Brett Van Emst, editor and publisher of the online journal Midnight Mind, has organized a week-long tribute to literary magazines for #LitMagWeek. More than 100 publications are joining in, offering such things as reduced prices on printed issues and accounts of how they got their start. The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) is supporting the event.
The objective is straightforward: to remind readers that literary magazines hold much more than they might assume. As Van Emst said to the person who reported on the initiative, “I felt we needed something to showcase all the cutting edge things lit mags are doing.”
N+1’s New Issue
The Brooklyn journal N+1, which traces its origins back to 2004, was founded “in opposition to an intellectual scene that felt disturbingly fragmented,” according to its own masthead. It’s best known for its witty, learned writers and a materialist approach.
Walker Caplan, author, playwright, and co-editor of Joyland magazine, contributes a short story to the new issue. The story centers on an unfulfilled copywriter who has just parted ways with his boss, a man described as having a head shaped like a thumb, known as Mark Uptick. “Attention”
Staffer Cameron Leo called the story “a pioneering entry in the ‘corporate surrealism’ genre.” The issue also includes non-fiction from Mary Turfah and Colin Vanderburg, plus an excerpt from Chad Harbach’s new novel, The Brightness.
Protean’s Eighth Year
Protean is a self-supporting, advertisement-free leftist publication of critical essays, poetry, fiction, and art. It releases reflective and moving writing in its yearly print issue and maintains a constantly refreshed online presence. At eight years old, the journal is establishing a space where sharp, clear, and morally demanding commentary can come together.
The upcoming print edition features new contributions from Hanif Abdurraqib, Ish Ibrahim, and Bayan Haddad. Among the standouts is an essay on the poet-philosopher Friedrich Hölderlin by Kate Wagner, who serves as an architecture critic at The Nation.
Wagner’s argument is that Hölderlin was “a kind of patron saint of disempowered freelancers.”. Her essay examines his mental collapse in the face of world-historical forces, comparing the saint’s fate to her own experience of crisis and unraveling under the pressure of political events.
Print subscribers can expect to receive issues in November.
Toronto Review’s Big Ambition
A new publication called the Toronto Review has launched, and it relies entirely on volunteers. Its purpose is to find promising critics, poets, and writers who can appeal to a fresh audience, with a particular focus on Canadian talent.
The latest issues feature an excerpt from novelist Lucy Ives’ new book, three, six, five. The journal also runs a column on “2SLBTQIA+ aesthetics,” which invites readers to apply theory to prose. Joshua Whitehead’s summer essay on Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick and indigenous literature is an especially exciting entry in that vertical.
Why a Week?
The question is fair. Why dedicate a week to literary magazines?
Van Emst’s reply puts the larger context into focus. This year, an unexpected pairing between dating app culture and American literature was remarked upon. Magazines like AFM—which just put out its new issue—are multiplying, along with popular redesigns and growing subscriptions.
This spring, The Rumpus underwent a rebrand courtesy of Roxane Gay and Debbie Millman. Equator launched with a striking dedication to international prose. Longtime favorites The Baffler, Granta, and The Dial keep landing critical hits, ignoring the story that letters are being left behind.
The Celebration Continues
Subscribers can read about the origins of participating journals and the inspirations behind their editorial staff this week, which goes through Friday. Several publications are also giving away discounted print copies and digital access.
“I felt we needed something to showcase all the cutting edge things lit mags are doing.”
What To Read Next
Readers are directed to another list for a fuller rundown of magazines worth following. That roundup takes in a broad selection of voices, including both long-established journals and newer publications.
IMHO, the Toronto Review stands as an online journal worth following. It operates on a volunteer-run model, which makes its ambition notable, and it sets out to find vanguard critics, poets, and authors for a lively new readership.
The Verdict
LitMagWeek is a small gesture, but it is a pleasant one. It gives readers a reason to look at the magazines they might otherwise ignore.
This week gives readers who subscribe or merely browse a reason to return to the pleasures of literary magazines. The fresh issues from N+1, Protean, and The Toronto Review all deserve attention.
Happy reading.
Source material: “Celebrate the first ever #LitMagWeek with these three journals.,” Literary Hub.
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