Colophon: A Newspaper For Stories We Found On the Web

For the last two months, I've been co-editing Instafiction.org, a collection of web-based short stories designed for daily weekday feeds, compatible with storage devices such as Instapaper, mobile devices/e-readers, and updated via the site, Twitter, and Facebook. I wrote a brief introductory piece during our official launch, and I've had the details listed to your right in the sidebar. We've developed a small, yet enthusiastic following, and various literary magazines and authors have supported our project. While we are chugging along, we decided to see if we couldn't experiment with a new format as a way to support writers.

Jeremy Bushnell came up with the idea of creating a newspaper version of some of the Instafiction stories. Our site is possible because of the digital transformation, but there is simply no denying that reading on paper is its own aesthetic pleasure. No matter how much they try, the creators of e-reading devices can never truly replicate the feel of a printed page. To make this project more feasible, Jeremy created a video and page with Kickstarter, a website that allows people to pitch creative projects in the interest of gaining financial backing. If we can raise enough money, our limited-run newspaper will be called Colophon. The complete page of details can be found here.

So yes, this is a plea for both donations and for spreading the word. Yes, this is a world of tight finances. However, one can donate a little as $1, yet, as the page explains, the more you donate, the more you'll receive. Most importantly, if we can raise $1,000 by October 2nd, not only will we be able to see this project to completion, but some of the finances will go toward the authors who have been featured in Instafiction thus far. So if this sounds promising, make a donation. The closing paragraph of the Kickstarter page sums this up nicely:

"With a dose of support from even a small group of enthusiastic readers, we can get it done. For as low as just $20, you can get a copy of the completed paper. Whatever proceeds remain once we pay Newspaper Club and our Kickstarter/Amazon fees will be split evenly, with half going to cover the ongoing costs of the Instafiction.org project and half going to support the hardworking authors who agree to let us print their work. The more money we raise, the more money the authors will receive.
We hope you’ll consider helping us to make something really cool happen. Thanks!"