Welcome to The Porch

We’re a community living into a slow conversation about beautiful and difficult things. We host gatherings, festivals, and retreats, we publish essays here on our website, and seek to discover and tell stories of connection, creativity, and courage toward the common good. You can read our essays and other creative work here on this site; read on below for details on how you can connect with us further and support our work.

Founded by Irish storyteller and violence reduction activist Gareth Higgins, The Porch has evolved into a community of transformative storytellers stepping into a new story - instead of separation, scapegoating, and self-centeredness, we're seeking connection, community, and courageous action for the common good.

Because we want to grow the community, and to pay our writers well for their work amidst a challenging publishing landscape, we invite you to join The Porch Community. Members get access to all content on the site, including all back issues of our original magazine; as well as being the first to receive announcements and know about upcoming events (and often special discounts). Some of our members meet in person or online for Porch Circles - community spaces in which we get to connect with like-minded people, and help make a better world.

Memberships are available to anyone, regardless of ability to pay - click here for more details on how to join. Not ready to join yet? You’re welcome to read our most recent articles below, or get our entire first issue for free by clicking here.

You can also support this work regularly at Patreon, or with a one-off contribution at PayPal.Me/theporchmagazine. Thanks! Otherwise you can click below to join.