EditorLast fall I participated in the annual #Inktober challenge—drawing a picture in ink each day of October, based on a list of prompts. Although a lot of participants use the official Inktober prompt list, I opted to follow Janelle Shane’s AI-generated #Botober prompt list, and one of those prompts was for an “angry jelly doughnut.”
DAY 14: Angry jelly doughnut #Inktober #Botober2021 pic.twitter.com/Sl2avpHQ7i
— Iva Cheung @[email protected] (@IvaCheung) October 14, 2021
After I posted my attempt on Twitter, Steve Kleinedler (@SKleinedler)
replied, “This needs to be a children’s book, and the angry jelly donut needs to be pissed off all the way thru to the end. No transformation.” I said, “I smell a Kleinedler–Cheung collaboration,” and within days, I had a manuscript from Steve in my direct messages.
It took me a while to find the time to work on this hilariously absurd project, but I finally got it done, and you can download the accessible PDF of Angry Jelly Donut*, the children’s book, for free.
If you’re interested in getting a hard copy, you can find an 8×8 hardcover or (adorable) 6.5×6.5 paperback wherever IngramSparks books are sold, including Bookshop.org (paperback; hardcover), Chapters-Indigo (paperback; hardcover), and Amazon (paperback; hardcover). If you’d rather get it from your local indie bookstore or library instead, be sure to let them know they can order the book via Ingram Content Group.
Want to show your allegiance to Team Angry Jelly Donut or Team Happy Vanilla Cupcake? Order a shirt from TeePublic!
Steve and I are donating $1 from each hard copy and shirt sold to charity, with half going to Indspire, which supports education of Indigenous children and youth, and half going to the Trevor Project, which offers suicide prevention and crisis intervention programs for LGBTQ youth.
I don’t really consider myself an artist, but I had an awful lot of fun creating the illustrations, and I hope they bring you a bit of delight, too.
Enjoy our ridiculous little book!
*Yes, I’ve retained Steve’s spelling of “donut.” He’s the lexicographer—take it up with him.
UPDATE, December 16, 2022: Steve and I made our 2022 donations to Indspire and the Trevor Project. We sold 122 books and 95 merch items in 2022, so each charity got the equivalent of US$108.50. Thank you to everyone who supported this silly project! We will continue to donate as we make sales, so if you know anyone who’d enjoy an Angry Jelly Donut book or shirt or mug or tote bag, be sure to visit your favourite online book retailer or the Angry Jelly Donut TeePublic store!
With all due respect, the use of “they” is confusing. In many contexts, it becomes difficult to know who the word refers to, to one or more.
With all due respect, Angry Jelly Donut is a nonbinary icon.
All due respect, no it doesn’t. And “they” would be the correct pronoun because Jelly Donuts don’t have genders.
I mean, you’re absolutely right that, in many contexts, it’s difficult to know who “they” refers to. Of course, in many contexts, it’s difficult to know what *any* word refers to: “James and Ahmed were walking down the street. James started to think about how much he liked him”–who likes who? No idea. That doesn’t mean we should abandon the use of “he” (which we could! we could always write “…how much James liked Ahmed” or “…how much Ahmed liked James” there!); it just means that we always need to make sure our writing is clear.
Fortunately, it’s really clear in this case who “they” refers to. “Their phone buzzes”–only one character has been introduced at this point, so “they” very clearly refers to Angry Jelly Donut. In many contexts it’s confusing; just, you know, not in anything well-written. Like this.
Also, Angry Jelly Donut is a nonbinary icon.
I am confused by people using “you.” Things were so much clearer when we used “thee” and “thou.” Like, how do I know when “you” is singular or plural?
With all due respect, that complaint about “you” makes as much sense as being confused by singular they.
With much respect, I love the book. Thank you, both, for creating and sharing it!
Thank you for reading it, Ann!