Staunch Is Moving Home
Walking what we talk
We’re writing to let readers and subscribers know that Staunch will no longer be publishing on Substack.
From here on, all Staunch essays, statements, and analysis will live at
https://awesomeblack.studio/staunch
First and foremost: thank you.
The readership, support, and engagement Staunch has received so far has been deeply appreciated. It has affirmed something we already knew but needed to see reflected back — there is a real appetite for hard-hitting Blak political thought, cultural critique, theory, and work that does not soften itself for comfort.
When we first launched Staunch, we made a deliberate decision to keep this work slightly removed from the core public-facing identity of Awesome Black. At the time, that distance felt strategic.
We’ve since realised that if we are serious about what we publish, what we stand for, and what we ask of others — then we need to walk what we talk.
Staunch is now a core part of Awesome Black’s identity.
It is our publishing arm.
Going forward, Awesome Black’s editorial, curatorial work, and cultural programming will sit alongside — and be informed by — the heavy Blak thought that Staunch exists to platform: political writing, theory, analysis, critique, and calls to action, published from the centre rather than the margins.
As part of this shift, Staunch will no longer operate on a subscription model.
We are growing it as a completely free-to-read online platform, accessible to anyone who needs this work.
If you would still like to receive Staunch posts in email you can sign up for the Awesome Black email list - we’ll email out Staunch wrap ups and highlights on the regular.
We are also actively looking for new contributors.
If you have an idea, a line of inquiry, or a piece of writing you want to develop, we welcome pitches. Please email a short outline and a few lines about your proposed work to:
staunch@awesomeblack.studio
All accepted pitches are paid for publication. We do not ask for free labour from our contributors.
Our latest Staunch piece is already live on the new site — the Gamilaroi Declaration — and we encourage you to read and share it:
https://awesomeblack.studio/post/gamilaroi-declaration
We’ll be sunsetting the Substack in the first week of January, once all existing essays have been migrated across.
If you would still like to financially support Staunch and the broader work of Awesome Black, you can do so via the Awesome Black Foundation’s current fundraising campaign for the Voices Rising Fund:
https://artists.australianculturalfund.org.au/s/project/a2EMn00000Q3FMvMAN/voices-rising-2526-fundraiser
Thank you again for reading, thinking with us, and backing this work.
Travis De Vries
Commissioning Editor, Staunch
Founder, Awesome Black+