What is this?

Hello and welcome to the Wanderer’s Journal season 2 crowdfunder! 

Wanderer’s Journal is a scripted Queer Fantasy Audio Drama about hope, connections, and growing as a person. In season 1 we encountered Marigold and Pluto, connected by a mysterious journal that allows them to communicate. In season 2, we’re going to show you much more of the world, and help answer a variety of questions raised by season 1. We’ll delve into both Marigold and Pluto’s past, and learn more about the journal that connects them.

The story is very dear to us, and we have been blown away by the support from the audio drama community thus far. The idea has been in the works for a long time now. We can’t wait to bring more Wanderer’s Journal to you, and we hope you’ll love season 2 as much as we do.

You can read more about the podcast at wanderersjournal.info.

What’s special about this show?

Wanderer’s Journal explores queerness in a fantasy setting, and focuses on aromantic characters, in a world where that representation lacks a lot. It is a story about two people who met in spite of distance, created by two people who met in spite of distance, with deep connections at the heart of the story.  

We want to give our listeners something charming to listen to on walks along forest paths, and tucked underneath a blanket with a cup of tea. We create stories for friendships and relationships that break traditional bounds, and wanderers who haven’t quite found where they belong yet.

If any of this sounds like your thing, you’ll like Wanderer’s Journal. We’d appreciate your support!

Season 1 has more than 4,000 downloads across platforms.

What can I expect from season 2?

Lots of things, dear listener! With fear of giving too much away, here are a few things you may like.

• New animal companion! Caw!
• New locations! Season 1 took place in more or less the same two general areas, but in season 2 we will explore several new places.
• New friends! No longer will the only friendship be shackled to the journal. Are Marigold and Pluto any better at making friends with people in person? Only time will tell!
• New lore! Who are these “oh my gods” people keep talking about? Why is the journal so weird? How do you entertain yourself when you live underneath a hostile forest? You might find out!
• New genders! No, we will not specify what this means.

Cast & Crew

Along with the shiny new season, we've also expanded our cast!

The cast includes:

Tal Minear as Marigold

Janet G. as Pluto

Elisabeth Allen as Creature

E.R Hollands as George

Adnan Kureishy as Hunter the Hunter

Angie Min as Juniper

Melissa J. Lackie as William

Ted Heavner as Koré

and Lou Sutcliffe, Timothy Rafael, and Lumi Oakes as Additional Voices

We also have a returning crew with:

Timothy Rafael as the head writer

Lumi Oakes as the producer

José Machado as the dialogue editor and sound designer

and CJ Tanuan as the graphic designer.

You can read more about our cast and crew at wanderersjournal.info/#castandcrew.

What do I get out of this?

Well, season 2 of course, but we also offer a variety of rewards for donating to this campaign! You can get stickers, postcards, messages from characters, and more!

See our full tier breakdown to the right! We offer the following donation tiers: 

Root: The roots are crucial to any tree, and you are crucial to us! You’ll receive a personal social media shout-out, and be immortalized on our website!

Bug: Something small in the grass, or something giant in the tunnels beneath the forest. As such a varied being, you will get everything above and access to our current and s2 blooper episodes, along with special early access to season 2!

Aimless Wanderer: Not all those who wander are lost, but you probably are. For your journey, we offer you everything above and a special WJ logo sticker, a digital in-universe tourist pamphlet so you can find your way around, and access to the s1 bonus episode!

Hunter of Bugs: There are many things to hunt in the tunnels, and it’s a dangerous business! For your troubles, you’ve definitely earned everything above and a sticker sheet featuring unique silly WJ stickers, as well as a blank WJ postcard you can use however you like! Maybe it’s about time you write home.

Corvidae Crow: Beloved by the citizens of a marvelous city, and the center of plenty of festivals and celebrations. For your watchful eye you’ve earned everything above and commentary from the creators for every season 2 episode, your very own personal digital letter from Marigold or Pluto, and an additional logo sticker!

Ambiguous Creature: There’s something making sounds in the forest. Something of an ambiguous shape and size. It’s you! I’m not so sure what you are, but you’re certainly a creature! Just for that, you deserve everything above and an additional WJ postcard with a little poem written on it, character-inspired art prints, and a physical copy of your letter from Marigold or Pluto.

The Forest: You are grand, dangerous, and beautiful all the same. Only a precious few dare to make the trip along your paths, and who’s to say whether you’ll show them mercy. Speaking of which, in exchange for said mercy, we offer you everything above and unique recorded thank-you message from a s1 character of your choice, a personal episode dedication, and an additional WJ sticker sheet.

The Gods: You created this world, you’re in charge of something in it, and decided to be generous with us. We are eternally grateful to you, and will give you everything above and unique recorded thank-you messages from every season 1 character, an opportunity to correspond with both sides of the season 1 journal, and access to all future digital bonus content sent directly to you.

We will attempt to fulfill the physical rewards in October and November. Most rewards will ship from the US, though there may be a few exceptions depending on logistics.

Where does the money go?

Wanderer’s Journal is produced by a very small indie team, season 1 being funded entirely out of pocket. We aim to up the scale a bit for season 2, and would love to pay our current cast and crew, as well as our increased cast, better per episode rates. That is what this crowdfunder is for.

If you want to know where the money goes, have a look at our rough budget breakdown. If we make more than the crowdfunder asks for, we’ll use it to give the cast a raise, to pay our artist more for their work, and maybe even improve the season in other ways. 

If we do not make our goal, we will still produce the season (thus the keep-it-all crowdfunding) but we may need to downscale quite a bit and pay the parts we can afford out of pocket.

Other ways you can help

Share around and talk about our crowdfunding campaign. Word of mouth really helps, and we only have access to a relatively small audience through our social media. 

If you're unsure what to say, here is a blurb you can copy and paste wherever you'd like!

[Wanderer's Journal is a queer fantasy adventure audio drama aimed at teens and up. It depicts connections, change, and intertwining narratives. They're crowdfunding for their season 2 and need your help! Learn more at crowdfundr.com/wanderersjournal]

And, if you have a spare minute, why don’t you rate and review the show on any podcast platform? It means a lot to us, and can help us get the show to the right people.