Quakebook

Some numbers you all might be interested in:

30,666 people have downloaded 2:46 Aftershocks – Stories from the Japan Earthquake for Kindle.
$43,099.95 has been raised directly from the ebook alone.
3,000 The number of copies of the paperback Amazon will produce 100% cost free for benefit of the Red Cross
1,000 copies of bilingual Quakebook edition by Goken sold in June alone.
865 downloads of Quakebook from Sony up to June.

Incalculable: The total amount of donations made by people moved by the stories; the amount of awareness of the meaning of 2:46 to Japan and the world; the difference it has made to the people directly affected by the disaster to know that people care.

To all who have bought a copy, read a copy, donated, worked on the project or just told others about it:

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And there is more news to come…

I’m delighted to announce that the bilingual edition of 2:46 – Stories from the Japan Earthquake (that’s Quakebook to you and me) has been chosen as Hotel Green Plaza’s book for their nationwide charity campaign GREEN YELL. What that means is Quakebook is the featured book at lobbies and gift shops in Hotel Green Plaza’s 14 resort hotels throughout Japan through the summer.

That means hundreds of thousands of Japanese will have a chance to see and buy Quakebook. Many thanks to the good folks at Hotel Green Plaza. Welcome to the book business!

And, don’t forget, from now on, every copy of the bilingual Quakebook sold means at least ¥900 goes directly to the Japanese Red Cross. No one but the victims of the tsunami and earthquake profit from sales of Quakebook.

Carry on all, and stay tuned for further updates.

The Bilingual Paperback edition is available in stores across Japan from today!

[Download press release]

Please print out the message below (or display it on your phone screen) and bring it to your nearest bookstore. Enter (or say) the number of copies you want in the blank, then show it to the person at the register or the information counter to order your copies of Quakebook.

単行本『2:46 Aftershocks　午後2時46分　すべてが変わった』（語研刊　本体価格1,400円　ISBN978-4-87615-237-7）を____部注文します。

Remember – ordering in your local bookstore is important! It helps expose Quakebook to more people and spread the word. Simply ordering online loses that value, so only do so if you can’t get to a bookstore :).

Just got a message from the cafe–latte–filled corridors of power, and the news is this:

You can buy the paperback edition of Quakebook RIGHT NOW from Amazon.com, right here.

It costs $11.99. Shipping is extra, but Amazon will send every last penny of that $11.99 to the Red Cross, for the first 3,000 copies, at least.

So, for all you long–suffering Quakebook fans — you have two options right now:

1. You can buy the English language paperback (it’s a print on demand, so there are no wasted unsold copies) from the US of A, and they will ship anywhere in the world.
2. If you are in Japan, go to your local bookshop and order the bilingual (English and Japanese edition). Just quote the ISBN: 978–4–87615–237–7 and they will order it for you. It’s released on June 14th – Tuesday, and we want as many bookstores to carry it as possible. Or order from Amazon.co.jp — here if you promise you don’t know any bookshops near you.

So, you got that? Buy your print Quakebook now! Buy early, buy often, but just buy, OK?

It could be said that if it weren’t for Koizumi Yakumo, Japan and New Orleans would have no relationship at all. If you are even passing familiar with the modern cultural history of Japan or New Orleans, you know Yakumo-san better by his given name, Patrick Lafcadio Hearn. Through his evocative writings, Hearn presented the world with rich, colorful, and lasting images of both New Orleans, where he lived for ten years, and Japan, which became his adopted country after he took up residence in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture.

New Orleans and Matsue are now sister cities, a relationship forged out of Hearn’s history in both places, and cemented when charities in Japan donated roughly $44 million to New Orleans disaster relief and recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In order to give back what was so richly given, a coalition of Japan-related organizations in New Orleans has established the NOLA Japan Quake Fund to raise money for relief following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The Quakebook Team urges you to support the excellent work the NOLA Japan Quake Fund is doing to bring aid and comfort to survivors of the Japan disaster. And because part of the disaster in Japan is due to the meltdown of the nuclear reactors in Fukushima and the resulting radiation leaks, the need for relief funding to rebuild and relocate survivors is more urgent and is likely to be rather prolonged. Reestablishing normal life in the Fukushima area after the quake and tsunami may have been possible after months or a couple of short years. But the nuclear disaster is going to stretch that timeline past what most experts can currently predict.

