We’re Still Here. Are You Still With Us?

I have a lot that I need to say here, but first I will reiterate what I posted on our Indiegogo campaign last month. Namely, we’re still working hard, we’re getting the anthology out as quickly as we can, and we’re looking forward to bringing you a lot more stories in the coming year.

To quote the campaign:

Even though we didn’t meet our funding goal, the past few months have made it that much more obvious to me that we need to have stories told from the perspectives of POC, and we need those stories getting into the hands of as many readers as possible. 

So, in addition to editing the stories for the anthology, we’ve also been working behind the scenes to overhaul submissions to our website. We’ll be opening submissions again in March for the next anthology, and artist submissions are ongoing.  Our Supporters page is up, so you can stop by and see your name in lights as we keep working!

Because we’ve decided to move forward with our plan to expand and make the site into a proper e-zine along with the anthologies, we’ve had to make some adjustments to the backend of the website to be able to handle subscription payments and pay per story access. (As a note, you’ll also be seeing some updates to the design site itself soon.)

So here we are! Site is updated, new features are being tested for subscriptions and one-off purchases for access to individual stories. Speaking of stories, we’ll be opening up for submissions again in March, and we’ve got some surprises in store in the coming weeks and months. I am so grateful to everyone who has supported us, encouraged us and been there from the beginning. We couldn’t have gotten this far without you, and we hope you’ll still be with us on the next leg of this journey.

Now on to the rest.

When I first created Sanguine Press, I envisioned a community where stories and artwork focused on People of Color could be shared and celebrated. I still believe in that, now more strongly than ever. But recent events have also made me realize that I need to do better about not only telling stories that focus on People of Color, not only showcasing artwork that features People of Color, but in uplifting and supporting creators who are People of Color.

Now, I’m not about to take up the gargantuan task of policing people’s identities or telling anyone what to write or draw. I believe that creativity and celebration of creatives is necessary to help us remember who we are and what kind of people we strive to be. “Keep Creating” is not just a glib email signature—I firmly believe that art in all of its myriad forms is what breathes life and purpose into existence as a whole.

What I am saying is that for us, here, at Sanguine Press, we are invested in putting forth stories and artwork that come from the unique lived perspective of People of Color.

That means that all submissions by People of Color will be given first consideration for publication. It also means that some anthologies will focus on creatives who are Women of Color and the stories they want to tell.

Please note that this policy does not affect anyone who has already submitted, and going forward we will make it very clear in the submission guidelines what our requirements are for our authors and artists.

I hope that you can understand and respect why we are moving in this direction. It is essential to me that we all keep working together, while at the same time having our individual spotlights to cherish and uplift what we do. Our Facebook page and groups are open to everyone who is interested in our work and willing to be respectful, kind, and honest.

Thank you all again, and we’ll be reaching out with our next update in the near future. Be kind to each other, and to yourselves. And always—

 

Keep Creating