Signed Books, Doodled Books, First Edition Books….

We here on the Worldbuilders team know you guys like to hear stories about the people Heifer International is working with. Stories like the one Pat shared in yesterday’s blog.

We love these stories too. In fact, we published a calendar full of them for 2014.

B

(Bhumi Kumari Kathait helps her grandson drink a cup of milk in Nepal)

Of course, some of prefer hard facts and numbers demonstrating the work Heifer does. We can absolutely respect that. We actually encourage folks to check their facts instead of blindly throw their money at something.  So here’s some information from the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation.

“Due to Heifer International’s expenditure of about $7 million over six years, about 8,500 Ugandan families are likely to experience income gains exceeding $8.5 million a year on an ongoing basis and asset gains of about $17 billion.”

“About 5,500 of their children are likely to avoid stunting due to nutritional shortfalls. For each $1 expenditure by country programs in Albania, Nepal and Uganda, households can be expected to gain about $2.35, $1.19 and $1.25 in the respective country programs on an ongoing basis once the projects reach the maturity profile of those included in the evaluation.”

That means for every dollar put into one of these projects, the people involved gain the ability to earn more than a dollar on an ongoing basis.

If you want to read the full article, head over here.

Because of the way Heifer works, ten or twenty dollars can make a huge impact.

And since everything in this blog is going into the lottery, $10 can get you a chance to win. $40 gets you four chances to win, and not just these books, but thousands of others.

Plus, did we mention *everything* in this blog is signed? It’s a very win-filled situation.

  • Copy of Steelheart.  Signed by Brandon Sanderson. Includes a code to see a secret page on Brandon’s website.

Steel - all

Brandon’s a really cool guy and an excellent writer, as is evidenced by the live-streamed short story he wrote for our $100,000 stretch goal.  If you missed the live event, the video is online over here.

“Fantastic!  The suspense is relentless and the climax explosive, with a resolution that I’ll be thinking about for a long time.” – James Dashner, New York Times bestselling author of the Maze Runner series.

  • Copy of Evil Machines.  First edition, signed by Terry Jones.

Evil Machines - all

Here is a cool book by the awesome Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame), which was produced by Unbound.

For those of you who haven’t heard of it, Unbound is effectively a Kickstarter for book ideas.  They’ll publish, print, and distribute a book for you if your idea for a book gets funded.

There weren’t a lot of these made up, and this edition of the book sold out – but here we have a signed first edition up for grabs in the lottery.

Goblinproofing - all

“I had the most awful problems with goblins gobbling up my hens in the night.  Thanks to Mr. Bakeley’s new book, not only is my garden free of these pests, but my chickens have never been happier!” – Professor Elemental, adventurer, inventor, and tea enthusiast

In Goblinproofing One’s Chicken Coop readers will discover:
– Why a bustle in one’s hedgerow may be cause for alarm
– Why a garden fumigator may come in handy on evenings at the pub
– Why a toy merchant, a butcher, and a Freemason are among your best allies in the fight against the fey

This book is full of practical advice, which is always a good thing to get.

Pandoras - all

“Anyone who begins this won’t be able to put it down… Hamilton proves that “intelligent space opera” isn’t an oxymoron” – Publishers Weekly

So when a star just disappears, who wouldn’t dispatch a faster-than-light ship to investigate? But how smart is it to put a washed-up, centuries old, ex-NASA pilot in the driver’s seat? And on top of that, when a cult insists that this trip may be compromised by an alien race for their own plan, how can you tell if they’re not that crazy?

Pathfinder - all

“The implications of the boys’ power to manipulate the past unfold cleverly…, feeding into the Machiavellian political intrigue for a pulse-pounding climax….Card’s many fans will be thrilled by this return to his literary roots.” – Kirkus

  • Sets of The Darwin Elevator, The Exodus Towers, and The Plague Forge.  Signed by Jason M. Hough.

