In March 2025, it was 10 years since I founded the blog/webzine The Leipzig Glocal (LeipGlo for short). I was teaching and traveling in Vietnam and my mind was too far away to mark the occasion properly. Plus, I had stopped publishing regularly since it became a solo operation in 2024, as I had many parallel responsibilities.
I’ve experienced many ups and downs managing this website for the past decade – periods of intense joy and energy and periods of equally intense burnout. I’m grateful to the scores of people who have contributed to it over time, either as part of the many team configurations LeipGlo has had or as external writers or partners.
But now, as I’m compelled to decide and declare how I’m moving forward with it after 10 years of service to the community, it has become clear to me that I should continue to drive the project on my own.
This is because I’m no longer planning to live in one place or do one activity that defines me. And once one embraces an unmoored lifestyle, it becomes difficult to manage a team for something so deeply community-rooted as a hyperlocal webzine.
Yes, The Leipzig Glocal, despite its name, was hyperlocal. It was local media being produced by cosmopolites. There were travel articles but they had a Leipzig connection the great majority of the time.
As 10 years passed and my life changed in myriad ways, I pondered how the website could still make sense for me, now that I was steering it alone and feeling a bit demotivated. LeipGlo had become so centered on the community’s needs that I forgot to ask what I wanted out of it. So for many years, I was confused and jumping between ideas a lot.
For the past few months, though, a seed has been watered by a burst of creativity, old and new memories made abroad, and discomfort with current world events – the urgent desire to publish books and reach new audiences.
That has long been a dream of mine, and I did get a book published with a well-established press in academia back in 2020 (here you have it in open access). However, I’ve gotten tired of waiting for gatekeepers’ permission to release my creative works out in the world, beyond the sphere of a hyperlocal blog.
So I’m writing this article for the double purpose of quietly commemorating the 10 years of LeipGlo and letting you know I’m making it into a micro-press. I’m modifying the brand’s name to Leipzig Glocal Publishing and launching it in beta phase. This means that at first I’ll be publishing my own print and e-books to test the waters. Later, if it goes well, the imprint could expand to publishing other people’s books, as well as my own and others’ multimedia and even music – another passion of mine.
I’ve given the site a small makeover to reflect this, but to the LeipGlo fans who may still remain, don’t worry: You can still find 10 years of articles and your favorite services pages on it.
Up on the top menu, the arrow next to “Leipzig Pages” leads to the local “Doctors,” “Movies,” and “Museums” pages. Adjacent to that heading are the events calendar and the jobs list. The arrow next to the “Archives” heading leads to our most popular article categories from the past. Finally, the new “Poetry” heading represents the future, because it’s one of the categories LeipGlo.com will be focusing on.
This leads me to perhaps the most important change, as far as readers and external contributors are concerned: The website won’t cover local news anymore. You’re highly encouraged to post your events on the community calendar, and not only if you’re in the Leipzig area, as I’m opening it up to other communities. But if you want to write for the website, currently I’m only accepting poetry, short stories, book or music reviews, or fiction or non-fiction book excerpts. These are more on-brand for a (possibly multimedia) publishing imprint and shouldn’t require immediate action on my part, which is more in line with my current energy and time allotment.
I’ll be sure to let you know here once my first book with Leipzig Glocal Publishing is available, and about any expansion plans, and hope you’ll stick around for this next phase of LeipGlo.
Thank you for visiting the website and reading this far. Thank you for your enthusiasm and support for the past 10 years. Let’s raise a virtual glass together to passion-driven ideas and whatever the future may bring.
Sincerely,
Ana
