We were lucky to catch up with Chanel Hardy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Chanel , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

My most meaningful project has been The Black Girl Poetry Scrapbook. In 2020 during the start of the pandemic I started my very first magazine platform, Coffee Wine & Words. I started blogging in 2017 not long after I published my first book, and I ran that blog for 3 years but always knew I was meant to do more. While running that blog on Hardy Publications, (my original website) I was creating a space where people could discover more writers and more books from all kinds of diverse backgrounds. Which brings me back to what I consider to be my most meaningful project, ‘The Black Girl Poetry Scrapbook.’ this is an anthology of poetry written by black women and also a contest. Coffee Wine & Words runs this contest anthology once a year, where black women from all over participate. I’ve always had a love for poetry, which I didn’t begin to truly explore until 2019. Now, my focus has become mostly poetry-spoken word, verse and prose, while uplifting the voices of women like me. Black women deserve to be heard, and I didn’t always feel heard throughout my young life. Now, not only do I feel like I have a voice with the magazine and anthology, other women have voices too.

Chanel , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an author and poet born and raised in the Washington D.C. area. Currently living in Las Vegas Nevada I began my writing journey in 2017, publishing my first book ‘My Colorblind Rainbow’ which made the ‘In The Margins Award Long List’ for YA fiction in 2018. (Also one of three books to be recognized by ITMA) I launched Hardy Publications in September of 2017, working as a freelance writer and literary blogger. My freelancing and blogging is what ultimately brought me to start my magazine platform Coffee Wine & Words. While freelancing along with offering writing services, I also offered self-publishing assistance. These services assisted new authors who were struggling to break into the industry with no help. While my self-publishing assistance services have taken a backseat, I am still active as a freelance writer. What I believe sets me apart from others, is that my own experiences have always been my motivation to help people. Whether it be from working with non-profit organizations or my publishing services. The mission of Hardy Publications and Coffee Wine and Words has always been to help others. While we are a diverse platform, we are very Black-focused, as I feel that marginalized voices need the most uplifting. Between Hardy Publications and Coffee Wine & Words, I have produced over a dozen published works, including novels, poetry collections and magazines. I am most proud of my ability to stretch my talents within the literary/arts community and accomplish so much. I truly believe I am making a difference, no matter how small.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

As you know, when the pandemic began, many of us were unemployed and receiving unemployment benefits. With the extra money I received, I used it to start Coffee Wine & Words. The money went to purchasing my website domain, advertising, printing and shipping costs, and also paying my editors and writers. My pandemic unemployment assistance helped me fund two magazine issues. After my pandemic unemployment ended and I went back to work in 2021, I relied on selling ad space in our magazine, and funding the rest out of my own pocket. This includes the Black Girl Poetry Scrapbook anthology. After two magazine issues and one anthology, I decided to apply for a Grant from the Nevada Arts Council, which funded our Winter issue for 2021. Funding a publishing platform is not cheap if you want to do it ethically, so I have had to downsize a bit to cut costs since then. Starting in Fall of 2022, our magazine has gone fully digital and we are no longer doing print copies. However our poetry anthologies will remain in print due to higher demand and artistic quality.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I have two editors, Tiffany Richardson and Jennifer Harris, who have played an important, consistent role in helping me run my magazine platform. Building relationships within the writing, arts and publishing community has always been important to me. I have maintained consistent relationships with most people that I’ve worked with in this industry since I began by being reliable, kind and supportive. From clients, to other poets, to readers, I make sure to leave a positive impact. Being ethical in this industry is highly important when it comes to maintaining high morale. PAY YOUR WRITERS. One of the things that drew people to my magazine when it first began was that I offered payment for pieces. While this is no shade to how anyone else runs their platforms, it is common knowledge that a lot of publications do not offer monetary payment. Which in a few cases is understandable. Promotional offers are not typically paid gigs, and my poetry anthology is a contest in which prizes are given to 3 winners. Those who don’t win receive free copies for participating.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.coffeewinewordsmag.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/coffeewinewordsmag?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chanelhardypub?mibextid=ZbWKwL
• Other: Coffee Wine & Words Poetry Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1rIcR3LRenwcF9udBmPSUG