This project will only be funded if it reaches its goal by Thu, August 23 2018 8:44 PM UTC +00:00.
Cosmonauts Avenue was founded by badass women writers on the core idea that the literary world needs to do more to support and amplify marginalized voices. We knew that work needed to be done, and we decided not to wait around for anyone else to do it. We launched our first issue in 2014, and since then our editorial staff has worked to carve out literary space for ourselves — for writers of color, ciswomen, trans men and women, non-binary folks, members of the LGBQA community, people with disabilities, international writers, and non-Christian writers. In an online, monthly literary journal, Cosmonauts Avenue curates a space that pays careful attention to craft while remaining urgent and surprising. Now, we want to take the work of our incredible contributors and turn it into a beautiful print anthology, curating stories and poems from the last four years of publication.
With your help, we’ll create a 200-page collection of jubilation, side-eyes, survival tactics and jagged-edged wisdom. We’ll feature 30 poets, 6 fiction writers, and 3 nonfiction writers. Our editors—the same ones who pick the critical and vibrant work we publish on our site—are already laying out a constellation of pieces from pathbreaking artists like Kristen Arnett, Colette Arrand, Destiny O. Birdsong, MK Chavez, jayy dodd, Natalie Eilbert, Megan Fernandes, T Kira Madden, José Olivarez, Raquel Salas Rivera, and Candace Williams. We’ll be working with a trusted print shop to ensure the appearance of the final product is as striking as the words you’ll find inside.
With the proceeds from selling the anthology, we will begin paying contributors for the life-changing and necessary work they’re doing. We will be able to continue hosting contests with wonderful judges, and keep up with the costs that come with running a journal.
Up until now, we’ve raised money primarily through contests, judged by Roxanne Gay, Ocean Vuong, Claudia Rankine, Eileen Myles, Tommy Pico, and Porochista Khakpour. Since we’re an entirely volunteer-run magazine, contest submission fees help us pay our lovely judges and subsidize website hosting, Submittable fees, mailing, etc.
Since we intend to always keep regular submissions 100% free, sales of our print anthology would provide the jolt of revenue we need to become a self-sustaining publisher.
We’re excited about taking the stellar work we’ve featured online and putting it physically in your hands. We hope you are too! If you’re interested in the poems, stories, essays and reviews we’re putting out, and you want to help us reach a whole new stage of stability, please support this campaign.
Meet Our Team!
Editor-in-Chief, Bükem Reitmayer is a Turkish-Canadian writer. Her work has appeared in No Tokens, PANK, Minola Review, and Carousel, among others.
Senior Poetry Editor, Aba Micah Collins-Sibley writes poems in their black, queer, disabled voice and all of their poems are political. Their poems can be found in McSweeney's Internet Tendency, The Felt, Peach Magazine, Cosmonauts Avenue, Poetry.org, and are forthcoming in Split Lip Press' 2019 Anthology.
Senior Fiction Editor, Madeleine Maillet is a writer, translator and editor. Her work has appeared in Prism International, THIS Magazine, Joyland, The Journey Prize Stories Anthology (McLelland and Stewart) and other places. She is a PhD Candidate in Creative Writing at the University of Houston.
Non Fiction Editor, Aliza Ali Khan is a Pakistani-American writer.
Fiction Editor, Paige Cooper's book of short stories, Zolitude, came out with Biblioasis in 2018.
Poetry Editor, Jay Pabarue is a mixed-race poet from Philadelphia. His poems have appeared in Diagram, The Vassar Review, Gargoyle, Redactions: Poetry and Poetics, and others.
Illustrator, Max Winter lives in Brooklyn, NY. He is a frequent illustrator, editor, and writer.
Risks and challenges
There are two primary risks and challenges to our project’s successful completion after funding:
Problems with the print shop: The translation of typeset files into printed works is a complex process, and errors at this stage of production can be costly. We’re working with a printer we trust, and have confidence that they’ll able to deliver smoothly, at the promised price, even if roadblocks come up.
Illness/Death: Well, this is dark. And pretty unlikely. But we are a small team, and it’s possible one of us ends up out of commission for unforeseen reasons. Still, if anyone has to drop out of the project, we’re committed to seeing it through.Learn about accountability on Kickstarter