Does paying $750 dollars for an email exchange with Nick Hornby sound crazy to you? What if it helped an eccentric literary magazine continue to publish great work?  (I would definitely be down if it were Bruce Hornsby.) 

As with all Kickstarter campaigns, pledging leaves you with more than just a warm fuzzy feelings for your donation. In classic McSweeney’s fashion they have curated a eclectic assortment of gifts from writers, artist and friends of the magazine.

At the lower price range ($10-$80) you can get some limited edition totes and silk screened posters created by super hip artists that McSweeney’s has championed in the past. My favorite reward in this price range is a decorative gourd signed by the author of one of my favorite articles, “It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers.” In the $100-$400 range you can score some custom artwork or get a invite to eat and hang with the weirdos who make McSweeney’s happen. And for $2,500 you will get a custom animal painting from the man himself, Dave Eggers!

The magazine is turning to crowd-funding following a decision to make McSweeney’s a nonprofit. The move to non-profit is billed as a desire to ensure future stability and creative freedom without corporate sponsors.

“We believe that becoming a nonprofit will allow McSweeney’s to sustain itself for many years to come, with the help of an expanded community of donors, writers, and readers,”

The need for the $150k is to help with the transitional period of becoming a non-profit; due to bureaucracy the bid for non-profit status has taken longer than anticipated.

Adly Elewa is the art director of Melville House.