Cosmic Q Publishing: A Stellar Zine Micro-Press for ‘Queers of the Cosmos’
Specializing in publishing queer, transgender, and neurodivergent artists, Cosmic Q Publishing offers stellar publications to the Las Vegas community. Also creating community space for poets, this zine micro-press publisher provides local creatives a platform to share their work.
“We publish for those ‘Queers of the Cosmos,’” said Elizabeth Allen Berry, spoken word performer, zine queen, and founder of Cosmic Q Publishing. While Berry published zines about a year prior, Cosmic Q Publishing launched in August of 2022, with 25 publications thus far. The zine celebrated its first-anniversary last year by attending the San Francisco Zine Fest.
“Most of my catalog right now is poetry. Some of the pieces are my own, and some are by others,” they said. “Cosmic Q usually publishes stories of reclamation of power, being able to own who you are, what it is you do, what it is you’re doing for the world, and being able to stand in front of a room and speak that. That’s why I find poetry to be such a potent form of art; there can be a hidden meaning, but you can understand the power of the poet.”
The zine micro-press “specializes in limited edition zines, merch, and books for Queer, Transgender, and Neurodivergent individuals.” It publishes as content becomes available, with special release parties and events to coincide with those launches.
“With my book, [‘Becoming the Void Walker’], we went to the Fat Cat jazz lounge for the book’s release,” Elizabeth said. Cosmic Q Publishing partnered with AvantPop Books for The Compendium Volumes 1 and 2 launch events.
Creating a Zine
Publishing a zine consists of multiple steps. Elizabeth Allen Berry went through the process of publishing one of their own pieces.
“I usually start by finding the complete story, and once I feel I have a beginning and end, a hero’s arc, if you will, of the story, I can start conceptualizing it. A lot of the time, I try to lay it out in Adobe InDesign or Illustrator,” they said. “Because they’re so short, I find it easy to flush it out and do the illustrations as they come. Like, ‘this poem or art goes here,’ or ‘I have the perfect art for here.’”
Once they feel it’s laid out correctly, Elizabeth creates rough drafts to visualize the completed product.
“I check if it sits on the page right, I’m mindful of how it prints out, and so on. And then it’s about packaging after it’s complete,” they said. “I either use a little piece of embroidery thread to wrap it up, a custom envelope, or Cosmic Q Plastic sleeves. After that, it’s about curating the marketing of it.”
This final process involves selecting a publication release date, marketing the drop for it, organizing an event around it, and ensuring people have time to ‘save the date’ for an event.
Getting Published with Cosmic Q Publishing
Elizabeth spoke about finding the people who want to publish with Cosmic Q.
“I often find people through my engagement with the community. A lot of the people I partner with are people who have a vision of how to engage a certain group of people or make artwork in a very unique way,” they said.
Elizabeth also shared the publishing process for other creators interested in publishing their work with the zine micro-press. Per the CQP website, those interested have three different ways to collaborate:
- As a Poet, Artist, Photographer, or Creative, Cosmic Q Publishing can help you meet your goals by publishing YOU! Become a published creator for your next event. In addition, we create collaboration publications like the Compendium.
- As an Indy Bookstore or Retail space catering to artist-created products, we offer wholesale opportunities.
- As an Event Space, we offer live collaboration events for poetry, book launches, workshops, and community connections.
Elizabeth added that the first option includes people being featured artists in limited edition zines and creating a unique product. Moreover, with the wholesale option, they emphasized that they seek out businesses looking to create a collection of local artists where people can buy their work. For the event option, they said, “If you have a specific space or connection to put on an event, we want to help curate it and combine a zine with it.”
Elizabeth said that they do not charge a buy-in for creators who want their work included in a publication.
“As a publisher, the relationship we want to create is like a friendship, a community connection,” they said. We want to support artists in making money themselves, and I want to give that feeling of excitement to others.”
Upcoming and Recent Collaborations and Projects
Elizabeth then shared a little about some upcoming projects they are working on with local creatives.
“There are two people I’m working with close to the end of their projects. One is with Rick Writes for an event at the Red Rock Amphitheater. He’ll be releasing his first solo publication, ‘Silence Says a Lot,’ in May,” they said. “He’s a local poet who opened for my book release. He sends a chill down your spine with his poetry.”