So, please, join the creators and supporters of Quakebook and do what you can to aid the NOLA Japan Quake Fund. So far, the fund has raised over $183 thousand for the cause, but could really use so much more.

To donate directly, you can go to The NOLA Japan Quake Fund. In addition, you can contribute by buying marvelous art posters from Tsunami of Support. The purchase of these posters supports the Quake Fund. Tsunami of Support is a project of Unfold Media, a New Orleans-based art gallery committed to promoting design and art for positive social change.

Here’s the big news. We’re going free. That is, 2:46 – Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake will be downloadable from Amazon (US, UK, DE) and (as it has been all along) at Sony for free.

Yep. To raise more funds, Quakebook is going free. WHAT? FREE? How can you raise more money by going free? Let me explain…

1. Since its release two months ago, the Amazon digital book has sold over 3,000 copies.
2. The digital book was downloaded for free just over 3,000 times. In 12 hours.

Wow. We doubled our audience in 12 hours, which had taken two months when priced at $9.99.

Here’s the plan:

1. Thousands more will download the book for free.
2. Some of them will donate cash to the Japan Red Cross.
3. Many of them won’t (but would they have done anyway?)
4. Suddenly the audience will be exponentially bigger.
5. Even if a tiny proportion of those free downloaders decide they’d like a print copy of the book, we will be raising far more than by keeping a digital book priced at $9.99 which acts as a paywall against potential interested readers.

The print book is coming in two weeks.

In Japan, the bilingual Japanese/English paperback edition is coming out on June 14th, published by Goken, priced ¥1400.

In the United States and the United Kingdom, a hardback English book will be coming out priced at $20 (I’m not sure of the price in pounds). You will be able to order any of these from Amazon (for the bilingual copy, go to Amazon.co.jp and click on the English language button and you can order from anywhere in the world).

But if you can, PLEASE go to your local bricks and mortar bookshop and order the book there.

Why?

If you order at your bookshop, they will stock it. If they have it on their shelves, others will see it and more people will buy it. More people buy it, more money goes to the survivors. And you want to help your local bookshop too, don’t you?

So, 1. Download the book! 2. In two weeks, order the print book from your local bookshop!

Got it? Carry on!

Show your support for Japan by attending an eclectic evening of music, poetry and soul at Shibuya’s Pink Cow. Musicial performances by Nature Airline, Fumiya Sugimoto, Akiko Otao accompanied by Ai Yamazaki plus a very special #quakebook musical guest. Also hear poetry inspired by Japan and readings from #quakebook contributors.

The 1000 yen entry fee includes a light buffet courtesy of The Pink Cow. In addition to the entry fee we encourage you to make a donation to the Japanese Red Cross either at the door or through the purchase of #quakebook.

Come, help Japan and be inspired.

When: May 27th, 19:00 – 22:00
Where: The Pink Cow, Shibuya: www.thepinkcow.com
Cost: 1000 yen

From his home in Abiko, Our Man spoke live to CNN International mere hours ago on 17 May. He speaks about the book, and about his personal experience as the earthquake hit Abiko on 11 March. Quakebook team members Roberto De Vido and Kevin Carroll, as well as contributor Yuko Kato, are also featured at the beginning of the CNN video report:

http://tinyurl.com/6hjezfd

Things are well under way and details being finalised for the release of the physical book! As you have probably already heard, Quakebook will feature both the English and Japanese versions of all the stories in the same volume and will be available through Amazon.co.jp.

You can pre-order the book here!

The cover above is still just a draft and the final price yet to be officially decided, but it’s pretty close now. Stay tuned over the coming weeks.

File this one under “better late than never”.

On 25 April, The Atlantic published an interview with Our Man in Abiko and editor @ThatDanRyan. The interview was conducted by Atlantic associate editor Jared Keller, who has given Quakebook some of its best press. Read on:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/quakebook-international-sorrow-finds-an-outlet-online/237302/1/