Dear Friend of PAMLA,

I hope this message finds you and your loved ones well. I write to request your help.

The PAMLA Board made the difficult but necessary decision to postpone the 2020 PAMLA conference until November of 2021. It was the right decision, but as a result our membership numbers and finances have taken a hit. And that’s where we could use your help. If you can afford it, would you please consider making a small donation to PAMLA’s General Fund and/or joining PAMLA for the 2020 year? To do so, click here or on our Member Login tab above, and then click on the Registration & Membership tab at the top of the page. If you have any questions, feel free to call or email me (Executive Director Craig Svonkin: [email protected] or 626-354-7526).

You might be asking why PAMLA needs your assistance. Well, due to the pandemic and no 2020 conference, our membership numbers have decreased dramatically. This has an unfortunate ripple effect on everything. For example, we usually send off close to a thousand copies of our journal, Pacific Coast Philology. But with membership low, this coming journal issue could be read by very few, which would be a disservice to the scholars published in our journal. Additionally, many of PAMLA’s expenses are fixed, so our current low membership numbers puts us into a bit of financial jeopardy. In order to keep PAMLA safe, I have donated back $2,000 of my $13,000 annual honorarium for serving as PAMLA’s Executive Director, and I plan to work for just $3,000 for 2021, or until PAMLA is in safe waters again. Our Assistant Director, David John Boyd, is likewise working at a reduced rate–generously donating many hours of free labor to PAMLA. And everyone on PAMLA’s board donated to the association as well—an average of $300 each. We do this because we love and value PAMLA, and we want to be sure that our association will come out of these difficult times healthy and strong.

I’ve had the pleasure of serving as Executive Director of PAMLA for eleven years. And while I may be biased, I think PAMLA is very special. PAMLA serves an important role for scholars young and old, and from all over the world. So, that’s why I’m asking for your help. If you can afford it, please go to pamla.ballastacademic.com and rejoin PAMLA for 2020 (you will receive two issues of Pacific Coast Philology as a result), and also make a donation of any amount to PAMLA’s General Fund. Or just do one or the other. Any donation will be a great help, and much appreciated by me, the PAMLA board, and all of the graduate students, independent scholars, and faculty who have benefited from PAMLA’s journal and conference in the past, or will benefit from PAMLA in the future.

Thank you for your kind attention. We appreciate your support of PAMLA, our small, friendly association dedicated to the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of ancient and modern languages, cultures, and literatures. Once again, feel free to email or call if you have any questions: 626-354-7526 or [email protected].

All my best, and do please stay healthy,

Craig Svonkin, PAMLA Executive Director