Soraya [dot] Press is an independent, proudly human-powered publication created by me, Soraya Nadia McDonald, a journalist and critic in Brooklyn, New York. I’ve been a journalist for 20 years, covering film, television, theatre, politics, fashion, art, literature, and sports. For most of my career, I was lucky enough to enjoy the stability of full-time employment. No more. My beloved industry is suffering from historic decline, contraction, and outright destruction. It’s damn near impossible to make a living freelancing for legacy publications—I’ve tried! But I’m tough, resilient, and stubborn–and I was all of those things before surviving breast cancer.
I love experiencing, thinking, and talking about art in all its varied forms. I believe it’s vital to human flourishing, to making and sustaining connection to others and to oneself. Art, like journalism, criticism, and free expression, are essential to maintaining and preserving a functioning democracy, too. It’s too important to abandon them or allow them to wither. So I’m going to continue my work as a culture journalist and critic right here.
Soraya [dot] Press is sustained by paid memberships, and I hope to be able to keep it ad-free. I maintain complete editorial independence, and I do not accept gifts or paid junkets in exchange for coverage of any kind. It’s my pleasure and my privilege to be accountable to you, dear reader, so thank you.