Thank you!!!!!

Hey Everybody

The compilations have all gone out now, so all that's left is to say a big thank you to everyone who helped make it a success.

So, thank you to our writers, thank you to everyone who donated, thank you to the betas of the stories, thank you to the banner makers and thank you to everyone who tweeted, retweeted, blogged and generally helped promote our cause of famine relief.
Thank you to becksishere, timelights and sunray16 for responding for my cries of help on twitter and helping to make the final product look gorgeous.
Thank you to twistedin_ for helping with banners and for helping to put this blog together when we didn't have a clue.
And last, but not least, thank you to my co-host, the fabulous idealskeptic for running around ragged and for her encouragement to support this cause in the first place.

I hope everyone's been enjoying their compilations. I've loved putting it all together.
One last big thank you to you all.
evieeden

FAQs

FAQs for Authors

1.       How do I sign up to write for Fandom Against Famine?

On our blog there is a sign up form for any authors who want to write for our compilation. Just fill it out, let us know what kind of story you’d like to write and we’ll send you an email to let you know that you’re on our list.

2.       What can I write for the compilation?

We’re accepting oneshots, outtakes, future-takes and alternate POVs of chapters. You can also submit the first chapter of a new multi-chapter story, but we do ask that you wait until after the posting deadline before you continue to post the rest the of the story.

3.       When are the stories due by?

We ask that you email your story to us by the end of Sunday 9^th October. If you have any problems meeting this deadline please let us know. There is some leeway with timings if you run into trouble.

4.       What format do I have to email my story in as?

As long as the story is not locked in a zip file, we’ll accept stories in any format (Word, gdocs, ODT, etc.). The whole compilation will eventually be sent out as a PDF file, so we’ll format the document for you once we receive it.

5.       Can I add a banner to my story?

Yes. We only ask that you email the banner to us in a separate file to your story so that we can format it properly for the compilation.

6.       Will I receive a copy of the compilation?

Yes. Along with everyone who has donated to the Famine Relief charities, all writers will receive a copy of the completed compilation at the end of October. If you have a banner accompanying your story then your banner maker will also receive a copy of the compilation, providing that you email us their name and contact email when you submit your story.

7.       Can I share my copy of the compilation with others once I receive it?

As the compilation is being sent out in an effort to raise money for relief efforts, we ask that you do not share the compilation with others as it would be unfair to those who have donated time and money to receive a copy. Obviously, we cannot control this, but we ask as a point of decency that you refrain from sharing copies until after the posting deadline for the stories.

8.       When I can I post my story to my own fanfiction account/blog/website?

We ask that you wait until Sunday 4^th December before posting your story to your own account in order to give everyone who received the compilation a chance to enjoy exclusive access to the stories.

9.       What can I write about? Does it have to be Twilight?

You can write whatever you want for any fandom you want, even including original fiction. All we ask is that your story meets minimum standards of grammar and spelling (perhaps consider using a beta). If your story does include any controversial or sensitive material, please include appropriate warnings at the beginning of the story. We will screen the stories before their inclusion in the compilation for any inappropriate material and if we feel that a story has breached the grounds of decency then we may censor it or refuse to include it within the compilation. Any stories including rape, bestiality, paedophilia or abuse will not be included.

10.   Can I add an A/N to my story?

If you would like to include an A/N or any additional information relevant to your story, then please highlight it so we know to separate it from the main body of the story when we are formatting.

            General FAQs

1.       How do I get a copy of the compilation?

The aim of this compilation is to raise money for famine relief efforts in East Africa. In order to get a copy of the compilation and the great stories in it, you need to donate to any charity supporting these efforts and then forward the receipt to our email address. We’ll then send you an email to let you know that you’re on our list to receive the compilation.

2.       Do I have to send money to a specific charity?

Given the different nature of international relief charities, and the internationality of the fandom, we don’t have a specific charity that we’re supporting. As long as any money donated has gone to an East Africa campaign you can donate to any charity that you want. If you don’t know which charity would be best to donate to, we have included several relevant campaigns on the Links page of our blog.

3.       How much money should I donate?

As different charities all have different minimum donation amounts, we have set no minimum amount that you need to donate before you can receive a compilation. As needs in East Africa often vary in cost (and are often cheaper than what you would expect in the Western world), all we ask is that you give what you can. Every little helps to contribute to making someone’s life better and easier, so anything you can offer is gratefully appreciated.

4.       When will I receive a copy of the compilation if I’ve donated money?

At the moment we’re aiming for all the compilations to be sent out to those who have donated by the end of October barring complications.

5.       I don’t have the money to donate to charity, but I still want to help. How can I get involved?

You can get involved in a number of non-financial ways. You could sign up to write a story for the compilation, offer to make a banner, pre-read or beta for one of the contributing authors or just help to promote us and the cause on twitter and through blogs. We appreciate any help we can get.

The Goal of Fandom Against Famine

When we set out to raise money through fandom to aid relief efforts for the famine in East Africa, we deliberately did not set a goal that we hoped to reach. It may seem like an odd way to run a fundraiser, but our goal is to help as many people and as much as we can, whether that is a single person or a hundred people.

Obviously, helping a hundred is ideal, but helping one is just as important. And often, by helping one, you will help more than you expect.

The United Nations says that 640,000 Somali children are malnourished and at least 29,000 have already died. You can't help all of them, that much is obvious, but you can help some.

So, please, if you can afford to help one or a hundred, do it.

As some of you may know, the Horn of Africa (a collection of countries on the east of the continent including Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Uganda) are currently suffering from the worst drought to hit that part of the continent for 60 years. 

Rising grain prices, dying livestock and internal civil war has pushed the food shortage to its limits and thousands are going hungry. The UN estimates that over 10 million people could be affected by the shortage of both rain and water and people are walking hundreds of miles across deserts to reach relief camps in countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia. The largest relief camp in the world, the Dadaab camp, is struggling with a population of 350,000 refugees that is increasing by 1300 people a day. People are dying of dehydration and malnourishment and even once they reach the relief camps, there is still not enough food or water to ensure that everyone survives.

Many charities have already launched emergency campaigns to raise money to help with this crisis and we’ve decided to do what we can to help and you can get involved too.

You can get involved in two ways:

The first is to make a donation to any charity which is campaigning for aid for the Horn of Africa crisis and in return you will receive a compilation of great fiction from awesome authors. All we ask is that you make a donation and forward the receipt to our email address. As a website, we have highlighted the Horn of Africa campaigns run by UNICEF and the Disasters Emergency Committee, but we will accept donations to any charity as long as they are for East Africa famine relief. We haven’t stated a minimum donation amount because different websites and charities have different minimum donations. 

The second way to donate, is to donate a piece of fiction to the compilation. The stories can be from any fandom – Twilight, Hunger Games, Harry Potter – or can even be a piece of original fiction and can be of any length. We’d love to have your work donated as part of this fundraising effort.

If you’d like to sign up to write for the compilation please fill out our sign up form so we can list you on our contributing authors page.

Our due date for both donation receipts if you would like to receive the compilation and if you wish to submit a work of fiction is Sunday 9th October.

Thank you so much for all and any help you can give, we really appreciate it and would love it if you helped to spread the word. If you have any questions you can either email us or @ on twitter.

The Fandom Against Famine Team