Hello Readers,

This summer we announced The Rumpus Membership program. Membership is a relatively low cost way for our readers to support the work we do (and get some great perks in return!) with big, dependable benefits for the magazine. It's a new, crucial part of our funding model.

Thanks to our summer Member Drive, we're nearly halfway to our end-of-year goal of 600 members. We need your help to make up the remaining 303 memberships by December 31 to safely (and thoughtfully) plan for next year.

Frankly, our current funding sources don't cover what we NEED to get our mostly volunteer-run magazine to a sustainable place. To us, sustainability means covering our basic operating costs (office supplies, shipping, book orders, software subscriptions), keeping our 13-year-old website from imploding, having the funds for at least a couple of editorial stipends, AND increasing our contributor pay. Once we reach 600 Members we'll DOUBLE our contributor funding pool for 2023!

Another timely incentive: Once we reach our 600 member goal, we'll stop incessantly ASKING FOR SUPPORT this year! This means we’ll cut way back on membership posting, emails, and social media nudges, and get back to focusing on publishing and supporting the work itself.

600 Members is less than 4% of the people who signed up for this newsletter list and is much less than even 1% of the readers who read The Rumpus in any given month, so we're hopeful this is a realistic goal for our 1st year.

And now there are 2 Membership options available!

We now have 2 Membership options available at either the MONTHLY or the YEARLY level. Digital only Memberships are $7 a month or $77 a year OR, if receiving IRL mail is your only remaining source of dopamine, join us at one of the Membership + Letters in the Mail (from authors) levels for $15 a month or $150 a year (a 21% discount).

😍Give a GIFT Membership!😍

Already a Member, but want to help us out more? Choose "This is a GIFT" and add the recipient's email for the digital subscription or the email + mailing address if you're gifting the Membership + Letters in the Mail option. **Note: Digital Memberships begin same day, Letters Members will receive their 1st letter in the mail at the beginning of Dec. (sign up by Nov. 30), mid- Dec. (sign up by Dec. 14), or 1st of Jan. (sign up by Dec. 31) and so on!

Make a DONATION

Now that we have fiscal sponsorship through Fractured Atlas, a tax-deductible gift is also an option for supporters who want to contribute (in any amount) either a one-off or recurring gift.

🎉2022 Accomplishments!🎉

We know it's not always obvious what's going on behind the scenes, so here's are a few things The Rumpus would like to share about the work we've done (so far) in 2022:

Received over 5,600 poetry, fiction, and essay submissions during our open reading periods where we DO NOT CHARGE A READING FEE. Each submission is read by at least 2-3 Rumpus readers and editors
Curated themed months on the topics of Mental Health Awareness, Disabilities in Education, and National Poetry Month
Published over 400 writers, with over 90% coming through Submittable
Increased magazine readership by 18% from last year (1.28 Million vs. 1.08 Million), with new vs. returning readers up by 17% (over 200,000 new readers vs. 2021!)
Launched a Membership program AND secured fiscal sponsorship with Fractured Atlas, which makes us eligible to apply for select grants and accept tax-deductible donations
Removed Amazon affiliate links (we lost a little money but sleep better by only sending readers to Bookshop.org, which supports independent booksellers)
Hosted and/or partnered on six IRL readings with amazing authors and over a dozen virtual author-editor conversations
Started an Instagram account where we interview authors and host editor AMAs
Thanks to Members, kept the magazine PAYWALL-FREE
Remained independent! The Rumpus is one of the very few literary magazine that's not connected to a larger institution like a university or publishing conglomerate

JOIN TODAY

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257 Haywood Rd Unit 201
Asheville
28806
United States of America

And now there are 2 Membership options available!

😍Give a GIFT Membership!​😍

Make a DONATION

🎉2022 Accomplishments!🎉

😍Give a GIFT Membership!😍