The press has a variety of funds for various purposes, to which people who attend their literary events or buy their books can donate. In addition to the funds for Black writers and for local arts education, there is one to support any of the writers they have published or any of their contractors who find themselves in need of assistance, and another to help fund the travel of any Nomadic Press author to their recently established retreat center in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. They are currently working on establishing a cafebreria—a combined coffee shop and bookstore, complete with a firepit— at the retreat center. AN INVITATION TO THE LITERARY COMMUNITY Nomadic Press finds the word “submission” inauthentic and claims that inviting authors who desire publication to “submit” to them grates against their values. So, instead, they encourage writers to “invite” the press to publish their work each year from January to February. “Any way you cut it, the word ‘submit’ grates against who we are and what we stand for. It feels inauthentic to continue to use this word. We want to instead offer that this is a process of sending us an invitation —an invitation into a relationship, an invitation to work together , an invitation to experience your art with you, an invitation into a space most sacred . We may accept this invitation. We may decline this invitation. Regardless, we are grateful . It is truly an honor to receive an invitation. So we want to simply pause and thank you for considering our press.”
community participation, Nomadic Press collectively weaves together platforms for intentionally marginalized voices to take their rightful place within the world of the written and spoken word. Through our limited means, we are simply attempting to help right the centuries-old violence and silencing that should never have occurred in the first place and build alliances and community partnerships with others who share a collective vision for a future far better than today.” WORKS AND FUNDS REFLECTING THEIR MISSION One Nomadic Press collection in line with their mission, Painting the Streets: Oakland Uprising in the Time of Rebellion , focuses on murals that appeared on the streets of Oakland, CA during the 2020 struggle for racial justice. The book includes interviews, poetry, and essays from various writers active during the Black liberation struggle. Activist Angela Davis praises Painting the Streets: “Oakland is a city of artists and of people who appreciate the vital role of art in accelerating social change. Painting the Streets is an enduring reminder that we caught sight of the future in the murals and art that radically transformed Oakland during the protests in the summer of 2020.” Nomadic Press has also set up a special fund to benefit its Black writers, and $1 from each sale of Painting the Streets will go into that fund. The rest of the proceeds from the title go towards a fund for visual arts programs in schools in Oakland’s flatlands (the lower-income areas in which more BIPOC community members live).
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