In 2021, the highs were high (yay, vaccines!), but the lows were particularly low (10 percent rise in violent incidents targeting Asian seniors), along with the horrific murders of six Asian American women in Atlanta. Our mental health repercussions of nearly two years of uncertainty are undeniable, but so is the healing that can be done when coming together and sharing stories. 

So, join us and inoculate yourself against hate with Kaya Press! Donate here. 

For 27 years now, Kaya Press has created space for books and authors from the Asian diaspora and nurtured this growing community of voices. Kaya’s books offer us a way to process the way we live, encourage us to be bolder, build empathy, and fuel our imaginations. This work has always felt important in the face of institutional racism, but this year, it is crucial. Not just to stop hate, but to see each other as human, and listen to each other as we express ourselves.

Kaya continues to face revenue loss in book sales. Due to the continuing pandemic, we were unable once again to hand-sell our titles at public events and connect with so many of you face-to-face. But we continue to persevere towards publishing the most exciting work that we encounter, and the best way to do that is with stability. Also, with your support this year, we want to expand our work to become even more diasporic, and put more resources towards building a new generation of critical and creative thinkers. 

Even with challenges, 2021 was one of Kaya’s most exciting years:

• South Korean Science Fiction writer Bo-Young Kim’s On the Origin of Species and Other Stories (May 2021), translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Joungmin Lee Comfort, was named to the 2021 National Book Awards Longlist for Translated Literature.

• Ed Lin’s David Tung Can’t Have A Girlfriend Until He Gets Into An Ivy League College was nominated for a CLMP Firecracker Award in Fiction.

• Truong Tran’s hybrid poetry collection book of the other: small in comparison was published on Nov. 9th to great excitement and acclaim. Poet Douglas Kearney wrote: “This book is necessary—terribly so. Yesterday, today, and for the foreseeable future.”

We are asking you to help Kaya Press continue to nurture and support API voices. Donate here!

WHAT YOUR SUPPORT WILL DO

• Connect readers with cutting edge new and classic titles.

• Support Kaya’s diasporic imprints dedicated to Korean and Japanese work in translation, and help us kick off a new South Asian series.

• Build communities of Asian Pacific Islanders around the globe.

• Generate book sales for Asian Pacific Islander writers.

• Host events that unite us for dialogue and dissent.

HELP MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN

Help us survive and thrive by making a donation here and reach our 2021 Fundraising Goal of $30,000! In these uncertain times, monthly donations ensure Kaya’s sustainability and let us focus on our mission. Until the end of 2021, donor Stephen CuUnjieng will match every dollar you donate to Kaya Press — doubling your support!

Plus, once you donate to us, you become a permanent member of our mailing list, and we’ll send you fun Kaya merch and other presents all year long.

We ask for your support today to help nurture Asian Pacific Islander voices everywhere, by bringing our stories and perspectives to the forefront.

In solace and solidarity.

Kaya Press