The antonym Editors
Hi friends!
If you subscribe to antonym, you already received this email in your inbox—but just in case you don’t, we felt this post was important enough to share here, too!
WHERE WE’VE BEEN
We are so sorry for the radio silence from antonym! After the whirlwind rush of our print issue, we found ourselves thrown back into more robust, full-time lives. antonym was a wonderful escape for so many of us at the peak of the pandemic, which is still very much ongoing. However, the shape of our days has evolved overtime as we adopt new modes of living, and this means that we need to reevaluate how we put out antonym, and what sustainability looks like.
On September 30, we sent out an email to inform you that we were taking some time to evaluate our next steps for the magazine. Although we originally had lofty goals of making six issues a year, we’re finding that we don’t have nearly as much time to devote to antonym as we once did. Soliciting enough submissions to fill twelve issues was quite a feat, and it turns out six is not so different—it requires a level of engagement that most of us aren’t able to give.
THE PLAN
That’s why we made a decision to scale back to two issues per year: one in December, and one in May. We’re focusing on quality over quantity, and want to work on amassing a number of submissions over a long period of time, then piecing them together into a beautiful digital issue that we can be proud of. We want to focus on our cross-platform integration, utilizing our website to showcase some of the submissions that come into our inbox—both ones we choose to publish and ones we do not—and ramping up our social media content and engagement.
We’re also (finally!) planning an open mic to celebrate the publication of our may 2021 print issue. This will take place virtually early next month! If you’re a contributor, expect to hear from us shortly with an invitation to read and/or attend; if you’re a subscriber, details to attend will follow!
The bottom line is this: our small but mighty team wants antonym to continue, and we’re grateful to each of you who have continued to be part of this community, even as it’s grown quieter. Know that we’re still here!
GET INVOLVED
If you want to help keep antonym not only alive, but thriving, there are a number of ways you can pitch in!
- The biggest, most significant thing you can do is submit your work for consideration to our december 2021 issue, or pass it along to a creative friend!
- Order a copy of our may 2021 print issue—we still have several available! They’re only $15 each, priced to cover the cost of printing + shipping, and any leftover funds will go towards our domain hosting and the software we use to create the issues.
- Tell your friends, family, and others about antonym. Follow us on social media: Instagram is @antonym_lit and Facebook is /antonymlit.
- RSVP for our open mic night/celebration when the event info goes out within the next couple of weeks. We want to see you there!
We’ve said it before, but we can’t say it enough, so here it goes again: thank you ALL for your ongoing support. YOU make antonym possible, YOU keep us going, and we never forget that it’s YOUR beautiful work that populates these pages.
With gratitude,
The antonym Editors
Maddie, Caroline, Sonia, Johanna, & Anna
P.S. If you feel like it, drop us a comment below and let us know how you’ve been—we’d love to hear from you!
P.P.S. Haven’t subscribed? Sign up to receive our email updates!
