A message to CRB readers

Dear Caribbean Review of Books subscribers and readers,

You must have noticed by now that your February 2009 CRB hasn't arrived. I'm writing now to give you an update on the status of the magazine.

There is bad and good news. The bad news is that the CRB's finances continue to be shaky. As a small literary non-profit, we've struggled to cover our costs over the last five years. And like many magazines around the world, we've been affected by global financial developments over the past six to nine months. Our modest advertising revenue is down, and most potential funders have seen the value of their endowments--and therefore their funding power--decrease.

In 2008, thanks to generous support from the Prince Claus Fund and also our individal subscribers, the CRB published four bumper issues, with reviews of 85 books. But at the start of 2009, we found ourselves with insufficient funds on hand to publish our February 2009 issue. Despite sustained fundraising efforts, that continued to be the case until a few days ago.

But here is the good news: the CRB was recently offered what is effectively a loan that will allow us to print our (now very late) February issue, as well as the one after that. That will see us through to the middle of the year, by which time we expect various other funding possibilities to bear fruit.

So I want to apologise that your February 2009 issue has not yet arrived in the mail, but I also want to assure you that it is now, finally, on its way. We've slipped well off our usual publication schedule, but we're working hard to catch up. You'll get your February CRB in a few weeks, and your May issue not too long after that. If all goes well, your August issue will be right on time!

Thanks again for your patience and your generous support. The CRB depends on our paid subscribers for a crucial portion of our income, and we're grateful to every single one of you.