2011 Rose & Bay Award Landing Page
Welcome to the official landing page for the 2011 Rose and Bay Award, honoring excellence in creative crowdfunding. This page gathers together important information about the award, its functions, and its participants. You can also revisit the 2010 Landing Page.
Check out the 2011 winners.
For a glimpse of changes planned for 2012, please see the results of the followup discussion & poll.
What Is the Rose and Bay Award?
The Rose and Bay Award was launched by ysabetwordsmith (Elizabeth Barrette) in January 2009, and quickly gained additional volunteers. This award focuses on a growing business model known as "crowdfunding" or "cyberfunded creativity," which directly connects creative people and patrons of the arts online. This award recognizes exemplary projects and enthusiastic patrons. It currently features six categories: Art, Fiction, Poetry, Webcomic, Other Project, and Patron. (Other Project includes any cyberfunded creativity that isn't art, fiction, poetry, or webcomic -- or that spans more than one category -- such as movies, music, etc.)
The award period for eligible activities spans January 1-December 31, 2010.
The nomination period spans January 1-January 31, 2011.
The voting period spans February 1-February 28, 2011.
NOTE: The Fiction category required a runoff vote in 2011, which took place March 1-15.
There are images for promoting the 2011 Rose & Bay Award. These include LJ icons, buttons, and banners.
Category Management
Handling a category entails the following responsibilities:
1) Posting the "nomination" post for that category, on or near January 1. Here is an example from 2010.
2) Watching the nominations as they appear in comments. Prod people to fill in missing details. Ask people to move misfiled nominations to a different category. Post an outside nomination for someone if they can't get their comment to post for some reason. Quash any arguments that may arise. If there are issues over how something should be filed, etc. then talk that over with ysabetwordsmith and we'll figure it out. Handlers are also welcome to post updates or nudges to boost participation.
3) Posting the "voting" post on or near February 1. Here is an example from 2010.
4) Similar oversight as for the nomination post. Just keep an eye on the voting post.
5) On or near March 1, tally the votes for your category and announce the winner. Sign and mail the award certificate to the winner; there is already paper for this to send the awards to the handlers.
Award Rules
1) In order for a project to be nominated in the Art, Fiction, Poetry, Webcomic, or Other Project categories:
2) In order for a person to be nominated in the Patron category,
3) This award will go by calendar years. So in order to be eligible for the first round, a project or patron must have been active on or between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010.
4) For the 2011 round, nominations will be made in comments to each category's nomination post (beginning in January). A nomination consists of the project title, creator name, award category, a link to the project page, and a summary. The summary should include several sentences describing the project's content (theme, characters, plot, etc.), presentation (media, frequency, etc.), and crowdfunding approach (money handling, audience interaction, etc.). Example:
Project Title: "Awesome Content"
Creator Name: A.J. Muse
Link: http://awe.some.content.com
Category: Other Project.
Summary: "Awesome Content" is a story about A.J. Muse's three ferrets, told in a combination of music and fiction, illustrated by photos. It is funded by a combination of donations and photo sales. Updates twice weekly on Music Mondays and Fiction Fridays."
5) You may nominate a maximum of three projects per category. You are not required to make that many nominations or to cover all the categories. Please make each nomination in a separate comment; that way, if a problem occurs with one nomination it will not affect any others. You may not nominate your own project, nor yourself as patron; that's tacky.
6) Nominations for each category will be collected by the handler of that category. (See list of handlers above.)
7) Participation is voluntary. If a creator wishes to withdraw their project from any category, or a patron wishes to withdraw from the Patron category, simply contact the category handler. In case of withdrawal, the person who made the withdrawn nomination may then nominate another project or patron instead.
8) Voters are strongly encouraged to browse the nominees before making a final decision; that's what the links are for, and the purpose of this award is to promote the splendor of crowdfunded projects. If you don't have time to explore widely or you already have a firm favorite, that's okay too.
9) Voting will take place via LiveJournal polling in the crowdfunding community, open to all. You may cast one vote per category. (There may need to be more than one poll question per category, and runoffs, if the number of nominees is high. LJ has a limit to how many options there can be per question in a poll.) You may not vote for your own project, nor yourself as a patron; that's tacky.
10) Winners will be announced after the polling is completed. The winner of each category will receive a "Rose and Bay Award" certificate in recognition of their achievement.
2011 Rose and Bay Awards
The categories appear below with their 2011 handlers, nomination posts, and voting posts. Scroll down to see the winners.
Art: itew Nominate art! Vote for art!
