| New this Week from The Rumpus &
IT'S A RELAY, NOT A SPRINT |
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[Publisher's note: Asheville, NC]
Dear Readers,
We're slowly moving from crisis to recovery mode here in Asheville, NC. Despite facing the largest natural disaster this area has experienced in at least 100 years, The Rumpus once again published original work 5 days this week. This is thanks to our wonderful volunteer team who are based in Asheville and all over the US.
Some folks are beginning to see water come from their taps. It's not safe to drink yet, but the promise of a hot shower soon is incredible after 21 days of nothing. 1800+ water pipes were decimated in our area because of Hurricane Helene, which dumped over 30 inches of water on Western NC and caused overwhelming flooding.
This week I spent 3 hours at a FEMA center and heard a depressing stat that 40% of independent businesses do NOT survive natural disasters like the one we experienced here. I also talked with the Small Business Association, which (as reported by The NY Times and others yesterday) is currently out of funds.
I'm seeing so much need here that I'm trying to volunteer regularly to help my community, while also trying to figure out how to deal with my own personal financial loss and how that will effect The Rumpus's future. I work two other jobs to subsidize the magazine and have yet to pay myself in the past 3 years for the 30+ hours/week I work on the magazine. Things were getting better---we redesigned the website last year; we raised funds for better contributor pay this year; we're slowly growing our Membership base; and we became fiscally sponsored so we could begin receiving tax-deductible donations. However, this crisis is not something anyone planned for and has created a jarring setback.
Wednesday, I showed up to help remove hundreds (thousands?!) of buckets of mud and debris from a once beautiful artist collective space in downtown Marshall, NC. The organizers reminded us that this effort is a relay, not a sprint. We need to be able to hand off things that we can no longer carry. We need to be able to rely on others to help us move forward when we're overwhelmed and have to take a break.
So here I am (again) asking if you'll help us during a time where it feels impossible to be thoughtful about the future. Can you donate? Can you become a Member? Can you write a note (or forward this one) to someone who might be able to help? Do you know a lit organization who can't donate, but who might want to run ads with us? There's currently a ~$22,000 gap between the funds the magazine has now and the amount we need to raise by Dec. 31.
I need to pass the baton for a minute to help us get past this stage and (hopefully) onto the next.
With appreciation,
Alyson Sinclair, Publisher/Owner, The Rumpus |
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| [pictured above: Alyson Sinclair, Publisher on volunteer clean up duty for an artist collective space in NC] |
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Interviews & Reviews
Diane Gottlieb interviews Susan L. Leary about Dressing the Bear
“What does it mean to live a life? What does it mean to live a good life?”
Fiona Bell reviews Maureen Sun’s The Sisters K
“All the characters in Sun’s novel are thoughtfully drawn, embodied individuals, an impressive feat...”
Gabriella Souza interviews Lyndsay Rush about A Bit Much
“I fell in love with poetry as an art form because it combined my love of humor and my love of emotions and feelings.”
Timi Sanni reviews Ayokunle Falomo’s Autobiomythography Of
“With brilliant lyricism and unflinching honesty, Falomo captures the complexities of identity, belonging, and the search for home in a foreign land.”
The First Book: K.E. Semmel on publishing The Book of Losman
“I wasn’t looking for answers, I was looking to tell a good story.” |
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New Essays & Columns
Rumpus Original Column Parallel Practice: "As Ever, Your Totem" by Danielle Shi
“My camera offered security in the absence of the constancy of old friends. Silent and steady, undoubtedly solid, it withstood what I couldn’t.”
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| What to Read When You Want to Be Stirred |
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 | | "I like books that stir me. I like books that can make all my senses move from within. Books that make the heart rattle, that rouse the mind, that summon curiosities into a sensation on the skin. I like books that mean something in and outside of their own narratives, impacting my worldview. The stirring can be felt in beautiful writing, or powerful concepts, deep analysis, or emotion that resonates off the page." —Cebo Campbell, What to Read When You Want to be Stirred |
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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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| Partner announcement and special offer to Rumpus readers: |
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 | Join the Accountability Workshops led by Annie Hartnett (author of novels Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals) and Tessa Fontaine (former Rumpus columnist and author of the memoir The Electric Woman and the novel The Red Grove).
What you get:
Multi-faceted support. In addition to the bi-weekly meetings, Annie and Tessa provide . . . - One-on-one coaching anytime you need it, and help you craft a personalized writing contract.
- Connections and insights from the larger literary community with monthly guest speakers for inspiration (guests include: Steve Almond, Weike Wang, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Jonathan Escoffery, Marie-Helene Bertino, Hannah Pittard, Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, agents, publicists, and more!
- Access to a Slack channel for staying in touch with your cohort and the larger community
- Zoom writing sessions
- Occasional real-life meetups! Members live all over the globe.
If you’ve always wanted a writing community or a writing coach, you’ll get BOTH!
The cost is $150/month, month-to-month commitment. Cancel anytime. Meetings are on Zoom, every other week: Mondays 1-2:30 pm ET, Wednesdays 1 -2:30 pm ET, and Wednesdays 8-9:30 pm ET.
And, as promised, there's a SPECIAL OFFER for Rumpus readers! Receive $25 off your first month with the code RUMPUS25.
To JOIN:
→ Sign up here, and start by creating an account.
→ Then, enter the discount code RUMPUS25 on the payment page for $25 off your first month.
**Special offer ends Nov. 1, 2024. Sign up now for the 1st month discount. Please note that The Rumpus isn't running these Accountability Workshops. All questions and any logistical support, should be directed to Annie and Tessa. |
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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 . . .
October 15: Richard Scott Larson is the author of The Long Hallway, a debut memoir recently published by the University of Wisconsin Press. He has received fellowships from MacDowell and the New York Foundation for the Arts, and his creative and critical work has appeared in the Sun, Los Angeles Review of Books, Harvard Review, and elsewhere, and has also been recognized twice by The Best American Essays. He lives in Brooklyn. Subscribe by October 31! |
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Sponsor Note: NC Writer's Conference relocating to Greensboro, NC on Oct. 28 due to catastrophic flooding in Asheville, NC caused by Hurricane Helene. Registration open now. |
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| Submissions for Comics are open August 1 until October 31.
Submissions for Essays are open until October 31.
Two new columns, Collaborative Criticism and Close Reads are now open year-round!
Our new column Parallel Practice is open again for submissions. Read the call here before submitting.
We are open for Funny Women and Prose and Poetry Book Reviews submissions year-round.
Submissions for Poetry opened on Aug. 15 and closed on Aug. 19th, since we hit our 500 submissions limit in just four days.
(Reminder, annual Rumpus Members can submit their work in any genre all year long.) |
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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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