Operation Bookdrop2020
Before I left town a couple of weeks ago, I asked our Worldbuilders team to come up with some ideas for how we could make life a little easier for people who are staying home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They came up with a program we call #BookDrop2020: We will ship books – free of charge – helping to ease the burden and provide some entertainment during these difficult times.”
– Patrick Rothfuss, President of the Board, Worldbuilders, Inc.
The CDC and local governments have recommended social distancing as a measure to try and slow the peak of the current COVID-19 pandemic in the US (and thereby not overwhelm the health system.) The Worldbuilders team saw an opportunity to contribute in one small way: publishers often gift us books so we can send them on to a happy home.
To encourage people to stay home and read, we offered free speculative fiction anthologies – no strings attached.
Thanks to the generosity of donors and Humble Bundle (did you purchase the recent Lord of the Rings RPG there? Then this is directly thanks to you) our initial shipping budget covered all 1,000 initial requests!
We also set up a special fund specifically for bookdrop, and thanks to kind donors we’ve been able to fulfill all of the requests on our waiting list!
You can see the reactions on social media by looking for our hashtag “#bookdrop2020.” We’re keeping the program going on a “while supplies last” basis, both in terms of books and shipping costs. If you missed the first few rounds, you can still sign up for the waiting list, and we’ll send you books when we can! Please only sign yourself up; if you know someone else who could use some books, please feel free to pass along this link.
Don’t need books, but want to help? Programs like this are paid for in part by proceeds from the Worldbuilders Market , where you can find more books (including rare and signed editions) as well as other geeky goodness to celebrate your favorite story.
We also love direct donations, and since we are a 501(c)3 they are tax deductible!
We hope you stay home, stay safe, and stay geeky!
— The Worldbuilders Team
