Lads, we're fundraising!
10 May, 2024
​
The Belfast Review launches a GoFundMe for their "official" launch party - coming to Belfast this autumn (details tba). Fundraiser link: https://gofund.me/1b612e8e
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
OUR FUNDRAISER (text from GoFundMe page)
​
Hello, there. We're The Belfast Review.
​
We're a new literary, arts & culture magazine in Northern Ireland, featuring the best new voices in fiction, nonfiction, art, photography, poetry, song lyrics, and scripts from Belfast and beyond.
​
We're “shameless champions of the arts” with a mission to make noise about the arts scene in Northern Ireland (in spite of funding cuts) and uplift new writers from every background.
Our magazine is a stylish A4-size glossy magazine that packs a visual and conceptual punch with its original blend of images and words, both cross-cultural and cross-genre, creating a truly immersive experience of "a dialogue between the arts." But don't just take our word for it: there's a free preview of Issue 1 on our website (here ).
We are run by an international team of volunteers and we're independently funded with help from patrons, supporters, and readers.
Find out more by visiting our Linktree (here ) or website (here ).
BACK STORY
We first opened for submissions back in August, 2023. Our debut issue launched online 31st January, 2024, to much excitement in the literary community. The whirlwind of attention continued with the launch of our Spring Blog in February.
We offer print and digital issues direct through our website, as well as a range of affordable editorial services for emerging writers.
Belfast's oldest library, The Linenhall Library, asked to stock our issues in their public collection - as well as make us part of their permanent archive for future generations. (And we're overwhelmed by the honour!)
Our first issue received an overwhelming number of submissions, three times what we were expecting. For our second issue, submissions doubled yet again thanks to interest from writers in Canada & the United States.
We have provided mentoring and feedback to dozens of writers, playwrights, and poets from around the world, and that's just us getting started.
WHAT WE'RE HOPING
Our readers, contributors, and fans want us to have an official launch party so they can come meet us in person and celebrate the arts community.
We're too new on the scene to qualify for Arts Council funding, so that's why we're fundraising. To keep things simple, we plan to combine Issue 1 and (upcoming) Issue 2 into a single launch – to be hosted by No Alibis Bookstore in Belfast.
The exact date depends on what funding we can raise – but we'd like to have it in August or soon thereafter.
Funds raised will cover bulk printing and shipping costs (which are high) for Issue 1 and Issue 2, venue hire, event coordinating, and additional expenses like ads and promotional items.
But hang on, lads - this isn't just about a party!
Printing our issues in bulk will allow us to be stocked in friendly bookshops and libraries in Northern Ireland and beyond. And that's what we want - to reach more readers and continue to enrich the literary scene with new creative visions and voices.
CONCLUSION
Help us support the arts and build community across every divide. Donate today!
If you can't donate, no worries. We appreciate you! You can help spread the word by sharing our fundraiser, or follow us on socials, or blab about us to everyone you know.
All the best,
The Team @
THE BELFAST REVIEW