The Giants of Hildebrandt Meyer: A Novel
Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Writing & Publishing
Drama, Other
Designed to illuminate, provoke, and entertain, this novel explores what happens when who we dreamed of becoming and who we became collide in the crucible of time—a meditation on dreams, creation, and the finite nature of our existence.
The Giants of Hildebrandt Meyer: A Novel
Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Writing & Publishing
Drama, Other
1 Campaigns | Wisconsin, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $8,515 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
71 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Designed to illuminate, provoke, and entertain, this novel explores what happens when who we dreamed of becoming and who we became collide in the crucible of time—a meditation on dreams, creation, and the finite nature of our existence.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
.png)
Hildebrandt Meyer—Hill to his friends—is competent, dependable, and unfulfilled. A tax auditor with a steady job, a respectable home, and a family who loves him, he has built a quiet, efficient, but unremarkable life.
Long ago, he dreamed of capturing the world in light and shadow through his camera, until heartbreak and circumstance drove him onto a safer path, one that demanded reliability over vision.
When a near-fatal collision shatters his assumptions about his life, Hill is thrust into a reckoning. He abandons his profession and dares himself to chase the dream he once surrendered. But as he attempts to reinvent himself—as an artist and a teacher—he discovers that ambition is as fraught as it is exhilarating. Giants of his own making arise before him, testing his marriage, his friendships, his livelihood, and the very meaning of the life he has built.
The Giants of Hildebrandt Meyer is a sweeping work of literary fiction about the ache of what might have been, the thrust for survival against the demand to create, and the precarious risks of reaching for more. With prose both intimate and expansive, it asks the question: Is it ever too late to become who you might have been?
.png)
Contributions
By supporting this campaign, you’re helping to bring Hill’s soaring tale of struggle and aspiration into the world—a story as timely as it is timeless, deserving to be read by as many readers as possible.
Every contribution brings this novel one step closer to publication! All funds raised will go toward editing, proofreading, cover design, layout, marketing, printing, publishing, and the book’s official launch. The book will be published in the fall of 2026.
We’ve set a base goal to cover the essential costs of bringing the book to life. Once that goal is reached, any extra funds will help support additional marketing, print copies, and events—expanding the book’s reach and giving it the strongest possible launch.
International Pre-Orders
For international preorders, please send me a private message at [email protected].
How You Can Help
- Click the “Follow project” button.
- Choose a perk and make a contribution.
- Share this campaign with friends and family.
- Post on social media and tag me:
https://www.facebook.com/matthewkopfmedia
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewkopf/
Thank You!
Matt
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Professional Editing
Costs $2,500
Your support helps cover developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading.
Layout and Design
Costs $1,000
Your contribution helps finalize a professional, beautiful cover and a clean, readable layout for print and ebook editions.
Print Run and Publishing
Costs $2,000
Funds here will make it possible to print author copies, review copies, and the first run so the book can reach readers like you.
Book Launch & Distribution
Costs $1,500
Covers ISBN registration, shipping rewards to supporters, and the other expenses needed to officially bring the book into the world.
Publicity & Promotion
Costs $1,500
Helps spread the word through launch events, social media, and other promotional efforts, so more readers can discover the story.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Matthew Kopf is the author of Sarah’s Still Life (2021) and the upcoming The Giants of Hildebrandt Meyer. His fiction is character-driven, often lingering on the struggles of chasing one’s dreams, the ache of loneliness, and the longing for connection. Beyond writing, Matthew is an attorney and photographer—pursuits that shape his attention to detail and sharpen his perspective, echoes of which run through his fiction.
Matthew lives with his wife and their two daughters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When not spending time with his family, he can typically be found behind a piano or a drum set on a search for musical enlightenment.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Hildebrandt Meyer—Hill to his friends—is competent, dependable, and unfulfilled. A tax auditor with a steady job, a respectable home, and a family who loves him, he has built a quiet, efficient, but unremarkable life.
Long ago, he dreamed of capturing the world in light and shadow through his camera, until heartbreak and circumstance drove him onto a safer path, one that demanded reliability over vision.
When a near-fatal collision shatters his assumptions about his life, Hill is thrust into a reckoning. He abandons his profession and dares himself to chase the dream he once surrendered. But as he attempts to reinvent himself—as an artist and a teacher—he discovers that ambition is as fraught as it is exhilarating. Giants of his own making arise before him, testing his marriage, his friendships, his livelihood, and the very meaning of the life he has built.
The Giants of Hildebrandt Meyer is a sweeping work of literary fiction about the ache of what might have been, the thrust for survival against the demand to create, and the precarious risks of reaching for more. With prose both intimate and expansive, it asks the question: Is it ever too late to become who you might have been?
Contributions
By supporting this campaign, you’re helping to bring Hill’s soaring tale of struggle and aspiration into the world—a story as timely as it is timeless, deserving to be read by as many readers as possible.
Every contribution brings this novel one step closer to publication! All funds raised will go toward editing, proofreading, cover design, layout, marketing, printing, publishing, and the book’s official launch. The book will be published in the fall of 2026.
We’ve set a base goal to cover the essential costs of bringing the book to life. Once that goal is reached, any extra funds will help support additional marketing, print copies, and events—expanding the book’s reach and giving it the strongest possible launch.
International Pre-Orders
For international preorders, please send me a private message at [email protected].
How You Can Help
- Click the “Follow project” button.
- Choose a perk and make a contribution.
- Share this campaign with friends and family.
- Post on social media and tag me:
https://www.facebook.com/matthewkopfmedia
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewkopf/
Thank You!
Matt
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Professional Editing
Costs $2,500
Your support helps cover developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading.
Layout and Design
Costs $1,000
Your contribution helps finalize a professional, beautiful cover and a clean, readable layout for print and ebook editions.
Print Run and Publishing
Costs $2,000
Funds here will make it possible to print author copies, review copies, and the first run so the book can reach readers like you.
Book Launch & Distribution
Costs $1,500
Covers ISBN registration, shipping rewards to supporters, and the other expenses needed to officially bring the book into the world.
Publicity & Promotion
Costs $1,500
Helps spread the word through launch events, social media, and other promotional efforts, so more readers can discover the story.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Matthew Kopf is the author of Sarah’s Still Life (2021) and the upcoming The Giants of Hildebrandt Meyer. His fiction is character-driven, often lingering on the struggles of chasing one’s dreams, the ache of loneliness, and the longing for connection. Beyond writing, Matthew is an attorney and photographer—pursuits that shape his attention to detail and sharpen his perspective, echoes of which run through his fiction.
Matthew lives with his wife and their two daughters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When not spending time with his family, he can typically be found behind a piano or a drum set on a search for musical enlightenment.