They come from Circlet Press, an early adopter among small press taking on niche avenues that large publishers wouldn’t.

Circlet Press shepherded many volumes of sf/f/h erotica into print, a number of which are pictured here, and over the years it garnered respect and nominations galore — Lambda Literary Awards, Firecracker Alternative Book Awards, Independent Press Awards — while seeing some of its titles translated into Japanese, Turkish, French, German, and Spanish.

What started out as a brilliant undertaking has survived the rise of chain-store hegemony and the plunging death and subsequent dearth of independent bookstores. It survived multiple distributor bankruptcies and the rising cost of paper. All told, it survived a business scenario few others could endure.

And despite these multiple pressures, Circlet Press intends to keep going. Founder Cecilia Tan intends to keep the press going via the ebook/POD path — and that’s a good idea, given the success of ebook/POD erotic romance publishers.

But Cecilia would like to see its final volume, Best Fantastic Erotica, into traditional print before she takes the new path, and she needs capital to cap that final goal. You can help make that happen. Buy a number of their existing books. Or bid on an original erotic story written by Cecilia herself. Last but not least, make an outright donation.

I attended a party at Cecilia’s home over the weekend that kicked off the fundraising. I bought several books, made an online donation, and enjoyed a darn good time with a group of hopeful, positive people. I’d like to see Cecilia herald her Best Fantastic Erotica into print because of all Circlet Press has done for authors and readers — and to support what she envisions for its future. Help give Circlet Press reason to continue to tout its motto, Celebrating the Erotic Imagination, won’t you? Participate, please.