Meet Heather Goodrich | Editorial Director & Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heather Goodrich and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Gesture Press & Journal’s genesis was a response to consistently closed doors in academia and publishing for emerging writers and especially women writers.

Instead of festering in frustration, I decided to create a feminist space for writing. I had the power to change, and I did so by creating Gesture. That was in 2011, during the end of my first year at graduate school, and Gesture has been going strong ever since.

With our meager capital, we began publishing journals in print or online and that evolved into chapbooks and now into books. Maybe one day we’ll publish journals again, maybe not. It is important to take up space, so we recently added merch (i.e., Punk as Fuck Feminist stickers, shirts, hoodies). Our publishing focus is on adding audio books and e-books for our current catalog. I’m excited to see where that takes us.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
What I am most proud of is the feminist community growing among the authors, artists, and readers of Gesture. That is what it is all about.

Gesture is my dream come to life. I believe in finding feasible ways to get writing into the world that doesn’t bankrupt my principles or pocketbook. Running a “traditional press” requires capital up front and upon return. I believe in the work of Gesture authors, and I do my best to get their work into throughout the lifespan of their book (not just the launch).

The second part of the question on “overcoming challenges” is intriguing because it imposes the narrative arc where an event happens, conflict ensures, tensions rise until the bursting climax, followed by the post-climax tidy up, and finally a resolved ending. Ta da. Well, not ta da. That has never been mine or Gesture’s narrative because it is limiting and phallocentric. That doesn’t fit me.

What does fit and interest me is experimenting. When a path doesn’t work or exist – I make a new one! Or two, or three, or however many I need to make. If something doesn’t work for me, I don’t do it. Options are limitless, especially when I don’t confine myself to someone else’s narrative, process, or “should’s”. Might not be for everyone, but it is fulfilling for me to find feasible ways to get feminist writing into the world.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Just off the plane, go to The Shop at MATTER in Denver to buy books! Next, go to Music City Hot Chicken at TRVE Brewing for a Nashville hot chicken sando and brews. Finally, catch a concert at my favorite venue, The Bluebird Theater.

Next day, go to Fort Collins to walk around the dreamy CSU campus with my husky, Fiona, then go buy more books (and also coffee) from our buddies at Wolverine Farm Publick House. For food, go to The Farmhouse at Jessup Farm and get the Goat Cheese Caprese and Mushroom Bolognese.

Final day, get hot green chile breakfast burritos from Santiago’s. Spend the day walking around Nederland or Jamestown. Grab a cocktail at the Bitter Bar in Boulder. Finally, end the night at East Window Gallery to experience a fabulous exhibit or event like FRAME – A Literary Salon curated by Toni Oswald & Sarah Elizabeth Schantz (a.k.a. The Literary Ladies).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Gesture is a feminist community of people who love and nurture writing, writers, and the weird nutrients of our writing. We are mostly in the Front Range of Colorado and have also spread across the US and Europe. Shout out to the punk as fuck feminists.

Shout out to the Gesture authors & artists who I have the immense privilege to work closely with: Sarah Elizabeth Schantz, Toni Oswald, Kelsey Martin, Caitlin Alesandra, Jade Lascelles, Kika Dorsey, Ariella Ruth, Matt Wedlock, and Kristen Park. Thank you for trusting Gesture with your beautiful work!

Over these 13 years (oof, has it really been that long?!), our staff has cycled, and I want to shout out each of them for playing a distinct role in evolving Gesture: Lindsay King-Miller, Ian Rummell, Rebecca Howard, Brenna Lee, Kara Miller, Sally Seck, and Ellie Swensson. Shout out to Jenny Fischer for helping us with early design work! And a very special thank you to HR Hegnauer for her design work on several projects with us!

Shout out to the (W)rites of Passage community, led by Sarah Elizabeth Schantz, thank you Sarah and every writer there for your exquisite presence, genius, and generosity. Shout out to those who give emerging writers and women a space in the world, and specifically in the Front Range: East Window Gallery, Counterpath, (W)rites of Passage, The Shop at MATTER, Wolverine Farm Publick House, Denver Small Press Fest, Leon Gallery, and the Indie Author & Press Book Fair. Shout out to Ms. Holcomb, my 2nd grade teacher who showed me the magic of poetry and hosted my very first poetry reading. Shout out to the artists in my orbit: Jade Lascelles, Emily Frances Black, Stephanie Hempel, Sarah Elizabeth Schantz, Toni Oswald, Kika Dorsey, Hillary Leftwich, Max Davies, Todd Edward Herman, Jay Halsey, Elle Nash, and Ctch Business. Shout out to Silvia Federici: Your work gives me life, and I would love to interview you as soon as humanly possible. And my final shout out is for Craig and Fiona, you’re my world and I love you.

Website: https://www.gesturepressandjournal.com

Instagram: @apresscalledgesture