Last night, Elizabeth hosted an event with The Secret Poet, “The ‘Teller of Secrets.'”
“She’s a wonderful local poet who published in the first Compendium,” they said. [We did] a companion open mic event with the release on April 30th. …Cosmic Q is making space for all types of poetry, even the soft stuff we write to empower ourselves.”
Elizabeth is also working on a zine they partnered with local film company La Casa Pielroja. “We have produced two short films together that you can watch on their YouTube page,” they said.
One of those projects is a 15-20-minute film called ‘Worth’ that they’re currently working on and will premiere in June.
“This is a slice-of-life film with an audio recording of me reading a poem I wrote. It’s an acrostic poem for the five letters of ‘Worth,’” Elizabeth said.
Inspiration Behind Cosmic Q Publishing
As a multi-dimensional performer, including playing the electric violin while reading poetry, Elizabeth Allen Berry strived to reach their audience in new ways. Subsequently, they felt inspired to start their own publishing company and created Cosmic Q Publishing, desiring to extend their connection with audiences post-performance.
“As a performer, I wanted to leave the audience with more than just the performance and what I was experiencing and feeling,” they said. “Part of what I do on stage is create spells, so I started by wanting to create little spell books.”
Moreover, Elizabeth explained that getting their work on people’s bookshelves further engages the community.
“It helps fuel me and support my dreams,” they said. “It’s an important exchange. I’m a performer and want to make a living performing, particularly with poetry.”
Challenges of Starting a Publishing Company
Starting any business from the ground up is difficult; creating a publishing company is no exception. Elizabeth Allen Berry shared about the things they overcame to do just that.
“Just having to pioneer a publishing company and even understanding what that means is the most difficult part,” they said. “And being able to create that community, understand what you are doing, and get your foot in that door, particularly in Vegas, is a lot of figuring out who does what and where to go.”
Now that the company has been operational for almost two years, Elizabeth’s new challenges are related to running a business in general.
“I have to balance business while dealing with burnout,” they said. “I feel like I’m a burnout coach to all my friends.”
Elizabeth then spoke about the importance of rest, mental health, and reminding people to take care of themselves to continue doing what they do.
“You can’t pour from an empty cup. You have to refill your own glass.”
Shooting for the Stars
As Cosmic Q Publishing approaches its second anniversary this August, Elizabeth has several goals in mind.
“Through the Nevada Arts Council, I got 444 copies of my book published, and I want to sell that out. So we’re planning on doing a run for that,” they said, adding they want to work on publishing more in general. “Last year, I published almost 20 artists through post, through the Compendium Volumes 1 and 2, and other small publications.”
Elizabeth also said they’d like to create more glue-bound books and larger format publications.
“Looking forward is just volume,” they said. “We are also working to distribute to more bookstores, especially in CA, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City.
‘Becoming the Void Walker’
Elizabeth Allen Berry recently released their book, ‘Becoming the Void Walker,’ in November 2023. They shared a bit about what that was like.
“It was an incredible experience; I had to learn Adobe InDesign, which has the highest page count, and I had to learn how to make covers, a spine, and ISBNs,” they said. “On a technical aspect, the number of projects I took on was overwhelming. As far as a community endeavor, it was one of the most relieving and awesome experiences I’ve had as an artist.”
Elizabeth shared that they made the show announcement at their favorite open mic, Camp Fire LV. They showcased the first 15 minutes of their performance and had preorders for the book.
“The night of the release was utterly awe-inspiring. It was so cool to see the community show up for me, and incredible to see how many people who’ve bought my book and visited my website,” they said. “So many people came from out of town to see my book performance. Even people from my previous lives showed up to support me, like old friends and mentors from college. They said, ‘You’re doing it; let us support you!’”
(Article continues after the ad)
Please follow our fantastic site sponsors! They make content like this possible! 🙂
Cosmic Q Publishing in the Community
Cosmic Q Publishing works with local partners in the community both for their work and to support causes they care for.
For much of their publishing work, Elizabeth said that AvantPop Books sells most of their work and that they frequently partner for events like poetry readings and workshops.
They added, “We also partner with Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth. I like to help create a safe space for people going through a lot to craft. That’s the most beautiful thing I can give anyone: peace of mind for an hour of escape and creation.”
