September 2024

21 May 2024

Dear readers, listeners, appreciators, and supporters of Passengers Journal—new and old, 

It’s with heavy hearts that we announce that December 2024 will mark Passengers’s last issue. Some drastic changes in the life circumstances of our chief editorial staff mean we no longer have the time and energy to dedicate towards the success of the journal. We are proud of how, over five years, our whole staff has remained committed to our collective vision of the journal. Passengers has from the start been a space for artists to showcase their darker and more vulnerable sides. We are considering the changing post-pandemic non-profit and publishing landscape as an opportunity to stop and reflect on the purpose of Passengers as a literary organisation and how it can best move forward. In keeping with our mission, irony notwithstanding, our decision is necessary rather than desired. 

Our website will remain live in perpetuity. If we have published your work, it will remain published on the same link as long (and perhaps longer) as our editorial staff shall live. You have until the end of August to submit to our final issues. Passengers will continue as a literary organisation, but we are currently focused on shifting from finding and publishing necessary art to being an incubator for necessary art. We plan to continue providing affordable access to writing services to those who write outside the walls of academia. Passengers will remain a hub for the literary community to flock to and gather in. As we continue to sketch out our vision for the future, we will keep you, our audience and community, updated on any changes. 

Taking this moment to reflect on the future also gives us the opportunity to examine the past. It has been an absolute honour to publish such an amazing array of poetry, prose, and visual art. It is not lost on us that the quality of our work is down to the continued dedication, effort, and time of our staff, as well as the interest and support we have received from our readers and contributors. Over the last three years of this journal, we have maintained a regular staff of more than 50 people, and since the journal began, our project has enjoyed the benefits of the volunteer labor of well over 100 individuals. Some of these people worked with us for a short season and some stayed connected to our project for years. All of these people have given uncountable slices of their lives.

We’re proud that we managed to voice each and every piece by a professional voice actor, run a concurrent podcast series, and start offering print editions. We had live readings in New York, Zoom readings worldwide, and hosted two virtual conferences with incredible headliners and accessible workshops. Words cannot express how eternally grateful we are to each and every person involved with Passengers.

Onward, 

Zac, Anna, Charles, and Andreea

Listen to our most recent Previewcast for a sneak peak at our summer issue and to hear us say more about our decision.

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