Founded in 2009, The Rumpus has now reached its teenage years and we’re feeling ALL our angsty growing pains! We want to assert our independence, but we also really NEED a good support system. That’s where RUMPUS MEMBERS come in.
Become a member of The Rumpus and help us reach our 1st goal of 600 Members. By joining, you truly are helping us build a sustainable future AND getting some exclusive content, early access, and sweet deals for yourself.
Rumpus Membership
Help us build a better Rumpus!
- Exclusive Members-only content sent to your inbox 2 x a month including:
- Notes from our Editor-in-Chief and guest posts by our various editorial teams and some of our favorite writers
- Early news, previews, and event invites
- Original essays, Q&As, and advice from our editors
- * ANNUAL Members also receive access to our ~magic~ Submittable portal to submit original work in any genre year-round.
- * ANNUAL Members receive20% off Rumpus merch after sign up (does not apply to book clubs or letters programs)
- Our endless gratitude for supporting one of the few truly independent lit mags around
Membership + Letters in the Mail
Want to receive exclusive content from The Rumpus via email AND in your real life mailbox?
- Receive all of the digital content and access at the Monthly or Annual Rumpus Membership levels, PLUS
- Letters in the Mail from authors in your real life mailbox! 2 x a month you’ll receive a postmarked letter from one of our favorite writers in your actual, physical mailbox. Some of the letters are typed, others are handwritten, and some include doodles or poems. All of the letters have a creative prompt of some kind and include return addresses in case you want to reply. [This bundle is a 21% savings at both the monthly or yearly level vs. purchasing a Membership + Letters subscription separately.]
Need more convincing? If you answer “Yes” to any of the following questions, you should to consider becoming a Rumpus member:
- Do you read The Rumpus and want to keep the site mostly paywall FREE and accessible to all?
- Appreciate independent (non-corporate or backed by a rich benefactor) publishers?
- Believe in paying writers for their WORK?
- Were you filled with existential dread the last time you learned one of your favorite literary publications went under (especially one you’d been planning on someday eventually subscribe, submit, or donate to)?
The Rumpus gave me a home and respect when I first dared to enter the waters of being a writer, as if to say yes, you deserve to stand here unflinching bodies making couldn’y feel mu own legs, The rumpus made me fell present. I well; I am grateful this space is ever evolving.
LIDI YUKNAVITCH / NOVELIST AND MEMOIRIST
How does Membership help The Rumpus?
- Goal 1: 600 members: assuming our other programs (Letters in the Mail subscriptions), donations, and merch sales remain stable. This # of active subscribers helps us fill in the revenue vs. expenses gap to cover our bare minimum operating costs (web hosting, tech support, various subscriptions, contributor pay, small stipends for Editor-in-Chief, Store, & Programs managers, etc.). This is where we hope to be as soon as possible!
- Goal 2: 1,000 members: All of the above, PLUS we’ll be able to ensure we can confidently boost our contributor pay from $400 to $1,250/month for as long as we remain at this membership level or higher. This means a guaranteed minimum contributor payment of $50 for the roughly 300 contributors we publish each year. This is where we hope to be by the end of 2025 or sooner.
- Ultimate Goal: 3,000+ members: This is just 2-3% of the visitors who read The Rumpus each month, and would get us to a fully sustainable place. Imagine all of the above, plus being able to pay part-time editors, and the capacity to begin new projects like a Rumpus writing program? A dream!
Until we reach the benchmarks above, we will run fundraisers twice a year (summer and end-of-year) to help fill in the funding gaps! If you’d like to make a one-time or recurring tax-deductible contribution in any amount through our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas, ALL contributions help.
How close are we to achieving these goals?
We officially launched on June 1, 2022! We’ll update our progress here periodically and celebrate loudly once we reach our benchmark goals!
February 6, 2025 update: 530 Rumpus Members, 82% toward our 1st goal!