Rainbow Crate – The world’s largest LGBTQIA+ book subscription box!
RAINBOW UPDATE 1.1.2022: February subs are open now! December boxes were shipped last week. January boxes will be shipping the week of the 25th.
JOIN OUR MAILING LIST FOR SALES AND EVENT INFORMATION!
February 2022 THEME:
Our February theme is QPR (Queerplatonic Relationships)!
This month is about a kind of relationship that is a little more intense & intimate than is common for friendships, but doesn’t quite fit a traditional sexual-romantic couple model. QPRs are characterized by a strong bond, love, and emotional commitment.
You can read more about QPRs at the LGBTA wiki!
🌈 Our Feb BOTM is Fire Becomes Her by Rosiee Thor! FBH is a lavish fantasy with a Jazz-age spark. Our editions are hardcovers, as always and come with an exclusive author letter, signed bookplate, and an item directly inspired by the book!
🌈ABOUT THE BOOK:
Flare is power. With only a drop of flare, one can light the night sky with fireworks or burn a building to the ground – and 17yr. old Ingrid wants her fair share.
She doesn’t have a family fortune but she has a plan: Use Linden Holt, heir to a hefty political legacy and the largest fortune of flare in all of Candesce, to rise to the top as part of his father’s team and Linden’s future wife.
When Linden’s dad announces his run for President, Ingrid uses the situation to her advantage. She strikes a deal to spy on the senator’s opposition in exchange for his approval and the status she so desperately craves. But she doesn’t agree with his platform, and the longer Ingrid wears two masks, the more she questions where her true allegiances lie.
Queer rep: bisexual demiromantic female mc
aroace transmasc nonbinary mc
aroace female sc
sapphic sc
Other rep: Black sc, bipoc sc
CW: immolation, arson, terrorist groups, inequality, classism, incarcerated parent, dirty politics
🌈 The e-book for February is Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault, AND there is also a really cool item inspired by it in the box!
Featured fandoms are:
– Brothersong by TJ Klune (mlm, gay, bi m, aro m)
– Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault (demi pan f, genderfluid aro mc)
– If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann (bi mc, wlw qpr)
– Royal Rescue by A. Alex Logan (mlm qpr)
🌈 An item from each of these fandoms will be included in the box! We’re excited to announce one of the items has been designed by @chuck_the_goon!
NEW SUBSCRIPTION SPOTS for February are open to the public NOW, so head on over and…
About us:
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 courtesy of regal_leaves.
Our Neil & Andrew collectible magnet from our Feb. 2021 crate. Photo courtesy of shelf_blame.
Our nightlight inspired by The Bright Sessions. Photo courtesy of regal_leaves.
Our The Song of Achilles tumbler and Carry On chopstick set. Photo courtesy of awildbooknerdappeared.
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!
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!
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.
Photo of our June 2021 crate courtesy of shelf_blame.
Photo of our Timekeeper pin from the September 2020 Crate courtesy of Manicfemme.
Photo of our September book and metalmark courtesy of Merrowchild.
Photo of our OCTOBER 2020 DARIUS THE GREAT IS NOT OKAY GLASS MUG courtesy of awildbooknerdappeared.
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!