Hey Backers! It's been a couple months since my last update and wanted to keep you in the loop with project progress. Here's the latest:
The Coffee Table Book
First draft of the "America At The Seams" coffee table book is complete! All 50 state stories have been written thanks to freelance baseball writer and fellow Kickstarter backer, Ethan Bryan (Twitter @Ethan_Bryan). Ethan stepped up in a big way to research state stories, performed interviews, and was contracted to work directly with the book publishing team to deliver a written draft before Christmas.
That's the good news. The bad news is that there is some legal red tape we are currently jumping through to ensure we are not infringing on any MLB trademarks by referencing team names in some of the stories. In most books, storytelling and conveying factual information would be considered "fair use", but this book will be unique in that I am pairing the story with artwork made specifically from that story. The publishing team has 3 different attorneys looking at this and we've concluded safest approach is to try and obtain fair use no recourse waivers from the teams referenced. Teams are being contacted this week and we're hoping for the best. Worst case is we re-write some of the stories without referencing team names.
USA Map Baseball Artwork Update
Regarding the massive 5 foot wide map of the USA, I have obtained baseballs for about 20/50 states, with 5 state artworks being complete and 8 more states currently in production. I've hired one of the most talented photographers in the Midwest (if not the U.S.), Wes Eisenhauer, to do all artwork photography for the book and the fine art prints at the conclusion of the project.
Backer Rewards & Post-Backer PRESALE
I've mailed out all "America's Game" artwork rewards and Kickstarter t-shirts. Book and fine art prints will come early-Summer. Book launch date was previously planned for late-April, but legal red tape is likely going to delay that a month or two.
Heads up that if you have friends or family that didn't get in on the Kickstarter and would still like to contribute to this project, they can do so at the link below. Everyone who gives over $100 still can get their name in the books credits as being a Backer. Also, there are still corporate sponsorship opportunities for donations over $1000. Reach out if you would like more info.
https://www.baseballseamsco.com/collections/baseball-art/products/america-at-the-seams-pre-sale
Thanks again everyone! Spring Training is only 1 month away!
Playball,
Nathan Rueckert, Artist & Founder
The Baseball Seams Co., LLC