Darwin - MM - Stacked

“The best part about alien stories is their mystery, and Jason M. Hough understands that like no other. Full of compelling characters and thick with tension, The Darwin Elevator delivers both despair and hope along with a gigantic dose of wonder. It’s a brilliant debut and Hough can take my money whenever he writes anything from now on.” – Kevin Hearne

We auctioned off a signed copy of The Darwin Elevator to one lucky bidder, and we managed to dig up a whole set. This one’s for the lottery.

  • Set of The Dark Earth and Southern Gods.  Both first editions, siged by John Horner Jacobs.

Dark Earth - all

Southern Gods is scary, smart, and effective both as Lovecraftian fiction and as a Southern Regional novel set in 1951.” – David Drake

  • Sets of The Twelve Fingered Boy and The Shibboleth.  First editions, signed by John Hornor Jacobs.

Twelve Fingered - Take 2

“A fast-paced, ferocious nightmare of a story – gritty, magical, and surprisingly tender.” – Brenna Yovanoff

Pat read The Twelve-Fingered Boy a while back and gushed about it on Goodreads, mentioning how he went out of his way to get hold of an Advance reading copy of the sequel, The Shibboleth, for himself.

What Pat didn’t mention is that he got a copy of the ARC for us too. So whoever whoever wins this in the lottery will get their hands on a rare early copy…

Creature from - all

This is a copy of a new printing of the incredibly-hard-to-find original movie novelization for Creature from the Black Lagoon, in a cool limited edition.  There were only 250 copies of this edition made, and we’ve tossed this into the lottery so that anyone with ten bucks has the chance to win it. The signatures are from Creature‘s leading lady Julie Adams and the Creature himself, Ricou Browning.

  • Copy of Prince of Thorns.  First edition, signed by Mark Lawrence.

Prince of Thorns - all

“Dark and relentless, Prince of Thorns will pull you under and drown you in story.  A two-in-the-morning page turner.” – Robin Hobb

Promise of Blood - all

Promise of Blood is a hugely promising debut. Guns, swords, and magic together? What more could you want? How about tense action, memorable characters, rising stakes, and cool, cool magic? Not only the finest flintlock fantasy I’ve read, but also the most fun. Brian McClellan is the real thing.” – Brent Weeks

So you’d think a successful coup against a corrupt monarchy would improve life for everyone. Not so much.

  • Copy of Theiftaker.  First edition, signed by D.B. Jackson.

Thieftaker - all

Thieftaker is a lean, elegant, intricate tale of a conjurer and a world on the brink of revolution.  Fabulous!” – Faith Hunter

D.B. Jackson did a read and critique of a manuscript for us earlier in the fundraiser, and here we have something extra special: a first edition copy of the first book in his current series. It’s signed, plus comes with a promotional postcard you can show off anywhere.

Red Country - all

“Abercrombie rings the changes with his sixth novel, tipping his hat to the Western genre but continuing his mission to drag fantasy, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century with his characteristic mix of gritty realism, complex characterisation, set-piece scenes of stomach-churning violence and villains who are as fully rounded as his flawed heroes … Abercrombie writes fantasy like no one else.” –  The Guardian

  • Copy of A Web of Air.  First edition, signed and doodled by Philip Reeve.

Web of Air - standing

“Beautifully written, grippingly paced, and filled with eccentric characters and bizarre inventions… this is a novel guaranteed to please Reeve’s fans… and very likely broaden their ranks.” – Publishers Weekly

Web of air - doodle

And by the way? That illustration? That’s not printed on the title page, that’s drawn by the author himself.

Yeah. This is a real one-of-a-kind item. You should probably click the image to embiggen it.

*   *   *

Remember, folks, it only takes a donation of $10 or more to be entered into the lottery. And for every 10 bucks you throw in, you get another chance to win.