Fiction: eseme Nominate fiction! Vote for fiction! Runoff poll
Poetry: xjenavivex Nominate poetry! Vote for poetry!
Webcomic: ysabetwordsmith Nominate webcomics! Vote for webcomics!
Other Project: xjenavivex Nominate others! Vote for others!
Patron: xjenavivex Nominate patrons! Vote for patrons!
2011 WINNERS
Art: "Moonvoice's Art" by Moonvoice (aka Ravenari)
Project Title: "Moonvoice's Art"
Creator Name: Moonvoice aka Ravenari
Link: http://moonvoice.dreamwidth.org/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ravensdreaming
http://ravenari.deviantart.com/gallery/
Category: Art
Summary: Moonvoice produces a variety of art, much of it black ink drawings tinted with watercolor pencils. Totemic and shamanic motifs previal, with amazing diversity among featured animals and birds. Moonvoice also draws at amazing speed, even though the drawings are exquisitely details: it is not rare to see a complete pencil sketch one day, inked the next, colored the third, and then on to a new sketch -- or to see several pictures at once. We get to see a lot of in-progress stuff. I've been echoing links on my blogs because the art is just that cool to watch in development.
The project is funded by print and other product sales. Moonvoice also does commissions sometimes. Audience participation includes polls (such as which animals we'd like to see, or what size a planned card deck should be) and discussions.
Fiction: "Tales of MU" by Alexandra Erin
Project Title: "Tales of MU"
Creator Name: Alexandra Erin
Link: http://www.talesofmu.com/story/book01/1
Summary: The ongoing story of a student at Magisterium University in a world a lot like our own but with magic and magical creatures.
Crowdfunding summary: Alexandra Erin and "Tales of MU" are the standards by which I feel all crowdfunded fiction should be measured! The site is supported by donations, including he ability to set up recurring donations, join the MU "alumni association," purchase books/ebooks of previous volumes, and so on.
Poetry: "Poetry Fishbowl at The Wordsmith's Forge: by Elizabeth Barrette, aka ysabetwordsmith
Project Title: "Poetry Fishbowl at The Wordsmith's Forge"
Creator Name: Elizabeth Barrette, aka ysabetwordsmith
Link: http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/730515.html
Category: Poetry
Summary: The monthly Poetry Fishbowl begins with a theme; audience members give prompts and the poet writes poems based on those ideas. Patrons may sponsor a whole poem for publication, or donate to the general fund which goes toward whatever poetry the audience selects in a poll.
Webcomic: "Khaos Komix" by Tab Kimton (aka Khaoskomix)
Project Title: Khaos Komix
Creator Name: Tab Kimton khaoskomix
Link: http://www.khaoskomix.com
Category: Webcomic
Summary: This is a brilliant interwoven story of a group of queer British teens. Each "issue" of the comic tells one of the characters' stories, as each one reveals a bit more of the whole story and about themselves. One of the best pieces of art on 'coming out' I've ever seen. The characters are amazingly well depicted, both in the characterization and in the spare and raw art style that Tab uses.
Other Project: "Mischief" by S.J. Tucker aka s00j
Project Title: "Mischief"
Creator Name: S.J. Tucker
Link: http://music.skinnywhitechick.com/album/mischief
Category: Other Project.
Summary: "Mischief" is the newest album released by S.J. Tucker, including songs about salads of doom, love beneath the waves, ninjas, and pieces inspired by Catherynne M. Valente's Palimpsest and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Among other fantastic songs!
The album is crowdfunded in the sense that you can listen to it online, for free, in its entirety. If you'd like to own the songs or show your appreciation for s00j, you choose what amount you'd like to contribute (with a minimum $1 per song, I believe). You can also purchase the more conventional physical CD.
Patron: Vercin, patron of "The Philosopher in Arms" by Karen Wehrstein
Nomination: V
Project Title: "The Philosopher in Arms"
Creator Name: Karen Wehrstein
Link: http://chevenga.com
Category: Patron.
Patron: V aka Vercin
This guy does it all. He sends donations, he writes copious comments and he even role-plays with me.
When my main character Chevenga was faced with a political/legal challenge, V wrote such a lengthy and intelligent comment on how he should answer it that I decided I had to use it. But how? Thus the brilliant, proper, relentlessly-positive and somewhat mercenary lawyer character Veresinga was born, and has helped Chevenga out with a number of other political/legal challenges since. We have a beautiful relationship.
V is a frequent commenter and donor on other weblit sites too.
Special Thanks To ...
