Hoes for Prose

Hoes For Prose was a Brooklyn-based literary community founded in March 2024 by Elise Young and Robby Burchit. In under a year, it grew to 1,600 members, running poetry workshops, monthly book clubs, film screenings, zine publications, and bookbinding events — all on a donation-based model, because the belief was simple: whoever wants to connect over literature in the world's most expensive city should be able to.

The group hosted collaborations with L’Appartement 4F and Selva in Brooklyn, Bushwick. Young led writing and book-binding workshops, published a member-driven zine, and collaborated with author Santiago Sanchez, finalist for the New York Public LibraryYoung Lions Fiction Award, on the paperback launch of Hombrecito.

From a merch campaign in which Young shot on film herself to a one-year disco celebration, the photographs here document a fraction of moments where strangers become friends. Where words on a page became something warmer.

Instagram disabled the account in early 2025 after months of dispute. The two cofounders hope to continue to publish the zine, and have plans to continue the community in a digitally native way.