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The Literary Tarot

Created by Brink Literacy Project

A Tarot Deck Unlocking the Secrets of Classic Literature—join us as we delve into the libraries of history, unearthing secrets of the cosmos through the wisdom of our favorite classic stories… Join an all-star team of beloved authors—including Margaret Atwood, Stephen Fry, Roxane Gay, Patrick Rothfuss, and Celeste Ng—as they pair literary works with each card in the tarot, unlocking the secrets of the arcana through the world's most powerful stories. All proceeds from this store go toward our nonprofit mission to increase literacy rates, nurture emerging and marginalized voices, and help people living on the brink to unlock the potential inside themselves! Brink Literacy Project is a 501(c)(3) & Scottish Registered Charity

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Proofs Will Be Finished This Weekend
over 1 year ago – Sat, Oct 29, 2022 at 04:11:02 AM

Hello Backers!

We wanted to drop a quick update here. Our printer has completed their new plates for the tarot deck and are printing and foiling them today through the weekend. Other items, like the mini guidebook have also been addressed, and look pretty darn snazzy. 

We expect to receive video of the deck and other products this Sunday, and will approve anything we can based on that evidence. We will also receive a new (hopefully final) round of production products to evaluate over the next week, and we'll share more about those with you all.

Progress!

The mini guidebook, no longer foiled by foil.

Given the time, care, and effort that our team and our printer have put into addressing the issues from the last round of demos, we have high hopes! Please knock on wood, throw some salt over your shoulder, cross your fingers, avoid cracks in the sidewalk... We'll be doing the same. 

If you need to update your address, or have questions, please reach out to [email protected]. Thank you all so very much for your continued support of this project and your understanding. We'll post another update ASAP.

Cheers,

Dani, Helen, and the Brinkeroos

Addressing Printing Issues and Timeline Updates
over 1 year ago – Fri, Oct 21, 2022 at 12:52:19 AM

Hi Backers! 

Thank you so much for all the kind condolences, and for your brilliant patience and understanding as we've navigated printing errors to track down the source of the problem, correct it, and get our printer on track, all while dealing with unexpected loss, added to the day-to-day responsibilities in running a nonprofit. 

We won't belabor the news. We're still getting issues with the foiling, clarity, print quality, and color resolved. The last week and a half has been a nonstop back-and-forth between us and our printer, learning (only now) that the production equipment is so dissimilar to the prototype equipment that files needed reworking. We also lost 5 days from October 1 - 6 to the China National Day and Golden Week Holiday.

The fixes have been happening quickly, thanks to our fantastic Assistant Creative Director, Edge. But one fix leads to another and leads to another. We are expecting to get video evidence of (what we hope will be) a successful test print in the next day or two. If everything looks good, the printer will send us samples of everything again so we can see it with our own eyes. And, hopefully, the same day we verify they can start final production.

So what does this mean for the timeline?  

  • We receive production samples in 10 - 14 days (October 27 - 31)
  • Production Begins and takes 20 days (November 20)
  • Finished Product Ships to Fulfilment Centers by boat, 30 days (December 20)
  • Product is shipped to Backers from centers in U.S., Canada, U.K., Netherlands, Hong Kong, 2 weeks (January 2023)

These delays (from the supply chain problems last winter, to the Jan-June Covid shutdowns in China, to these printing issues) have been exceedingly frustrating for us, as we know they have been for you. We know that some of you planned to give this deck as a gift for the holidays, and we are sincerely sorry for the disappointment these delays have caused. We are, first and foremost, dedicated to making sure the deck and every add-on item is of the impeccable quality and beauty that we've promised you. It is happening. And we will deliver to you as soon as possible. Thank YOU for understanding. Thank YOU for supporting this project. We will not let you down.

If you need to make changes to your address or pledge, please message us via Kickstarter or email us at [email protected]

We will update you all again when we know more! Hopefully with proofs on the way. 

Sincerely,

Dani, Helen, and the Brinkeroos

Production Proofs Update
over 1 year ago – Mon, Sep 26, 2022 at 06:33:38 PM

Hello again backers!

We wanted this update to share a beautiful video of us unboxing the final production copy of the Literary Tarot, but we ran into a bit of a snag. A small handful of snags, actually. Our printer made some modifications to our art files, and in the process, altered names on a few cards, removed text from packaging, and stretched layouts with foil, creating an unpleasant blur.

That's not our "The Fool"! You can also see how the gold is offset from the black lines, creating rough edges.

That said, the product we received from our printer was about 80% perfect, so this isn’t a panic moment—though we are definitely pushing for fast fixes to the issues, and rushed shipping for the new final proofs because you’ve waited, we’ve waited, and we will get you the highest quality products that you deserve.

