Colossus began as a writing salon.

We started this group as a creative way to express our fury at the current administration’s callous immigration policy. Since then, it has evolved into a performance project, chapbook, and fundraiser for Bay Area nonprofits.

Our intention is to create a space where we can gather in the spirit of resistance to call out cruelty and support concrete change through fundraising. In 2017, we released the first installment of Colossus, raising money for Freedom for Immigrants through ticket and book sales. In 2020, we released Colossus:Home, our second anthology, to support Moms4Housing and help bring attention to the growing problem of homelessness in the Bay Area and around the world.

The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of hope and freedom throughout the world. As the political weather of our country roils toward fascism, it stands as a reminder that a strong, countervailing spirit pushes back against that narrative of fear. At the foot of the Statue of Liberty lies Emma Lazarus’s sonnet, “The New Colossus.” The words of this poem provide the focal point for our writing.

Colossus Press, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary press.

Editorial Collective for Colossus:Body (Fall 2022)

• Sara Biel

• Rebecca Lee

• Peggy Morrison

• Riley O’Connell

• Elisa Salasin