Congratulations to L.J. Charleston for winning a custom constructed language for her YA Fantasy WIP!

Original announcement:

Have you ever wanted your own constructed language for a sci-fi/fantasy novel, D&D quest, video game idea or bespoke lorem ipsum? I’m donating my starter conlang creation package to raise funds to support the fire fighting crews during this horrific bushfire season.

Authors For Fireys is an auction of signed books, illustrations, unique experiences, one-off opportunities and writers’ services. It is taking place on Twitter from 6th Jan 2020 under the hashtag #AuthorsForFireys. Winners donate to the CFA (Country Fire Authority) and show proof of donation.

As part of the auction I’ll make the winner a bespoke language word generator. See this tweet for the auction. This will include a 1-on-1 chat so I can interview you about what you’d like to do with the language, and some aesthetic preferences.

A few quick details that don’t fit into the tweet:

• We can meet 1-on-1 on Skype or in person if you live in Melbourne.
• The package will involve figuring out the shape of words in the language. From there you can name characters and places, or start your own dictionary. Grammar is a whole other level of detail, but you can start building that yourself with the word generator!
• The language will be yours to do with as you please.
• Bids in Australian Dollars (these go further than American dollars!).
• You do not have to be in Australia.
• You can donate to Wildlife Victoria instead if that’s your jam.
• Yes, extractive industries should pay tax.
• You can enter a bid without being on Twitter ,or a silent bid by getting in touch with me (superlinguo at gmail dot com)

From the Authors For Fireys website:

The auction ends at 11pm Sydney/Melbourne time on Saturday 11th Jan 2020.

• Each author/illustrator involved (open invitation) creates a tweet announcing an item, unique opportunity or writing service they are offering to donate. The tweet will include a supporting image, plus the auction end time and hashtag #AuthorsForFireys.

• Twitter users reply to that tweet with their bid in Australian dollars. Bidding continues on that thread (in increments of $1 Australian dollar or more) until the auction end time. 

• When the auction has ended, the item ‘owner’ messages the highest bidder on the thread.
  

• The highest bidder is instructed to donate directly to the CFA. They must provide proof of donation to the item ‘owner’.

• When proof of donation is received, the item or service is dispatched. 

To sum up…

• Creators run their own individual auction / tweet under the hashtag.

• Twitter users scroll through the auction items under the hashtag and reply to the items to make their bids. Make your bids on the original item thread only. (ie. If you see an item quote-tweeted, do not bid there.)