In any industry, relationships are central. Something amazing and special about the crafts movement is that relationships often become deep friendships, and those friendships can lead, even after many years, to truly amazing collaborations ❤️
The book cover of BE A FOOL has a text box on it that reads, "People are Everything, and We're Nearly a Quarter of the Way to Our Goal! First campaign update 👉."
A photo of a woman holding up two ugly crafted creatures has text on it that reads, "The story of this book campaign begins all the way back in 2010, with this woman, Emily, who started the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire."
A photo of a bespectacled woman holding a baby has text above that reads, "And with me, pictured here at the first Vancouver Mini Maker Faire in 2011, with my now-teenager."
Photo of the woman from the first photo and the woman from the second photo together and smiling. Text reads, "The friendship we formed led to a day last fall when Emily handed me a copy of "Be a Fool" and said, "What should we do with this?" I had some ideas.
The story of how we came to launch the campaign for BE A FOOL began more than 15 years ago. It's a story of creative community and friendship, and it makes this book even more special to us. Read all about it in our first campaign update over on Kickstarter! www.kickstarter.com/projects/nin...
The Zenga Bros have been making videos of their creative adventures since they were kids, so of course they made one about their book, BE A FOOL! Back the Kickstarter today, check out some earlybird rewards, and help us bring the book to life! www.kickstarter.com/projects/nin...
Couldn't add alt text to the images. First is a screenshot from Kickstarter that shows the campaign has $3235 in pledges and is 12% funded. Second is an image of the cover of the book BE A FOOL, by the Zenga Bros, with a green banner at the top announcing it just launched on Kickstarter.
Love waking up to being more than 10% to our goal already! Yay! We have earlybird pricing for book-level reward tiers just for the first week of the campaign, so why wait to help bring BE A FOOL into the world? www.kickstarter.com/projects/nin...
BE A FOOL will be printed here in Canada, on at least partially recycled paper, and it will be available around the world once it comes out in September. The Kickstarter features exclusive rewards like a download of the companion film and a sticker pack.
Back the book and tell your friends!
A full-colour book is wildly expensive to print. Back the book on Kickstarter and join a community of fans, makers, and book lovers who are excited to bring BE A FOOL to life.
‼️ And use this SPECIAL LINK for access to a reward no one else will be able to see: www.kickstarter.com/projects/nin...
On a red background is the cover of the book BE A FOOL, by the Zenga Bros, featuring two mean wearing red ponchos riding a tall bike – one high up and the other lower down. A green banner at the top of the image says, "Just launched: Kickstarter."
🚀 BE A FOOL has launched on @kickstarter.com! This book brings together over 20 years’ of the the Zenga Bros' wild rides, community art projects, tall bikes, creative philosophy, and invitations to play in 160 pages of photos, stories, and inspiration.
🙏 And we need your help! 👇
And now pre-orders are actually working! shop.ninetenpublications.ca/products/a-u...
(Insert gripe about how Shopify requires a bunch of settings for every individual product to be able to be purchased, and it is unnecessarily dumb.)
For wholesale in Canada, contact your Ampersand rep or @lainesjulieasselin.bsky.social
For wholesale everywhere else contact your Microcosm rep or @microcosm.bsky.social directly.
💡 Pre-orders help us decide how many books to print, they help build buzz about the book, they help us to pay for the print run (when you purchase from us), and they support bookstores and craft shops and help them learn about the book and get excited about it (when you purchase from them).
This book is full of info you didn't know you didn't know about yarn. Whether you knit, crochet, and/or weave, you'll learn so much about yarn and how it behaves when worked in each craft, helping you to make smarter yarn choices and generally level-up your craft 🧶
The book cover of A User's Guide to Yarn, by Michelle Boyd, is featured in a graphic declaring that pre-orders of the book are open. Below the book cover it says the title and author, "Coming June 16, 2026. Pre-order today at shop.ninetenpublications.ca."
A USER'S GUIDE TO YARN, by Michelle Boyd @spindleprincess.bsky.social, is coming in June, and it's now available for pre-order in our online shop 👉 shop.ninetenpublications.ca/products/a-u...
You can also pre-order through your local bookstore or craft shop, and we encourage you to do that 📚
I was still sick when I recorded these last couple vids. My hair is A Situation lol.
Btw, Nine Ten has a newly designed website (because I, um, royally messed up the old one). Still some glitches on mobile I'm working on, but overall I think it'll be an improvement! ninetenpublications.ca
Still nerding out about all the "other" pages in books, and this time I have a question for YOU: Do you read the info the publisher puts at the end of the book? Is it different for print books and ebooks? Please share all of your opinions about this thing nobody ever talks about!
Had to have Kate Atherley’s latest book!
February 22–28, 2026 is Freedom to Read Week. Text declaring this in English and French is boldly displayed on an illustration of a person wearing glasses and holding a key in their hands, standing in a maze comprising books that are chained up with a lock on each.
Even here in Canada, schools and libraries are regularly asked to remove books from their shelves. Banning books affects the right of Canadians to decide for themselves what they choose to read. Better that Canadians be free to read, and to read critically! #FTRWeek www.freedomtoread.ca
Love this photo 🤩
Our pals at Pownal Street Press just launched their first campaign @kickstarter.com, and I love that there's a reward option to have a copy of the book donated to a library. Check out Corn & Tortillas: Love Shared! www.kickstarter.com/projects/cor...
Dunno why the video didn't embed. Here it is:
Today's attempt to get very nerdy about publishing in under 2 minutes is about the oft overlooked copyright page, and it's about when a book goes into a 2nd (or 3rd) printing (*cough* Math for Knitters @kateatherley.bsky.social).
youtube.com/shorts/_4Vno...
Look, I get that most people do not read every single page of a book like I always have. I read the acknowledgements, I read the stuff the publisher puts at the end about other books I might like. And yes, I read copyright page. Sometimes there's very interesting stuff on there! More 👇
In other words, if you've been waiting on me for six weeks or more, please email me again!
What I was trying to say is that disagreeing with or disliking a book is a part of life. It means we're reading critically. The answer to that experience is not to prevent others from reading that book. And banning books as a veiled expression of bigotry is, you know, BAD.
OMG not that we hate or disagree with any of the banned books – that wasn't what I was trying to say!
It's time for the weekend, I think.
Books like ours are rarely challenged, but craft has always provided a medium for those who otherwise would be silenced. Just as we appreciate that craft is political, we believe that books of all kinds foster empathy, curiosity, and learning. Even when we hate a book or disagree with what's in it.
This is an excellent statement by @cdnpublishers.bsky.social, strongly opposing the book ban in Alberta. Nine Ten is a proud member of the ACP and stands with all who fight to uphold the freedom to read. publishers.ca/alberta-book...
Got questions about this or anything else? Ask away and I'll do my best!
(And as for all of our other titles, we love them no less! They are available widely and we hope many readers and crafters discover and love them! ninetenpublications.ca/our-books/ )
Here's a little about that from Nine Ten's perspective: We have 7 books out, and one looks like it might be a solid seller into the future 🤞. In the vid I go into why that's so important for us. Here it is, again: youtube.com/shorts/i2drB...
