Magazine of the week: TheNewerYork
Enjoying The New Yorker and wordplay meant the arrival of an email about a little publication called TheNewerYork jumped straight out at me, just as the magazine itself did when a couple of issues arrived in the post. This tiny (100 x 165mm) perfect bound mag is a rare gem.
First things first. TheNewerYork is not published from York or New York. Instead it arrives from Santa Monica, where editor Joshua Raab calls in blind submissions (‘Please don’t include identifying information in your submissions’), raises costs via Kickstarter, and makes a very funny, erudite little mag.
It’s difficult to go into detail, you’ll either love it or wonder what the fuss is about. For me it’s a lovely example of the way a publication can create its own little world, with its own rules, assumptions and tone.
Writing and art is crammed into the minute pages in an adhoc manner, with nothing taking up more than two pages – most material passes in a single page hit. Such brevity is refreshing and leaves the reader wanting more.
In the spirit of the magazine I’ll leave the descriptions there. For me it’s one of the most exciting magazines I’ve seen in a while. Here are some more pictures, and at the end are editor Raab’s notes from the project – look out for the literary carnival!
Some bullet points from the editor:
• No short stories, no poetry, just literary absurdities (craigslist ads, flash-fiction, lists, receipts, stories made our of punctuation, love letters, etc etc).
• Every story is less than two pages.
• Every story is matched with a piece of art
• Each issue funded on Kickstarter.
• All submissions are 100% blind.
• The books are measured to fit in Levi’s back pockets.
• The LA Times, Margaret Atwood, Jerry Stahl, Steve Almond, Mark Danielewski, CoolHunting.com and the The Guardian are all friends and promoters for TheNewerYork.
• Each issue is turned into a Literary Carnival.
You can also subscribe to our Magazine of the Week strand via your Little Printer.
Details here.