It’s been a little more than two years since crossedgenres.com went public and we started accepting submissions. We had no idea what we were doing and the learning curve was steep, but somehow, we didn’t screw up enough and now find ourselves here.

As of this issue, we’ve published 137 stories from 118 authors; 41 works of art from 30 artists; 19 articles; and 13 interviews.

Publishing a magazine is a marathon, especially the way we do it: Accept submissions one month, do all the work the following month, and release the issue on the 1st of the next month. Had we realized that Crossed Genres was by its very nature destined for such a fast-paced turnaround… well, we’d probably have done it anyway, because anything else wouldn’t be Crossed Genres.

When CG was first conceived, we never envisioned anything more. We didn’t think that we’d be publishing novels, or running a science blog, or hosting contests, or even putting out yearly anthologies. We thought the magazine would be more than enough – heck, we didn’t really even think past reaching the end of the first year. Lost of zines close after just an issue or two, and we were only focused on not being one of those.

CG has been far more than just the work that went into it, or the resulting publications. We’ve met some of our best friends through this work. Our wonderful Associate Editor Kelly Jennings, and the magazine’s new editors Jaym Gates and Natania Barron, were all published in our issues well before they became part of CG. Despite all the work and struggles, controversies, and loss of money (yes, still), This has been one of the most rewarding things we have ever done. The pleasure – the privilege – of finding out we’d selected a story to print from a previously unpublished author will stay with us forever, and we’re proud of how often that’s happened.

Handing over the reins of the magazine is difficult, but it’s tempered by the knowledge that we’re freeing ourselves up to make the whole of CG bigger, better, more badass. Rather than being sad, we’re immensely grateful to have the opportunity to create something and then send it out to endure beyond our governance.

To everyone who has supported Crossed Genres these first two years, thank you. Next year will be even better.

Best,

Bart & Kay
Crossed Genres Editors (12/2008 to 11/2010)