Happy 2015 to you and yours! We hope your year is off to a great start.
Since the The Rainbow Letters was launched three months ago, we’ve collected nearly 40 letters and have dozens more letters pledged. This is a fantastic start and we couldn’t be more excited! So far we’ve been incredibly impressed with the quality of the letters we’ve received. They range from heartbreaking to hilarious to matter-of-fact — which reflects the nuanced reality of families like ours — and they’re addressed to all different kinds of people. The picture we’ll be able to paint with this collection will be vivid and colorful: The Rainbow letters indeed.
SUBMISSIONS ANNOUNCEMENT
Originally we planned to close the first round of submissions at the end of 2014 but have decided instead to cap the first round at our first 50 submissions. If you haven’t submitted a letter--or would like to submit another one--now is your chance to join our pioneering group of letter writers! Our acceptance of letters is a rolling process, so don’t worry if your letter doesn’t make it in this first round of submissions, but the sooner the better.
CALLING ALL STUDENTS
We want to hear from as many people as possible, including college students, which is why we’re spreading the word about The Rainbow Letters to college campuses. Leading the charge on this initiative is one of our very own letter writers, Maya Ulin-O’Keefe.
“As the daughter of two women, I am excited to help create a network of my peers with LGBT parents,” she says. “We have grown up with a lot of similarities and differences amongst us and now is the time to let our voices be heard. Many kids of LGBT families are reaching college, and our goal is to connect these college students nationwide.”
A couple more letter writers have already stepped forward to help Maya develop the program. We’d love to hear from you, too! If you’re a college student or have access to campuses near you, please reach out at info@therainbowletters.com.
THE ROAD FROM HERE
Once we gather enough letters (around 150-200), we intend to organize everything we’ve got in a compelling way and publish a full collection in the form of a book or literary magazine (or some other awesome format we haven’t thought of yet!) and to host an interactive online platform to invite conversation and facilitate discussion.
What do we need to bring this vision to fruition? More letters, of course! And we’d like to call on anyone with website building expertise who wants to help out. If that’s you or someone you know, please reach out at info@therainbowletters.com.
We thank you for your continued support, and we wish you a very happy 2015.
Onward!
Julia & Zach