For Philip Pullman, Alan Garner is “the most important British writer of fantasy since Tolkien”; for Rowan Williams, Garner is the author of one of “the most explosively powerful narratives” he has ever read. Pullman and Williams will be joined by Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Helen Macdonald and Stephen Fry to celebrate the author of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (1960) and Red Shift (1973), in a crowdfunded anthology marking his 80th birthday and his abiding influence on their work.

Edited by the literary journalist and novelist Erica Wagner, First Light will be published by Unbound, a crowdfunding publisher that enables readers to pledge money in support of a proposed title, with the book written and printed once its target is reached. Contributors, who also include the acclaimed writers David Almond, Susan Cooper, Robert Macfarlane and Ali Smith, as well as artists, archaeologists and historians, will write tributes to Garner’s “far-reaching influence”, said Wagner, whether this is in the form of “a literary essay or a personal response to Alan’s work, a memory of the time they first read his work, or a story about the man himself”.

Reading Alan Garner when I was small gave me my first inkling that story, like life, might be unfathomable Ali Smith

“I’ve been reading Alan Garner since I was 13,” said Williams. “The word ‘haunting’ is cheap and overused, but I might say that I have experienced his stories almost ‘possessing’ my imagination. They resonated with my own concerns and passions around myth and landscape, and a growing sense of the scarred depths of unconscious suffering.”

Garner’s novel Thursbitch, which twines together the stories of an 18th-century packman and a fraying relationship at the beginning of the 21st century, “is still for me among the most explosively powerful narratives I have ever read,” said Williams. Boneland “moved me immensely”, continued Williams. “Alan Garner’s world is unbearably beautiful and dangerous; I can’t imagine my own world without it.”

The award-winning novelist Smith said that “reading Alan Garner when I was small gave me my first inkling that story, like life, might be unfathomable, but more – that unfathomable might not be a bad thing – might even be a kind of natural, a kind of ancient and a kind of magic.”

Garner, writes Wagner on Unbound’s site, has “enraptured generations of readers” since he published his first book, the classic of children’s fantasy The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, more than 50 years ago.

“His huge knowledge and love of folklore have been shared in his collections of fairytales,” writes Wagner, while “his later novels, Strandloper, Thursbitch and Boneland continue and deepen his exploration of the language, folklore and history of the particular patch of Cheshire that is his own ‘boneland’.”

First Light is currently 51% funded, with a range of contributions including a £10 pledge that brings an electronic copy, with the supporter’s name added to a list of supporters published in the book. The £200 pledge earns a guided walk on Alderley Edge – the setting for his novels – with Garner himself.

“This is a combination of people who believe Alan is a hugely influential author in the landscape of British fantasy ... They are all passionate advocates of Alan’s works,” said Wagner. The publication of Boneland, a conclusion to the story of the characters from Weirdstone and The Moon of Gomrath, in 2012 brought “a great upsweep of affection for him”, she continued. “He turned 80 last year, and it seemed a really good opportunity to gather a really diverse group of people. That’s what’s so fascinating about this project: we have novelists, scientists, archaeologists, historians, live storytellers – it shows the range of the influence he’s had.”

Wagner said she was asking contributors “ to be quite personal – if you read Alan, it really gets into you, especially when you’re young ... There’ll be something for everyone in this book, because you can get into Alan’s work in so many different ways.”

The title, she added, was Garner’s own idea. “We were missing what to call it, and Alan became aware of that. He said, ‘I think I’m pretty good at titles, would you like me to try?’ And he came up with First Light.”