Welcome to Rainbow Crate!
JULY BOXES ARE ON THEIR WAY AND MANY HAVE ARRIVED! AUGUST BOXES ARE CURRENTLY ON TIME, SCHEDULED TO SHIP BETWEEN AUG. 16-22ND!
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
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.
the SEPTEMBER 2020 theme (SUBSCRIPTIONS OPEN now!):
OUR SEPTEMBER 2020 THEME IS:
“PARANORMAL PARAMOURS “
We’re THRILLED to announce that September’s theme is…
PARANORMAL PARAMOURS! We are celebrating love that is just a little bit out of this world for the month of September!
Our September book is one of THE hottest books of the year! It is a DEBUT TRANS LATINX OWN-VOICES tale of familial acceptance, dark magic, and falling in love.
Our protagonist is a trans latinx young man whose family will not accept him for who he is – a Brujo, not a Bruja*. When his cousin is suddenly murdered, he sets out to prove himself a true brujo by summoning his cousin’s ghost so that he can set him free. He does summon a spirit… however… it is not his cousin! It belongs to his school’s resident bad boy, and this determined ghost refuses to depart this world until he finds his killer. Together, our protagonist and his new ghostly companion set out to find some answers, and end up finding a few things they weren’t even looking for… Not just answers, but love, perhaps?
The characters in this book are nuanced and deeply written, and the story has a big twist that took us both by surprise! Our copies come with signed bookplates, and a gift designed in consultation with the author that comes right out of the story! It is designed to be opened as you read 💛
REP: Trans, Gay
CW: Death, sacrifice, gendered language
FANDOMS:
– WOLFSONG by TJ Klune (monthly collectible) Rep: Gay, Ace
– GIDEON THE NINTH by Tamsyn Muir – Rep: Lesbian
– TIMEKEEPER by Tara Sim – Rep: Gay
– OUR BLOODY PEARL by D.M. Bryn – Rep: mlnb, Nb, Trans, wlw
– And of course, there is our featured book item, monthly print, and our additional ebook by an independent author!
As always, our fandom items are exclusive to our box and all have been designed with attention and care! We create only original items that are designed to celebrate queer characters and books by lasting for a long time!
NEW SUBSCRIPTION SPOTS for September are open now!
Who else is as excited as we are?
*Brujo and Bruja are gendered terms for a certain type of magic users. In this book, Brujo and Bruja perform different and specific types of magic.
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!