Dearest Readers,
Will I ever not feel like the world is crumbling as I write these newsletters?
*shakes magic eight ball*
Results not promising.
As Twitter implodes with more velocity than usual (the extra acceleration provided by the meta-ness of the commentary), now is probably as good of a time as ever to tell you that The Rumpus is starting a membership program. (I have tried to convince Alyson, our Publisher, to let me name this subscription The Wild Rumpus or Flush but she won't let me. [Alyson: The Wild Rumpus is a very good indie bookstore with chickens in Minneapolis! Flush makes me think of the bathroom!] We've got The Rumpus Book Club, we've got The Rumpus Letters in the Mail, and now, The Rumpus Membership Program.
We began our soft-launch during AWP where our first 50+ members signed up, and we'll start to talk about it more publicly and relentlessly next month. The gist of it is this: For $7 a month (or $77 a year), you'll get access to a 2 x a month members-only newsletter with exclusive Rumpus content starting in June. Note: we'll still continue to send a free-to-all newsletter 2 x a month. However, those will get a bit shorter and won't include the unique-to-members content.
If you sign up for a year, you get these perks plus access to a ~*magic*~ Submittable portal and an ongoing 20% discount on Rumpus Store merch (not including subscription programs.
For 13 years, The Rumpus has been a 99% volunteer operation. We're an independent publication, so we don't have any institutional support; we've run mostly on scotch tape and willpower. Our goals are to 1) keep the lights on, 2) pay writers more, and 3) update our adolescent website. You can read more about the numbers here.
Please support us, if you can. A big part of this drive is our desire to keep our current content free. Think of The Rumpus (or any other arts organization) like a public resource: Some people who are able to need to chip in so that everyone benefits.
Hope you'll join T̶h̶e̶ ̶W̶i̶l̶d̶ ̶R̶u̶m̶p̶u̶s̶ us!
Till next week,
AS
ps. We'd like to hear what The Rumpus means to you as a reader/writer/contributor/human. If you've decided to join us during this soft launch portion of The Rumpus Membership drive we'd love to know why. Supporter quotes and feedback will help us make a stronger case during the more public phase of our 1st ever member drive. DM us on Twitter or email [email protected].
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Sneak in under the wire (in the next 24 hours) to receive these authors' letters in your actual, literal mailbox.
Letters in the Mail Authors: Annie Hartnett, Kemi Alabi, and Paige Clarke
Letters for Kids Authors: Karina Evans, Tracy Badua, and Tamara Girardi |
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I'm stoked to be talking with Jazmina Barrera author of Linea Nigra later this week on Slack. See you Friday, 7:15 pm EST prose book club people.
By MAY 15. YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO, subscribe!
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| | BOOK CLUB
Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty is a collection of twelve stories about what it means to be Penobscot in the 21st century and what it means to live, to survive, and to persevere after tragedy.
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| | POETRY CLUB
In the spirit of magic, potions, and inventory, Refuse to Disappear by Tara Betts calls up the language of both science and witchery to call roll on Black women. e text here. |
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Some recent selections from The Rumpus:
Comics are back and retribution is in the worksA short story about magic bubbles ft. a Freytag's diagram sex jokeThis month's WE ARE MOREMore Claire Messud goodness |
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. . . is drawing to a close. We hope you've enjoyed reading along with us. In case you missed any days (or maybe you'd just like to revisit a favorite) you can easily access our poem-a-day by clicking on the schedule above. And, if you haven't already, support Poetry Month contributors by snagging a READ MORE POEMS shirt or sweatshirt. All future funds raised through the end of this week go into our contributor payment pool for April!
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Wednesday, April 27An evening w/ Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give
7 pm EDT, online, East City BooksHeartbroke ft. Chelsea Bieker and Allie Rowbottom
7 pm EDT, online, Books are Magic
Thursday, April 28Some of My Best Friends, ft. Tajja Isen, Nicole Chung, Megha Majumdar, and Matt Ortile8 pm EDT, online, Loyalty BooksDonation of at least $1, all proceeds go to BLM DCUseful Junk w/ Erika Meitner7 pm, IRL, Books are Magic, $10 - $17Monday, May 2Reclaiming Two Spirits, a conversation w/ Gregory Smithers and Kyle Mayas6 pm EDT, online via Politics and Prose |
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| Your support keeps The Rumpus going! |
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257 Haywood Rd Unit 201
Asheville
28806
United States of America |
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