We are close to reaching our second stretch goal on the , and I can’t say thank you enough to those of you who have supported this campaign!

If you haven’t yet, there’s still time. Upon reaching our second stretch goal, everyone at the $15 level or higher will receive an electronic copy of Familiarity, a five-story collection of Winston & Ruby stories, one of the most popular series Kristine Kathryn Rusch has written about cats. This is on top of the extra volume of Fiction River for reaching the first stretch goal.

And there are many more stretch goal rewards to come.

But what I really want to talk to you about today is why you should support the Kickstarter—to allow us to keep publishing fantastic stories by very talented writers.

Fiction River authors and stories have garnered a host of awards, award nominations, and selections in best of volumes. We keep a running list on the Fiction River website (because we’re proud as hell to be associated with these amazing folks.)

Here’s a list of some of them:

Award Winners:

Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Derringer Award
2018: David H. Hendrickson, winner in the Best Long Story category “Death in the Serengeti,” (Fiction River: Pulse Pounders: Adrenaline)

Nevada Arts Council awards literary, performing arts fellowships
2018: Honorable Mention, Annie Reed for “The Great Ice Cream War of Grover’s Hollow” (Fiction River: Last Stand)
2014: Honorable Mention, Annie Reed for “The Shape of a Name” (Fiction River: How to Save the World)

Award Nominations:

Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Derringer Award
2016: Ron Collins, finalist in the Best Long Story category “The White Game” (Fiction River: Hidden in Crime )
2015: Melissa Yi, finalist in the Best Flash category for “Because” (Fiction River Special Edition: Crime)
2015: Doug Allyn, finalist in the Best Novelette category for “Hitler’s Dogs” (Fiction River Special Edition: Crime)

Killer Nashville 2015 Silver Falchion™ Readers Choice Award
Fiction River Special Edition: Crime, edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Nominated for Best Multi-Author Anthology.

Year’s Best:

The Year’s American Mystery Stories 2018, edited by Louise Penny and Otto Penzler
“Death in the Serengeti,” by David H. Hendrickson (Fiction River: Pulse Pounders: Adrenaline)

The Year’s Best Crime and Mystery Stories 2016 edited by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and John Helfers
“The American Flag of Sergeant Hale Schofield” by Kelly Washington (Fiction River: Hidden in Crime)
“The Color of Guilt” by Annie Reed (Fiction River: Hidden in Crime)
“Play the Man” by Dan C. Duval (Fiction River: Risk Takers)
“The Rites of Zosimos” by Angela Penrose (Fiction River: Alchemy & Steam)

Plus, All six volumes of Fiction River published in 2017 have been included in the Tangent Online 2017 Recommended Reading List, which features ten Fiction River stories.

To see that list, as well as what we add in the future, click here.

So, please help us keep celebrating these storied authors by supporting the Kickstarter (or if you already have, THANK YOU and please keep spreading the word!).

Click here to learn more.

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.