WHO WE ARE
✨
WHO WE ARE ✨
It is no secret that the literary canon and literary journals are largely comprised of heteronormative, patriarchal, cisgender, able-bodied white men.
So to Speak seeks work by writers, poets, and artists who want to challenge and change the identity of the “canonical” writer.
Our mission is to provide a digital and print platform to amplify the voices of BIPOC, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, nonbinary people, women, neurodivergent people, people of all different religions or none, migrants, refugees & immigrants (regardless of citizenship), and incarcerated writers.
MISSION
So to Speak was founded as a feminist journal in 1993 by an editorial collective of MFA candidates at George Mason University. As our journal has evolved over the years, so has our outlook on feminism.
We believe in an intersectional feminist outlook that includes, advocates for, and amplifies the perspectives & experiences of marginalized individuals.
HISTORY
EDITORS
JESSIKA BOUVIER (SHE/HER)
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jessika Bouvier is a queer Cajun writer. Her work appears (or soon will) in SUNHOUSE, Catapult, monkeybicycle, Black Fox, X-R-A-Y, and elsewhere. She was named a finalist in Washington Square Review’s New Voices Award and in fugue’s Prose Contest. Currently, she’s at work on a satirical novel about outdoor recreation economies, queer settler colonialism, and femme friendship.
SATORI GOOD (THEY/THEM)
MANAGING EDITOR
Satori is a fiction writer and cat parent from Lawrence, Kansas. Their work engages queer speculative realities and appears in New Moon Magazine and Studies in the Fantastic. You can find them on Bluesky @satorigood
BRI CHAPMAN (SHE/THEY)
ART EDITOR
Bri Chapman is an MFA poetry candidate at George Mason University. Previously published work can be found in Unstamatic.
MERRON DOUGLAS (SHE/HER)
BLOG EDITOR
Merron Douglas is a fiction writer and third-year MFA candidate at GMU. Her work has previously been published in CC&D Magazine and Common House Magazine. You can find her on Twitter @merrondouglas or holed up in the back of your local coffee shop.
ESTHER GOLDBERG (SHE/HER)
NONFICTION EDITOR
Esther Goldberg is an MFA student at GMU specializing in creative nonfiction writing, and a graduate professional assistant— Marketing Manager— for Watershed Lit. She has experience in public outreach, event management, grant research, and author profiling.
FICTION EDITOR
KARA CRAWFORD (SHE/HER)
Kara Crawford is a writer from Manassas, Virginia. Her work as been featured or is forthcoming in Cream City Review, The Hunger Journal, Surely Magazine, and elsewhere. She is the Assistant Manager of Fall for the Book. You can follow her on Twitter @kara_sweaters or visit her website kara-crawford.com.
HOMA MOJADIDI (SHE/HER)
POETRY EDITOR
Homa Mojadidi is an Afghan American poet and translator. Her translation work has been published in Asymptote, Washington Square Review, and longlisted for Deep Vellum’s Best Literary Translations, 2025. Her poems have appeared in One Art magazine, Beyond Words Literary magazine, IHRAF Publishes, and Blue Mountain Review. In her poetry, Homa explores themes of loss, exile, memory, and mysticism. She has an MA in English Literature from the University of North Florida and teaches creative writing at GMU.
Bex is a first-year MFA candidate in Nonfiction Creative Writing at GMU. Bex earned their BA in Sociology from Wellesley College. Whether self-reflection or rigorously-researched essays, Bex enjoys reading works that engage with intersectionality’s nuance and complexity.
ASSISTANT NONFICTION EDITOR
BEX PACHL (THEY/THEM)
EMILY WEISENBERGER (SHE/HER)
ASSISTANT FICTION EDITOR
Emily J. Weisenberger is a justice-forward speculative fiction writer for children and adults. Her short stories are published in Tales to Terrify, L’Esprit Literary Review, and The Vanishing Point, among others. Emily earned her MA in applied anthropology in 2018.
Pari Sabti is a first year MFA candidate for poetry at George Mason University. Born and raised in Iran, they currently live in Northern Virginia with their family. In their free time they enjoy going on walks, singing, and arguing about semantics with their sister. Their poetry has been published or is forthcoming in Michigan Quarterly Review’s MQR Mixtape: Place, Virginia Literary Review, and The Windward Review.
PARI SABTI (THEY/THEM)
ASSISTANT POETRY EDITOR
