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

Versal submissions period closing today!

A final reminder to submit work for Versal 8 before we close for submissions today. You can read our guidelines and submit via our online submissions manager here. Thanks to everyone who has submitted work so far.

And a reminder for those of you based in the Netherlands: we're celebrating the new year and Versal's new membership scheme and events programme tomorrow in the English Bookshop at Lauriergracht 71 in Amsterdam from 4 pm. Free entrance - do drop by!

Happy 2010! You can now join the Versal community, officially

For the last several months, we've been reevaluating our work in the NL literary community. Taking a look at our workshop offering, our relationship with local writers, and how we can continue to support this great community while still publishing the literary journal that has put this city on the international literary map.

What has resulted is not only a completely revamped literary programming aimed to keep you writing and inspired. To help better connect you with other local writers, we've developed the 2010 LOCAL Versal membership. You'll get freebies (VIP entrance to the Versal launch!) and discounts to all wordsinhere/Versal programming. And anyone who becomes a LOCAL member before March 1 gets a copy of Versal 7 thrown into the deal!

There's also the GLOBAL Versal membership, for anyone, anywhere. GLOBAL members get a 2 year subscription to Versal while directly supporting a journal and community that you love.

Both membership types are great gifts for your writerly friends and family, too.

Visit our Membership pages for complete details and to sign up!


And for those locals out there, we hope you'll join us on January 16 at The English Bookshop for a celebratory New Year's borrel.

Join your fellow poets & writers for a celebratory New Year's borrel on Saturday, January 16. Bring your writing group and friends down and meet others. Versal's editorial team will provide drinks and will be on hand to answer questions about your literary life in Amsterdam in 2010. What workshops, groups and clinics are on offer? What other things can a writer expect this year?

You'll also have the chance to sign up for workshops and buy your entry tickets for writing groups and clinics. The Borrel will also be a great chance to purchase your 2010 LOCAL membership to benefit from fantastic discounts and freebies.

Saturday, January 16
Starting at 16.00
The English Bookshop
Lauriergracht 71, Amsterdam
Free entrance