From Australian-Chinese author June Yu comes Miscreation?, a young adult sci fi tale with twists, turns, conundrums and dilemmas.
The year is 2077 and it’s now the Genome Age. All genetic advances are tightly controlled by a powerful government department, Genetico.
Enter Natalia, the girl with golden-brown eyes and a predisposition for science and music. She discovers the choice to follow her father comes at a cost.
Meanwhile, her mother’s hiding a genetic timebomb that’s just about to go off.
Then there’s the underground cadre that wants to expose the government secrets of the Genome Age.
But the question is: what do you do with the Miscreations—the genetic experiments gone wrong? Especially when they have powers you don’t understand...
June Yu’s writing career has taken her from one hated writing profession (journalism) to another (fundraising). She started out chasing politicians and police to cover the news and ended up telling some of the most heart wrenching stories in the world to raise funds for charity.
Her debut novel Miscreation? is a YA science fiction tale that explores one ofher fascinations–how science and technology shapes human behaviour, values and character. She’s always been interested in what a completely genetically engineered world would look like with all its ethical implications... and Miscreation? is the result.
June first became interested in genetics when she interviewed Sir Ian Wilmut about Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal ever cloned. Her work with charities has covered medical subjects including genetic testing for cancer, increasing genetic diversity in coral reef systems and genetic sampling to save endangered species.
“More than double our fundraising income”
"Over the past year, June has helped us with several direct response campaigns. She has advised us on appeal strategy and tactics as well as writing mail, email and website copy that has helped us more than double our fundraising income.
The direct mail appeals she wrote has led to the rise in direct mail income from $689,000 last year to $1.7 million this year. She also wrote the materials for our monthly giving acquisition and upgrade program which has increased from $26,000 in 2013 to $130,000 in 2014.
June has been able to produce consistent results and help us establish a solid income stream for the future. She is professional, proactive and easy to work with. We’re already planning further appeals and fundraising activities with June in the year to come."
Andy Scobie
Head of Fundraising
BirdLife Australia
“When the Renewal came, we found the key to our survival. It wasn’t in population control. It wasn’t in reverting to outdated methods of agriculture. It wasn’t in AI... It was in our genes. The ultimate renewable resource is ourselves.” – Marcia, convenor of IntelliFest youth awards.
June says Miscreation? is one of the few YA science fiction books about genetics that encompasses a fully integrated gene future.
“In Miscreation?, I wanted to create a world where every aspect of life has been genetically engineered. That includes the people who populate it, the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the buildings they live and work in, their modes of transport, the community they develop... and the careers they follow,” said June.
“While genetics continues to be a popular subject for both novelists and film makers, many genetics-related books focus on only one aspect of the subject. For example, classics such as Jurassic Park featured the manipulation of prehistoric dinosaur DNA. A book like Brave New World focuses on genetically engineered social classes. The Australian book The Rosie Project has a plot that features the issues around DNA testing to establish paternity.”
In Miscreation?, the Information Age has given way to the Genome Age. The book follows the story of 15-year-old Natalia. As an IntelliGene with genetic predispositions for science and music, she only has to choose which glittering career path she wants to take.
“Results far exceeded our expectations”
"From our very first conversation with June we knew that she had the knowledge and experience to add value to our annual financial year end appeal mailing.
June provided the concept, copy and design direction for a direct mail pack and the results far exceeded our expectations. Our total income surpassed our target for this year’s campaign by 25%, and achieved an increase of more than 30% on the previous year’s appeal.
She considered the strategic angle for every aspect of the pack, and wrote a number of targeted variable paragraphs for our many segments.
However, it was her winning concept and story that really resonated with our donors. We ended up rolling this out beyond the direct mail to across the whole campaign.
June is professional and extremely flexible, able to work to tight deadlines and with limited resources. We would have no hesitation in recommending June for fundraising strategy and direct mail copywriting."
Rose Young
Senior Marketing Coordinator
Baptist World Aid
Book Launch Date: 19 November
About the Novel
Take a Sneak Peek into Miscreation?
About the Author, June
WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT JUNE
Charities We've Worked With
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For lovers of future worlds and people interested in the relationship between science and people.
June Steward is an experienced fundraiser and direct response copywriter working for her own consultancy called There Is No Square. She works with various non-profits, helping them to increase income and improve donor retention.
This includes raising funds through current donors, acquisition, monthly giving and major gifts. She likes direct response channels including mail, email, telephone and the web.
She’s passionate about helping all charities and non-profits improve their donor communications and ultimately, their fundraising results.
“More than double our fundraising income”
"Over the past year, June has helped us with several direct response campaigns. She has advised us on appeal strategy and tactics as well as writing mail, email and website copy that has helped us more than double our fundraising income.
The direct mail appeals she wrote has led to the rise in direct mail income from $689,000 last year to $1.7 million this year. She also wrote the materials for our monthly giving acquisition and upgrade program which has increased from $26,000 in 2013 to $130,000 in 2014.
