The Lost Children Charity Anthologies

41 writers. One cause. We've rallied a platoon of crime, western, thriller, fantasy, noir, horror and transgressive authors to support PROTECT's important work: lobbying for legislation that protects children from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.

Powerful stories from George Pelecanos, Andrew Vachss, Joe R. Lansdale, Charles de Lint, Ken Bruen, Chet Williamson, James Reasoner, Charlie Stella, Michael A. Black, Wayne Dundee, Roxane Gay, Ray Banks, Tony Black, Les Edgerton and 16 more, with 100% of proceeds going to PROTECT.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Protectors Story a Distinguished Mystery Story of 2012

Congratulations to Dave White, whose story "Runaway" in Protectors: Stories to Benefit PROTECT was noted as a distinguished mystery story of 2012 in the latest volume of The Best American Mystery Stories, edited by Lisa Scottoline and Otto Penzler.

"Runaway" is a gripping and heartfelt crime story about a basketball coach in Jersey City trying to help a young athlete stay out of trouble, but as Jerseyans know, sometimes trouble finds you. Dave was eager to be part of the anthology I'm proud to have edited him. If you don't know his other work, he is the author of the thriller Witness to Death and the Jackson Donne crime novels.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

"Adeline" by Wayne D. Dundee wins Peacemaker

Let us congratulate Wayne Dundee!
His story for Protectors: Stories to Benefit PROTECT, "Adeline," a gripping tale of frontier history and justice, has won the Peacemaker Award for best western short story of 2013 from the Western Fictioneers.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

"Baby Boy" by Todd Robinson finalist in Derringer awards

"Baby Boy," Todd Robinson's riveting thriller tale from Protectors: Stories to Benefit PROTECT, is a finalist for best short story in the Short Mystery Fiction Society's 2013 Derringer Awards!

List of finalists for the 2013 Derringer Awards

Let's congratulate Todd on making it to the finals. This story is exclusive to the Protectors anthology, so if you haven't read it, pick up a copy. It's a gripping read that will leave your heart pounding.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Latest Review and Donations

Our latest review is in:

"Good stories for a good cause. You can't go wrong."
Bill Crider, Mystery Scene Magazine

And our donation record has been updated. $1274 to PROTECT, and we've only just begun.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Donation Records Updated

Sending a big ol' check to Protect today- the full proceeds of sales of Protectors: Stories to Benefit Protect. So far we've raised $860.38!
Thanks to all who contributed their work, bought the book, and spread the word!

The full donation record for Protectors $860.38
The full donation record for Lost Children $1836.34

Give the gift that helps Protect do things like keep the Protect Our Children Act funded and fighting strong!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

PROTECT's latest victory!

We're sharing this to show the results we get when we support PROTECT!

Thank you to all who've purchased these books, and doubly so to those who join PROTECT

They are the real warriors in this fight, and we are proud to support them!

Forward to Your Friends and Share on Facebook & Twitter

Dear Supporter:
Victory!
Yesterday our Child Protection Act of 2012 passed Congress. Today it's on its way to President Obama's desk for signing.
This was a major bipartisan victory, and a direct result of your support for PROTECT! We especially thank Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (R-CT) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
The new law includes several measures that our allies have been trying unsuccessfully to pass for years. Here are the highlights:

• Reauthorizes our PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008, approving double today's child rescue funding for America's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces. These task forces rescue thousands of children every year

• Tough new penalties for threatening or harassing a child witness in child abuse and exploitation cases (this was vigorously opposed by some)

• New fast-track administrative subpoenas for U.S. Marshals searching for fugitive sex offenders

• Increased penalties of up to 20 years for distribution or receipt of child abuse images, when the victim is under 12

Many Americans just assume that passing laws like this is easy. After all, who's not against child abuse?
But PROTECT members know better. You know that every victory we win is the result of a long, hard fight. We're David, up against Goliath. We depend 100% on people like you to keep us in there fighting for victories like this one!
Join us in celebrating today! And please consider helping us replenish our war chest. You can give a gift of any size online, or even pledge a small amount each month.
Thank you for being someone children -- and PROTECT -- can count on!

