Ashley Kalagian Blunt: #AuthorsForFireys guest blog

This guest blog features Ashley Kalagian Blunt, an author auctioning items in one bundle to raise money via #AuthorsForFireys 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.

Who is Ashley Kalagian Blunt?

Ashley Kalagian Blunt is a Sydney-based author. Her new memoir, How to Be Australian, is coming out in June 2020 from Affirm Press. My Name Is Revenge, her first book, was shortlisted for the 2019 Woollahra Digital Literary Award and a finalist in the 2018 Carmel Bird Digital Literary Award. Her writing appears in Griffith Review, Sydney Review of Books, Westerly, the Australian, the Big Issue and Kill Your Darlings. Ashley is a Moth StorySLAM winner and has appeared at Story Club, the National Young Writers’ Festival, and Sydney Writers’ Festival. You can find Ashley on her website https://ashleykalagianblunt.com and on Twitter.

Ashley Kalagian Blunt’s offer

For #AuthorsForFireys, I'm auctioning:
– a signed copy of My Name Is Revenge PLUS
– a signed copy of my NEW BOOK out this June through Affirm Press with YOUR NAME IN THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, you legend

Auction ends 11 Jan midnight AEDT. Bids below! xx pic.twitter.com/HJMNhuGfwq

— Ashley Kalagian Blunt (@AKalagianBlunt) January 6, 2020

For #authorsforfireys, I’m auctioning:
– a signed copy of My Name Is Revenge PLUS
– a signed copy of my NEW BOOK out this June through Affirm Press with YOUR NAME IN THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, you legend
Tweet here: https://twitter.com/AKalagianBlunt/status/1214296593601585152

I’m supporting #authorsforfireys in part because my forthcoming book, How to Be Australian, is a love letter to this charming, vast, baffling country that has become my home.

To bid, respond to the original tweet please.

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.