Shaved Ice Collective is a literary magazine imprint of Collections of Transience, a 501c3 nonprofit. Here, we look for the esoteric, the weird, the experimental, the strange, the ephemeral, and the transient. We believe that “shaved ice” embodies the main types of pieces we look for. We want pieces that linger in our memories like the first bite of shaved ice on a hot summer’s day, that can only be told in the context of our current culture and time. We also want pieces that challenge the status quo of our current time and culture–that shaves layers of ice off the systems and structures that have frozen us from envisioning and materializing a better future. 

 

We’re dedicated to beautiful language and odd plots, experimental forms, and surprising twists like how ice can transform into and from multiple states of matter. More than that, we want to give voice to people of color who have historically been confined to the margins or excluded from traditional publishing, who understand that identity is not singular or static but rather full of transient intersections. We want to give these people another avenue to break through the ice that traditional publishing has so often sculpted.