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Desirelinescollective.org

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Our Mission

Desire Lines Collective is dedicated to elevating women, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming writers of mountain literature, offering a home for underrepresented storytellers seeking to push the creative boundaries of the genre.

We are a movement.

A defiance of the colonial narratives that overshadow outdoor culture. A platform for gritty, alternative stories left out of glossy expedition recaps and heroic conquest tales. A call for greater empathy toward all members of mountain communities, both human and more-than-human. A crucible for literary innovation. An eruption of unfettered visions that challenge ideas of what adventure can be.

Our Programs

Your donations will directly support the fair payment of our contributors, the creation of new and innovative workshops, the publication of our first print journal, and importantly, our mission of elevating underrepresented storytellers. In alignment with our mission Desire Lines Collective programs will include the following:

Print Journal (Spring 2027)

Desire Lines’ annual print journal will feature some of the most imaginative women, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming mountain writers, photographers, and artists emerging today. The design will be at once clean, elegant, and avant-garde. Each issue will be printed in color on high-quality paper, giving the aesthetic and feel of a collectible work of art. With only a few full-page ads from companies aligned with our values—and no sponsored content—the journal will represent a platform for fully independent creative and critical thinking.

Newsletter and Website

In addition to hosting some of the most compelling content from the print journal, our newsletter and website will provide regular inspiration and support for writers, artists, and photographers seeking opportunities to encounter new ideas, to hone their craft, to get published, and to find community. The newsletter’s content will be archived on the website, where readers will also be able to find answers to frequently asked questions and information about submissions and subscription, as well as an events calendar, along with other resources.

Workshops and Events

We will host virtual and in-person mountain storytelling workshops, talks, and panel discussions, as well as pop-up events at outdoor festivals and literary gatherings designed to provide support, inspiration, and community for women, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming mountain writers, artists, and photographers.

Why Now?

The idea for Desire Lines began in February 2024, a time when three of us—Rosie Bates, Holly Chen, and Katie Ives—gathered to teach a workshop for women, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming writers at the Women Up Climbing Festival in Los Angeles. We’d felt inspired by the rise of underrepresented storytellers who were launching a new age of rigorous honesty, artistic experimentation, and daring creativity. As experienced adventure writers, we longed to do more to support this movement, and we hoped to offer mentorship to writers who were joining it.

During the workshop, we were astounded by the power of the solidarity and support that formed among our students and by the boldly imaginative work they created together. We witnessed the unique strength and imagination that emerges from the margins of mountain literature: an ability to see beyond assumptions that can transform not only outdoor writing, but how humans envision themselves and their roles in the world.

Since then, the election of Donald Trump has fueled a backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion, while hindering efforts to protect public lands and to mitigate climate change in the United States. More than ever, we need to amplify the voices of those at risk of being silenced. And we need to listen to those who can speak of encounters with nature in alternative ways—not of conquest, dominion, and exploitation, but of empathy, communion, and responsibility.

In 2025 writers Natalie Berry and Juliet Kennedy joined our quest. Together, we believe that great literature can respond to the current crises and that mountain stories can help navigate uncertainty and inspire resistance. Out of the stewardship and love that adventurers can learn to practice in the wild, visions of a better future can arise.

Desire Lines Collective is a sponsored project of Mockingbird Incubator with EIN: 83-1987515, a nonprofit organization in the state of California. Contributions on behalf of Desire Lines Collective must be made payable to Mockingbird Incubator and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

We are Desire Lines Collective

Make a tax deductible donation and support a new movement, home, and community hub for mountain writing and art