Each time a new publication venture begins, the editors offer exciting words about what their magazine will do that no one else is doing. They make it seem like they have developed some amazing innovation only they can offer the world. They are going to change publishing. They are going to break new ground. They are going to revolutionize how and what we read.

This is not that.

I have not reinvented the editorial wheel. I am not disrupting online publishing. I don’t have all the answers.

What I do have is vision. I have a lot of heart. I am ambitious. I am going to capitalize on what I’ve learned after more than a decade of editing and many more years of writing. With Gay Magazine I am creating an online space where writers are afforded the time to produce their best work and the compensation they deserve for that effort. We will publish intelligently provocative work rather than mindlessly provocative work. Representation matters so inclusion is integral to everything we do. We will not tokenize. We will embrace not only diverse writers but diverse voices and aesthetics. Our writers will be supported throughout the publication process. They won’t be expected to cannibalize themselves for clicks. They won’t be abandoned when there is an unexpected critical response. Their work will be treated with an incisive eye and necessary care. We will focus on nurturing talent and publishing work we find compelling and necessary. We will respect our readers’ time and intelligence. We will challenge our readers and ourselves. We will have fun.

Why the name Gay? This magazine represents everything I believe in as an editor and so I am putting my name on this project. Also, as a black woman, it is pretty damn cool to follow in the footsteps of Oprah in a far more modest way, only I will never appear on the cover because there is no cover, and even if there were, I would not choose to grace it with my countenance.

Each week, with the invaluable efforts of Deputy Editor Laura June and Managing Editor Kaitlyn Adams, Gay Magazine will publish writing about the world we live in, how we are shaped by the ways of this world, the political landscape, the culture we consume, and much, much more. Every quarter, Gay Magazine will feature a themed issue that offers deep exploration. The first two issues will dive into pleasure and pain so keep an eye out for those in June and September. And yes, we are accepting submissions.

Until then, enjoy our first two essays — Grace Lavery on the endless allure of new beginnings, and Athena Dixon on making space for herself in a marginalized body.

This is Gay Magazine, culture, provocatively. Welcome to our conversation.