Bodega was founded in New York City in 2012 and published its final issue in August of 2025. 

For 13 years, we published an issue on the first Monday of every (ok, almost every) month. It’s designed to be something you can read in one sitting—or one subway commute. Each issue features a few pieces of short poetry, fiction, and sometimes nonfiction from emerging and established writers. Just like our favorite bodegas, this was a place you could return to often, get what you need quickly, and feel a little sense of community. And maybe even pet a (metaphorical) cat. 

It was our great honor to be the first publication for a lot of writers. And over our 150 issues, we’ve featured more than 630 people. It’s important to us that these pieces stay accessible, so our plan is to keep this archive up. We won’t say “forever,” but as close to it as we can get.

And now, a litany of gratitude:

Thank you to everyone who sent us work.

Thank you to everyone who read our issues. 

Thank you to the people who donated to keep the lights on and to help us pay the writers we published.  

Thank you to the readers, editors, and interns who have lent their support and expertise throughout the years. 

Thank you to our founding masthead: Emily X.R. Pan, Cat Richardson, Lizzie Harris, Amy Meng, Ben Purkert, Julie Buntin, Maura Roosevelt, and Melissa Swantkowski. 

Thank you to Loren for building us a website from scratch.

Thank you also to Fractured Atlas, CLMP, and NYSCA for the advice, grants, and support.

Who knows what we’ll do next, but we’re so happy to have had Bodega.

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