It's been a very long time coming, but I am finally proud to formally announce the Kazamatsuri.org AIR BOOKCLUB! The AIR BOOKCLUB (caps lock optional) is an event which will become the focus of our community for three months. Commencing on the 9th of February 2015 and ending on the 3rd of May, Kazamatsuri.org will read through the AIR visual novel together as a community, and our forum will play host to in-depth discussions on each route as we read through them in sequence, while also inviting members to express their creativity through submissions of fan work. At the conclusion of each route, a chosen few of our community will record a podcast together reflecting on the route they've just read, while incorporating the posts made by everyone on the forum in their discussion. It is as much a time for critique as it is a time for celebration and appreciation of AIR. Whether you're a seasoned fan of AIR or you're curious to try it out, everyone is welcome to participate!
Each route will be read and discussed for two weeks before concluding with a podcast and moving onto the next route. We recommend following either this walkthrough or Winter Confetti's included walkthrough in order to read the story in the correct order. During each two-week block, the specified route's discussion topic will be sticked at the top of the forum, and discussion for the bookclub will take place there. Members are encouraged to take notes of their experience while reading the route so that they can come prepared to contribute to the discussion happening in the topic. Members are also invited to record voice clips under a minute long sharing their thoughts about the route or perhaps posing a question to the podcast members, to be played live on the podcast. At the end of the two-week block, the podcast will be published, and the previous route's topic will be un-stickied and the new route of focus will be stickied. (Keep in mind that members are more than welcome to continue discussion in the un-stickied topics; just note that they will no longer be the focus of the bookclub. However, the podcast members will continue monitoring discussion happening in the un-stickied topics, so it's not impossible that discussion of old routes may end up becoming relevant in future podcast episodes.) Throughout the duration of the bookclub, the AIR Fanart Topic will also remain stickied in the hopes that forum members will consider contributing fanart for either AIR as a whole, or for the particular route of focus. Alternative fanworks are also welcome, but topics for them will not be stickied. The complete schedule of the bookclub is as follows:
- Common (Bad Ending): 9th Feb - 22nd Feb
- Minagi: 23rd Feb - 8th March
- Kano: 9th March - 22nd March
- Misuzu: 23rd March - 5th April
- Summer: 6th April - 19th April
- AIR: 20th April - 3rd May
In order to provide incentive to participate in the bookclub and spread the word about it, we've prepared some giveaways!
Firstly, we have three copies of AIR Memorial Edition to give away to lucky winners of our draw. To enter, all you need to do is share or tweet a link to this article on social media, sign up to our forums, and link to your post and/or tweet in the discussion topic of this post below to prove you've shared it, and you go in the draw! Just make sure your privacy settings allow us to view your post otherwise we'll have no way to verify whether or not you've actually shared this article. Two weeks from now on the 2nd of February, we'll draw three random names from all the entries, and the winners will have a copy of AIR Memorial Edition shipped to their location! This will be a week before the bookclub commences, so hopefully we'll be able to ensure your copy of AIR reaches you in time to participate in the bookclub!
(Entry for the above giveaway is now CLOSED. The winners have been announced in the discussion topic below.)
Secondly, we will also be rewarding members who contribute to the bookclub with a selection of goodies. At the conclusion of each route during the podcast, we will announce an MVP (or most-valued poster); the member who we believe provided the most valuable contributions to the bookclub for the specified route. This might include general activity, posting constructive and interesting discussions, or just bringing something unique. We'll also be keeping our eyes open for members willing to contribute fanworks for the bookclub - such members will gain high priority on our watch list, but good discussion is just as important as good drawings! A different MVP will be chosen for each of the first five route blocks, with a final "AIR BOOKCLUB MVP" being chosen at the conclusion of the AIR route block to be awarded a grand prize. We'll be keeping the grand prize a secret, but for each of the five route MVPs, some items we'll be offering include T-shirts, AIR music albums, and copies of the AIR anime series on DVD. If you ever wanted a Gao Gao Stegosaurus T-shirt like our protagonist Yukito Kunisaki, now is your chance! I'll even throw in a letter thanking you for your contributions.
Have I piqued your interest? If you are one of the few people who would like to get involved in the bookclub a little more intimately, then you may be pleased to hear that we are currently accepting applications for the Kazamatsuri.org Podcast. We're on the hunt for passionate, enthusiastic, charismatic and informed individuals who can contribute some interesting and entertaining flavour to our podcasts. We have about 4 openings for members willing to commit to all six episodes of the bookclub podcast; reading along and taking notes while bringing their discussion to the table in each successive episode. We also have openings for members who are less willing to commit to all twelve weeks, and instead want to join the podcast for only one of the six episodes as a 'route specialist' if there's a particular route they'd really like to talk about with us. Outside of the bookclub, we're also accepting applications to join The Monthly Terra recordings, where we come together at the end of each month and briefly talk about all the latest happenings in the world of Key and our community. To apply, all you have to do is register your interest in the applications topic, stating whether you'd like to apply for the regular cast of the AIR BOOKCLUB Podcasts, as a route specialist, or for The Monthly Terra ("all of the above" is a welcome choice!). From there, members will be invited to group interviews over Skype voice calls in the week leading up to the bookclub, where our staff will assess them and decide whether we believe they are a good fit for our podcast or not. Don't worry though, it's not as scary as a job interview - many have reported our past interviews to actually be a lot of fun! And even if you applied for the planetarian bookclub last time and got rejected, don't be afraid to apply again - it's a clean slate! (and I may have lost all my notes from the interviews last time...) The Kazamatsuri.org Podcast will be very busy over the next 12 weeks, and we need some fresh faces to help keep it running! We hope you'll consider applying!
(Applications for the podcast are currently closed, but you're welcome to express your interest in the applications topic in case any openings arise.)
So for the time being, if you want the chance to win a copy of AIR Memorial Edition, please share this article on Facebook or Twitter and link to your post below in the discussion topic to go in the running! This topic will probably be flooded with entries for the giveaway, but feel free to also use this topic to share your thoughts of the bookclub itself and ask any questions you might have - I'll be sure to answer them to the best of my ability! Let's all work together to make the Kazamatsuri.org AIR BOOKCLUB the biggest celebration of AIR in the history of the western world!
For more information about AIR, including where to purchase it and how to read it, view our information page here.
The AIR BOOKCLUB has commenced, starting with the common route:
http://kazamatsuri.org/the-air-bookclub-has-commenced-starting-with-the-common-route/
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at http://kazamatsuri.org/announcing-the-air-bookclub-participate-and-win-prizes/
Might even say I like it more than the original!
