October 2021

Dear Sisters,

I am pleased to provide you with our annual report for our fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2020 and ending on June 30, 2021. It was an incredible year for Sinister Wisdom amid a global pandemic and continuing political crises here in the United States. Throughout all these challenges, Sinister Wisdom continued to publish vibrant and meaningful issues of the journal and to sponsor gatherings through brought meaning and celebration to lesbian lives.

As always, Sinister Wisdom published four issues: Sinister Wisdom 117: Lesbians in the City in July, Sinister Wisdom 118: Forty-Five Years / A Tribute to the Lesbian Herstory Archives in October, Sinister Wisdom 119: To be a Jewish Dyke in the 21st Century in January of 2021, and Sinister Wisdom 120: Asian Lesbians in April 2021. These four issues of the journal represent an extraordinary gathering of lesbian and feminist voices exploring ideas, issues, passions, and identities vital to our communities. It was a pleasure to work with the guest editors of each of these issues and all of the volunteers and writers who dedicated an extraordinary amount of time and talent to these issues.

Sinister Wisdom initiated virtual gatherings via zoom when the Covid-19 pandemic began and continued to organize events large and small to bring together our communities during the pandemic and beyond. Launch events, coinciding with each new issue of Sinister Wisdom, provide the foundation of the zoom events organized by Sinister Wisdom. These events profile the issue and gather writers to discuss and celebrate there work. During the past year, Sinister Wisdom also sponsored a number of other events, some with community partners like Charis Books & More and the Lesbian Herstory Archives. Other events included open mic readings and a book club. Casey Catherine Moore coordinated a series of monthly writing workshops; a lovely community of writers joined in those events. Our goal with all of our zoom programs is to bring the community together to celebrate lesbian literature and lesbian lives.

Here are a few images from events we were proud to organize between July 2020 and June 2021:

Summer's Last Gasp Reading

Sinister Wisdom 118: Forty-Five Years / A Tribute to the Lesbian Herstory Archives Launch Event

Featuring Joan Nestle, Deborah Edel, Elana Dykewomon, Lucinda Zoe, Linda McKinney, Morgan Gwenwald, Stefani Echeverria-Fenn, Representatives of Little Rainbows: Alexis Clements, with Catalina Schliebener, Ellen Baxt, Luciana Pinchiero, and Elvis Bakaitis. Hosted by Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz with visuals and hellos from LHA Coordinators past and present. Co-sponsored by the Lesbian Herstory Archives, CLAGS: Center for LGBTQ Studies, and the NYU Division of Libraries.

Joan Nestle Tribute Event

Sinister Wisdom 119 Launch Event featuring readings by Elana Dykewomon, Bonnie S. Kaplan, Judith Katz, Irena Klepfisz, R.D. Landau, Dr. Yael Mishali, Ellen Rifkin, Mira Schlosberg, Amy Horowitz, and Tova:

A Tribute to Irena Klepfisz in conversation with Rachel Levitsky

Sinister Wisdom 120: Asian Lesbians Launch Event

The full list of events is available at www.sinisterwisdom.org/events, including our past events and upcoming events. I would love to have you join us for events of interest. We also have an active YouTube channel where you can see recordings of past events.

Given our vibrant publications and active slate of community events, our beloved lesbian community supported Sinister Wisdom in unprecedented ways. We are honored that 2021 is our best fundraising year to date. In total, Sinister Wisdom raised over $112,000, which included a substantial contribution from a bequest. Sinister Wisdom has three sources of income: subscriptions, sales, and donations. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, Sinister Wisdom received about $34,000 from subscriptions, $18,800 from sales, and over $47,000 in donations. Sinister Wisdom's expenses are in six categories: Postage, Printing, Production, Promotion, Office, and Organization; expenditures in those categories are detailed in the financial statement below. A full statement of revenue and expenses for the organization as of June 30, 2021, the end of our fiscal year, is attached.

This year is already off to a strong start with our publication of the new book by Judy Grahn, Sinister Wisdom 121: Eruptions of Inanna, and Sinister Wisdom 122: Writing Communities. We have great programs planned for the full year and lots of great issues in the pipeline. It is an enormous pleasure to steward Sinister Wisdom at this time in her life. We are building on the foundation of lesbians who founded and nurtured Sinister Wisdom and imagining a future where she continues to thrive and bring light, passion, and power to lesbian literature and art.

Thank you for all your support for Sinister Wisdom. I am looking forward to reporting to you again in 2022 about all our successes.

In sisterhood,

Julie R. Enszer, PhD
Editor and Publisher, Sinister Wisdom