We're Giving $1,000 Each to Five Lit Mags Willing to Try Something New
Introducing Chill Subs' Lit Mag Incubator Program
Note: For folks who follow us over at Chill Subs, you may see a version of this in our regular newsletter as well. For folks who don’t know, Chill Subs is our main company and this program will be run through there.
So the NEA just screwed the literary world out of $350,000 by cutting grants from loads of lit mags and programs. And, well, we don’t have $350,000... But we have $5,000. So we’re going to put it to good use.
Some time ago, an editor at a major lit mag told me the most important hire for running a successful lit mag is a great grant writer. That seems broken. Lit mags shouldn’t fail because they can’t afford a grant writer (or because, even if they can, the government decides they can only have the money if they support propaganda or AI). So we want to give a boost to folks who want to try something different.
There are no restrictions to enter. Your mag could be 50 years old and ready to innovate, or just an idea for a mag you wish you had the resources to create. There are no limits on genre, style, age, country, nonprofit status, or experience.
All we want to know is: Do you believe you can make your lit mag financially sustainable within one year? If yes, tell us your plan.
The five selected lit mags will join our Lit Mag Incubator Program (yes, we tried to think of any word other than "incubator," but it just makes the most sense).
Here’s what you’ll get: Selected lit mags will be awarded $1,000 each and brought into a private chat with Chill Subs and our growing Board of Editor-Advisors from The Sun, HAD, ONLY POEMS, and SmokeLong Quarterly.
No fee. No catch. Just two rules:
You must factor in payment for your writers and staff.
You can’t rely solely on contests or submission fees.
If this goes well, we’ll do it every year. If we have more money, we’ll give more money and bring on even more magazines.
Our goal is to build a network of support, helping magazines create healthy communities that don’t depend on the whims of people who don’t understand or appreciate all the incredible things the literary world does every single day.
We will be taking applications from today, June 12, through September 1.
We encourage you to be bold. If you fail, fail spectacularly. We promise to keep paying the web hosting bills on your lit mag forever so the writers you publish never get that “error: page missing” message.
Again:
All magazines are welcome (even ideas for new ones).
The deadline is September 1st.
It is only because of you all that we are able to give back like this. So, thank you!
Thank you! If you like what we’re doing, you can subscribe and support us here:
If this helps a lit mag from going dark (it seems there's been a lot of this lately), then OMG what a great idea! Ok, it's a great idea anyway and a very generous thing to offer. Major kudos to you for doing this.
You guys are the best 💜