Anna Whateley: #AuthorsForFireys guest blog

This guest blog features Anna Whateley, who is donating items for the #AuthorsForFireys auction. This fundraiser is for the fire fighting effort here in Australia. The full set of #AuthorsForFireys interviews and blog posts will be here as soon as they are published, as interviews and guest blogs for #AuthorsForWildlife will be here.

Meet Anna Whateley

Hi, I’m Anna Whateley. I’m only an emerging writer but I had to find some way to help with the devastating situation in Australia. My family are rural fire fighters, and we know how hard the job is on a normal week… this is just beyond belief.

Anna Whateley is a Brisbane based writer. She has worked in literature and education, and holds a PhD in young adult fiction from Queensland University of Technology.

Her debut novel Peta Lyre’s Rating Normal, with Allen & Unwin, will be released in May 2020. Black Inc. Books is publishing an autobiographical account of Anna’s life in Growing up Disabled in Australia in June, 2020.

‘Anna is an ‘own voices’ author. She is proudly autistic, with ADHD and sensory processing disorder.’ Danielle Binks of Jacinta di Mase Literary Agency represents Anna. You can find Anna Whately on her website annawhateley.com  and on Allen and Unwin’s (her publisher’s) website.

To help in her own small way, she’s offering a yet-to-be-printed-ARC (Advance Reader Copy — aka A COLLECTOR’S EDITION!) of Peta Lyre’s Rating Normal a contemporary YA (Young adult) novel. She’ll sign it, colour it in, add notes, whatever you like! You can find more information in the twitter thread. It’s a really good book. The current top bid is $200.

Anna Whateley’s offers

Here we go-

Thanks to @AllenAndUnwin I have one not-yet-printed ARC of Peta Lyre's Rating Normal to auction. Bidding ends 11pm Sydney/Melbourne time on Saturday 11th Jan 2020. Every little bit helps! #AuthorsForFireys

Details: https://t.co/mBum0yY9nM / https://t.co/NliTSBk2lw pic.twitter.com/KYuedgdBAP

— Anna Whateley, phd (@AnnaWhateley) January 7, 2020

Here we go- Thanks to @AllenAndUnwin I have one not-yet-printed ARC of Peta Lyre’s Rating Normal to auction. Bidding ends 11pm Sydney/Melbourne time on Saturday 11th Jan 2020. Every little bit helps! #AuthorsForFireys Details: https://authorsforfireys.wixsite.com/website / https://goodreads.com/book/show/45122411-peta-lyre-s-rating-normal

Please bid on the original tweets.

Anna also has a smaller auction for five copies of an unpublished magical realist novelette (10k), Written in the Hem. PDF, or for the right bidder… a printed, signed copy in the mail. It’s a bit epic, cathartic, and tends to bring a tear.

This is a quiet auction because it's for a little thing. Mostly for @DireleafeHall! A PDF of my experimental magical realist novelette (10k). This is very different to Peta Lyre! Title is Written in the Hem. Unpublished and only read by 2 people.. like.. ever… #authorforfireys pic.twitter.com/snDnI6PLNi

— Anna Whateley, phd (@AnnaWhateley) January 7, 2020

This is a quiet auction because it’s for a little thing. Mostly for @DireleafeHall ! A PDF of my experimental magical realist novelette (10k). This is very different to Peta Lyre! Title is Written in the Hem. Unpublished and only read by 2 people.. like.. ever… #authorforfireys

Please bid on the original tweets.

Want to know if this is legit?

Yes, it is legit. The whole community — Australian and global — is rallying together to support Australian firefighters, wildlife rescue and bushfire victims. Here are some reports on this effort.

• SBS: Australian authors rally around to raise funds for bushfire relief effort
• SMH: Authors ask readers to dig deep for nation’s bushfire crisis
• Book Riot: AUTHORS SUPPORT AUSTRALIA FIRE SERVICES WITH #AUTHORSFORFIREYS
• Penguin Books: Authors For Fireys — Australian authors band together to support the Country Fire Authority
• Daily Nous: Philosophers Raising Funds for Firefighters in Australia
• ArtsHub: Six ways artists can take action on bushfires

Fundraiser information from Emily Gale

The #AuthorsForFireys auction will take place only on Twitter from Monday 6th January, ending at 11pm AEST on Saturday 11th January. Scores of authors, illustrators and book industry people will host their own individual auction under the hashtag #AuthorsForFireys and bids will take place on each tweet. At the end, the highest bidder donates the amount directly to the firefighters fund. After receiving proof of donation, the author or artist will dispatch goods/services or make arrangements for delivery.

As originally wanted by @EmilyGale and @NovaWeetman, this fundraiser is now officially for ALL fire services in Australia. The official Authors For Fireys Website will be updated accordingly. Winning bidders or auctioning authors can nominate funds to the fire service of their choice.

Items up for auction include signed books, original illustrations, one-off fan-art and craft, unique gifts and manuscript critiques for writers.

There is a supporting site, explaining how it works, at this address: https://authorsforfireys.wixsite.com/website.

Related:

Carly Findlay: #AuthorsForFireys guest blog Samuel Maguire: #AuthorsForFireys guest blog Imbi Neeme: #AuthorsForFireys guest blog