writermag.com • The Writer | 291
MAKE THAT MONEY:
MAGAZINES MUST INNOVATE
The late, great literary maga-
zine Glimmer Train long dis-
played this message on its
website: “There is no such thing as a
profitable literary journal. To the best
of our knowledge, all surviving literary
journals are supported by universities
and/or by individuals who love short
fiction and are willing to put their own
time and money into them.”
Simply put: Literary magazines
aren’t money-makers. Most struggle to
make enough to survive. “A lot of mag-
azines have had to reinvent them-
selves,” says Beth Staples, editor of
Shenandoah at Washington and Lee
University. “There have been a lot of
sad stories of great magazines going
out of business.”The biggest issue? A sharp decline in
subscriptions, which fund many liter-
ary magazines. It’s not just lit mags, of
course – circulation is down for news-
papers and magazines, too. Digital subs
simply aren’t making up the difference.
“Regular subscriptions aren’t how
people are paying the bills anymore,”
observes Emily Everett, managing edi-
tor of The Common at Amherst Col-
lege. Adds Patricia Colleen Murphy,
editor of Superstition Review (Arizona
State University): “The problem is that
more people want to get published
than want to read.”
Financial instability displays differ-
ently with different types of lit mags.
Ones associated with colleges may
seem steadier, but they still have con-
cerns. Editors mention a number of
academic publications that recently
shut down or lost faculty advisors
through budget cuts.
Independent magazines, with no
foundation or school behind them,
often face an even tougher go. Many
have become more niche to survive,
targeting a narrower audience than theAsk two dozen editors what the future
holds for literary magazines, and you get
two dozen answers (beautifully rendered,
of course – the editors are also talented
writers themselves). After noting the
recent closures of a number of literary
titles, we contacted people in the literary
community to discuss the genre’s future,
its biggest challenges, and what inspires
them at a time when they report receiving
more submissions than ever.
One thing the two dozen editors we
surveyed agreed upon: Literary magazines
are changing – evolving to match the
times. Here are six things editors are
thinking about as 2020 looms.