The following people have volunteered their ideas, time, services, goods, and other resources to make the 2011 Rose and Bay Award successful. Please give them a round of applause.
eseme for handling the Fiction category.
itew for handling the Art category.
karen_wehrstein for updating the Nominee badges.
xjenavivex for handling the Poetry, Other Project, and Patron categories.
Continued thanks for haikujaguar for the original logo art and karen_wehrstein for the general icon, button, and banner art.
How You Can Help
As a new award, Rose and Bay depends on everyone's participation and enthusiasm to make it a success. Here are some ways you can help that happen:
Check out the 2011 winners.
For a glimpse of changes planned for 2012, please see the results of the followup discussion & poll.
What Is the Rose and Bay Award?
The Rose and Bay Award was launched by ysabetwordsmith (Elizabeth Barrette) in January 2009, and quickly gained additional volunteers. This award focuses on a growing business model known as "crowdfunding" or "cyberfunded creativity," which directly connects creative people and patrons of the arts online. This award recognizes exemplary projects and enthusiastic patrons. It currently features six categories: Art, Fiction, Poetry, Webcomic, Other Project, and Patron. (Other Project includes any cyberfunded creativity that isn't art, fiction, poetry, or webcomic -- or that spans more than one category -- such as movies, music, etc.)
The award period for eligible activities spans January 1-December 31, 2010.
The nomination period spans January 1-January 31, 2011.
The voting period spans February 1-February 28, 2011.
NOTE: The Fiction category required a runoff vote in 2011, which took place March 1-15.
There are images for promoting the 2011 Rose & Bay Award. These include LJ icons, buttons, and banners.
Category Management
Handling a category entails the following responsibilities:
1) Posting the "nomination" post for that category, on or near January 1. Here is an example from 2010.
2) Watching the nominations as they appear in comments. Prod people to fill in missing details. Ask people to move misfiled nominations to a different category. Post an outside nomination for someone if they can't get their comment to post for some reason. Quash any arguments that may arise. If there are issues over how something should be filed, etc. then talk that over with ysabetwordsmith and we'll figure it out. Handlers are also welcome to post updates or nudges to boost participation.
3) Posting the "voting" post on or near February 1. Here is an example from 2010.
4) Similar oversight as for the nomination post. Just keep an eye on the voting post.
5) On or near March 1, tally the votes for your category and announce the winner. Sign and mail the award certificate to the winner; there is already paper for this to send the awards to the handlers.
Award Rules
1) In order for a project to be nominated in the Art, Fiction, Poetry, Webcomic, or Other Project categories:
- It must be "cyberfunded creativity" aka "crowdfunding." That means it must be creative material marketed directly to an audience online, with money involved somehow. There are many variations of this business model; all are welcome; and if you're not sure a project qualifies, you may ask.
- At least part of the project must be visible online without charge. If the project is normally visible only to paying subscribers or the like, and the creator wishes for it to be eligible, then s/he may offer temporary or partial access for voting purposes. (If the available material is temporary and/or partial, it needs to say that at the top of the screen, to avoid annoying visitors who might otherwise think they're about to see a complete piece.)
2) In order for a person to be nominated in the Patron category,
- The person must have made a financial contribution to a creative project. This distinguishes patrons of the arts from the general audience. However, money is not the only consideration: Patrons may also be admired for their feedback, word of mouth promotion, suggested improvements to crowdfunding models, taste in items sponsored, etc. -- and these are good ways to choose between patrons if you're not sure which to pick.
- The receiving project must qualify as "cyberfunded creativity" aka "crowdfunding." That means it must be creative material marketed directly to an audience online, with money involved somehow. There are many variations of this business model; all are welcome; and if you're not sure a project qualifies, you may ask.
- For the Patron category only, duplicate nominations will be accepted/encouraged. The same patron can be nominated by multiple creators and/or by the same creator for multiple projects. This has two benefits. Links are included to each project on the nomination comment. Voters may follow those links and find new projects to enjoy. Also, the information that a patron has supported multiple creators/projects might prove useful for undecided voters.
3) This award will go by calendar years. So in order to be eligible for the first round, a project or patron must have been active on or between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010.
4) For the 2011 round, nominations will be made in comments to each category's nomination post (beginning in January). A nomination consists of the project title, creator name, award category, a link to the project page, and a summary. The summary should include several sentences describing the project's content (theme, characters, plot, etc.), presentation (media, frequency, etc.), and crowdfunding approach (money handling, audience interaction, etc.). Example:
Project Title: "Awesome Content"
Creator Name: A.J. Muse
Link: http://awe.some.content.com
Category: Other Project.
