Hi folks!  I don’t usually do this but today I wanted to spotlight the Lost and Found anthology, newly released from Featherweight Publishing (the YA line of MLR Press).  The reason I am choosing to give it some attention is because the anthology authors are donating all their royalties to a charity that focuses on homeless LGBT youth.  As most of you know, the statistics on the number of homeless youth who are LGBT are staggering.  The number of children thrown out of their homes for being gay is heartbreaking. Just thinking about it nearly brings me to tears.  So I wanted to give this one a little exposure in hopes of raising awareness for this important cause.


Here is some more detail on the Lost and Found anthology and how it came about from MLR editor Kris Jacen:

In the Fall of 2012, DH Starr approached me about Featherweight publishing an anthology that he was a part of. It was a special project he told me. All the authors wanted to donate their royalties from the anthology to charity. They wanted the monies to go to a specific cause—they wanted the money to go to a charity that worked with LGBT homeless teens.

The inspiration for the anthology was a picture that they had seen with the text over the image that said “40% of homeless youth are LGBT. The #1 reason they’re on the streets is family rejection.”

Once we got to final editing stages we realized, we didn’t know WHICH charity to donate the monies to. There are so many great charities out there working with LGBT youth that we weren’t sure which to chose. We wanted to make sure that no matter how much, it would make a difference. So the search was on.

I was pleasantly surprised to come across one that had the name of the anthology almost exactly—Lost-n-Found Youth, Inc. (http://www.lost-n-found.org/). It seemed like fate talking to me and after speaking with one of the board members, I was convinced of it. You see the board member told me that the day before we spoke, they received a call from a teen that had been on vacation with his parents and when they found a gay romance on his eReader, they left him on the side of the road. Yes, you read that correctly, abandoned him for reading a gay romance.

Our hope is that with these stories, these teens realize that there are many out there that care about them. That no matter what anyone says—THEY MATTER.


Blurb

lost and foundSome statistics say that 40% of all homeless teens are GLBT. They’re on the streets after their families have thrown them away, told them that they don’t matter, that they’re not normal. Well, guess what? Those families are wrong. This collection of stories by ten talented authors spans the spectrum (historical, paranormal, transgender, cutter, gay) to show that – it’s okay, there are people out there that care, and these teens are perfect just the way they are.

All royalties from this anthology are being donated to Lost-n-Found Youth in Atlanta, Georgia. A wonderful charity working with these teens, helping them find their new place and get on their feet.

More details and purchase links are available at Featherweight Publishing