About

Desire Lines are natural pathways that humans and other animals create as they leave behind established routes to follow their longings — seeking the edges of a clear glacial stream, a skyline of sharp granite pinnacles, a flash of dawn light across a distant horizon, or the glow of some hidden, luminous vision within their minds. Such lines exist in mountain literature, too, and as British poet Helen Mort recounts in A Line Above the Sky, part of their allure is their ability to chart alternate ways, defying the guidelines and assumptions of dominant authorities.  

Desire Lines Collective is a nonprofit organization, composed of experienced writers and editors who are committed to promoting new literary movements in the mountains. Through workshops, community events, mentoring, professional advice, and other resources for emerging writers, we will strive to support women, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming storytellers as they seek their own paths — or retrace those of ancestors — through unbounded ranges of high peaks and wild minds. 

And through online stories and print journal, we will share and amplify their stories, helping them transform mountain literature into a more diverse, more experimental, and more imaginative genre. 

You can read our first newsletter here.

We Believe In

• We believe in fostering communities where women, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people feel safe taking imaginative risks.
• We believe in the sacred trust of mentorship and in assisting writers with their long-term goals.
• We believe in sharing knowledge about the craft and business of writing as a means to break down barriers and subvert gatekeeping.
• We believe in the necessity of decolonization and in the importance of amplifying Indigenous voices and supporting Indigenous rights.
• We reject old forms of narrative that envision mountains as something to be conquered, that reduce them to mere playgrounds for the privileged, or that fixate solely on summits. Instead, we support more harmonious and sustainable approaches to the whole of mountain ecosystems, including all the human and more-than-human communities that dwell there.
• And we believe in supporting — rather than competing with — other publications and organizations that share similar visions and values.

“I strongly feel the need for inclusive literature from mountain communities that have their own languages and dialects, their grammar and traditions…particularly when referring to myths, rituals, and relationships with the mountains.”

- Desire Lines Board member Nandini Purandare, editor-in-chief of The Himalayan Journal

Founding Editors

The idea for Desire Lines began in February 2024, a time when three of us — Rosie Bates, Holly Chen, and Katie Ives — gathered to teach a workshop for women, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming writers at the Women Up Climbing Festival in Los Angeles. We'd felt inspired by the rise of underrepresented storytellers who were launching a new age of rigorous honesty, artistic experimentation, and daring creativity.

In 2025 writers Natalie Berry and Juliet Kennedy joined our quest. Together, we believe that great literature can respond to the current crises and that mountain stories can help navigate uncertainty and inspire resistance. Out of the stewardship and love that adventurers can learn to practice in the wild, visions of a better future can arise.

Rosie Bates (She/Her) | Executive Director

Rosie Bates has been involved in the climbing industry for nearly twenty years as a competitor, a US Youth National Team Coach, and USAC L4 routesetter. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Fresno State in 2023, and her essays about climbing have appeared in Alpinist, Sport Literate, and Glassworks Magazine. She is drawn to writing that explores the complicated and curious relationship between our bodies and the outdoors, and she believes that storytelling in all forms is a powerful tool for reimagining how we move (and have moved) through wild spaces.

Follow: @rosierbates

Natalie Berry (She/Her) | Editorial Director (Newsletter & Online)

Natalie Berry is a freelance journalist with work in The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic, Alpinist, and more. She is also a translator with three published book projects alongside commercial and editorial work. She was previously editor-in-chief at UKClimbing.com. Her writing was included in the Notables list for the Best American Essays 2020 anthology. She served as a jury member for the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature and the Banff Mountain Book Festival competition. She seeks stories that go beyond pure sports reporting to challenge conventional narratives and tackle difficult topics.

Follow: @natalie.a.berry

Holly Yu Tung Chen (She/Her) | Art Director

Routesetter and adventure journalist Holly Yu Tung Chen is a former Sharp End Publishing editorial designer who now hosts and produces the Impact Driver Podcast and contributes to outlets such as Alpinist, Climbing Business Journal, Climbing, Ascent, and The Himalayan Journal. Her writing has been shortlisted by the International Sports Press Foundation, and she has received the Bertha N. Melkonian Award for Undergraduate Research at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 2025 she completed a graduate degree in journalism at New York University. As a longtime climber, she doesn’t feel that she has "conquered" any peaks; instead, she experiences joy and creativity among them.

Follow: @holly.ytchen

Katie Ives (She/They) | Editorial Director (Print & Workshops)

A graduate of the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop and the Banff Mountain and Wilderness Writing program, a recipient of the H. Adams Carter Literary Award, and former editor-in-chief of Alpinist, Katie Ives has written for The New York Times, Outside, and Adventure Journal, as well as many other outlets. Her book Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams earned a Special Jury Mention at the Banff Mountain Book Festival in 2022, and one of her Himalayan Journal articles was a finalist for the Mountaineering Article Award in 2025. Katie is committed to supporting emerging storytellers, particularly those with less access to formal writing instruction.

Follow: @katie_r_ives

Juliet Kennedy (She/Her) | Marketing Director

A writer, artist, photographer, and marketing consultant, Juliet Kennedy works closely with Chambers of Commerce to support small businesses, promote sustainable tourism, and celebrate the distinct character of rural communities. Her work has been featured in Forbes, The Seattle Times, Cascade Loop, Scenic Washington, Explore Washington State, and other publications. She lives in a remote, unincorporated community in Washington State along the banks of the Methow River, at the eastern gateway to North Cascades National Park. Surrounded by vast, rugged landscapes, she draws daily inspiration from the mountains, rivers, and intricacies of the natural world.

Follow: @ruralvalleylife