Tuesday, January 09, 2007

UPDATE FROM KITCHEN SINK MAG!

UPDATE!
Hello again, Kitchen Sink readers and supporters. Here’s an update on what’s gone on since last we spoke:

Thanks to generous donations and orders for the mag, KS15 is shipping as you read this, so look for Andrew Schoultz’s stormy, startling cover on newsstands in the next couple of weeks. We still owe a balance to our printer, however, and we’ve got a rough road ahead of us if we’re going to get issue 16 to the press and in the mail come Spring.

Some of you may have heard about the shutdown of our distributor, the Independent Press Association. (If you haven’t, our friends at Other magazine blogged about it here.) The IPA closure has not been a surprise to us, and it's ultimately not what resulted in the shutdown of Kitchen Sink. We are an all-volunteer staff that has been fundraising to publish this magazine for five years, and the debt owed to us from the IPA was more than an already exhausted group could take on. What ultimately shut us down was the constant lack of communication and information from the IPA over the past year. Though they saw this coming, they did not give the magazines the warning they needed in order to prepare. That's a fact that is not just bad business practice, it's also an appalling way for one nonprofit organization to treat many others.

Kitchen Sink is a small magazine, even in terms of the titles formerly distributed by the IPA. Our budget is hand-to-mouth, and our printing costs were largely paid for by previous newsstand sales. When those payments stopped arriving it put us in an, essentially, insurmountable financial crunch.

Unfortunately, we're afraid that we have yet to see the worst part of the impact the IPA's shutdown will have on independent magazines; but we're also sure that indie mags will not go down without a fight and we'll do whatever we can to help keep our fellow indie mags alive.

In the meantime, KS will persevere, hosting the fifth installment of our growing Telegraph Stories storytelling and music event in late February, and, in March, throwing one of those exhaustively entertaining parties for which we’ve become known. Plus, once Volume 4 is complete, the Neighbor Lady Community Arts Project—our parent 501(c)3—will continue, creating new community arts programs in the tradition of our award-winning magazine.

Here’s how you can help us raise funds:
  • Go to http://kitchensinkmag.com
  • Make a donation. Those $5-$10 dollar donations add up, so don’t hesitate to donate in a way that’s affordable for you. Donations are tax deductible!
    Click this button to make a donation.










  • Buy back issues! Now’s the time to get a complete set of KS or pick up your favorite of our 14 issues! While supplies last!
  • If you prefer snail mail, send a check, money order, or well-concealed cash to:
    Neighbor Lady Community Arts Project
    5245 College Ave. #301
    Oakland, CA 94618

    If you’re a subscriber, don’t fret; we’ll be sending you information on how we’re planning on fulfilling our commitment to you, offering you back issues or transfers to other publications.

    Sincerely,
    Carla Costa, publisher
    Stefanie Kalem, editor in chief

    contact:
    Carla Costa (carla@kitchensinkmag.com)
    Stefanie Kalem (fanny@kitchensinkmag.com)

    Please send tax-deductible donations to:
    Neighbor Lady Community Arts Project
    5245 College Ave #301
    Oakland, CA 94618
    or donate online at
    http://kitchensinkmag.com/



  • 1 Comments:

    Blogger Tao Lin said...

    kitchen sink is good, one of the few magazines who were able to do what they say and send me some contributor copies

    thank you for those contributor copies

    10:11 PM  

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