We nominate for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize.
Persephone’s Daughters is a literary and arts journal for abuse survivors, established in 2015 by author, domestic violence worker, and artist Meggie Royer. The journal is named for Persephone, the Greek goddess of vegetation and the queen of the Underworld, who was abducted by Hades, the King of the Underworld, and separated from her family. This abduction is often referred to as the Rape of Persephone.
Persephone's Daughters recognizes that our name implies a female-only space; however, our journal is open to survivors of all gender identities and we are engaging in conversations about the meaning/significance of our name and potential changes to the name.
The vast majority of our staff and contributors identify as survivors of domestic & sexual violence/exploitation and child abuse, or those with direct personal connections to survivors.
Mission: Persephone's Daughters seeks to uplift the voices of those pursuing peace after trauma, and to provide community and calm through healing art and storytelling.
Vision: Persephone's Daughters strives to unburden the grief and magnify the resilience of survivors in hopes that their wisdom will shape a world free from violence.
Since its inception in 2015, Persephone's Daughters has provided a safe space to several hundred writers and artists from all over the world, and routinely operates a global staff base. Through proceeds from our film division Girls Don’t Cry and print copies of our journal, Persephone's Daughters has to date donated several thousand dollars to organizations around the world focused on issues of domestic & sexual violence, the health & well-being of women of color, and LGBTQ+ survivor advocacy. These organizations include, but are not limited to, StrongHearts Native Helpline, Black Women's Health Imperative, RAINN, The Northwest Network of Bi, Trans, Lesbian, and Gay Survivors of Abuse, and The National Indigenous Women's Resource Center.