Letter from the Editors
Dear Lady Science Readers,
This October will be three years since Lady Science launched. Beginning as a small email newsletter, the project has expanded enormously and is now a monthly independent magazine dedicated to women in the history of science. Each month, we publish two critical historical essays on women, gender, and the history of science and additional diverse content outside of the monthly issue on our website’s blog, written by a growing roster of stellar contributors. And starting this month, we will be producing a monthly podcast. In addition to the original founders Anna Reser and Leila McNeill, our staff now includes a Managing Editor and five contributing editors.
The Lady Science team has big goals for the future. Currently, we syndicate our content with The New Inquiry, and this allows us to pay our contributors a small fee for their excellent writing. In a year, we want to be able to pay writers ourselves, and pay them about three times as much as The New Inquiry does now. This is an essential investment in quality writing that will help ensure stability as the magazine grows. Being able to pay more means that we can grow our list of dedicated and talented writers, who will be able to help us expand the quantity and type of content we can offer. In the next year we'd like to expand beyond the two monthly essays to a series of specialized verticals that give us the space to amplify the voices of different kinds of writers. To encompass this growth and provide a framework for managing the project, we will be incorporating as a 501C-3 nonprofit. This status gives us the most flexibility to raise funds both for ourselves, and to develop scholarship and fellowship opportunities for young women historians and writers. Please have a look at this brief report for the last 8 months, which gives you an idea of what we use our money for.
We’re writing to ask for your help. This fall, we’re starting a major fundraising campaign to jump start our expansion and cover the costs of incorporating. There are a number of ways you can help support independent feminist science writing:
Pledge monthly support: The most important source of funding for us is monthly contributions through Patreon. This provides us with a stable monthly income and helps us ensure that we can always cover the costs of each issue.
Make a one-time donation: Each week in October, we will be holding a raffle to win some special Lady Science prizes, including our new t shirts and tote bags. A $10 one-time donation = 1 raffle “ticket.” We will be doing a total of four drawings. And you can donate $15 or more at any time and receive a beautiful Lady Science enamel pin as a special thank you.
Match donations: We’re currently looking for people interested in doing match drives for donations. All you have to do is donate at least $100 and we’ll run a match drive on Twitter to get your donation matched! Donation matching is extremely effective and can help us enormously. If you’d like to match, just reply to this email to get it set up, and we’ll send you something special too!
Spread the word! Even if you can’t donate, you can still help! Please tell anyone in your networks who may be interested in helping out about our fundraising. Using your reach and clout to raise awareness about Lady Science and the campaign is amazingly helpful!
Party Down! If you’ll be in the Albuquerque, NM area on October 26, you’re invited to a spooky, sciencey Lady Science birthday party! We’re celebrating three years, selling amazing Lady Science merch, and running a Gender Pay Gap raffle! It’s also the official launch of our new podcast, which will be available on iTunes and other podcast providers!
On behalf of the entire team, thank you so very much for reading, sharing, and supporting Lady Science. We are excited for new challenges and opportunities in the coming year!
Sincerely,
Anna Reser & Leila McNeill
Editors in Chief