Summary: "Awesome Content" is a story about A.J. Muse's three ferrets, told in a combination of music and fiction, illustrated by photos. It is funded by a combination of donations and photo sales. Updates twice weekly on Music Mondays and Fiction Fridays."
5) You may nominate a maximum of three projects per category. You are not required to make that many nominations or to cover all the categories. Please make each nomination in a separate comment; that way, if a problem occurs with one nomination it will not affect any others. You may not nominate your own project, nor yourself as patron; that's tacky.
6) Nominations for each category will be collected by the handler of that category. (See list of handlers above.)
7) Participation is voluntary. If a creator wishes to withdraw their project from any category, or a patron wishes to withdraw from the Patron category, simply contact the category handler. In case of withdrawal, the person who made the withdrawn nomination may then nominate another project or patron instead.
8) Voters are strongly encouraged to browse the nominees before making a final decision; that's what the links are for, and the purpose of this award is to promote the splendor of crowdfunded projects. If you don't have time to explore widely or you already have a firm favorite, that's okay too.
9) Voting will take place via LiveJournal polling in the crowdfunding community, open to all. You may cast one vote per category. (There may need to be more than one poll question per category, and runoffs, if the number of nominees is high. LJ has a limit to how many options there can be per question in a poll.) You may not vote for your own project, nor yourself as a patron; that's tacky.
10) Winners will be announced after the polling is completed. The winner of each category will receive a "Rose and Bay Award" certificate in recognition of their achievement.
2011 Rose and Bay Awards
The categories appear below with their 2011 handlers, nomination posts, and voting posts. Scroll down to see the winners.
Art: itew Nominate art! Vote for art!
Fiction: eseme Nominate fiction! Vote for fiction! Runoff poll
Poetry: xjenavivex Nominate poetry! Vote for poetry!
Webcomic: ysabetwordsmith Nominate webcomics! Vote for webcomics!
Other Project: xjenavivex Nominate others! Vote for others!
Patron: xjenavivex Nominate patrons! Vote for patrons!
2011 WINNERS
Art: "Moonvoice's Art" by Moonvoice (aka Ravenari)
Project Title: "Moonvoice's Art"
Creator Name: Moonvoice aka Ravenari
Link: http://moonvoice.dreamwidth.org/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ravensdreaming
http://ravenari.deviantart.com/gallery/
Category: Art
Summary: Moonvoice produces a variety of art, much of it black ink drawings tinted with watercolor pencils. Totemic and shamanic motifs previal, with amazing diversity among featured animals and birds. Moonvoice also draws at amazing speed, even though the drawings are exquisitely details: it is not rare to see a complete pencil sketch one day, inked the next, colored the third, and then on to a new sketch -- or to see several pictures at once. We get to see a lot of in-progress stuff. I've been echoing links on my blogs because the art is just that cool to watch in development.
The project is funded by print and other product sales. Moonvoice also does commissions sometimes. Audience participation includes polls (such as which animals we'd like to see, or what size a planned card deck should be) and discussions.
Fiction: "Tales of MU" by Alexandra Erin
Project Title: "Tales of MU"
Creator Name: Alexandra Erin
Link: http://www.talesofmu.com/story/book01/1
Summary: The ongoing story of a student at Magisterium University in a world a lot like our own but with magic and magical creatures.
Crowdfunding summary: Alexandra Erin and "Tales of MU" are the standards by which I feel all crowdfunded fiction should be measured! The site is supported by donations, including he ability to set up recurring donations, join the MU "alumni association," purchase books/ebooks of previous volumes, and so on.
Poetry: "Poetry Fishbowl at The Wordsmith's Forge: by Elizabeth Barrette, aka ysabetwordsmith
Project Title: "Poetry Fishbowl at The Wordsmith's Forge"
Creator Name: Elizabeth Barrette, aka ysabetwordsmith
Link: http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/730515.html
Category: Poetry
Summary: The monthly Poetry Fishbowl begins with a theme; audience members give prompts and the poet writes poems based on those ideas. Patrons may sponsor a whole poem for publication, or donate to the general fund which goes toward whatever poetry the audience selects in a poll.
Webcomic: "Khaos Komix" by Tab Kimton (aka Khaoskomix)
Project Title: Khaos Komix
Creator Name: Tab Kimton khaoskomix
Link: http://www.khaoskomix.com
Category: Webcomic
Summary: This is a brilliant interwoven story of a group of queer British teens. Each "issue" of the comic tells one of the characters' stories, as each one reveals a bit more of the whole story and about themselves. One of the best pieces of art on 'coming out' I've ever seen. The characters are amazingly well depicted, both in the characterization and in the spare and raw art style that Tab uses.
