About the Orion Society
The first issue of Orion Nature Quarterly was published in June, 1982, and in its first-page editorial George Russell, the publication’s first Editor-in-Chief, boldly stated Orion’s values:
“It is Orion‘s fundamental conviction that humans are morally responsible for the world in which we live, and that the individual comes to sense this responsibility as he or she develops a personal bond with nature.”
In the intervening twenty-five years, Orion has been a focal point in an extraordinarily rich period of nature writing, and it has remained true to that core conviction, though the magazine has evolved into a bimonthly, in larger format, and the range of its interests has broadened to include not only environmental but cultural concerns.
The Orion Society currently furthers its mission through three fundamental programs: the ideas and inspiration of Orion magazine, community activism through the Orion Grassroots Network, and environmental teaching through Orion Education.
Today, The Orion Society has an operating budget of more than $1.5 million and a full-time staff of twelve, plus interns and part-time staff. A nonprofit organization, about 35% of our revenue comes from subscriptions, book and single-issue sales, and OGN memberships, and about 65% from donations from foundations and individuals.
A Short History
Orion Nature Quarterly was founded in 1982 as a program of the Myrin Institute by its president. Published quarterly from Myrin’s New York office, Orion Nature Quarterly quickly won a devoted readership and became known as one of the first nature-related publications that was grounded in literature, the arts, and a quest for a philosophy of how we live with the natural world.
As the magazine evolved in the 1980s, it broadened its focus and simplified its name, becoming Orion. Although circulation was small and authors’ fees modest, first-rate writers began appearing in its pages. Orion was increasingly recognized as an important force in the flourishing of American nature writing occurring at this time.
The Orion Society was founded in 1992 in the belief that additional programming could bring the magazine’s message to more people and encourage action on the part of individuals to put into practice the ideas Orion addressed. Also in 1992, Finding Home, an anthology of the best writing of the first ten years of Orion, edited by Orion editorial board member Peter Sauer, was published by Beacon Press.
In the mid-1990s, a number of programs established The Orion Society as the center of a dynamic and evolving conversation about nature and culture. These programs included the Forgotten Language Tour, a national barnstorming tour celebrating nature writing and connection to place; the John Hay Award, which was presented annually to writers whose work has been vital to the effort to reconnect people to the natural world; and Orion Institutes, intensive teacher-training workshops led by writers and environmental educators.
In 1996 The Orion Society moved its offices from New York City to Great Barrington, Massachusetts. That year the Society also received its own 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS, established its own Board of Directors, and ceased to be a division of the Myrin Institute. However, The Orion Society continues to operate in association with the Myrin Institute.
“Watershed,” a 1996 conference co-sponsored by and held at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., was attended by over 3,000 people. After a series of smaller conferences, The Orion Society held a second large conference, “Fire & Grit” (1999), the largest gathering ever to take place at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
In 1997, The Orion Society launched a new quarterly publication, Orion Afield, which had a special focus on grassroots activity and won an energetic audience of activists. Also inaugurated in 1997 was the Orion Grassroots Network, a network of grassroots organizations—from land trusts to nature centers, community farms to schools.
The Orion Society’s first website went live in 1998. A new and much-expanded version of the website, called OrionOnline, was launched in 2001. The website was significantly revised again in 2006, at which time the address of the home page was changed from oriononline.org to orionmagazine.org. Most recently, Orion has expanded its web presence as a way not only to distribute the ideas and inspiration of the magazine, but to connect to and promote dialogue with readers about ideas raised in its articles.
Between 1996 and 2004, The Orion Society published six books, in two different series: The Nature Literacy Series, and the New Patriotism Series.
In 2003, Orion and Orion Afield were combined as a single bimonthly publication. The relaunched magazine continued to focus on literature and the arts, and expanded its cultural commentary to broader areas of environmental justice, political leadership, and economic practices, as well as practical examples of grassroots change. In 2004, Orion won the prestigious Independent Press Award in the category of General Excellence.
In 2007 Orion inaugurated the Orion Book Award, to be given annually to a book that has achieved excellence in addressing the need for a new relationship between people and nature.
In September 2007, Milkweed Editions published the second anthology of writing from Orion, entitled The Future of Nature, edited by Barry Lopez.
In 2008 Orion launched a digital edition of the magazine, a lower-cost electronic facsimile of the print magazine.