Rebel Girls Book Hits a Million Dollars in Funding

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Shattering worldwide crowdfunding records, a children's book has raised more than a million dollars and captured the imagination of nearly 20,000 backers in 71 countries.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls features 100 stories about the lives of 100 extraordinary women, from Elizabeth I to Serena Williams. Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, co-founders of Timbuktu Labs, created the book. It features original artwork from 60 female artists commissioned to illustrate stories that reinvent fairy tales to inspire girls and boys.

The project was a runaway Kickstarter hit, meeting its original funding goal of $40,000 in 30 hours, raising $675,614 during a 29-day campaign, and then continuing on Indiegogo's platform InDemand, where it has passed a million dollars in pre-orders. 

It is the most funded original book ever in the history of crowdfunding. Only a reprint of the Bible and a reissue of a comic book have raised more, and Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is closing in on the record. 

"We know children's books are still packed with gender stereotypes," said Favilli. "And we're both in our early 30s, we're female entrepreneurs, and we know first-hand how hard it is to succeed, to be considered, to be given a chance."

The book was inspired by Favilli and Cavallo's journey as female entrepreneurs. "It's important for girls to see female role models. It helps them become more confident and set bigger goals for themselves," said Cavallo.  Each story in the book features a full-page portrait, drawn by a female illustrator. Favilli and Cavallo will print 60,000 hardcover copies of the book. Their original goal was 1,000 copies.

On September 19, the final proof file will be sent to the printer in Canada with plans to ship the books in the first two weeks of November, along with posters, ebook, and audiobook versions.

The creators of this runaway hit have larger goals in mind. Project backers will receive home schooling kits and teacher kits with educational materials, such as a tip sheet titled How to Raise Confident Girls. In January, Favilli and Cavallo will fly to Rwanda to give seven days of workshops for children and adults about female leadership, and they will donate 400 copies to the non-profit Read to a Child.

The book and accompanying perks can be ordered now on InDemand:[https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/good-night-stories-for-rebel-girls-books-women#/]

Contact:
Lee Schneider, Red Cup Agency, [email protected]

SOURCE Timbuktu Labs