The good news is that our printer estimates this pushing us back only another week or so. Let’s call that two weeks, as this isn’t our first rodeo.

Sending you all the best possible version of this deck is literally the most important thing to us. We have all been working at and waiting for this for too long to settle on something inferior.

You have all been extremely patient, supportive and kind throughout this process, and we’re infinitely grateful. If you have questions about this process, please feel free to reach out to [email protected] or via Kickstarter.

On a personal note, we recently lost a dear member of the Brink Literacy Project family, and so Dani will be out of town to attend memorial services. We don’t expect that will hold up the changes to the tarot at the printer, but if we’re slightly slower in updating or replying, you’ll know why.

Thank you for your kindness and understanding! We will continue to share every detail with you as this develops, and as noted above, feel free to reach out to us with questions or concerns.

Cheers!

Dani, Helen, and the Brinkeroos

Final Production Proofs... Arriving Monday, September 12!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Sep 07, 2022 at 06:00:46 AM

Hello Backers!

Another quick update! Our final production proofs got pushed back 3 or 4 days because China was rationing electricity to factories due to the high temperatures there. But, the proofs are in the post. We have tracking showing that they will arrive to us on Monday, September 12. We'll give them a final inspection and share with you all then. (Plan on us doing an unboxing as soon as possible!) 

For now, here are a few, albeit blurry, photos of the items as sent by our printer. We will get you better photos (and probably video) once we have them in our hot little hands.

It's on the way to us! 

We'll post again when it's UNBOXING TIME! 

Brink Literacy Project Education Fellowships

As you may recall, we're a literacy nonprofit organization. This year, we're offering two educational fellowships for our F(r)iction in the Classroom Program and Frames Prison Program. Here's a little info on the fellowships:

  •  Start Date: Flexible
  •  Duration: 6 months
  •  Time Commitment: 18–20 hours per week
  •  Stipend: $10,000
  •  Location: Remote (with travel to Denver, CO for one summit)
  •  Deadline: Rolling

Frames Prison Program

Since 2017, Brink has run this innovative educational program in women’s prisons in the US and UK. Using comics as a way to court low-literacy and reluctant readers, we help students distill a single turning point in their lives into a short graphic memoir. This process works to tackle personal trauma, increase self-sufficiency, and help students gain the tools they need to get out and stay out of prison. 

 F(r)iction in the Classroom

In partnership with high school and university professors, we work to engage students with diverse, contemporary stories using our triannual literary journal, F(r)iction, as a mentor text. These courses allow students to read and write about a wide range of topics—from heart-crushing memoirs to wild sci-fi comics—each aiming to engage reluctant readers, increase critical thinking and empathy, and spark a lifelong love of reading.

If you, or someone you know might be interested in these opportunities, we'd love for you to apply via the Brink Literacy Project website.

With final production demos almost here, we're seriously ready to go. We can't wait to get this project finished for you all. We so sincerely appreciate your patience, and understand that this has been a long road. Thank you for being part of this project! We'll be back to you ASAP with an unboxing!

Cheers!

Dani, Helen, and the Brinkeroos

Final Production Update!
over 1 year ago – Sat, Aug 20, 2022 at 07:38:29 PM

Hello again backers!

We wanted to drop a quick line with our progress on the timeline we laid out in our last update from July 11.

Our printers have told us to expect the final products for our last quality review on or before August 30th.

Once everything is in our hands (and nothing needs to be changed!) we’ll kick off final production, which should take about 5 weeks. Then there’s 30 days in transit for shipping and customs. That puts us on track to get products in our 5 warehouse fulfillment centers (in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Netherlands, and Hong Kong) during the last week of October and from there, on their way to each and every one of you!

**If you're curious about shipping rates for your pledges, we've made a page with helpful estimates here.**

If you have questions, need to add items, or need to change your address please contact [email protected]. We’re happy to help however we can.

Thank you, again, and ALWAYS, for sticking with us through this whole mad process!!!

We will update you all again (with pics!) as soon as we get those final production items.


Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser

Earlier this year, Karla Nappi, one of the authors we’ve featured in F(r)iction, lost her friend Elizabeth Ann Wiseman. Elizabeth was a young artist and poet, so Karla established the Elizabeth Ann Wiseman Scholarship in her memory, and set Brink Literacy Project as its beneficiary.

Karla has a GoFundMe open now, and she’s still seeking contributes to sponsor internship stipends for our Publishing Internship Program.

If it strikes a chord with you, you can find the fundraiser at https://www.gofundme.com/f/elizabeth-ann-wiseman-scholarship

We’ll be back with more updates ASAP!


Cheers,

Dani, Helen, and the Brinkeroos