romancing the Runoff and Mystery Loves Georgia — raised money for that successful effort. And 2022? RtV once again raised money to register voters and GOTV.
They’re back, with tons of awesome stuff for book lovers, writers — of all kinds, both page and screen; and lovers of handmade jewelry, cuddly quilts, scarves, etc. From their press kit:
We are romance authors, readers, and fans who care about the future of this country and are inspired by fellow romance author Stacey Abrams to do what we can to preserve the right to vote. Democracy only thrives when every vote can be cast and counted, and we are fighting to help dismantle the legacy of voter suppression both in Georgia and across the country. All funds raised through our project will go to voting organizations. (In 2024: Fair Fight and VoteRiders)
Past years have included awesome things like a zoom chat with the Queen of Romance, Beverly Jenkins, and book bundles from everyone from Tessa Dare to Kristen Ashley to Mike Chen. And not just Romance stuff, there’s lots of Science Fiction and Fantasy, and there are books and bundles from all kinds of authors. For writers & creators, there are critiques, consults & mentorships from successful authors, publishers, TV & film people. Podcast production assistance, a zoom chat with a publishing assistant, marketing & merchandising experts….. there’s just so much here for creators!
If you are writing or filming anything — or need a gift for someone who is — you need to check this auction out. Romancing the Vote 2024 is going to be awesome. The auction starts on July 1. The things I have wanted most in past years (though they always go way above what I can afford, which is fine because the point is to raise money) are book bundles from authors like Stacey Abrams/Selena Montgomery, Tessa Dare, Kit Rocha (have I told you how much I love their post apocalypse romance/take down The Man trilogy?) and others. And gorgeous earrings and other jewelry.
History of Romancing the Vote:
The initial auction has raised a total of $498,000, including an epilogue to auction off an original, autographed copy of Rules of Engagement by Selena Montgomery aka Stacey Abrams... who donated it to them personally.
In 2022 they got the band back together to raise close to $250,000 to enable voting access in the midterms. 2024 will be their third time joining forces for democracy!
The auction site just went live. Here are some recent donations they’ve tweeted about:
And after a really quick perusing of it -— omg, this skull quilt. And the 25th anniversary annotated edition of Beverly Jenkins’ Indigo. An hour with an astronomer, chapter critiques from established authors, zoom sessions with editors and agents…. There’s already 8 pages of stuff and there will be tons more by the time the auction opens on the 1st. So you can get awesome things, whether you are an author/creator in need of help & advice or you’re a book lover wanting an autographed book or bundle/basket. Or if you need some gorgeous new gaming dice, earrings, quilts, etc. And to contribute to saving democracy. Non-US citizens: you can also buy/contribute and the money will go to non-political causes like paying off medical debt. One more time, it starts July 1 and you can start looking at stuff here.