The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya: Volume II
By Reimena Yee
The second and final installment of the Eisner-nominated online graphic novel.
Publication date: August 2022
Pre-order
The Signed Series
PLUS:
- Signed First Edition Hardcover
- Signed First Edition Hardcover of The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya: Vol I
- Ebook edition
- Supplementary PDF

The Full Reward Set Plus Volume I
PLUS:
- First Edition Hardcover
- First Edition Hardcover of The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya: Vol I
- Ebook edition
- Supplementary PDF
- Limited edition enamel bat and bird pin set
- Woven carpet design bookmark

Ebook

First Edition Hardcover
PLUS:
- First Edition Hardcover
- Ebook edition
- Supplementary PDF

First Edition Hardcover and Bookmark
PLUS:
- First edition hardcover
- Ebook
- Supplementary PDF
- Bookmark

Signed First Edition Hardcover
PLUS:
- Signed first edition hardcover
- Ebook
- Supplementary PDF

Limited Edition Enamel Bat Pin
PLUS:
- First Edition Hardcover
- Ebook edition
- Supplementary PDF
- Limited edition enamel bat pin

Limited edition enamel bird pin
PLUS:
- First Edition Hardcover
- Ebook edition
- Supplementary PDF
- Limited edition enamel bird pin

Two First Edition Hardcovers
PLUS:
- Two First Edition Hardcovers
- Ebook edition
- Supplementary PDF

The Series
PLUS:
- First Edition Hardcover
- First Edition Hardcover of The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya: Vol I
- Ebook edition
- Supplementary PDF

Limited edition enamel pin set
PLUS:
- First Edition Hardcover
- Ebook edition
- Supplementary PDF
- Limited edition enamel bat and bird pin set

The Full Reward Set
PLUS:
- Signed First Edition Hardcover
- Ebook edition
- Supplementary PDF
- Limited edition enamel bat and bird pin set
- Woven carpet design bookmark

Bespoke Commission Set
PLUS:
- Signed First Edition Hardcover
- Ebook edition
- Supplementary PDF
- Bespoke artist commission – digital artwork of your choosing!

Gold Supporter Set
PLUS:
- First Edition Hardcover
- Ebook edition
- Supplementary PDF
- Limited edition enamel bat and bird pin set
- Woven carpet design bookmark
- Bespoke artist commission – digital artwork of your choosing!

Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I get my book delivered to?
How do supporter names work?
Will the book and rewards that I receive look the same as the images shown on the Unbound website?
"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.
&
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:
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Blue cover with nods to the English decorative arts. Pairs with Volume I’s red cover. (Cover Not Final... to be revealed!)
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334 pages of full-coloured artwork, inspired by Ottoman miniature, traditional English illustration and Rococo ornamentation
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Updated lettering and art
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To be printed exactly as the first volume: hardcover with gold foil, 170mm x 240mm, big spine, matte paper
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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
- Nightingale enamel pin (second run): The Volume I Unbound exclusive pin is back! A small hard enamel nightingale, designed with red roses. Pair it with the Bat enamel pin.
- Limited edition carpet bookmark: An authentically woven carpet bookmark featuring the motifs of the graphic novel. Design TBD.
- Artist Commission: gives you the opportunity to commission the author (me) for one digital, non-commercial illustration. Pet portraits, family portraits, anything as long as it isn’t lewd or graphic.
Don’t see a reward bundle you want? Want extra pins, bookmarks or more books? Contact me via reimenayee @ gmail.com (without spaces) to arrange for a custom bundle.
Special pricing for retailers and librarians
Contact me via reimenayee @ gmail.com (without spaces) to ask about special pricing for bulk book orders.
Why Unbound?
Unbound is a crowdfunding publisher that puts the choice in the reader’s hands about what books they want to read and make reality into the world.
When you pledge to this campaign, you get to be involved in the production process of this book, from start to end. More importantly, you will be directly supporting a living independent artist and independent unusual storytelling. You will be like the patrons of Renaissance Europe! You get to say, “hey I helped make that book exist with my support.”
The earlier this book funds, the earlier everyone gets the book in the real world.
If you become a backer, please share this campaign with anyone you know who might be interested: your friends, your family, and most importantly your local library.
Once again…
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya since its beginning. You’ve made the first book a reality. Let’s do it one more time.
Quick select rewards
The Signed Series
PLUS:
- Signed First Edition Hardcover
- Signed First Edition Hardcover of The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya: Vol I
- Ebook edition
- Supplementary PDF

The Full Reward Set Plus Volume I
PLUS:
- First Edition Hardcover
- First Edition Hardcover of The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya: Vol I
- Ebook edition
- Supplementary PDF
- Limited edition enamel bat and bird pin set
- Woven carpet design bookmark

I just discovered your work and would love to support the project! I haven't read the first volume, tough. Any chance for a reward level that includes both volumes?
Hi Maya, thank you!! If you want the first volume it’s better that you purchase it separately from your favourite bookstore online or offline. Any rewards tied to this campaign will be fulfilled only when the second volume is published, which will be in 2022 or 2023 (depending on the pandemic affecting production and delivery). Since the first volume is already available, it’s recommended to get that one now rather than wait.