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We're raising awareness about Independence Day and this great fundraiser all week long.

By Nancy West, InDepthNH.org

New Hampshire author and attorney Michael Davidow began his twice-monthly column Radio Free New Hampshire in December 2017, when he had only self-published three novels. Last summer he wrote about baseball in one of my favorite books with six novels under his belt. This summer he is taking a short break from Radio Free New Hampshire as he prepares for the publication of his seventh novel. He writes Radio Free New Hampshire for a ridiculous sum, but each one shines like gold because that's how New Hampshire writers do it.

Why do we publish his and other columns and not limit ourselves to unbiased, nonprofit news that matters to New Hampshire?

Because we support New Hampshire writers and as a nonprofit organization, we believe it's important to provide a place for their amazing talents to shine. We publish only the very best, like Davidow, Susan Dromey Heeters Happy reflectionsMichael Ferbers Speaking of wordsBeverly Stoddard's The life of a NH authorArnie Alperts Active with the activists George Lisets Write in no time and others. The full list of columnists can be found at InDepthNH.org.

And of course most people wouldn’t get through the week without Garry Raynos Distant dome.

And people like my sister Monica West, who writes a book review for us from time to time.

We have some who have written for us and moved on, and some like Bob Charest who writes Why you should be interested in NH occasionally, when he's not busy chairing our board of directors. Believe me, at a nonprofit news station growing as fast as we are – 2 million page views last year – that's a big job.

Each author offers a unique perspective on New Hampshire and often forces us to look inside ourselves. Some make me laugh, some make me cry, and I'm a seasoned editor with pretty thick skin. I couldn't be prouder to have these amazing writers on board for InDepthNH.org.

Our first columnist when we first started nine years ago – you’ve probably heard of him – was John Harrigan, who wrote for free The view from above the notches. Harrigan was famous before he found us, but he loved writing for this nonprofit online news outlet because he saw us and himself as the future of news. Harrigan was a true supporter of InDepthNH.org and often gave me advice from a seasoned newspaperman and writer, which I always appreciated. He called his columns “rants” and I happily edited them, just as I did years ago when I was editor at the NH Union Leader and he still wrote a column there. We keep all of his work for InDepthNH.org in our archives.

I know many of you come to InDepthNH.org because of our great reporting. Keep coming, but please take a minute to get to know the talented writers who are here for you and me, baring their hearts and souls.

This week I want to share the story of InDepthNH.org with all of you as we host our Independent News Independence Day fundraiser in July, a necessary part of what we must do to continue to grow. But this one is special because Don Burns is honoring his wife, Katy Burns, a well-known columnist for the Concord Monitor who passed away last November, by matching all of your donations up to $5,000 starting today.

Thank you, Don, for helping us all honor Katy and all the great writers in New Hampshire. Thanks also to everyone who has already started donating and who comes to InDepthNH.org for many reasons. We believe it's because we tell the truth. Otherwise, why would nearly 10,000 of you sign up for our free newsletter? Every day this week I'll tell you how we started with a zero balance and made our way into your hearts and minds with little effort. Please ask me anything you want to know. Email: [email protected]

Thank you, Nancy West