June has been able to produce consistent results and help us establish a solid income stream for the future. She is professional, proactive and easy to work with. We’re already planning further appeals and fundraising activities with June in the year to come."
Andy Scobie
Head of Fundraising
BirdLife Australia
“Results far exceeded our expectations”
"From our very first conversation with June we knew that she had the knowledge and experience to add value to our annual financial year end appeal mailing.
June provided the concept, copy and design direction for a direct mail pack and the results far exceeded our expectations. Our total income surpassed our target for this year’s campaign by 25%, and achieved an increase of more than 30% on the previous year’s appeal.
She considered the strategic angle for every aspect of the pack, and wrote a number of targeted variable paragraphs for our many segments.
However, it was her winning concept and story that really resonated with our donors. We ended up rolling this out beyond the direct mail to across the whole campaign.
June is professional and extremely flexible, able to work to tight deadlines and with limited resources. We would have no hesitation in recommending June for fundraising strategy and direct mail copywriting."
Rose Young
Senior Marketing Coordinator
Baptist World Aid
“Improvement of 216% in income”
Thanks so much to June for everything she did for our EOFY campaign. We saw an improvement of 216% in income from our direct mail and email compared to the previous year. In fact, this year we raised more money than we ever have from these channels for this campaign. June assisted not only with writing copy but also advised on strategy, concepts, segmentation, and reporting. And all of this on a very tight timeline. Her work has helped restore confidence within the organization that direct mail is a worthwhile fundraising activity. I look forward to working with her on future campaigns and donor nurture activities.
Joel Nicholls
Fundraising Manager
LightFM
While I can’t promise that every charity will quadruple appeal income, I can almost certainly guarantee you will improve your income if you apply the ideas and techniques in this case study. Here are some of the other results we’ve achieved
RESULTS WE'VE ACHIEVED
June Steward is an experienced fundraiser and direct response copywriter working for her own consultancy called There Is No Square. She works with various non-profits, helping them to increase income and improve donor retention.
This includes raising funds through current donors, acquisition, monthly giving and major gifts. She likes direct response channels including mail, email, telephone and the web.
She’s passionate about helping all charities and non-profits improve their donor communications and ultimately, their fundraising results.
- Doubling appeal income from $30K to $70K
- Or helping a charity break the $400K mark from their annual appeal after lagging around $350-$380K for several years
- Or lifting tax appeal income from $1.4 million to over $1.8 million.
- And helping charities achieve targets or even record-breaking results during covid last year
We did this using the very same techniques outlined in this case study.
“We live in a world where science and technology is often touted as the answer to all the world’s challenges from solving poverty to eradicating disease. But can science make a person’s character stronger? Can it make us more kind, honest, tolerant or loving?” — June Yu, Author
“A compelling SF story. It’s a real pleasure to see a hard SF story for YA, as there have been so few good examples lately. The characters and story premise are strong and the style engaging.”
CATHIE TASKER
EDITOR, WRITING TEACHER & MENTOR, LITERARY AWARDS JUDGE
“I love a good dystopian novel and I know this is one I would have loved as a teenager.”
JESSICA LOCKETT
BETA READER
“A unique and fascinating idea and this theme will really appeal to YA readers. A lot of great twists and the ethical dilemmas were particularly interesting. A story that really kept me reading to the end.”
SARAH ALEXANDRA JONES
BETA READER
“My father was an IntelliGene and a bastard who hit my mum and made her cry... So what if I have his genes? I’m not my father. I choose not to be like him.” – Simon, Natalia’s friend
“If it’s possible for a human to have eternal life then don’t you think all humans should have it? Genetico has plans for this immortality gene and its application will not be democratic.” – Domic, undercover Miscreation and head of The Progeny.
Immerse yourself in the ethical dilemmas of the Genome Age, where every aspect of life has been genetically engineered... people, food, clothes, buildings, transport and the community challenges that result.
But the question is: what do you do with the Miscreations—the genetic experiments gone wrong? Especially when they have powers you don’t understand...
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The Stunning Debut Novel
Miscreation?
Coming Soon in November 2021...
BOOK 1 OF THE GENETICO CHRONICLES
Coming Soon - November 2021 Release
“We live in a world where science and technology is often touted as the answer to all the world’s challenges from solving poverty to eradicating disease. But can science make a person’s character stronger? Can it make us more kind, honest, tolerant or loving?” — June Yu, Author
Does your future lie in your genes or your choice?
What readers are saying about Miscreation?
“I love a good dystopian novel and I know this is one I would have loved as a teenager.”
JESSICA LOCKETT
EARLY READER
“A unique and fascinating idea and this theme will really appeal to YA readers. A lot of great twists and the ethical dilemmas were particularly interesting. A story that really kept me reading to the end.”
SARAH ALEXANDRA JONES
EARLY READER
Miscreation? is fantastic! Easy to read, great characters. What an amazing world you have created.
SACHA CUMMING
EARLY READER