Dear writers, friends, and family,

This year and every year, we recommit ourselves to supporting a healthy community of writers in Amsterdam and beyond. Everything we do is done in the odd hours between our "day jobs", out of love for our fantastic city, the writers who live here, and the little literary journal we built from scratch.

With no external funding or kind philanthropist to back us up, we are able to do what we do through the small fees we charge for workshops and seminars, through the small margin of profit we receive from Versal sales, and through the generous support of those of you who give a little more by becoming a member. It's a simple business model that is not out for extras, only for just enough to sustain our acclaimed journal and our community activities in and around Amsterdam.

The times are hard on all of us, and with the Netherlands' changing political temperature the likelihood of funding has become zero to none. We're neither Dutch enough nor big enough to interest the few foundations left in the Netherlands.

So we need your help. Becoming a Local member is easy, and cheap. Your Eur 30 goes a long way for us, and you get a lot with it too. Discounts to our local programming, a back issue of Versal, and the new edition when it comes out in May. And if you join before April 1, you'll be entered to win free tickets to the Literary Death Match on April 28, which will officially launch Versal 9 into the world!

If you can't give that much, please consider a donation of an amount of your choosing; even Eur 5 is a lot for us, and is greatly appreciated. Or buy a copy of Versal, old or new, and stack your shelves a bit at the same time.

And if you're able to give a little more, think about becoming a Global member. You'll receive all of the benefits of the Local membership, but your name will also be listed among our supporters in the next issue of Versal. If you join before April 1, that means Versal 9!

Details about the memberships and donations can be found here.

I think it's amazing what we have managed to accomplish these last 9 years on a shoestring of a budget and with limited resources. And that is with many thanks to you, our local and global community. Help us continue our work to support writers. I hope you'll think about it.

Cheers,

Megan