For the 15,000 people who visit our site every day (3.5 million per year), reading Electric Lit costs nothing. For the 1,500 writers who submitted their work to us this year, submission also costs nothing.
And yet Electric Lit is not free.
If you read Electric Literature, you already know what we are about: supporting writers and making their work as accessible as possible. Our recent awards, success stories, and many accomplishments in this effort are detailed below. We’re driven by the unshakeable belief that stories matter and literature has the power to change the world.
Electric Literature is a nonprofit organization with 8 staff members and 3 paid interns. We publish 15 articles per week—essays, reading lists, short stories, flash fiction, poetry, graphic narratives, interviews, and criticism—by over 500 writers per year.
Our work costs $500,000 annually, and last year, 33% of that was donated by 2,000 of our readers—people like you! The average donation of $65 made a difference. We depend on you to keep the lights on.
Electric Literature may be free to read, but the costs are real and going up. We need to raise $25,000 by December 31, 2024 to keep Electric Literature going into next year. In these uncertain times, the only thing I know for sure is that we cannot afford to take the organizations and institutions we care about for granted. If the continued existence of Electric Literature means something to you, please make a contribution today.
Electric Literature’s Accomplishments in 2024
- Both/And, EL’s groundbreaking essay series by trans writers of color, is going to be a book! Edited by Denne Michele Norris and featuring new essays by Raquel Willis, J Wortham, Akwaeke Emezi, and more, Both/And is forthcoming from HarperOne in August 2025.
- Through our Banned Books USA initiative, Electric Literature gave away 2,362 banned books to readers in Florida, and partnered with 16 local organizations to distribute them to vulnerable populations, including LGBTQ youth.
- We increased the number of articles we publish by 50%, from 10 to 15 posts per week. We published 462 writers and counting, leading to other significant career opportunities. For example, Taisya Kogan told us that after her very first publication, “Mrs. Morrison Corrects Her Obituary,” went up on Electric Literature, she received emails from not one, not two, but three agents.
- We celebrated EL’s 15th anniversary at the Masquerade of the NEON Death, with hosts Emma Copley Eisenberg, Vanessa Chan, Deesha Philyaw, Clare Sestanovich, and Mateo Askaripour, all of whom are Electric Literature contributors.
- At the Hudson Valley Craft Camp, our first writing bootcamp, 34 writers learned about revision and close reading from accomplished novelists Marie-Helene Bertino and Francine Prose.
- In response to the lack of publication opportunities for nonfiction writers, we launched the new Personal Narrative series, which publishes a new essay every Thursday.
- Continuing Manuscript Consultations launched in 2023, Electric Literature editors worked closely with 55 writers on their manuscripts. EL is also now offering revisions consultation to returning writers.
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