Help Zig Zag Claybourne in His Recovery Process

Hi friends. Claire—C. S. E. Cooney—here, on behalf of our beloved friend Clarence, or as the SFF community knows him “Zig Zag Claybourne .”

Named as one of Book Riot's “6 of the best Black indie scifi writers you should be reading,” Zig Zag is the author of the newly released fantasy Breath, Warmth, and Dream, as well as many other novels and short stories. In addition to being a Kresge Foundation Literary Fellow, Zig is a frequent speaker at libraries, conventions, and other learning institutions.

A few weeks ago, our dear Zig Zag hit a health snag: a one-two punch of the flu and a massive infection that had him in the hospital, hooked up to IVs. Life is tough for the immunocompromised, but Zig Zag did what must be done, and is now on his way to recovery! (We dance for joy!)

But this necessary hospital visit left him with a huge medical bill, and the flu/infection has wiped him out in all other ways, physically and mentally. With bills, rent, utilities, and groceries looming, we are hoping to help him offset some of the high cost of living and getting sick—even when you do everything you can to take care of yourself.

Zig Zag not only takes care of himself, he is always caring for others in his community. He uplifts our spirits, he encourages writers, he is an artist of singular vision: gentle, powerful, irreverent, holy.

We have a button on our bookshelf that says “Despite everything, create” that he made for us. It’s a motto he lives by. Maybe we can help with the “despite everything” part.

Thank you, friends!

Yours truly,

C. S. E. Cooney