I’m Mike Dang, editor-in-chief of Longreads.

Today we’re launching the 2018 Longreads Member Drive with the goal of raising $50,000 from readers by November 2. All of this money will go directly into a story fund that’s exclusively used to support work from writers, photographers, and illustrators from all around the world.

In addition, for every dollar you give, WordPress.com will generously match with $3. This means that if we raise $50,000, we have the potential to add $200,000 to our story fund for upcoming writing and investigative projects. This is why your support during our drive is so crucial.

Members supported so much important work in the last year, including: Laurie Penny’s National Magazine Award-nominated series exploring important issues of consent, female desire, and harassment in the #metoo era; Ian Frisch’s investigation on workers at a chemical company who went on strike after their health care benefits got reduced just as many of them began to develop different forms of cancer; and Leah Sottile’s Bundyville podcast and series, which examined issues of power and privilege, land and water rights in the American West, and how fringe beliefs help domestic terrorism and extremism materialize.

Lindsay Gellman also investigated predatory private cancer clinics in Germany, Alice Driver accompanied trans migrants in Central America on their journey for asylum, and Justin Nobel looked at how toxic waste is being pumped into Ohio’s rural towns. We have so many more ambitious projects and investigative stories in the works that need your support.

Each of these stories takes months to report, edit, and produce. We take fact-checking very seriously here, and your contributions also help our fact-checking team do their work, as well as a number of transcribers, translators, and stringers who help us report stories from abroad.

I hope you’ll give us your support during our member drive. Remember, because of WordPress.com’s generous match, every dollar you give us will make a big impact. If you’re already a member and would like to give us additional support, you can give us a one-time contribution, buy something from our store, or simply spread the word.

Thanks for reading!

— Mike Dang
Editor-in-chief, Longreads