Literary Magazine OPEN CITY Is Closing

1st NW Quadrant: The Approval Matrix

From Open City

Open City Magazine is closing after twenty years. Open City Books, a mere tyke at ten years, continues. Starting with its first issue in 1991, Open City has made an important mark on the American literary scene, publishing a slew of debut writers, undiscovered posthumous gems, and hosting wildly successful readings and parties in New York City and beyond. Not just a publisher, Open City, true to its name, is a vibrant community of writers, artists, and readers.

Highlights from twenty years of the magazine will be collected in an anthology, THEY'RE AT IT AGAIN: An Open City Reader (June 2011, Open City Books).

The final issue of the magazine, Open City #30, was published in December 2010 and is available in stores and online at opencity.org. The issue features stories by Ed Park, Ann Packer, Sigrid Nunez, Karan Mahajan, nonfiction by Louis B. Jones, and poetry by Alissa Quart and Yusef Komunyakaa. Joanna Yas remarked "When we were putting it together, we didn't realize it would be the last issue, so it's a beautiful coincidence that it's one of our best ever, not to mention that we landed on number thirty, which feels right for many reasons."

The magazine was founded in 1990 by Thomas Beller and Daniel Pinchbeck. They were joined by Robert Bingham in 1993. In 1999, Joanna Yas became managing editor, and subsequently became co-editor with Thomas Beller.