The Rumpus Turns 1
Posted by Erin Brown in books events trends on January 25, 2010
Congratulations to The Rumpus, which just celebrated its one-year anniversary and, therewith, its “fitness for survival in the age of the interwebs.” Founded in San Francisco by Stephen Elliott, author of the much-acclaimed Adderall Diaries, The Rumpus is a relatively edgy magazine seeking to offer fresh coverage of books, music, art, comics, politics, film . . . and sex. From their statement of purpose:
We’re focused on culture but not “People Magazine culture.” We want to introduce readers to things they might not have heard of yet. The Web was supposed to diversify content and so far it hasn’t. If anything, the Internet has amplified the echo chamber so all the big online magazines are focusing on the same stories.
One of the things I like about The Rumpus is its effort to bring attention to books that would otherwise fall by the wayside in the unforgiving world of Dan Brown novels and Sarah Palin memoirs.
For more on the origins of the magazine and its editorial philosophy, see Elliott’s interview with Jacket Copy in April of last year. Not only has Elliott created in The Rumpus a vibrant new forum for cultural commentary on the web, but he is also rethinking the standard author book tour in ways that seem more rewarding for the author, both in terms of meeting the reading public and in terms of book sales. See his recent essay, The D.I.Y. Book Tour, in the New York Times.
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