Privacy Policy

Date of last revision: May 25, 2018

Who We Are?

F(r)iction is the imprint of Brink Literacy Project, a nonprofit corporation located in Colorado, in the United States (also operating under Tethered by Letters). We: operate literacy and literature initiatives worldwide—including in underserved communities and demographics; work with creatives to assist them in getting published and connecting with readers; and publish F(r)iction, a totally boss literary journal that collects writing, artwork, and graphic novels from new and established creatives.

What Is This?

This is a privacy policy and the reason we have it is to tell you how we collect, manage, store, and use your information.

Just so we’re clear, whenever we say “we,” “us,” “our,” or “ourselves”, we’re talking about Brink Literacy Project and whenever we say “you” or “your,” we’re talking about the person or business who has decided to use our services. And since we do a lot of different stuff, when we talk about our services, we mean any of our websites or apps; or any features, products, graphics, text, images, photos, audio, video, or similar things we use.

Why Are We Showing You This?

We value and respect your privacy. That is why we strive to only use your information when we think that doing so improves your experience in using our services. If you feel that we could improve in this mission in any way, or if you have a complaint or concern, please let us know by sending us your feedback via the Contact Us form on this page.

Our goal is to be as transparent and open about our use of information and data as possible, so that our users can benefit from both the way they provide information and how we use it.

This privacy policy should be read along with our Terms of Use, posted at here. That’s another big part of what we do, so please review it and follow its process for questions or concerns about what it says there.

Information Collection and Use

In using the services, you may be asked to provide us a variety of information—some of which can personally identify you and some that cannot. We may collect, store, and share this personal information with third parties, but only in the ways we explain in this policy. Here’s how we do it and why we do it:

A. Personally Identifiable Information: How we collect it.
Personally identifiable information is data that can be used to contact or identify a single person. Examples include your name, you phone number, your email, your address, and your IP address. We collect this kind of information in the following ways:

  • Information you give us: Through your own submissions—for donations, purchases, to set up a profile, or for submitting work—we collect your name, mailing address, e-mail address, and phone number, and other information you may choose to submit, including personal website addresses, social media handles or accounts, personal details of your choosing, and a short biography. We collect this information directly through our website, email, Submittable (Submission Management Software), and Stripe (payment processor).
  • Information we obtain: We collect non-personally identifiable information, including general details about your computer and connection (including the type of computer/mobile device, operating system, web-browser or other software, language preference, and hardware), the referring website, the date and time of visit, and internet content provider information. We collection this information through Google Analytics. We also use cookies to track your usage information to customize our services to your use. The plugins we use, including Mutt (to operate our forums), Stripe (for payments), Submittable (for submissions), and ConstantContact (for our email listserv) may also use cookies to provide those services; please review the privacy policies of those companies prior to using those services for further information.

B. Personally Identifiable Information: How we use it.
Brink Literacy Project uses your information in the following ways:

  • Contact you via email
  • Include you in our email listserv to provide you updates on our services and things we offer
  • Fulfill the orders you place with us
  • Provide you our services
  • Process and complete transactions you make with us, such as payments for goods or services
  • Enroll you in contests and promotions
  • Improve our website performance
  • Tailor our services to your needs and the way you use our services

C. Who We Share Your Information With and Why
We only share your information with third parties in the following ways and for the following purposes:

  1. We share your email or selected username, and any personal information you choose to provide, to a third party, Muut, to operate our forum.
  2. We share your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number to a third party, Submittable, to accept written submissions and internship applications.
  3. We share your name and email address with a third party, ConstantContact, to distribute our newsletter and information to our mailing list.
  4. We use a third party, Stripe, to process your payments.
  5. We will share all collected information to the extent necessary and as required by law or to comply with any legal obligations, including defense of our company.

Please note: The above websites and services have their own Privacy Policies and other terms of use. Please review those policies and terms prior to engaging those services

D. Your Choices in What Information You Share
We do not require you to provide any personal data to review the public content of our website.

Our process for collecting information begins when you wish to post comments on our website through the comment sections or forums, make purchases, submit applications or works, or join our mailing or email lists. For those purposes, we collect personal information—your name, email address, mailing address, and telephone numbers—to provide these services. We will request your consent to use your data at the time you provide it for those services. We require your personal data as part of your contract with us so we can provide you our services. We will not use your data for more than the purpose for which it was collected.

E. Non-Personally Identifiable Information
Non-Personally Identifiable Information includes general details about your device and connection (including the type of computer/mobile device, operating system, web-browser or other software, language preference, and hardware); general information from the app store or referring website; the date and time of visit or use; and, internet content provider information.

F. Non-Personally Identifiable Information: Collection and Use
We collect your Non-Personally Identifiable Information through Google Analytics when you visit our site. We use your Non-Personally Identifiable Information and behavior to analyze usage statistics, improve our services, provide quality assurance testing, and address service-related issues.

G. How Long We Keep Your Information
We will retain your Personally Identifiable Information for as long as you use our services, or until you request in writing that we delete or otherwise remove your Personally Identifiable Information.

We will retain Non-Personally Identifiable Information as part of our historical analysis of how our services are used, until such data no longer provides any historical use.

Furthermore, when we process information, we retain a record, to the extent reasonably possible, of the following information: the processor, purpose of the processing, categories of individuals and data involved, and nature of disclosure.

H. Where We Keep and Transfer Your Information
Our business is operated in the United States and third parties with whom we share your information are as well. Our servers are located here and this is where your data and information will be stored.