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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Book Signings for Protectors!

If you're in the Chicago area in mid-November- bring a coat, and visit one of two bookstores hosting signings of Protectors: Stories to Benefit PROTECT -

On November 15th, at Open Books, Andrew Vachss, Michael A. Black, and Zak Mucha will be there to sign Protectors and other books. Artist Geoff Darrow will also be there to sign Shaolin Cowboy. They have a limited number of copies of Protectors on hand. Sales of all books will benefit PROTECT and children's literacy in Chicago.

On November 16th, the same crew is heading to Centuries & Sleuths in Forest Park. C&S also has copies of Protectors on hand for purchase. The full event details are available here.

Protectors is available as an e-book for Amazon Kindle, Apple iPad, Kindle UK, Nook, Smashwords and Kobo. The trade paperback is now available from Createspace and Amazon, and from other online retailers and local bookstores.

Lost Children: A Charity Anthology is available for purchase in trade paperback from Watchung Booksellers, Amazon and Createspace, and as an e-book at Amazon, Amazon UK, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, the Apple iBookstore for the iPad, the Sony e-Bookstore, and the Kobo Bookstore.

You may also buy the e-books directly. We will email it to you in Kindle and epub formats. You can read it on your computer, or transfer it to your e-reader with software such as Calibre E-Book Management. This generates the largest donation.

What's the story behind the project?

Protectors:
The Lost Children Charity Anthology was such a success, that Thomas Pluck decided to collect stories from a variety of authors to benefit PROTECT, a lobby whose victories against child abuse include the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008, the Hero to Hero program, and Alicia's Law. He collected 41 stories from all new authors. Thanks to the inspiration of goodhearted people like Fiona Johnson, and the people of PROTECT who fight the abuse and exploitation of our children every day, the book is a reality, and 100% of proceeds benefit PROTECT.

For the first anthology:
The challenge began on Flash Fiction Friday, when author Fiona Johnson was guest writer for the fiction prompt, and asked us to write about the lost children. She asked photographer Danielle Tunstall for permission to use the arresting photo shown in the right sidebar, and said:

Some children are lost before they have even started living. Some children are a throw-away commodity like a burger box that’s left to blow down the street in the wind and rain.

I offered to donate $5 for each story submitted to PROTECT: The National Association to Protect Children, and Fiona would donate $5 to Children 1st, a children's charity in Scotland. Together we raised $300 for each of the charities thanks to the generous and creative writing communities of Flash Fiction Friday, Fictionaut, and the crime fiction community on Twitter.

It was such a success that we thought we could go further. Ron Earl Phillips, Fiona and I chose 30 of the best stories to put in a charity anthology, all proceeds of which will go to PROTECT and Children 1st.

100% of royalties donated to two causes:

OUR DONATION RECORD

PROTECT and The National Association to Protect Children (USA)

The National Association to Protect Children is a national, pro-child, anti-crime membership association founded on the belief that our first and most sacred obligation as parents, citizens, and members of the human species is the protection of children from harm.

PROTECT is a bipartisan pro-child, anti-crime lobby whose sole focus is making the protection of children a top political and policy priority at the national, state and local level.

You can read about PROTECT's Victories here.

100% of the proceeds of Protectors, and 50% of the proceeds of Lost Children: A Charity Anthology, are donated to PROTECT.

This is an independently organized event, not officially sponsored by [NAPC/PROTECT]

Children 1st (UK)

Children 1st has 125 years experience of working with children and families, previously as the Royal Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (RSSPCC). Today, they support families under stress, protect children from harm and neglect, help them to recover from abuse and promote children's rights and interests. You can read more about their work with children here.

50% of proceeds of the Lost Children Charity Anthology go to Children 1st.

This is an independently organized event, not officially sponsored by Children 1st.