| This Week from The Rumpus |
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[Publisher's note: Asheville, NC]
It's day 51 without drinking water, but I guess this is starting to feel "normal." The tourists aren't back, but I'd estimate about 50% of the restaurant and retail businesses (that still have buildings and workers who haven't left town) are open this week.
Things are at turns weird, depressing, annoying, heartwarming, infuriating, and hopeful. Even though our county voted 62% Democrat, most folks I talk to are too exhausted by their daily lives to fully process additional rage, sadness, and fear. I'm choosing to focus whatever energy I have on keeping The Rumpus going, storm cleanup efforts, and helping a friend get a floor back on her flooded house. The water rose up to her waist during Hurricane Helene and they may lose their home.
To our readers and supporters who are following along, we want to share our gratitude to the supporters who have donated to The Rumpus since Sept. 30. With the help of 137 mostly small donors, we have raised $14,042 of our $25K end-of-year goal. We're over the halfway mark with $10,985 to go. You're incredible and the donations are adding up.
If you haven't already given already can you help us now, so The Rumpus can continue into 2025 and (hopefully) beyond? We've all seen what happens when people don't show up for each other and expect imaginary benevolent billionaires to save us.
And since a few folks asked . . . If you don't need the tax-deduction (or it doesn't apply to you because you're outside of the US), you can also support us directly via Paypal, which takes a much lower processing fee out of funds The Rumpus receives.
Your support helps us: - Pay 300+ contributors a standard flat rate
- Prioritize new voices, risk-takers, and historically underrepresented writers and artists
- Have open, no-fee reading periods in each genre 1-3 times a year
- Read and respond to thousands of submissions every year (over 90% of the work we publish comes from open reading periods)
- Offer editorial recommendations and promote writing by and for humans, because algorithms can limit our sense of true discovery, wonder, and connection
- Pay our bills! Web hosting, subscription services, maintenance, etc. all cost money.
If you show up for us, we'll continue to show up for writers, readers, and the literary community. We'll continue to show up for one another.
With appreciation, Alyson Sinclair
Publisher, The Rumpus
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| Thank you to the Rumpus supporters who helped us reach 56% of our goal: |
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| Adrienne Kitaeff Alice Kaltman Alice Taylor Alyssa Burgart Andrea Greer Andrew Poster Anna Carey Annelies Zijderveld Annie Bartos Annie Penfield Appadurai Muttulingam Ashley Rubell Barbara Huntington Bookshop DotOrg Brett F Lauer Caity Smith Camille Griep Candace Walsh Catherine Svehla Cathy Mellett Celia Knapp Charles Stinner Christina Boertje Christina Rivera Cindy Fazzi Colleen Rodgers Cynthia Weiner Deborah Filanowski Dede Cummings Elmaz Abinader Eric Stinton Eve Ettinger Fiona Hankenson Frederica Morgan Davis Gail Kubrin George Warco Grace Prasad Holly M Wendt Janet Bowdan Jason Malamud |
| Jill Bronfman
Kathleen Schmidt Kathleen Seltzer Kelly McMasters Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum Lauren Oertel Lena Valencia Linda Button Lisa Mecham Lisa Taggart Liz Borkowski Lori Wald Lou Dunham Lyra Halprin Maggie Hill Margaret Carter Marissa Korbel Maureen Simons Melissa deSa Melissa Elliotte Melissa Hoagland Meri Johnston Michaela Chan Nicole Schiro Magee Nina Schuyler Rabihah Mateen Rachel Mans McKenny Rani Monson Rhonda Britten Roanna Flowers Sarah Baldwin Stacey Lewis Stevie Trujillo Susan Ito Suzanne Watt Teresa Burns Gunther Terese Svoboda Terrie Wurzbacher Veronica Abreu * And 56 donors who gave privately |
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New Essays & Columns
Rumpus Original Fiction: "Company Town" by S Graham
“I realized that the narrative beats of our relationship had surprised me and were continuing to do so. As a person with control issues, this was concerning. As a storyteller, I was pleased.”
Rumpus Original Column Enough: "Blinking Lights" by Meredith L. King
“But we never pay attention to the times when the lights don’t blink. The times when the dark overtakes us and we need the light of our kin the most.” |
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Letters to Adoption:
our 2nd annual series giving space to adoptee voices during National Adoption Month
Rumpus Original Essay: "Mayonnaise" by Jill Maxi Edelstein
“I was adopted, not born. A store-bought baby made of genetic ingredients from other people’s bodies who entered the world through you. I was jarred, labelled, and handed to Alice.”
Rumpus Original Essay: "To My Third Father" by Tiffany Yo
“You never asked me why. Almost three years ago, I announced on the phone, 'I’m changing my last name,' while tracking sweaty footprints in my Austin condo. I told you I submitted the court filings, $360.12, and my fingerprints; I emphasized the finality of my decision. If you had asked why, I wonder if I would have told you the truth.” |
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Interviews & Reviews
Caitlin Coey interviews torrin a. greathouse about DEED
“Language is, first and foremost, a tool, but like any tool or technology, it can be made into a weapon.”
Gemini Wahhaj reviews Aruni Kashyap’s The Way You Want to Be Loved
“Kashyap’s stories about Assamese people—written in English—are a powerful and important contribution to world literature.”
Nate Brown interviews Laura van den Berg about State of Paradise
“I was thinking about how many people seem to have been eaten alive by their devices—and are actively consenting to being eaten alive by their devices.” |
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| Help us break up with X (Twitter) |
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 | | It's them, not us. We just think it's time to go our separate ways. We're growing in different directions. We think it's time we lived our life on our own. You get it. If you get your Rumpus updates from X, consider following us elsewhere as we're currently phasing out the account. It's painful to give up 100,000+ followers, but how many of those are actually active, real life humans? If you're a human, follow us on: |
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| Show Us Your Desk: Ella Baxter
Thurs., Nov. 21 @ 5 pm ET / 2 pm PT |
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| Available Now:
NEW TRAVEL MUGS! |
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 | | The NEW "Write Like a Motherfucker" travel tumbler is elegant and classy AF! This is your new grownup high quality 16 ounce insulated MiiR brand to-go mug. MiiR is a certified B-Corp, and we're basically selling these at cost. This tumbler handles hot and cold beverages equally well. It fits great in a cup holder and in your hand. Black powder coated with Rumpus red etching. It's the classic design by Walter Green. “Write Like a Motherfucker” is a quote from one of the most famous Dear Sugar columns by Cheryl Strayed.
*Annual Rumpus Members, a reminder to log into your store account, if you'd like to pre-order at a 20% discount. |
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| Letters in the Mail (from authors!) |
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Letters in the Mail from authors is a Rumpus subscription in which you receive an actual, postmarked letter from one of our favorite writers in your IRL mailbox twice a month. All letters are non-promotional, include a creative prompt, and have a return mailing address in case you'd like to write the author back!
Up next, an author letter from . . .
December 1: Christy Tending (she/they) the author of High Priestess of the Apocalypse (ELJ Editions) and Sobriety Through the Major Arcana (kith books). Their work has been published in Longreads, The Rumpus, and Electric Literature, and received a notable mention in Best American Science and Nature Writing 2023. They live in Oakland, California with their family. You can learn more about their work at www.christytending.com or follow Christy on Twitter @christytending. Subscribe by November 30! |
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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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