Other Project: "Mischief" by S.J. Tucker aka s00j
Project Title: "Mischief"
Creator Name: S.J. Tucker
Link: http://music.skinnywhitechick.com/album/mischief
Category: Other Project.
Summary: "Mischief" is the newest album released by S.J. Tucker, including songs about salads of doom, love beneath the waves, ninjas, and pieces inspired by Catherynne M. Valente's Palimpsest and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Among other fantastic songs!
The album is crowdfunded in the sense that you can listen to it online, for free, in its entirety. If you'd like to own the songs or show your appreciation for s00j, you choose what amount you'd like to contribute (with a minimum $1 per song, I believe). You can also purchase the more conventional physical CD.
Patron: Vercin, patron of "The Philosopher in Arms" by Karen Wehrstein
Nomination: V
Project Title: "The Philosopher in Arms"
Creator Name: Karen Wehrstein
Link: http://chevenga.com
Category: Patron.
Patron: V aka Vercin
This guy does it all. He sends donations, he writes copious comments and he even role-plays with me.
When my main character Chevenga was faced with a political/legal challenge, V wrote such a lengthy and intelligent comment on how he should answer it that I decided I had to use it. But how? Thus the brilliant, proper, relentlessly-positive and somewhat mercenary lawyer character Veresinga was born, and has helped Chevenga out with a number of other political/legal challenges since. We have a beautiful relationship.
V is a frequent commenter and donor on other weblit sites too.
Special Thanks To ...
The following people have volunteered their ideas, time, services, goods, and other resources to make the 2011 Rose and Bay Award successful. Please give them a round of applause.
eseme for handling the Fiction category.
itew for handling the Art category.
karen_wehrstein for updating the Nominee badges.
xjenavivex for handling the Poetry, Other Project, and Patron categories.
Continued thanks for haikujaguar for the original logo art and karen_wehrstein for the general icon, button, and banner art.
How You Can Help
As a new award, Rose and Bay depends on everyone's participation and enthusiasm to make it a success. Here are some ways you can help that happen:
Volunteer to manage a category. Handlers are needed for the Art, Fiction, Poetry, and Patron categories. Additional volunteers for networking and promotions would be welcome. Last year we also toyed with the idea of fundraising for prize money, but nothing came together; if someone has experience with this and wishes to help, please speak up.
Mark the nomination period on your calendar. Make sure you come back to crowdfunding in January to make your nominations.
Promote the Rose and Bay Award by blogging about it, emailing your friends, posting it on social networks, or any other method you can imagine. Everyone is encouraged to spread the word as far as possible whether you are a creator of crowdfunded projects, a patron of the arts, or a curious onlooker. You may link to the landing page, and/or the "nomination open" posts for individual categories when those appear in January.- If you're a patron or audience member, highlight your favorite cyberfunded projects from 2010 and direct people back to the award. You may link to the landing page and/or the "nomination open" posts for individual categories when those appear in January. Are you following other patrons whose tastes match your own to see what they sponsor or recommend? Mention them too! This makes it easier for people to find eligible nominees.
- If you're a creative person, let your audience and patrons know which of your projects are eligible for the Rose and Bay Award, including a link to the relevant nomination page(s). You may link to the landing page and/or the "nomination open" posts for individual categories when those appear in January. Do you have an "honor wall" or other place acknowledging your patrons? Mention that too! Let your fans know there is a way for them to honor your project and the patrons who make it possible. Finally, make sure that your project is readily identifiable as cyberfunded creativity; see previous post on " 5 Steps to Crowdfunded Success" for suggestions.
- If you're not a member of the LiveJournal community crowdfunding yet, consider joining. We welcome new members who are patrons of the arts, producers of crowdfunded projects, or curious onlookers. This is a good place to network and find out what's happening in the wonderful world of cyberfunded creativity.
- Another helpful community is freestuffday. Many projects which are funded by tips -- including Free Icon Days, One Card Draws, Fishbowls, and so forth -- are announced there. Look there for both projects and patrons.
- Are you on Dreamwidth? Check out the Crowdfunding community there too. Some of the posts are the same, while others are different. Award news will also be posted on the DW community.
- Add "crowdfunding," "cyberfunded creativity," and/or "weblit" to your Interests. This makes it easier for creative people and potential fans to find each other.
- Place an appropriate image on your website; there are general ones for promoting the Rose and Bay Awards plus special Nominee badges.