Update from the Editors
TW Donations Are Now Tax Deductible
Talking Writing is a unique nonprofit magazine. Visit TW’s Donate page—and join a community of donors who believe in the vibrancy of literary culture online.
“Rushing Water” © Felicity Rainnie
“Be obscure clearly!” writes E. B. White in The Elements of Style. “Be wild of tongue in a way we can understand!”
That just might be TW’s motto. We’re wild about words and dedicated to clarity. We publish a mix of genres and styles, of literature and journalism.
And we love print. But we also don’t believe that’s the only place for great stories and ideas.
“It’s a grand place, this cyber big tent, isn’t it?” contributing writer Jeremiah Horrigan says of TW. “Especially when you can find such sublime expression and exchange as we have here.”
During this season of charitable giving, we encourage all TW followers to give generously to Talking Writing. TW donations are tax deductible, and our new online donation system makes the process easy and secure.*
In September 2010, Talking Writing, Inc., became a registered nonprofit corporation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This week, we’re delighted to report that the federal Internal Revenue Service has approved our tax-exempt status as a 501(3)(c) charitable organization.* IRS approval smooths the way for private foundations and other organizations to support our work.
TW will only continue to flourish, however, if we also boost the number of individual donations. We’ve set our sights on making a real impact, and we need the help of TW readers to grow and thrive.
In its third year of publication, the magazine includes many more pieces than in our early days. We usually update the site with new material three times a week. Our traffic has jumped, too, up to 100,000 page views a year and 7,000 unique visits a month.
Such rapid growth is heartening, especially for a literary magazine, but it means our costs have increased. To date, we’ve survived because of the commitment of TW’s masthead staff, most of whom are professional editors and journalists. Nearly all have been working for TW as volunteers, and we haven’t been able to pay contributing writers—yet.
“Liquid Reflections” © Felicity Rainnie
As a nonprofit organization, we also have big plans for community projects like mentoring young writers in local after-school programs, producing curriculum materials for educators, and publishing print editions of some TW issues. We’ll be redesigning the TW website next year.
Then there’s Talking Writing magazine itself, which remains TW’s primary focus. Where else will you find “50 Shades of Adaptation”—the current issue, in which we celebrate the multitude of ways writing can be adapted by filmmakers, cartoonists, musicians, and other artists?
The essay “Do We Need Prose Poetry?,” by fiction writer and poet David Meischen, continues to spark comments. Other readers have been moved by “A Tale of Two Polands,” an essay by Jewish novelist Richard Zimler that describes the legacy of anti-Semitism he confronted on a book tour.
As author Kelcey Parker says of another recent issue, “I feel like I’ve been reading the most articulate and thought-provoking ‘confessions’ at TW lately.”
We’re committed to keeping Talking Writing free online so that everyone has access to the terrific pieces we publish. Still, we editors and writers need to survive.
Let’s put it another way: Make a gift to Talking Writing, small or large, and we’ll run through waterfalls. We’ll kiss the clouds. And we’ll be eternally grateful for whatever amount you can contribute to TW this holiday season.
— Martha Nichols and Elizabeth Langosy
*Update, 12/20/12: While TW’s officers have been assured by our IRS case manager that TW has received 501(3)(c) status, we have not yet received official documentation with a tax number. Technically, our application is still pending, so please note the following stipulation from IRS publication 4220: “Although donors have no assurance that contributions are tax-deductible for federal income tax purposes until the application is approved, contributions made while an application is pending would qualify if the application is approved.”
“Clouds in the Pool” © Felicity Rainnie
Thanks to photographer Felicity Rainnie for permission to use her images.
