Welcome to Rainbow Crate!
OCTOBer boxes are SCHEDULED TO SHIP BETWEEN OCT. 18-24th!
A brand-new lgbt+ book box
Hi! We are Jamie and Danielle – an artist and a librarian by trade!
We, like a lot of you, love love love book boxes. But we had come to notice that it seemed like queer fictional couples (even main couples) were being overlooked in favor of straight ones in. We looked and looked for a queer subscription box, but while there are a lot of great boxes, there just wasn’t one focused on lgbt+ lit.
So, we started to toss around the idea of creating our own box. A book box seemed kind of daunting. It would be a LOT of work (we had no idea how much, but we do now). What if we did all this and nobody cared?
But the thing is…. we just love love love queer books. We want to read them. We want to see merchandise featuring queer pairs (of all sorts!!). We want to make people excited to open a box and (hopefully) love all of the things that we lovingly curated inside. And so, we talked about it. We asked around in book communities. We got a mentor . And ultimately, we decided that we had to give it a shot. Nobody else was going to! And so… here we are!
This is THAT queer book box that we wanted!
Photo of our June 2020 Crate courtesy of seahorsestories on Instagram
Photos from our July 2020 Crate courtesy of rainbowbooksandbeyond on Instagram
what is a book box?
A book box is a subscription service where subscribers receive a box, usually monthly, containing a new-release book and book-related goodies! Most boxes are limited in quantity, and once that box is gone, it’s gone. Genres and age ranges of the book vary depending on the box (in case you haven’t guessed, we are only doing books with major queer characters in them! More about that later this week!). The goodies made for that month’s box are curated by the box, and not available for sale any other way. Most boxes have between 3-5 goodies in addition to the featured book of the month, and all of them relate to a theme.
Photos of our June items courtesy of awildbooknerdappeared on Instagram
the NOVEMBER 2020 theme (SUBSCRIPTIONS OPEN now!):
OUR NOVEMBER 2020 THEME IS:
” S E L F – L O V E O ‘ C L O C K ! “
There would be nothing more welcome right now than a little bit of self-care. That’s why this month we are highlighting books where the characters overcome challenges that faced them. Where, at least this time, everything does turn out PRETTY DARN GOOD.
That’s right, it’s self-love o’clock!
We both fell HEAD OVER HEELS for the November book. There is a reason that it’s in caps there. This month’s book is Here the Whole Time by the smash-hit Brazilian author Vitor Martins. It had us laughing and crying for the two main characters, and boy oh boy, is it ever one of those books that hits the feels button. Here has To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before vibes, but make it gay and super body-positive! Felipe has had a huge crush on his neighbor and former childhood friend, Caio, for almost as long as he can remember. But, as people do, they had drifted apart, and he was content believing that his crush was never going to lead anywhere. Plus, he is also very overweight, and a movie-star-worthy boy like Caio could never fall in love with someone like him. Things don’t exactly go to plan, though, when Caio’s mother leaves for a two-week vacation and enlists Felipe’s mother to look after him in the meantime. Felipe’s mother instructs Caio to stay on an extra mattress in Felipe’s room…. what oh what is a boy with a crush supposed to do? Our hardcover copies come with exclusive signed bookplates!
REP: gay, with lesbian & bi side characters
CW: Fatphobia, very mild homophobia
We have been listening to what people want, so pay extra attention to the next sections!
FANDOMS:
– HERE THE WHOLE TIME by Vitor Martins
– SIMON VS. THE HOMOSAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli
– I’LL BE THE ONE by Lyla Lee
– AUTOBOYOGRAPHY by Christina Lauren (monthly collectible magnet)
– LGBT+ rainbow bookshelf by oh, a TON of different authors!
– And of course, as always there is our monthly print on the back of the spoiler card, and our additional ebook by an independent author (title to be revealed on Instagram)!
– In addition to the fandom-neutral bookshelf-themed item, one of our other items features a highly-requested rainbow color scheme! We also have a gorgeous iridescent item that is bisexual-purple!
As always, our fandom items are exclusive to our box! We only include useable, lasting items that are going to serve you well for a long, long time.
NEW SUBSCRIPTION SPOTS for November are open now! Renewals for current subscribers will process on November 1st.
how does it work?
curate
We start by requesting upcoming lgbt-related manuscripts from publishers. And then, we hunker down and start reading. A lot. We create lists of our favorites, and then discuss what book we want to feature that month. From there, we start talking to our contact at the publishing house and secure an OK that we will be able to feature that book.
After the book is set, together we choose a theme that fits the book, and fandoms that would fit within that. We chose very popular fandoms for our first box, but from here on out, we plan a range of popular and more obscure fandoms. There are a lot of great stories out there that just aren’t being discovered! Then, we discuss items, and after a loooooooot of work, voila!
subscribe
Choose your plan! We offer 1, 3, and 6 month subscriptions. You don’t have to worry — your box will come until you cancel! We also have limited one-time boxes while supplies are available.
Plans start at $39.99 monthly,
plus shipping. We are a new company, so we have a little higher shipping than some, but we are working to get you the best! If and when we get better discounts, we will pass the savings on to you!
arrive
Your Rainbow Crate is delivered to your address by a charming postal worker.
We ship each monthly crate during the third full week of the month! If you’re unsure of when that is, please don’t hesitate send us an email!
enjoy!
Read your book and enjoy discovering your items! Please let us know what you think! We love to get comments and photos on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and in our email!