McSweeney's sweeteners: how much would you pay for an email from Nick Hornby?

In typically eccentric fashion, Dave Eggers’ publishing project is raising money through Kickstarter with inducements including an email exchange with Nick Hornby, and a chance to enjoy The Geoff Dyer Experience

Two days after McSweeney’s threw itself on the mercy of the crowdsourcing website Kickstarter in a bid to raise $150,000 (£100,000) “to keep our projects going and our lights on in the near term”, the San Francisco-based literary powerhouse is already more than a third of the way to its target.

The 691 pledges so far include $2,500 for an animal drawing by founder Dave Eggers, $1,000 for a personalised story by the Canadian writer Sheila Heti and $750 for a week-long email correspondence with Nick Hornby, author of Fever Pitch and A Long Way Down. While there are nine more chances to commission a pooch pic from Eggers, Heti and Hornby wisely limited their offers for bespoke work to one – as did short story writer Wells Tower, whose set of “state-of-the-art” Allen wrenches were snapped up at a bargain $250.

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