''Open City Magazine and Books'' was a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

-based

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinati ...

and

book publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

that featured many first-time writers alongside those who are well known. The editors were

Thomas Beller Thomas Beller (born May 23, 1965) is an American author and editor. Early life Born and raised in New York City, Beller has remained a resident of his native city, which often features in his stories. He is the son of documentary filmmaker Hava ...

and Joanna Yas.

History and profile

and

Daniel Pinchbeck Daniel Pinchbeck is an American author. His books include '' Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism'', ''2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl'' , and ''Notes from the Edge Times''. He is a co-founder ...

founded the magazine in 1991, and were soon joined by Robert Bingham, who in 1999 founded the book series. It was published by a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, Open City, Inc. ''Open City Magazine'' was produced three times per year. Open City Books released two to four books per year. Their first book was a collection of poetry by David Berman. The magazine and books were distributed to the trade by

Publishers Group West Publishers Group West (PGW) is a book distributor founded in 1976 in Berkeley, California, which distributes to bookstores in the U.S. and internationally. They were the largest distributor of independent presses in the U.S. in the 1990s. In 2007, ...

. Writers published in the magazine include

Mary Gaitskill Mary Gaitskill (born November 11, 1954) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. Her work has appeared in ''The New Yorker'', ''Harper's Magazine'', ''Esquire'', '' The Best American Short Stories'' (1993, 2006, 2012, 2020), and ...

, Richard Yates,

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...

David Foster Wallace David Foster Wallace (February 21, 1962 – September 12, 2008) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and university professor of English and creative writing. Wallace is widely known for his 1996 novel ''Infinite Jest'', which ...

, Robert Stone, Martha McPhee,

Nick Tosches Nicholas P. Tosches (; October 23, 1949 – October 20, 2019) was an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet. His 1982 biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, '' Hellfire'', was praised by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as "the best rock and roll ...

Denis Johnson Denis Hale Johnson (July 1, 1949 – May 24, 2017) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet. He is perhaps best known for his debut short story collection, '' Jesus' Son'' (1992). His most successful novel, '' Tree of Smoke'' (2007 ...

Rick Moody Hiram Frederick Moody III (born October 18, 1961) is an American novelist and short story writer best known for the 1994 novel ''The Ice Storm'', a chronicle of the dissolution of two suburban Connecticut families over Thanksgiving weekend in 1 ...

Michael Cunningham Michael Cunningham (born November 6, 1952) is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for his 1998 novel '' The Hours'', which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1999. Cunningham is a senior lectur ...

, Jonathan Ames,

Sam Lipsyte Sam Lipsyte (born 1968) is an American novelist and short story writer. Life The son of the sports journalist Robert Lipsyte, Sam Lipsyte was born in New York City and raised in Closter, New Jersey, where he attended Northern Valley Regional Hig ...

, Joe Andoe, David Berman, Jonathan Baumbach, Joshua Beckman, Matthew Rohrer, Matthew Zapruder, Anselm Berrigan, Jill Bialosky,

Hakim Bey Peter Lamborn Wilson (October 20, 1945 – May 23, 2022) was an American anarchist author and poet, primarily known for his concept of Temporary Autonomous Zones, short-lived spaces which elude formal structures of control. During the 1970s, Wils ...

, Jason Brown, Bliss Broyard, Rachel Sherman,

Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...

Robert Olen Butler Robert Olen Butler (born January 20, 1945) is an American fiction writer. His short-story collection '' A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain'' was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1993. Early life Butler was born in Granite City, Illin ...

, Emily Carter,

Alexander Chancellor Alexander Surtees Chancellor, CBE (4 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was a British journalist. Chancellor was educated at Eton College and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He was the editor of the conservative ''Spectator'' magazine from 1975 to ...

, Bryan Charles, Alfred Chester, Christopher Sorrentino,

Delmore Schwartz Delmore Schwartz (December 8, 1913 – July 11, 1966) was an American poet and short story writer. Early life Schwartz was born in 1913 in Brooklyn, New York, where he also grew up. His parents, Harry and Rose, both Romanian Jews, separated when ...

Cyril Connolly Cyril Vernon Connolly CBE (10 September 1903 – 26 November 1974) was an English literary critic and writer. He was the editor of the influential literary magazine ''Horizon'' (1940–49) and wrote ''Enemies of Promise'' (1938), which combine ...

, Adrian Dannatt,

Meghan Daum Meghan Elizabeth Daum (born February 13, 1970) is an American author, essayist, podcaster, and journalist. Childhood and education Although she was born in California, Daum grew up in Austin, Texas, and Ridgewood, New Jersey. She received her b ...

