Happy New Year! We made it to another year of celebrating Black women writers. Thanks to Torch community members like you, we surpassed our 2024 individual giving goal of $35,000 by raising $41,716. We’re excited to see how much more we can accomplish with our 2025 individual giving goal of $40,000! These unrestricted contributions help us with programming, sustaining the organization, paying Torch features, and much more.

In 2024, we:

• Hosted over 80 events including free workshops, our Wildfire Reading Series, monthly open mics, virtual writing circles, and more.

• Paid over $80,000 to Torch Magazine Features, Retreat Fellows, authors, artists, and independent contractors.

• Hosted our inaugural Writers Across the Diaspora Program with support from Texas State University, Culture Ireland, and the Consul General of Ireland.

• Supported writers from Illinois; California; Texas; Nevada, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, and Lagos, Nigeria during our 2nd annual Torch Retreat.

• Received the Pushcart Prize Best of the Small Presses award for the second consecutive year.

Interested in learning more about what we have in store for 2025? You can watch our “Fueling Torch’s Flame” Webinar online now! You’ll hear board members, staff, and community members talk about the importance of supporting Black women writers and Torch Literary Arts's impact on their lives (including some amazing readings by special guests Evie Shockley, avery r. young, and more!). You can watch the live webinar here using this passcode: EH+hXN8d.

We’ll also start our Community Impact Member (CIM) program this year. When you donate to Torch, you’ll get exclusive access as a CIM. More information about CIM benefits and events will be coming soon! 

We can’t wait to see what we accomplish this year with you all!