Writer's Grove

Books for helping peeps

I don’t know if y’all have been keeping up with the news but in certain parts of the world there are humans being inhuman to other humans. (That’s most everywhere, yeah.) It’s especially heinous in the other hemisphere right now. Millions of people are leaving war-torn Syria and other countries because they feel their choices boil down to RUN or DIE, and while some of these refugees are being welcomed and sheltered, many are running into heartless immigration policies and authorities calling them “migrants” rather than refugees. The two words are not the same thing at all, and calling them migrants allows governments to turn them away rather than provide the aid they need and deserve by law. For more on that please see Neil Gaiman’s journal on the topic.

There’s little I can do about racist immigration policies except vote for kind people in the next election—people who realize that human rights means rights for all humans, not just the ones who look and talk and think and worship like they do. But as far as helping out people who are running for their lives from deplorable conditions, I can donate to the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR.  Here’s the link and what they do:

Donate to them at http://rfg.ee/RN3uy​ — and please, share the donation link:

With your support, UNHCR will provide assistance such as:

• Deliver rescue kits containing a thermal blanket, towel, water, high nutrient energy bar, dry clothes and shoes, to every survivor;

• Set up reception centres where refugees can be registered and receive vital medical care;

• Provide temporary emergency shelter to especially vulnerable refugees;

• Help children travelling alone by providing specialist support and care.

I can’t disagree with any of that. So I donated, and if you’re able, I encourage you to do the same, and to encourage your friends as well. When you do, you’ll get an email from the UNHCR with a PDF for charitable tax thingies, which looks like this:

So I’ll make y’all a deal. Donate to them. Whatever you can. I don’t care how much because it all helps. Send me a screen cap of their email to you like the one above—not the actual PDF with the amount listed, because again, any amount is helpful—and you’re automatically entered into a contest to win spiffy books & stuff from a buttload of kind authors who are on board with this. Please send your screen cap to kevin at kevinhearne.com with the subject line BOOKS FOR HELPING PEEPS. I’ll run this until Sep. 20 and announce randomly selected winners on the 21st. It’s open to international readers too—the UN accepts donations from everyone. Here’s what you can win:

One of three copies of Hit or two copies of Servants of the Storm by Delilah S. Dawson, complete with signed bookplates and assorted swag from Delilah!

One of three copies of Zer0es by Chuck Wendig. One is signed by both Chuck and me. Another is just signed and doodled by me and if you can find Chuck later and show it to him that would amuse me greatly. The last is a signed copy donated by Chuck and free of my shenanigans.

Two copies of Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig. One is just straight-up signed & donated by Chuck. The other is the copy that I bought and read and which I have annotated extensively. Here is just a sample of what you’ll see as you read:

And mature, academic commentary like this:

Excellent human, author, and beekeeper Brian McClellan has donated a rare signed ARC of Promise of Blood and a signed hardcover as well:

Stellar action god Jason M. Hough has donated a signed hardcover of his latest, Zero World, plus a short story no one has seen yet:

Also on the list o’ prizes, these donations from fabulous authors:

• A signed copy of Gemini Cell by Myke Cole
• A signed copy of The Eterna Files by Leanna Renee Hieber
• Two signed copies of The Clockwork Crown by Beth Cato
• A signed copy of Dead Things and Broken Souls by Stephen Blackmoore
• A signed copy of Revision by Andrea Phillips
• The entire St. Croix series by Karina Cooper in either .epub or .mobi format

And then you can also win spiffy Iron Druid art signed by Galen Dara and me. I have five prints like this to give away:

(That’s the cover art for THREE SLICES, featuring Mekera, Atticus, and Oberon.) Also, you can win a full signed set of the Iron Druid Chronicles to this point, books 1-7, and one of ten signed hardcover copies of Shattered.

Destroying is easy. Rebuilding is tough. My heartfelt thanks to you for helping people rebuild their lives.

Peace, Love, and Tacos,
Kevin