Every week, the Seattle Review of Books backs a Kickstarter, and writes up why we picked that particular project. Read more about the project here. Suggest a project by writing to kickstarter at this domain, or by using our contact form.

What's the project this week?

Fitting In: Tales of Supernatural Outsiders. We've put $20 in as a non-reward backer

Who is the Creator?

Jeremy Zimmerman.

What do they have to say about the project?

A collection of urban fantasy stories about supernatural entities in a world not made for them.

What caught your eye?

Local talent! Jeremy, and his wife Dawn Vogel, run the Mad Scientist Journal website, where they publish "a new story from the world of mad science every Monday." This is their fourth collection they've produced using Kickstarter.

I like the theme of outsiders, especially when mixed with the supernatural. Since Frankenstein, monster stories have been used as metaphors for feeling apart from other people. I like that they're tackling that straight on. And, as they say, "we are particularly interested in stories beyond the usual Western supernatural population. Vampires and werewolves are fine, but we'd really love to also see stories tapping into African and Asian myths."

You can get a copy of the book as cheap as $15, which is a nice price for helping bring something like this to life.

Why should I back it?

Support local small publishers! Genre stuff like this often gets put on the side table, if you're not in the fan base, but there's a particular pleasure in cracking a good themed anthology. You owe yourself the experience, if you never have — you may think you know what you're going to get, but there are always surprises.

Plus, work like this is a labor of love. I would guess that Jeremy and Dawn are putting these projects out because they love them, they want to give back to their community, and because they're filling a gap where they wanted to read deeply where other people weren't publishing. I hazard to say that nobody's getting rich, here. It's about bringing things they love to fruition.

How's the project doing?

At 33 days to go, and only about 11% there. But, based on their track record, I imagine they'll make the mark

Do they have a video?

Kickstarter Fund Stats

• Projects backed: 2
• Funds pledged: $40
• Funds collected: $0
• Unsuccessful pledges: 0
• Fund balance: $1000