Please be aware if you are a citizen of another country, and if you live in Europe in particular, that your information will be transferred out of your home country and into the United States. The United States might not have the same level of data protection as your country provides.

If you would like more information about this, please contact us via the Contact Us form on this page.

I. Biographical Information
As a publisher of literature, artwork, and graphic novels, we request biographies (including photographs or likenesses) from various authors and artists to provide with their work, display on our website, and share information relating to grant applications. We also use author and artist information that we collect directly from the author or artist, or receive or obtain in relation to publication (including review of the social media and other marketing and publicity efforts of the author or artist) for the purpose of grant applications and marketing. For the purposes of authors and artists, we enter a contract with those individuals setting forth the additional terms of that relationship.

J. EU Rights to Information
According to the laws of the European Union (except for limited exceptions, where applicable), anyone in those countries has the right to:

  • Be informed about their data and its processing
  • Have access to their data
  • Correct any errors in their data
  • Erase data from our records
  • Restrict processing and use of data
  • Data portability
  • Object to the use of their data, including for the purpose of automated profiling and direct marketing
  • Make decisions about automated decision making and profiling

We respect each of these rights for all of its users, regardless of citizenship. If you have any questions or concerns about any of these rights, or if you would like to assert any of these rights at any time, please contact thecoterie@tetheredbyletters.com. Before we use your information in any way not authorized in this privacy policy, we will contact you to request your informed consent.

Protecting Your Information

A. Keeping it Safe
We make reasonable and commercially feasible efforts to keep your information safe. We have reasonable security measures in place to prevent your information from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorized way. We restrict access to your personal information to those who need to know it, are subject to contractual confidentiality obligations, and may be disciplined or terminated if they fail to meet these obligations. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorized manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

That said, no organization or business can guarantee 100% data protection. With that in mind, we will also utilize commercially-reasonable procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will inform both you and any applicable authorities of a suspected data security breach, as and when required by law.

B. Links to Other Websites
Our site has links to the sites, content, and services of other businesses, suppliers, sponsors, and other third parties. Any products or services found through a link to any of these other sites are subject to separate privacy policies. Brink Literacy Project is not liable for any content provided or actions taken by such third parties.

C. Posting Content to Our Site or Social Media
Any content you post on this site or others, including through social media links, is likely to become publicly available and may not be fully revocable or erasable by Brink Literacy Project, because it will have become available to third parties. You can always ask us to delete information in our possession, but we cannot force anyone else to erase your information. Please be aware that you publish such information at your own risk.

D. Information We Get From Other Places
We also receive information from other sources, including Stripe and Submittable. We receive that information consistent with those companies’ privacy policies. For information about their privacy policies, please visit those websites.

E. Do Not Track Signals
Some technologies, such as web browsers or mobile devices, provide a setting that when turned on sends a Do Not Track (DNT) signal when browsing a website or app. There is currently no common standard for responding to DNT Signals or even in the DNT signal itself. We currently do not have any technology implemented to process DNT Signals.

F. Use by Minors
We publish art and literature. By its nature, at times, it may contain challenging content and mature themes. This content is not intended for minors. By viewing our website and its content, you confirm that you are either 18 years or older, or are accessing our website with the express permission of an adult parent or guardian.

We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from minors. If you are a parent or legal guardian and your minor child has provided us personal information, you have the right to contact us and require that we: (a) permit you to review the personal information provided, and (b) remove and delete the personal information provided. To do so, upon you contacting us, we must take reasonable steps to confirm you are the parent. You may contact us for such a request at any time at thecoterie@tetheredbyletters.com.

Where an author or artist is a minor, we require the permission of a parent or legal guardian in a separate written contract that governs the terms of use of any artistic work.

G. Compliance with Regulators
We regularly review our privacy policy to do our best to ensure it complies with any applicable laws. When we receive formal written complaints, we will contact the person who made the complaint to follow up as soon as practicable. We will work with relevant regulatory authorities to resolve any complaints or concerns that we cannot resolve with our users directly.

You also have the right to file a complaint with the supervisory authority of your home country, where available, relating to the processing of any personal data you feel may have violated local regulations.

General Information for Your Further Understanding

A. No Unsolicited Personal Information Requests
We will never ask you for your personal information in an unsolicited letter, call, or email. If you contact us, we will only use your personal information if necessary to fulfill your request.

B. Changes
Our business and the services we provide are constantly evolving. We may change our privacy policy at any time. We will not reduce your rights under this policy without affirmatively requesting that you consent to that change. If you do not consent to that change, you will forego your ability to use any services that require any information affected by that change.

C. Security
The security of our services is important to us. We use reasonable efforts to secure any information you provide to our systems. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, we cannot guarantee your security. As with disclosure of any information electronically, there is a risk that any information you disclose by use of the services could be collected or used by others. This could result in unsolicited messages from third parties or use of such information by third parties for their own purposes, legal or illegal. You hereby waive any claims against us and agree not to hold us liable for the theft or misuse of personal information.

D. Complaints
Brink Literacy Project respects the rights of all of its users, regardless of location or citizenship. If you have any questions or concerns about any of these rights, or if you would like to assert any of these rights at any time, please contact us via the Contact Us form on this page.

E. Questions about Policy
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please contact us via the Contact Us form on this page. By accessing any of our services or content, you are affirming that you understand and agree with the terms of our Privacy Policy.