To our beloved community,

We are writing with a fierce commitment to transparency and care.

On Friday, May 2, alongside many other arts organizations, Foglifter Journal & Press received an email from the National Endowment for the Arts notifying us that our $20,000 NEA grant award has been terminated, effective May 31. We have been advised not to appeal this decision, but will submit the final payment request ahead of the NEA’s literary arts staff departure on May 30. With the very real possibility that the department may be restructured or dissolved entirely, there is no guarantee that future administrators will honor existing commitments to Foglifter or any other organization that submits their funding requests, but we’re going to try.

This loss is not just a budget line—it is a real and immediate blow to our ability to support emerging queer and trans writers, host community workshops, publish groundbreaking literary work, and maintain the editorial and operational infrastructure that keeps Foglifter alive.

In the face of this uncertainty, we are launching a fund dedicated to sustaining the critical work that the NEA funds would have supported. 

This initiative reflects not only our urgent need, but our collective commitment to artistic sustainability and mutual care. Because this isn’t just about Foglifter—this is about the effect this withdrawal of support has on small presses, arts organizations, and marginalized writers, editors, and readers who rely on grant funding to survive, let alone thrive.

We’re grieving this shift in national priorities, but we remain grounded in our purpose and undeterred in our mission. This moment calls for resilience, creativity, and collective care—and we know our community is built for exactly that. We believe in the transformative power of literature. We believe in queer and trans stories as both urgent and enduring. Together, we’ll keep building, keep creating, and keep showing up for each other.

In defiance, in hope, and in collective action,

Marina, Dior, and Milo

Foglifter Journal & Press May 12, 2025