Welcome to Rainbow Crate – Custom Queer book goodies delivered every month!
STATUS 2/1/2021: January boxes were shipped last week and should be arriving soon!
Notice: Our Instagram account was restored last month! WOOT! Score one for our rainbow family!
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.
Photo of our July 2020 Crate courtesy of rainbowbooksandbeyond.
Photo of our June 2020 tumbler and chopstick set courtesy of awildbooknerdappeared.
Photo courtesy of anxious.librarian.
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.
Photo of our August crate courtesy of obscure.pages.
Photo of our Timekeeper pin from the September 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.
the March 2021 theme (SUBSCRIPTIONS OPEN now!):
OUR February 2021 THEME IS:
“Opposites Attract“
It’s time to celebrate love that grows between those that, at first, seem to have nothing in common. As we all know, it’s never that simple!
Our first book, Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley, is the story of a witch cursed to never be able to feel love again and the source that needs her help. Ever since her exile from witch lands, Tamsin has gotten by siphoning love from customers as payment for her spells and convincing herself that that little bit is enough for her. One day, though, she meets a passionate girl hiding her own dangerous magic, and the two strike a bargain to save their queendom from a magical plague sweeping the land, and perhaps each other.
Our copies are brand new hardcovers and come with signed bookplates and an author letter!
REP: wlw (unspecified orientation)
CW: deadly plague
Our second book, Fragile Remedy by Maria Ingrande Mora, follows Nate, a GEM (Genetically Engineered Medi-Tissue, a cure for Elites suffering from lung rot) living illegally in the outside world and surviving via medicine smuggled to him. When Nate’s medicine supply gets cut off, he has to make a decision whether to join a shady terrorist organization, or stay with the boy he loves and the family he’s made for himself, and potentially lose his life in the process.
Our copies are paperback (it’s only being released in paperback), come with signed bookplates, and exclusive goodies from Maria!
Rep: mlm (both gay), trans
CW: abuse, wounds, starvation, drugs
FANDOMS:
– A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC by VE Schwab (rep: mlm (both gay))
– THE CITY WE BECAME by NK Jemisin (rep: lesbian, bi, pan, gay, trans, ace, bipoc, found family)
– PROXY by Alex London (monthly collectible magnet) (rep: gay, bi, bipoc)
– We have some fairly big items in this box that we’ve never done before and they are GORGEOUS!
– There will not be an ebook this month due to a second physical book. We will have an ebook again in April, though!
As always, our fandom items are exclusive to our box and will never be restocked or made again!
NEW SUBSCRIPTION SPOTS for MARCH have just opened, so run and get them before we sell out! 🙂
All of our monthly boxes ship during the third full week of each month. For March, that would be between March 21-27th!
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!