The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya: Volume II

"Glittering with life across every page." Katie O'Neill, author of The Tea Dragon Society

"Yee’s graphic novel is multifaceted. At once, it serves as a love letter to carpets and Turkish miniature, a rebuttal to and dissection of Orientalism from the eighteenth century to the present, a lesson on how to tell stories set in cultures and times that are not one’s own, and a reminder that we are always capable of rewriting our own stories." ML Kejera, reviewer, Strange Horizons

"This is one of those stories that genuinely makes you feel like there's still hope for humanity, it's heartbreaking and sweet at the same time. Beautiful storytelling melds with incredible artwork and it makes this one of the best stories I've ever read. " Coley, Goodreads review.

The Story

In the second and final installment of the Eisner-nominated online graphic novel, we follow Zeynel, a carpet merchant turned vampire, as he travels across the West in search of home, after the passing of his wife, Ayse. Through a young English friend, Alfred Grimsley, Zeynel moves to a quiet town in Southeast England. There he finds himself at the centre of a fad for all things Turkish, grappling with the meaning of home as it is distorted by the lens of Orientalism. 

Three years later, he is surprised when he finds the vampire responsible for his death — Mora Strigoi — at his door begging for forgiveness. While Zeynel and Mora struggle to make sense of each other's differences, Alfred Grimsley uncovers a trail of blood made by a mysterious serial killer, and makes the terrifying discovery that it ends at the doorstep of his closest friend, Zeynel.

A modern Gothic satire, peeling apart the trope of vampire as 'the foreigner', and recognising that true vampirism is in the Western consumption of Eastern bodies and objects.

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A dramatic narrative about the healing power of compassion, arising out of faith, love and legacy.

Author’s Pitch (Backstory, rewards and more)

I’m excited to work with Unbound once again to publish the second volume of The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya! In 2018, we successfully funded the first volume with an astonishing 716 backers (thank you!!) and debuted it in 2019 with much fanfare. 

Please check out the previous campaign, and if you haven’t yet, grab a copy of the first volume. 

Without further ado, let’s get into the nitty-gritty details of what this campaign is about:

What is being funded?

The production and publication costs of the book. Any profits after the campaign reaches 100% is split 50/50 between Unbound and the author. 

The Book:

• Blue cover with nods to the English decorative arts. Pairs with Volume I’s red cover. (Cover Not Final... to be revealed!)

• 334 pages of full-coloured artwork, inspired by Ottoman miniature, traditional English illustration and Rococo ornamentation

• Updated lettering and art

• To be printed exactly as the first volume: hardcover with gold foil, 170mm x 240mm, big spine, matte paper

• The story and art are already completed! The only work left is to get fully funded!

Rewards:

Please explore the reward bundles on this page. Each bundle has a different combination of rewards at different prices. Here is the list of all rewards: 

• The actual physical book (unsigned or signed)
• The ebook edition
• Supplementary guide, containing author’s notes and background research
• Transcript/novelisation, allowing the story to be accessible to many more people
• Your name in the contributor’s list at the back of the book