Dear Reader,
Last night I visited an MFA program to speak about literary magazines. As I chatted with students, I thought about the security I felt fifteen years ago when I was a student myself. I would graduate, continue to hone my craft, and when I was ready, submit my work far and wide. Eventually I would be published, find an agent, then finish and hopefully publish my novel. While I understood that none of this would be easy, it all felt wonderfully possible.
But yesterday I was struck by the insecurity many of these students seem to feel. I was asked, quite seriously, if literary journals would continue to exist. I was asked about the impact of AI on writers and literary magazines, the dissolution of Twitter—which I’ll never call X—and where writers can build community. I was even asked by one student if serious artistic pursuit can exist under late-stage capitalism. “Are we all doomed?” he said. I did my best to assure him that while the landscape might be more treacherous, we are not doomed, at least not yet.
Resistance adds fuel to our fire, but Electric Literature has recently faced some unprecedented challenges. The NEA has been effectively destroyed, free speech is no longer protected, and grant funding for the arts is drying up. As artists, we are in a fight for our lives, and we must continue that fight. Electric Literature costs about $500,000 a year to run. We need to raise $35,000 to get us through 2025 and balance the budget for 2026. This is the largest goal we’ve ever set for a campaign, but difficult times call for greater ambition. We need our community to stand strong by our side.
Electric Literature remains committed to being a home for writers of all backgrounds, beliefs, and identities. This year we published our first book, Both/And: Essays by Trans and Gender Nonconforming Writers of Color, combatting increased attacks on the trans community by amplifying their voices. By December, we will have published over 500 writers whose work—brilliant, funny, and moving—we are honored to platform. And once again, we will have supported over three million readers this year, many of whom visit Electric Literature daily.
To be clear, Electric Literature is not backing down. We will continue publishing groundbreaking writing for our readers, knowing that literary pursuit in the face of rising facism is righteous, noble work. And we will continue being a home for emerging writers and essential new voices. Please join us in this work by supporting EL today.
Gratefully yours,
Denne Michele Norris
Editor-in-Chief
The post As Artists, We Are in a Fight For Our Lives appeared first on Electric Literature.
