I know, I know, it's only been a few days since the last update...
But I thought you'd be excited to know that I've interviewed Bruce Bethke - the guy who coined the term cyberpunk.
He's also the author of Headcrash from 1995 which I'll explore at length.
I caught Bruce not long after he had major surgery, and he was up for answering some questions about transphobia, cyberpunk, and his own thoughts on the new Trans+ canon.
He provided some illuminating, dead pan, and unflinchingly honest answers that I'm looking forward to weaving into the book.
I've also been in touch with William Gibson's team and am trying to pin him down for an interview. Fingers crossed!
The art bundles are all packed up and ready to send!
I'll be locking orders in shortly, printing address labels, and begin sending them out in batches.
A few of you still haven't completed the survey. I won't be able to send out art bundles to anyone who hasn't filled out the survey. If you could complete it asap, that would be hugely appreciated.
I've got a little production line going on my living room floor, putting each bundle together, sealing it in a sleeve with a card back, and sticking it in a padded envelope. Here's a peek:
Over 90% of you have already completed the survey, so you can ignore this next bit. But for everyone else, it's vital to complete the survey to confirm your name and shipping address. And, best of all, to be able to receive your art bundle reward.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to post out any art bundles to backers who haven't completed the survey.
If you run into any trouble at all, please feel free to reach out to me directly or get in touch with Backerkit's team. They're incredibly warm and supportive.
I can't wait for you all to receive your art bundles!
Almost all of you have filled out the survey confirming your name and delivery address. So thank you. Your continued support means the world to me.
The project's going great and rewards are taking shape. Keep reading for more!
Charity Donation
Your funds all came in earlier this month and have already been put to good use. £300 has been donated equally to American Civil Liberties Union, Rainbow Railroad, and Gendered Intelligence.
If you're looking to support incredible organisations that directly benefit Trans+ people, all three are doing vital work.
Research Materials
It's been package after package delivered to my door over the last few weeks. All containing the vital research materials needed to undertake this book. There's some hard to find books here, some out of print ones, and some expensive academic texts. Basically, I never would have been able to research, much less write this book without you.
You can behold all the physical research materials below. This obviously doesn't even include all the articles, podcasts, games, video essays, streamed media, and interviews that'll also be informing the book.
Chapter Progress
The reading, research, and writing for chapter one is well underway. It's all about the origins of cyberpunk and exploring depictions of transness, trans+ bodies, and gender diversity in classic cyberpunk media. And, would you believe, I've already found so *so* much transphobia.
As a sneak peek, here's the opening paragraph for chapter one: In the preface to Mirrorshades, the 1986 collection described as the “first and still definitive collection of cyberpunk short fiction”, editor Bruce Sterling wrote that “The literature of the future has a long and honoured past”. From the vantage of the mid-2020s, that past covers a full century with one cultural influence nestled inside another like matryoshka dolls. As with the working definition of cyberpunk outlined in the preface, it’s vital in order to understand the influence of cyberpunk and its relationship to gender – and, specifically, transness – that its own influences must first be explored. It’s only in investigating these cultural, economic, and socio-political influences that the matrix of cyberpunk as a medium can be revealed in full.
Art Bundle Update
I'm just waiting for the textile patches to be mailed to me and then I'll be making up the art bundles. I'm hoping to have these all sent out within the next month, but I'll keep you all updated.
Firstly, thank you so much for helping to make Trans in the Machine a reality! We hit 135% funding - £300 of which is going to good causes!
But a few things need to happen before I can get started on writing the book and getting the art bundles sent out.
1. Backerkit needs to transfer over the funds so I have the money to cover all research, editing, artwork, and reward costs (this can take up to two weeks).
2. I need to know how you want to be credited in the book and where your physical and digital rewards are being sent to. I'll be sending out a BackerKit survey within the next couple of weeks to collect this information.
Don't worry, you'll get a heads-up before I send the survey so you can watch out for it.
The invitation email contains a link to your personal survey. It's important to submit your responses as quickly as you can since all this info will be needed to process your rewards.
If you need to change your survey responses, purchase an additional copy of the book (tiers 3 and up), or update your shipping information, you can click the link in your survey email again or request your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on the BackerKit project page.
Thanks again for all your support. I can't wait to crack on with the research and get your survey sent.
If you have any questions or run into any problems before the surveys go out, just email [email protected]
