Black lives matter.
Structural inequality must be dismantled.
Diversity is not enough—we need inclusion, equity, and reparations.
We add our voice to the chorus of those in the anti-racist global movement seeking justice and change.
In Support of Black Lives Matter
Our actions in 2020 (so far):
- We suspended our regular publication schedule from June 2 to June 16, 2020, in order to minimize promotional content on our social media platforms and to use our time discussing anti-racist actions we can take as a literary magazine—we will continue to share our progress
- We are sharing on Twitter resources related to racial equality and specifically to the publishing industry’s systemic racism
- CRAFT matched all donations made personally by our EIC, totaling so far:
$200 to Florida Bail Fund via Florida Justice Center
$400 to Gas Mask Fund via Black Lives Matter
$400 to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp
$200 to Los Angeles Action Bail Fund via Black Lives Matter Los Angeles
$400 to NAACP Legal Defense Fund
$400 to National Bail Fund Network
- With our submissions for short and flash fiction always free and always open, we sought a way to expedite the work of Black writers through our queues. We introduced free fast response categories for short and flash fiction, and offered them exclusively to Black writers until November 2020, when we expanded this fast response to include all BIPOC writers and other historically mis- and underrepresented writers.
- Additionally, whenever possible, we open forms so that any writer may send fiction for fast response in exchange for proof of donation to an organization in support of Black lives. Learn more here.
- Between July and October, when the fast response in exchange for donation forms were most recently open, writers submitting to CRAFT have donated over $7,000 to organizations all over the world! The average donation is $40.
- Please follow us on Twitter for news of occasional free opportunities for full editorial feedback for Black writers.
We’ll update this page as we take more steps toward lasting change.
Please visit our Resources page for more on anti-racism in publishing and more information about representation and inequality in publishing.
As a tenet of our editorial philosophy, we do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason. But we seek to do more to increase access to the literary community for historically mis- and underrepresented writers. We look forward to sharing ideas with you as they become actions.
Here is an additional list of organizations our staff and the team from our greater cooperative have chosen to support so far:
Amistad Law Project
Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation
Black Mental Health Alliance
Community Justice Exchange (operates the National Bail Fund Network)
The Conscious Kid’s Anti-Racist Children’s Books Education Fund
I Will Not Die Young
The Loveland Foundation
The Progress Center for Black Women
Reclaim the Block
Rooted Resistance
Therapy for Black Girls
The Trevor Project
We Love Lake Street