Donegal Circles

Come closer to the stories.

Start free as a Story-Keeper. Patron, Collectors’ Circle and Founders’ Circle add studio access, priority and limited work for readers and collectors who want to stay close.

Story-Keeper is freePaid circles from €20/monthCollectors’ 83 placesFounders’ 69 numbered seats
Free, always

The Story-Keeper Circle

Release notes, first looks, collector availability and small doors into the world between books. Belonging costs nothing.

Prefer release notes by email only?

Free membership. No daily spam. No selling your information. See our privacy notice.

Paid circles

Choose your place in the community.

Story-Keeper is always your foundation. Each paid circle builds on it. Membership is chosen and managed in your Donegal account, with monthly or annual billing.

Support the work

Patron

For readers and supporters who want a closer studio relationship.

€20/month or €200/year billed annually: two months free (save €40)

Open membership

Available now

  • Everything in Story-Keeper
  • Your membership status and account in the Donegal portal
  • Early-access priority for limited releases when an eligible release exists
  • Numbered-edition purchase windows and ownership recorded in the Donegal book register

As announced

  • Monthly behind-the-scenes dispatch and member archive
  • Quarterly private salon or studio conversation
  • Signed bookplates, prints and annual mailings
  • 10% off eligible purchases through a future Donegal purchasing path (not ordinary Lulu marketplace purchases)
Choose Patron
A numbered place in the story

Founders’ Circle

For founding supporters seeking the closest enduring connection.

€150/month or €1,500/year billed annually: two months free (save €300)

69 numbered seats · availability confirmed at checkout

Available now

  • Everything available now in Collectors’ Circle
  • A protected, numbered Founder seat (1–69) while current or protected
  • The copy matching your seat number of each eligible numbered edition, offered to you to purchase
  • First priority for Collector and signed releases when an eligible release exists

As announced

  • Everything announced for Collectors’ Circle
  • One Founder-exclusive annual edition or studio gift, announced each year
  • Private development previews and Founder conversations
  • Optional Founders’ Ledger listing
  • First registration access to the separately ticketed Gathering and private dinner
Choose Founders’ Circle

Founder protection. Monthly seats remain reserved for 30 days after paid-through; annual seats remain reserved for 12 months. Released seats may be offered again, while prior holders remain in the permanent ledger.

“As announced.” “As announced” benefits begin when Donegal announces them. None of them is described here as already running.

Annual pieces. Included annual pieces are membership benefits. Shipping and handling depend on destination and are charged separately: the Gnome Delivery Service is diligent, but it is not free.

Benefit terms. Member discounts do not stack. Books, wine, events, tickets and shipping are separate unless explicitly included. Physical pieces are announced only after destination and fulfillment terms are confirmed.

Membership and contributions are different. Benefits come only with a paid circle chosen in your account. Contributions through Support the writing never create membership or benefits.

Founder benefits · as announced

First through the door, as each is announced.

  • First registration access to the separately ticketed Gathering and private dinner
  • Private development previews and Founder conversations
  • One Founder-exclusive annual edition or studio gift, announced each year
In planning · not yet confirmed

The 2027 Founder Gathering.

The 2027 Founder Gathering is in planning. Kakheti, in Georgia’s wine country, is under consideration, and registration details are tentatively expected in February 2027. Venue, dates, program and ticket price are not yet confirmed; tickets, travel and lodging are separate.

Numbered Collector Editions

One thousand copies. Never one more.

Each eligible title is issued in a numbered collector run with a hard ceiling of 1,000 copies. Every copy carries its own number, and no number is ever issued twice for the same title. Each one is recorded in the Donegal book register from the print order to your door, with a numbered certificate that can be verified without revealing who owns the book.

Hard ceiling · 1,000 per title
Certificate of numbering
Title
Anastasia and the Dust Gnomes
Number
008 of 1,000
Certificate
DG-ANASTASIA-DUST-GNOMES-NUMBERED-0008-SPECIMEN
Register digest
sha-256 · 9f2c…e41a

Recorded in the Donegal book register from print order to delivery. The certificate can be checked against the register without revealing who owns the book.

Illustration only: a specimen, not a real plate or certificate. Finishing varies by title and is confirmed with each release.
  • Nos. 1–69Founder first claim

    The rarest numbers, with the most special physical treatment. Each Founders’ Circle seat carries first claim to its matching number, so a Founder can build a series in which every volume carries the same number.

  • Nos. 70–152Collectors’ Circle priority

    Offered first to Collectors’ Circle members for 90 days after publication. Copies not purchased in that window are then released to the public.

  • Nos. 153–250The early 250

    The rest of the first 250: the early numbers that complete the opening of every edition, and the ones collectors look for.

  • Nos. 251–1,000The numbered run

    The rest of the numbered edition: the same book, the same finishing standard and its own recorded number, available to every reader until the thousand are gone.

The Founder series option

A Founder’s seat number can run through the planned twelve-volume Finn Dynasty. There are two ways to hold it:

  1. Volume by volume: buy each eligible numbered volume at your number as it is released.
  2. The whole series: preorder the remaining volumes as one fixed-price book purchase once the series price is approved. The price covers the specified books, plates and certificates; shipping and handling from the printer to Georgia and from Georgia to you are shown separately, before any charge. A paid series preorder stays yours even if your membership later lapses.

Books you have already bought are never forfeited. The series price has not been set, so no series payment can be taken yet.

If a Founder’s membership ends

  1. Any existing membership and seat protection applies first: a Founder number stays reserved for 30 days after the paid-through date on monthly billing, or 12 months on annual billing.
  2. The original Founder then has 60 days to buy the remaining matching volumes. If they do, that number is theirs for the series, whatever happens to their membership.
  3. Otherwise, unpurchased copies at that number are offered to Collectors’ Circle members for 30 days, then to Patrons for 30 days, then to the public.
  4. Prepaid copies never enter this release, and a later holder of the same seat can never claim a copy someone else has already bought.

Numbered editions are book purchases. Each title is priced on its own, by size, printing and finishing, and the price is announced with each release. Numbered books are not included with membership, and Donegal makes no prediction about resale value.