Helping people see new perspectives is also one of Elizabeth’s favorite parts of their work.
“I love showing people parts of themselves that they didn’t know existed. Me as an existence is a revolution, as a queer person and a six-foot-two alien. As is my work and my art, both physical and through my other mediums. I change the way that people see the world.”
Elizabeth Allen Berry’s Advice to Other Creatives
Elizabeth offered some advice to up-and-coming artists, writers, poets, and other creatives.
“We can never understand how long it will take for our work to come to fruition because it will take a very long time. All of us are artists who see the future, so it feels immediate that we can achieve things right away. And that discrepancy is what causes burnout,” they said. They then equated it to artists not realizing they’re at the foot of Mt. Everest, rushing to reach the top.
“Give yourself time and space to play. Be consistent, but enjoy yourself,” Elizabeth said. “If you’re not having fun, it’s not art anymore. Remember, you can only do so much in a day.”
Elizabeth also shared that “the tools you have are all you need.”
“Yes, we all want to get the new shiny thing, but if you have art supplies, use all of them,” they said. “The first work is always the best. My book has the first poem I ever wrote in it. So remember to slow down.”
#GetinMotion with Cosmic Q Publishing
Following and Interacting
Elizabeth Allen Berry shared multiple ways people can support Cosmic Q Publishing.
“Following us and engaging with content is helpful. So is telling people about us. If you have a queer person that needs safety and space, tell them that we exist,” they said. “As someone who came out as trans in Wyoming, feeling silenced and erased is not something that makes you want to feel alive. Just sharing that there’s a poetry thing exclusively for queer people makes a difference.”
Follow Cosmic Q on Instagram and Facebook to see the latest events, zines, and videos featuring artists, as well as exclusive footage and behind-the-scenes magic.
Buy Zines and Merch
To purchase Cosmic Q publications and other merchandise, visit their website, visit one of the physical locations selling their work, like AvantPop Bookstore, or visit them at an event. In addition to zines, they sell pronoun pins with ‘She/Her,’ ‘He/Him,’ ‘They/Them,’ ‘She/They,’ ‘He/They,’ and ‘All Pronouns’ options. And they sell stickers and ‘Queer as the Cosmos’ tote bags.
Attend Events
With April being National Poetry Month, Elizabeth has been busy the past few weeks. They just vended at Beyond the Neon Poetry Festival at UnCommons on April 21 and taught a Bibliomancy Workshop at AvantPop Bookstore! Cosmic Q Publishing just cohosted an event on April 30th from 7-9 PM, teaming up with The Secret Poet for her first solo publication. They hosted a secret open mic night and zine release show at a secret location.
“‘Sin Miedo’ is a minizine that contains poetry and art sharing The Secret Poet’s experience with not waiting for death to live her truest life. Preorder the zine for the exact location in Downtown Las Vegas of this secret open mic. Do you want to get on the mic? The secret poet will drop prompts and hints about the location leading up to the event! Share your poems and join in the secret sharing.” [CQP event post].
People were encouraged to write and share a poem based on the prompt, “Is there a secret aspect of your life that you’ve been keeping from others?” and DM it to The Secret Poet to receive the address of the event.
Looking forward, June is Pride Month and a huge month for Elizabeth’s performances. Catch her June 2 at the BTN Poetry Showcase down at UnCommons, June 3 at Red Dwarf for Doomed Poetry, June 15 performing at a Black Sheep booking event at Fergusons Downtown, and June 29 at the Utah Arts Festival in Salt Lake City.
Reach Out to Collaborate
Lastly, Elizabeth said that they encourage people to reach out to work with Coscmic Q Publishing. To collaborate with the publisher, contact them here or send a DM.
“We’re also a collective of information. If you have a project you have started and need advice on how to move forward or need a fellow artist to help you, I want to be able to share my world with you and share how to build better,” they said. “The only reason I’m here is because I had people who did that for me.”
Thank you to our supporters and sponsors!
Our magazine is reader-supported! If you enjoyed our content, please join our Patreon community!
As always, we want to thank our Patreon ‘Cultivator’ supporters and sponsors who help make content like this possible.
The following Patron(s) supported the production of this article:
Crystal Gropp
The following sponsors supported the production of this article:
Viva La Compost
