Better Than Starbucks
Poetry & Fiction Journal
Published quarterly:
Spring (Mar); Summer (Jun); Autumn ( Sep); Winter (Dec)
November 2022
Vol VII No IV
Current Issue (latest)
. . . if you love diversity and creative writing in any and every form, then you’re in the right place
New Issue Coming Soon
Autumn 2026 | Vol 8 No 1
Why donate when it's free?
Because you love poetry and fiction.
Because you've read things here that made you smile, or cry, or think a little differently.
Because it would take you days to read through every page of every issue in the archive and you'd like to know it's there when you finally find time.
Because something here brightened your day, or reached out and touched you.
Because you want to thank all the volunteer staff who pour their hearts into this amazing project by helping to keep this amazing thing going.
Especially because you want to contribute to getting this publication to a place where we can pay contributors what they deserve.
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” T.S. Eliot
Join us.
Supporters
By becoming a Better Than Starbucks Supporter (recurring donation) you can help us grow, and support this venue for poetry and fiction. Give as much or as little as you like, even $5 a month helps and makes a difference.
As a Supporter, your name will be listed in our thanks, however you can also choose to give in a name other than your own. Whether it is in tribute or memory, supply us with the name of a poet, family member, friend, loved one, even a pet, and we will list your contribution in that name. You can also choose to remain anonymous.
You may direct your contribution to a specific category if you wish: free verse, haiku, formal poetry, poetry translations, experimental & form & prose poetry, poetry for children, street view, short form, avant-garde, International poetry, fiction, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, and more.
Endowments & One-Time Donations
We are not, as the Beatles put it, a registered charity, but we are certainly a not-for-profit endeavor. We rely on private donations to keep us running. We do not charge any submission fees or reading fees. We do not believe poets, writers, and artists should have to pay to have their work considered.
The staff is an all volunteer staff. No one is paid. BTS operating costs (publications website, publishing costs, ISBN numbers, payment accounts, transaction fees, and more) are addressed first to keep us running. All remaining funds are used to pay contributors for their amazing works. We feel that poets and writers should be paid.
If you would like to help, your one-time donation would be most appreciated. Even a $5, $10, $25, or more, donation, helps us pay for a poem or a short story.
Fund a poetry prize:
First, contact us at betterthanstarbucks2@gmail.com, propose what you would like to do:
Tell us how much you want to pay out for each winner. (Our suggested minimum prize is $25.)
Tell us how you would like set it up: once per year, once per issue, etc.
Define for us what parameters you would like to set for the contest.
Give the contest a name, what would you like to call it? (And yes, you can name it after yourself.)
When the contest/prize is finalized and approved, we will be glad to work with you to determine contest rules, select judges, timelines, etc., and you can fund the prize with the agreed upon donation.
A big thank you to all our supporters, including Lorna Davis, Christine Burbidge, Arthur Powers, Barbara Loots, Dave and Vicki Crocco, Tom Jardine, Janet McCann, Richard Wakefield, Richard Evans, Jane Greer, Pete Mladinic, Barbara Lydecker Crane, Banqobile Virginia Dakamela, Mary Croy, John Riley, David Mallery, Vera Ignatowitsch, DE Navarro, some of our editors, and all those who wish to remain anonymous.
Better Than Starbucks Appreciates You