Dear Readers,
Since 2021, membership is a crucial part of our funding model. I won’t sugarcoat it: expanding The Rumpus’s membership program to at least 600 members is necessary for us to cover our basic operating costs and continue our mission of publishing risk-taking voices and emerging writers.
At a time when many literary magazines have paused or ceased publication, The Rumpus is working hard to make our mostly volunteer-run magazine sustainable while also remaining independent. Advertisers and grants make up only 10% of our funding resources. 90% comes from reader support in the forms of memberships and donations. The latter, plus a grant from CLMP, allowed us to finally invest in a major redesign this year.
It’s reasonable to ask “but what do I get for becoming a member?” Besides our gratitude and knowing you’ve made a positive contribution to the literary community? As the new editor-in-chief, I’m committed to expanding our membership benefits. This currently includes a biweekly newsletter with exclusive features to all members. In this members-only newsletter, I’ll offer exclusive interviews, craft talks, submission insights, and content not available on The Rumpus website. I’ll share personal lessons I’ve learned from a decade of experience as an editor at literary magazines (including TriQuarterly, Guernica, Chicago Review of Books), teaching creative writing (StoryStudio, Hugo House, Pacific Lutheran University, and the Rainier Writing Workshop), and my own highs and lows as a writer. I’ll also share concrete resources.
For members who join us at one of the annual levels, you’ll receive bonus merch discounts in the Rumpus store and access to our “magic” Submittable portal where active annual members can submit in any genre year round. My goal is to personally respond to all annual member submissions within thirty days. I love interacting with writers in this way and getting to know your work through reading and talking it over with The Rumpus‘s genre editors.
In the future, I’m also planning to host virtual events for members, as well as offer more online lessons and writing resources. Our goal is to support members as much as you support us. Thank you for being a vital part of our existence.
A Rumpus membership is just $7/month or $77/year or bundle with a Letters in the Mail from authors subscription for $15/month or $150/year (a great gift option!). Please join now and help us reach our goal of at least 600 members by December 1.
Sincerely, Aram Mrjoian
Editor-in-Chief, The Rumpus
PS. We currently have 415 members, which is 69% of our goal for 2023. If 3% of the people who signed up for our free newsletter join us, we’ll reach our goal of 600 quickly.
