Red Hen Press

A Message from Kate Gale, Publisher and CEO,

and Tobi Harper Petrie, Deputy and Marketing Director:

Dear Friends,

For 32 years, Red Hen has published extraordinary poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, championing voices that might otherwise go unheard. Today, that work is under serious financial threat.

In the past year, crucial federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) was cancelled, and we were similarly unable to secure funding from foundations that have previously had the capacity to support our work. We lost three major donors who represented nearly 20% of our annual support, and were turned down for a transformative grant from the Literary Arts Fund. Meanwhile, the windstorm that sparked the Eaton Fire blew off our roof, our building flooded, and thieves stole the copper from our AC units, causing a total of $160,000 in damage. We recognize that arts funding is stretched thin, and we are grateful for our ongoing supporters, yet these losses and damages have taken a toll.

Together, these losses have created a funding gap of approximately $500,000. Without additional support, we will be forced to make critical decisions about Red Hen's future by July 1.

The future of our Press will not be determined by a grant rejection, a few lost donors, vandals, or the federal defunding of the arts. It will be determined by the people who believe that literature is worth preserving and investing in. But unlike larger organizations, we do not have an endowment or an operating reserve. Overall, less than 1% of nonprofit funding in Los Angeles, and less than 2% nationwide, goes toward literary organizations. We rely on the support of readers, writers, and people who believe that literature matters.

Red Hen has long stood at the forefront of independent literature, providing free workshops and summer camps through our Writing in the Schools program, training the next generation through immersive publishing internships, and donating thousands of books to support local organizations. Through fires, floods, and uncertainty, our remarkable staff and authors have shown up with passion, determination, and a belief in the importance of our literary work—changemaking work that can shift lives and stir souls. Stories that provide courage, clarity, and hope. Books that uplift underrepresented communities, that highlight expansive realities, that give readers the bravery to stand in their truth. Narratives that save lives.

While most people only see our finished products, the reality behind each book is our hardworking, passionate team of twelve staff who pour their lives into ensuring a future for stories that will otherwise go untold. It is a tight-knit group of editors, designers, marketers, media experts, and more who believe in a shared mission: diverse literature is essential, life-affirming, and deserves to be prioritized and platformed.

We continue to explore all available sources of financial support, but to make it through the current moment, we need your help. We rely on the passion of readers, writers, and people who believe that literature matters.

Please make a gift today if you are able, or renew your support if you have already given this year. If possible, consider becoming a monthly donor to help sustain our work.

Please share our mission with friends and family who care about books, literacy, nurturing young writers, and the future of the literary arts.

With your help, every contribution—large or small—keeps writers finding readers, poets finding publishers, and the next generation of literary voices growing.

When times are difficult, we learn who shows up. We show up. Our staff and authors show up. Now we ask our community to show up, too.

And if all you can do right now is grab a Red Hen book from your local bookstore or our website—thank you. You are the reason for our work. You are our purpose.

Thank you for believing in books. Thank you for believing in writers. Thank you for believing in Red Hen Press.