| This Week from The Rumpus |
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- End-of-Year fundraising update
- New poems for our ENOUGH column
- Interviews with Emily Jungmin Yoon and Eleanor Whitney. And a review ofAlexei Navalny's Patriot
- The Rumpus PRIZE, calls for submission, Letters in the Mail from Authors (Katerina Jeng), and Jan. 17 is the last day to order merch for X-Mas delivery
- Thank you to this week's sponsors Disquiet and PocketMFA
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| Publisher Update: Help Us Reach Our $25K End-of-Year Fundraising Goal by Dec. 31! $4,400 to go. |
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It's difficult to come up with a new way to say, Hey, we still need HELP every week, but here we go again . . .
We're so grateful that over 200 readers have stepped up to help us fill our 2025 funding gap. It's donor support we needed even before the 1,000 year flooding event in Asheville, but the situation felt particularly dire after that disaster. How was I going to run a *fun* fundraiser, start any new initiatives, or work extra hours at one of my other 2 jobs to help The Rumpus stay afloat? Publishing a scrappy, volunteer-run indie literary magazine is not a money making business even in calmer times. However, it's crucial that through a mix of funds from merch, memberships, donors, and ad sales we break even every year.
Along with massive loss of infrastructure (its nearly 3 months after Helene and we still have over 90 bridges out in our county alone), our community lost its sense of stability. Everything takes longer and many of the choices we have to make are no one's plan A.
With all the shitty things that happened this year, I'm happy to share that our $25K goal feels almost within reach. As I'm typing this, we've raised $20,600—82% of our $25K goal—with just $4,400 remaining. With just 18 days left in the year, we need help NOW to make sure all of this year's bills are paid and we can calmly plan for 2025.
If you haven't already given, can you help us TODAY so The Rumpus can continue into 2025 and (hopefully) beyond.
We are incredibly grateful for your continued support during a very tough year.
With appreciation, Alyson Sinclair
Publisher, The Rumpus |
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New Essays & Columns
Rumpus Original Column Enough: Three Poems
by Danielle Garland, Johanna-Rain Heimberger, and Kai-Lilly Karpman
“To dispel the foreign body is impossible / so she treats it as she would any parasite, / builds a treasure out of a violation, drenches it in light until it softens, / glowing and harmless as the moon.” |
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Interviews & Reviews
Mercedes O’Leary interviews Emily Jungmin Yoon about Find Me as the Creature I Am
“I felt this urgency to know more but also found that I am so inadequate. Trying to write from that unsettled knowledge has been a productive struggle for me.”
Asya Partan reviews Alexei Navalny’s Patriot
“Reads at turns like a detective thriller, a horror tale, a love poem, and a bellyache-producing comedy set.”
Eleanor C. Whitney interviews Kristen Felicetti about Log Off
“I wanted to capture the sense that when you’re a teenager, things can sort of weirdly all have the same weight.” |
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| RUMPUS PRIZE for
Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction! |
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Announcing the inaugural Rumpus Prize for Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction!
Submissions are open December 5, 2024 to March 2, 2025. The Rumpus has a long history of championing emerging and established poets, fiction writers, and essayists, and we’re pleased to announce a new way the magazine will bring attention to great writing.
All submissions will be read by The Rumpus‘s editorial team, and our final judges will be Kaveh Akbar (Poetry), Rachel Khong (Fiction), and Megan Stielstra (Creative Nonfiction).
The Rumpus Prize offers $3,600 total in prizes, with $1,000 awarded for 1st place prize and publication in 3 genres: poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Honorable mentions receive $200 and publication in each of the 3 genres.
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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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| Available Now:
NEW TRAVEL MUGS!
*All merch orders should be placed by Dec. 17 to ensure delivery by X-Mas.
Psst . . . you can gift a Membership or Letters in the Mail subscription anytime |
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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 for 20% discount on all mugs and posters! |
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| Our ceramic mug
NOW SHIPPING WORLDWIDE! |
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| Sometimes our international friends ask how they can order our classic "Write Like a Motherfucker" ceramic mug. Well, we now have an option for you to get them through Bonfire. Get one for yourself or your best overseas bud. Also available to US folks, of course! |
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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 15: Katerina Jeng (they/she) is an author, speaker, and creative coach. They are here to help guide humanity into a new paradigm world through humble service that is abundantly joyful, pleasurable, and free. Katerina’s writing explores love and power, and is inspired by their identity as a queer, neurodivergent, Filipina-Taiwanese-American femme. Their debut poetry collection, Gospel of a Whole Sun (Andrews McMeel, 2024), chronicles their journey of self-discovery over the course of three pivotal years, and is a poignant look at the relationship of art-making to personal & collective liberation.
Katerina’s work has been celebrated in People, PBS, CBS News, HuffPost, and Talks at Google. They were the 2023 Writing in Color Fellow at Lighthouse Writers Workshop. Born and raised in New York, Katerina holds degrees in English and music from Cornell University. You can follow their creative pursuits on Instagram (@katerinajeng) and Substack (katerinajeng.substack.com). Subscribe by December 14! |
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| Sponsor special
$200 discount offer to Rumpus readers: |
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 | | When you commit deeply to a cohort at PocketMFA, you'll find your sustainable, professional, and lifelong journey as a writer. PocketMFA offers 12 weeks of expert mentorship, workshopping, and community. Tuition is $3,297, and applications are due by January 15th, 2025. Applications can be completed in under 5 minutes and are absolutely free.
PocketMFA is offeringa special $200 tuition discount to The Rumpus community—just make sure to select The Rumpus on the final page of the application.
Ready to take the leap? Applying takes less than 5 minutes, and it’s free:
-->[Apply Now]
The groups tend to fill quickly, so please put your application in early.
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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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