Meet the World’s Greatest Readers


We’re biased, we admit, but we think Orion readers are the brightest, funniest, and most interesting audience out there. Last year, for Orion’s thirtieth anniversary, we asked ourselves: How can we connect with the readers who support the magazine? And, more importantly, how do we help them meet each other?

From Washington, DC to Portland, Oregon, and from Telluride, Colorado to Massachusetts’s highest peak, Orion staff spent much of 2012 meeting with readers who love to discuss and share Orion. In a time when face-to-face interactions are frequently forsaken for e-mail and Facebook, shaking a hand, sharing a meal, or realizing you and a stranger grew up playing in the same woods, deepens a sense of place and connection in a time that could use more of both.

The idea has caught on: in November, a reader named Darshan called us, asking if he could host his own reader meet-up in Pennsylvania. We sent him a box of back issues and the new Orion Readers, and while the crowd was small, he told us the discussion was elevating—and he wanted to host another. Since then, other readers have hosted meet-ups in places like Rochester, New York, Attleboro, Massachusetts, and New York City. A few folks were even gracious enough to share these images:




We’re grateful to readers like Darshan, Anne, and Valerie—all pictured above—for sharing Orion in their communities. If you want to make new friends and learn about the amazing projects powered by people in your own community, consider hosting a reader meet-up. Click here to learn how.

Cheers.

Stay updated on all reader meet-ups and Orion events here. And don’t forget to tell us how your reader meet-up went—email eglaser@orionmagazine.org with your questions and comments.