Astra 1: Ecstasy

"Astra is like a gorgeously curated jewel-box you can't wait to unpack. Inside is one marvel after another: living, breathing works of art and literature, some rendered in sparkling and loving translation, all overflowing with life and thought and consciousness of a shared moment in a world that has never felt smaller or more rich. There is no other magazine like this." - ELIF BATUMAN, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Possessed, The Idiot, and the forthcoming novel, Either/Or. "Destined to shine brightly in the literary firmament, Astra Magazine is here to remind us that we should always read and write with a joyful disregard for borders of any kind." - HERNAN DIAZ, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of In the Distance and Trust "Astra is the magazine we need right now. It's full of stunning work from a broad range of voices, a magazine both intimate and universal, in the way all good writing is." - NATHAN ENGLANDER, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of For the Relief of Unbearable Urges and What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank "As a writer whose work is often difficult to classify, I am attracted to Astra Magazine's agenda of publishing writers who exist in the "inter," whose writing defies neat categorization. The debut "Ecstasy" issue is stirring in its international orientation & ambitious in its scope and content. " - LAURA LINDSTEDT, Finlandia Prize winning author of Oneiron and My Friend Natalia "Astra Magazine is vital. As an American citizen born outside the US, I am especially attracted to their idea of publishing writing that rejects borders, and that a writer should not, can not, represent an entire country. The first issue allows space for each extraordinary writer to speak only for themselves." - IMBOLO MBUE, Bestselling author of Behold the Dreamers and How Beautiful We Were