Welcome to Mom’s the Word! This is where we let our hair down, or off, or up and out. It’s for parents, but also our aunties, play cousins, best friends and all the other beautiful beings that make up our communities. We’ll catch up with our favorite people and they’ll share their favorite reads and hangs, and more.
Our fundraiser is still going strong, and I know we can do more than scratch the surface. Sign up as a member of any tier, because they all help with reaching our goal. If you want alternate ways to pay for a subscription, feel free to use PayPal. Just reply to this email and you’ll be added to the paid list!
Happy Friday! How has your week been? Today we’re kicking off a short series over the next few weeks where we will have a quick chat with our editors and help you get to know them better. Our first featured editor is
. She covers our Shop Talk column, where we talk to Black and Brown booksellers from across the US and around the world.Read our most recent interview with Lucy Yu of Yu and Me Books:
SHERISA
Why does writing matter to you?
DARA
I am a sucker for a good story, and writing matters to me because of how it reveals the human condition, the universality that we can find even within stories that are unlike our own.
SHERISA
Who is a writer who inspires you and why?
DARA
Sarah M. Broom inspires me because of her dedication to her craft and her ability to put care at the forefront of her creative nonfiction.
SHERISA
How do you create space to write?
DARA
This year has taught me that creating space to write is as much about decluttering my mind as it is about clearing time in my schedule. I am learning to attend to my mental health--what might be bothering me--as a way of preparing myself to write.
SHERISA
What are you currently reading?
DARA
We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin.
SHERISA
What are your writing rituals?
DARA
I like to make a cup of tea and light a candle before I write.
SHERISA
Describe your dream submission.
DARA
I love submissions from bookstore owners with an "unconventional" story about how they came to the business of selling books. My favorite part is that leap, the realization of "Are we doing this? Oh, we're really doing this! Let's go."
SHERISA
What do you love about editing for Raising Mothers?
DARA
Raising Mothers gives me the opportunity to be in community with women of color across the literary spectrum in ways I would not normally be able to. We are a mighty group!
📆 SATURDAY, AUGUST 17
LITERARY LIBERATION PRESENTS KIN KEEPERS LIVE STORYTELLING
Come spend your Saturday morning with us over at Literary Liberation! We’re hosting our inaugural live storytelling event, hosted by
. FIRST GENERATION & FIRST BORN DAUGHTERS begins at 10am EST via Zoom.More info:
We have a suggested sliding scale of $5-$15 to help build our scholarship fund!
Raising Mothers is an independent literary magazine, run by a single person—me. If you’ve found any benefit from the published work, talks, or content shared, join us as a monthly or annual sustaining member and keep Raising Mothers ad-free. Paid memberships allow us to pay our contributors and create a sustainable future. Help us reach our first goal of 100 paid annual members.
Thank you for supporting us in big and small ways since 2015. As we move into year 9, we urge you to become a sustaining member. Invest in amplifying the parenting narratives of Black, Asian, Latine(x), Indigenous and other voices from the global majority at our many intersections.
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