| This Year from The Rumpus |
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It's been tough not to focus on the unexpected hardships, frustrations, and losses we experienced this year. However, as we wind down the final days of 2024, I want to acknowledge and celebrate what our volunteer team accomplished. If nothing else, this was a good exercise for me as I (and I suspect many of you) were socialized to focus on our perceived shortcomings. Of course, there's always more to do.
Did we accomplish everything we wanted to this year? Of course not! Did our volunteer team still do some great work? HELL YEAH!
We hope you'll find at least a few reasons below to celebrate with us and support The Rumpus during these last few days of our $25,000 end-of-year fundraiser. We're in the final stretch with 91% raised and just $2,100 to go by Dec. 31.
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| Here are a few highlights I'd like to share with y'all . . . |
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| IN 2024 THE RUMPUS SUPPORTED WRITERS BY |
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- Tripling our budget for contributor pay for 300 2024-25 writers!
- Publishing 345 pieces of original fiction, poetry, essays, book reviews, comics, interviews, and more. Publishing 5 days a week, except during our annual short summer and winter breaks. Over 95% of what we published came through our open, no-fee reading periods.
- Nominating our contributors for awards and prizes, including Best American Essays, Best of the Net, O'Henry, Pushcart Prizes, and more. Congrats to Rumpus contributor Kelly X. Hui whose short story “Daughterhouse” was selected for 2024 Best of the Net in the Fiction category!
[Rumpus original artwork by Peter Witte created for "Leaves of a Cypress Tree" by Andleeb Shadani] |
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| WE PRACTICED GOOD LITERARY CITIZENSHIP BY . . . |
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- Expanding our Book Reviews team and committing to continuing to cover new poetry, prose, and hybrid titles even as many publications continue to shutter or reduce attention for new literary books.
- Hosting "Small Press Sunday" an ongoing monthly feature lead by interviews editor, Janet Rodriquez, which highlights indie presses on our Instagram.
- Launching a new ongoing series, "Beyond the Page," to spotlight organizations doing great work in the literary community. The first 3 organizations we highlighted were We Are Not Numbers, Undocupoets, and Empowerment Avenue.
[Rumpus original artwork by Ian MacAllen for "The Photograph" by Gladwell Pamba] |
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| WE WORKED ON OUR SUSTAINABILITY BY . . . |
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- Establishing our first ever Capacity Building Board, which has helped us weather this actual real life storm.
- Applying for and receiving a grant from the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses to help us revamp our store site and better archive our Member content. Stay tuned for this relaunch in early 2025!
- Exploring new partnerships, like collaborating on a Writers Welcome Kit a 5-week asynchronous course with 51 lessons and corresponding projects to help writers establish a regular writing practice.
[Rumpus original artwork by Liam Golden created for "Tender" by Matti Ben-Lev] |
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| AND CONNECTED WITH READERS AND WRITERS . . . |
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- Our Publisher and Editors attended several events on behalf of The Rumpus--including AWP in Kansas City, Punchbucket Lit's first book festival in Asheville, NC, and class visits with Warren Wilson College in NC, Adelphi University in NY, and Grub Street in Boston. *If you're an educator interested in inviting one of our editors to a class visit, panel, etc., feel free to reach out by hitting reply to this email.
- We hosted 3 pay-what-you-can virtual events including "Queer Coming of Age," Grounded Dystopia," and "Women Who Leave."
- Mailed 24 letters by some of our new and long-time favorite writers to readers across the world as part of our Letters in the Mail from Authors subscription program.
[Rumpus original artwork by Beatriz Camaleão created for "Wilder's Mozzy" by Mac Crane] |
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We'd love to hear about some of your favorite pieces we've published this year or events you enjoyed attending. We're incredibly grateful for your continued support during a very tough year.
With appreciation, Alyson Sinclair
Publisher, The Rumpus |
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Reader Support Keeps The Rumpus Going! |
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Founded in 2009 in San Francisco, CA and now based in Asheville, NC with readers and editors all over the US and abroad, The Rumpusis one of the longest-running independent online literary and culture magazines. Our mostly volunteer-run magazine strives to be a platform for risk-taking voices and writing that might not find a home elsewhere. We lift up new voices alongside those of more established writers readers already know and love. Often, we are an emerging writer's first notable publication, which is something we’re really proud of. We believe that literature builds community—and if reading The Rumpus makes you feel more connected, please show your support! Our Membership and subscription programs along with tax-deductible donations made to The Rumpus through our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas, help keep us going and brings us closer to sustainability.
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