Love a Book, Love a Writer: help support The Writers' Room of Boston

Like most small non-profits - especially those in the arts and cultural world - The Writers' Room of Boston struggles to keep its head above water. It's not as if we have an earth-shattering, save-the-world mission, that immediately stirs the kind-hearted and the Scroogiest of all Scrooges alike to open their pocketbooks for us. We just want to provide a quiet, secure, affordable place to work - and a sense of community - to writers in Boston.

And not just to those who can afford it.

So we keep our rates moderate enough so that someone juggling a couple of adjunct teaching jobs (If it's Tuesday, this must be Suffolk...); or taking a break from full-time work to finally get that novel written; or only making it in occasionally on weekends, can figure out a way to pay their dues. I know that for some members, figuring it out is not without sacrifice.

Plus each year, we sponsor four fellowships that enable emerging writers - generally young, often broke - who need a place to work - as well as to be with others who affirm their work as a serious writer.

I've been a member for eight years now, and The Room is my second home. I used to say that 'there's nothing else to do here except write.' But that's not exactly true. We now have wi-fi. And before we had wi-fi, there was always the staring off into space option. But, basically, there is nothing else to do here except write.

And, each day, it's where I write my Pink Slip post.

This year, we've declared February "Love a Book, Love a Writer Month", and are asking folks who love books and/or writers to send their Valentine to the books and writers who matter most to them.  You don't have to pay to play, but if you do choose to make a donation - and no donation is too small (or too large, for that matter) - you would absolutely be a Writers' Room (and Pink Slip) Sweetheart.

Here's the link.

Remember: we're writers, not form-designers, so this is a bit kludgey looking.  And if you do make a donation, the donation page comes up after you submit your "Love a book/Love a writer" entry. Once you get to the donation page, you have to explicitly enter the amount of your donation before you enter your credit card info. (If you don't do so, it won't recognize that you've entered an amount, and will keep telling you that you have to put one in.) Oy! Other than that....

Speaking of the wonderful image, I want to give a big old shout out to designer Jennifer Chickonoski of Orange Ostrich Designs for letting us use it. Now, I don't know Jennifer from Adam (or Eve), but I found this design on the 'net, contacted her, and asked if we could use it.  Many, many thanks, Jennifer, for saying 'yes'.

(And a little old shout out to my great friend Sean Branagan for figuring out why the image wasn't showing up in IE.)

Now, I must away, and decide how many Valentines I'm going to send. There's Alice Munro, of course. And William Trevor. Joyce Carol Coates. Robert Russo. George Packer (I don't just read fiction)...

Oh, won't you be our Valentine?