 

 

This entry was posted in Worldbuilders 2013. By Amanda11 Responses

11 Comments

  1. Kthaeh
    Posted January 22, 2014 at 6:14 PM | Permalink

    Maybe this is a totally unreasonable impression, but you’ve mentioned so many lottery prizes that I’m going to be sort of flabbergasted if I *don’t* win something. Last year I think you said any given entry had something like a 1 in 12 chance of being drawn for the lottery. Do you have any such odds for this year? (I understand that this is probably a moving number, but a ballpark estimate would be more than good enough.)

    • Posted January 23, 2014 at 7:17 AM | Permalink

      We’re hoping to get something like that ready soon. Stay tuned….

  2. cynrtst
    Posted January 22, 2014 at 9:04 PM | Permalink

    Also, I am assuming that all the prizes will be awarded when the campaign is complete? When will that be? Thanks. I contributed already but if it goes passed February 3rd when I get paid again, I will up my contribution.

    • cynrtst
      Posted January 22, 2014 at 9:04 PM | Permalink

      Past

      • Posted January 23, 2014 at 7:19 AM | Permalink

        We’re ending on the 2nd. But it wouldn’t be unusual for us to push it back by one more day.

        We also usually have a little grace period for those that come in late…

  3. Posted January 23, 2014 at 6:14 AM | Permalink

    Hi Kthaeh and cynrtst,

    obviously I cannot speak for Pat on this, but I shall give you my opinion instead:
    Despite good odds, I still think it’s best for your sanity and peace of mind to assume that you (general you, not personal you) did not win. As with previous years, the run down of the odds will most likely be released after Worldbuilders has ended. Keeping it constantly up to date would be a lot of effort for a meaningless piece of information. For the time being, I would assume those 1 in 12 odds that you mentioned.

    cynrtst, if you click on the worldbuilder’s website ( http://www.worldbuilders.org/), there is a counter there that shows the remaining time (as of writing this, 10 days and 17 hours), which would mean it’s ending on the 2nd of February (or the 3rd, if you’re in a different time zone).

    All the best,
    Kai

  4. Cybeline
    Posted January 23, 2014 at 6:30 AM | Permalink

    Kthaeh, I just wanted to provide a little perspective on the odds-of-winning situation. So far, there are a LOT of books that have been donated to the lottery. Maybe even over a thousand. Maybe. I’m not going to go count. And a $10 donation = 1 entry in the lottery. So if you take the current total at the time of this post, divide by 10…that’s over 34,000 entries.

    As Pat (or the Worldbuilders team) and Kai have said, it’s better to just assume that you’ve made the world a better place and are receiving thanks of the intangible kind. That way if you receive something tangible, it’s just frosting. But if you don’t win, are you going to let it sour the experience of doing a good thing? That’s something best decided upon ahead of time.

    • Kthaeh
      Posted January 23, 2014 at 8:20 AM | Permalink

      I never said winning nothing would sour my experience, just that it would surprise me. I was trying to make the point that the number of prizes seems overwhelming. Winning nothing won’t bother me in the least, because as you said, contributing makes the world a better place, which was my motivation. But thanks for giving me your perspective.

      I also never asked for constant updates on odds and in fact acknowledged that the situation is changing. I’ve asked once, because such odds were provided last year. Pat seems to find it possible to provide such information in the near future.

  5. Kali
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 2:49 PM | Permalink

    So glad the Last Unicorn made it for this year’s auction! It really is gorgeous.

    Regarding your chances, assuming you didn’t win makes anything a surprise, which is wonderful!

    And if, say, that surprise package is subsequently mangled by a sharknado or rampaging wild dog* before you see what you won, well that’s also a surprise! Luck is a strange and fickle beast.

    *It’s possible that the animal was actually our domesticated, if unrepentant, husky.

    • Kali
      Posted February 1, 2014 at 1:09 PM | Permalink

      Darn it, that was totally on the wrong post. It was supposed to be a comment on the graphic novels post, where someone was asking about the chances of winning. Doh!

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