Both/And is a new limited essay series—the first of its kind—focused on personal narratives from trans and gender non-conforming writers of color.
As the only major literary publication helmed by a Black, openly transgender woman, Denne Michele Norris, Electric Literature offers the unique opportunity for trans and gender non-conforming writers of color to be edited and published by a fellow trans writer of color.
A dozen writers will be paid $500 per essay—5x our standard rate—and we aim to hire a trans or nonbinary editor in a supporting role. This is a significant undertaking, one that falls outside our previously allocated budget. Please donate whatever you can today to support this effort. Our goal is to raise $15,000 by the end of Pride Month, and every amount helps.
Support this project and our future work by becoming a member:
Or make a one-time donation:
More than 300 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in 42 states this year, and two dozen of those bills have been already passed into law in 13 states. A massive wave of copycat measures based on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill have been introduced, all of which ban classroom instruction around sexual orientation and gender identity. The majority of these efforts target the transgender community, specifically criminalizing access to gender-affirming education and medical care for young people.
At the same time that trans people are at the center of a cultural boiling point, our voices are almost nowhere to be found. According to the 2019 Vida Count, only 6% of literary magazine contributors identify as non-binary, and according to the 2019 Lee and Low Books Diversity Survey, fewer than 1% of publishing professionals identify as gender nonconforming or transgender.
Please help Electric Literature give trans and gender nonconforming writers of color a place to tell our own stories. It's not enough for trans and gender nonconforming writers to just be included in the conversation; we should be the ones doing the talking.
For contributions by mail, please send checks to:
Electric Lit, Inc.
PO 1211
Kingston, NY 12402
