Why do we exist? What are our goals?

WE EXIST to present alternatives to the two poles of the current literary scene: on one hand, overwrought “literary” writing with overemphasis on well-written sentences to the exclusion of passion and plot. On the other hand, generic genre fiction produced in large quantities by the “Big 5” publishing giants, supplemented by an enormous self-publishing crowd (supplemented by AI-generated knockoffs), the focus chiefly on fantasy and romance, all of it already-been-done. In Leo Tolstoy’s phrase in “What Is Art?”: imitations of imitations of imitations.

Today’s literary intelligentsia, centered in London and New York, are the biggest obstacle to artistic progress, as they’re trapped in their high modern/postmodern paradigm– their well-enclosed toy box– and refuse to climb out.

It’s their job (or was) to move the art forward. Instead– to use a summer metaphor– they’re more a lawn mower that’s stalled and won’t restart.

WE BELIEVE all forms of the literary art can be way better than they are now. Than they’ve ever been. More compelling. More original in design and mix of elements. More dramatic. More idealistic. More relevant. We look for writers to adopt that cause, that goal. The road toward creating the New lies open. . . .