The Book Bazaar 2026 is an exciting collaborative crowdfunding event on Backerkit of 39 indie authors who have come together to raise funds for their campaigns. In celebration, and to help promote these authors, we’ll be featuring spotlights through the fundraising period for you to check and out and support! Within The Book Bazaar, you’ll find a variety of genres, including fantasy, sci-fi, horror, queer, and romance, as well as a variety of formats such as novels, novellas, series, anthologies, and audiobooks. There’s something for everyone!
The fundraising period runs from October 29 – November 19. Back 3 or more projects to earn unique bookmarks, and 10 or more projects to receive an exclusive anthology. Want a taste of these projects? Check out the free sampler bundle on Itch.io!
Please welcome Omen by Jake Vanguard in the spotlight!
Omen is a queer cyberpunk fantasy. High Fae Courts in a Cyberpunk city – what could go wrong? Beside family intrigues, political schemes, forgotten weapons forged of magic and technology, and a lot of trauma, of course.
OMEN is set in the cyberpunk city Neo Requiem, ruled by two High Fae courts. Nature and fresh produce has been long forsaken, corruption and neon having taken over. In this world, we follow the main character Tam – a High Fae who learns about the family that has forsaken them.
The author is raising funds for professional editing and cover art to bring this project to life, and has some awesome backer rewards, including stickers, key chains, art prints, and funky bookmarks.
About the Author
I’m Jake Vanguard (they/them), and I am a queer author of fantasy, science fantasy, and a slice of horror and erotica. In my stories, I love exploring queerness and contradictions, love and connections, family and friendship.
The first two books of the DEITY CHRONICLES trilogy (FIRST SNOW and FIRST ROSE) – a science fantasy story about deities and finding yourself – are available now.
My paranormal duology ANGELVERSE (HIGANBANA and KINTSUGI) – slice of life story with angels and lots of trauma – is available as well.
REMNANTS OF RELICS is my first curated anthology, a product of love and community, about the struggles and joys one works with when losing or gaining a new part of themselves.
The first standalone, TROUBLED BODIES, is a queer horromance novella about cannibalism, obsession, of devotion and addiction, of care and primal urges – and, above all, of love. Its release is 2 June 2026.
There’ll be more for both series to come, as well as other standalone titles.
I also enjoy writing short stories for anthology, exploring different genres and settings through various prompts. With my best friend Jess, I founded Snakeskin Press this 2026 – which also has a Backerkit campaign live right now!
- Website: JakeVanguard.carrd.co
- Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/jakevanguard.bsky.social
- Instagram: @jake.vanguard
