Delivery Policy

The Long Way Home (t/a TLWH) is committed to ensuring that subscribers and readers receive access to content and, where applicable, products promptly and reliably. This policy explains how delivery works across our offerings.

Digital content

The Long Way Home is, at present, an entirely digital publication, and Reflections, Poems, and Letters live on the website rather than in your inbox. Access is made available in accordance with the subscription tier selected, and nothing is ever sent to subscribers by email, so reading new pieces simply means visiting thelongwayhome.co.za directly.

Free access for visitors

Visitors browsing the site without an account may read the latest published Reflection and the latest published Poem in full, at no cost. This access does not require creating an account. Once a visitor has read the latest Reflection and the latest Poem, further access to Reflections and Poems, and any access to Letters or behind the scenes content, requires creating an account and selecting the desired subscription tier.

Delivery by tier

Delivery method and timing vary slightly by tier, as follows:

Gentle Readers (free) require an account to receive access via the website, at no cost, to Reflections and Poems, for the duration of their subscription. New pieces go live at 11:00 SAST on their scheduled publication day.

Fellow Travellers require an account and a paid monthly subscription to receive access via the website to member-only Reflections, Poems, and Letters, for the duration of their subscription. New pieces go live at 11:00 SAST on their scheduled publication day.

Founding Companions require an account and a paid annual subscription, and receive the same access via the website as Fellow Travellers, for the full duration of their subscription, along with any additional benefits specific to that tier, made available as they arise.

How delivery works

Depending on how you engage with the site, delivery takes the following forms:

• Account access, granted immediately upon creating a Gentle Readers account, or upon successful payment through Paystack for a Fellow Traveller or Founding Companion subscription.
• Website access, whereby content available to a subscriber's tier remains accessible directly on thelongwayhome.co.za, for as long as their account or subscription remains active. This is the only way content is made available; nothing is sent by email.
• WhatsApp Channel notifications (optional), for subscribers who opt in at checkout. Followers of the Channel receive a message at 11:30 SAST on publication days, once a new piece has gone live — a notification only, not a means of delivering the content itself. Without this opt-in, it remains the subscriber's own responsibility to visit the website regularly to check for new content. Full detail is set out in our Privacy Policy.

Gift subscriptions

Where a subscription is purchased as a gift, access for the recipient begins once payment is confirmed. As this is an administrative step rather than content delivery, the recipient will receive an email inviting them to create their account and access their subscription on the website, along with any personal note included by the person gifting the subscription. If the recipient has not created an account within 90 days, the person who purchased the gift may contact hello@thelongwayhome.co.za to request a refund, in line with our Terms of Use.

Cancellations and access

Gentle Readers accounts may be closed at any time and carry no billing period, as no payment is taken for this tier. Should a Fellow Traveller or Founding Companion cancel partway through a billing period, access will remain in place until the end of that current billing period, and will end once the paid period has concluded, in line with our Terms of Use.

Delivery timing and scope

Access to digital content is granted instantly upon successful account creation or payment confirmation. Should any delay or access issue arise, we aim to resolve it within 48 hours of being notified. As all content is made accessible digitally, via the website, there are no geographic restrictions on access, and no shipping costs apply to any subscription or digital product offered by The Long Way Home.

Failed or delayed payments

This does not apply to Gentle Readers, as no payment is taken for this tier. If a subscription payment fails for a Fellow Traveller or Founding Companion, access to new content will be paused until payment is successfully processed. As this is an administrative matter rather than content delivery, subscribers will be notified by email and given 7 days to update their payment details before access is suspended, in line with our Terms of Use. Payments are not automatically retried.

Physical products

At present, The Long Way Home does not offer physical products for sale. Should physical items, such as keepsakes or printed publications, become available in future, this policy will be updated to include applicable shipping timelines, costs, and delivery areas.

Delivery issues

If you experience any difficulty accessing content you have subscribed to, please write to us at hello@thelongwayhome.co.za, and we will assist you as promptly as possible.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time as the publication grows, including with the introduction of physical products. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated date at the top.