31 Days of Halloween: Beyond Words: Fantasy Author Calendar

In February of 2013, award-winning photographer, Lauren Zurchin,  successfully Kickstarted an awesome project.  The project, Beyond Words: A Year of Daydreams, showcases Zurchin's ethereal photography while gathering an amazing line-up of fantasy authors that you just might recognize. 

Not only did Zurchin photograph the authors, she also designed and constructed all of the costumes that you see in the photos, with the help of Nami Ogawa, from Zeto Clothing. Talk about a Renaissance woman!

All of the proceeds from this project go towards two non-profits; WorldBuilders & First Book  . I suggest you go check both of these organizations out because they are doing amazing things to end illiteracy and make the world a better place through literature.

These amazing calendars are available for pre-order now  for $20 and will be ready for 2014. While they won't be ready by Halloween, they would make great Christmas gifts for the fantasy fan on your list.

To stay with our theme here on the Thrift Archives, I feel like I need to share  one of my favorite photos from the calendar with you.

The Merry Fates 

This photo depicts the Fates, or the Greek mythological goddesses, the Moirai, who control the "thread"of life for all humans from birth to death. You may know them as the three witches from Macbeth, the Fates of Parcae (Roman mythology) or the fates from Disney's "Hercules". The models in this photo are perfect for this depiction because they actually have a website entitled "The Merry Sisters of Fate: Fiction that Runs with Scissors. Tessa Gratton, Brenna Yovanoff, and Maggie Stiefvater (from left to right), all successful fantasy writers in their own right, have collaborated on the previously mentioned website since 2008. They post the "dark, the weird, and the disturbingly beautiful" on a weekly basis and have even collected their works into a book called "The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories" which I would recommend to any horror/fantasy fan. 

There is a story about a vampire in there that you are going to LOVE! 

This post is just a taste of the awesomeness that this calender project encompases. I encourage you to head on over to Lauren Zurchin's website and give the rest of the photos a gander. In addition to a new calender, you just might find a new author to read. You won't be disappointed! I know I wasn't!