, Rick DeMarinis,

Rodney Jack Rodney Jack (born 18 September 1972) is a former professional footballer from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. He is best known for his spells with Torquay United and Crewe Alexandra. He has also played internationally for Saint Vincent and th ...

, Catherine Bowman,

Geoff Dyer Geoff Dyer (born 5 June 1958) is an English author. He has written a number of novels and non-fiction books, some of which have won literary awards. Personal background Dyer was born and raised in Cheltenham, England, as the only child of a s ...

Alicia Erian Alicia Erian (born 1967) is an American novelist. She was born to an Egyptian father and American mother of Polish descent. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Binghamton University and a Master of Fine Arts in writing from Vermont ...

, Edward Field,

Nick Flynn Nick Flynn (born January 26, 1960) is an American writer, playwright, and poet. His writing is characterized by lyric, distilled moments, which blur the boundaries of various genres. Many of his books are structured using a collage technique, w ...

Ford Madox Ford Ford Madox Ford (né Joseph Leopold Ford Hermann Madox Hueffer ( ); 17 December 1873 – 26 June 1939) was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals ''The English Review'' and ''The Transatlantic Review'' were instrumental in ...

Bruce Jay Friedman The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

Rivka Galchen Rivka Galchen (born April 19, 1976) is a Canadian-American writer. Her first novel, ''Atmospheric Disturbances'', was published in 2008 and was awarded the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. She is the author of five books and a con ...

, Deborah Garrison,

Mark Gonzales Mark Gonzales (born June 1, 1968), also known as "Gonz" and "The Gonz", is an American professional skateboarder and artist. He is known as the godfather of modern street skateboarding and was named the "Most Influential Skateboarder of All Tim ...

Dana Goodyear Dana Goodyear (born 1976) is an American journalist and poet, the author of the forthcoming book ''Anything That Moves'', and the co-founder of Figment, an on-line literary community. She is a staff writer at ''The New Yorker'' and teaches in the ...

, Joyce Johnson,

Hettie Jones Hettie Jones (née Cohen; born in 1934) is an American poet. She has written twenty-three books that include a memoir of the Beat Generation, three volumes of poetry, and publications for children and young adults, including ''The Trees Stand ...

Daniil Kharms Daniil Ivanovich Kharms (russian: Дании́л Ива́нович Хармс; – 2 February 1942) was an early Soviet-era Russian avant-gardist and absurdist poet, writer and dramatist. Early years Kharms was born as Daniil Yuvache ...

Wayne Koestenbaum Wayne Koestenbaum (born 1958) is an American artist, poet, and cultural critic. He received a B.A. from Harvard University, an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University and is a 1994 Whiting Award recip ...

James Lasdun James Lasdun (born 1958) is an English novelist and poet. Life and career Lasdun was born in London, the son of Susan (Bendit) and British architect Sir Denys Lasdun. Lasdun has written four novels, including , a New York Times Notable Book, and ...

Monica Lewinsky Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist and writer. President Bill Clinton admitted to having an affair with Lewinsky while she worked at the White House as an intern in 1995 and 1996. The affair, and its repercus ...

Viktor Pelevin Victor Olegovich Pelevin ( rus, Виктор Олегович Пелевин, p=ˈvʲiktər ɐˈlʲɛɡəvʲɪtɕ pʲɪˈlʲevʲɪn; born 22 November 1962) is a Russian fiction writer. His novels include '' Omon Ra'' (1992), '' The Life of Insec ...

, Rebecca Wolff, Kevin Young, and C.K. Williams. The magazine's discontinuation was announced in March 2011. It published 30 issues during its existence.

Published books

*'' Actual Air'' by David Berman (1999) *''Venus Drive'' by

(2000) *'' My Misspent Youth'' by

(2001) *'' World on Fire'' by Michael Brownstein (2002) *'' Some Hope'' by Edward St Aubyn (2003) *''

Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its e ...

'' by

Steve Tesich Stojan Steve Tesich ( sr, Стојан Стив Тешић, Stojan Stiv Tešić; September 29, 1942 – July 1, 1996) was a Serbian-American screenwriter, playwright, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1979 for ...

(2004) *'' Goodbye, Goodness'' by Sam Brumbaugh (2005) *'' Mother's Milk'' by Edward St Aubyn (2006) *'' The First Hurt'' by Rachel Sherman (2006) *'' Love Without'' by

Jerry Stahl Jerry Stahl (born September 28, 1953) is an American novelist and screenwriter. His works include the 1995 memoir of addiction ''Permanent Midnight''. A 1998 film adaptation followed with Ben Stiller in the lead role. Stahl has worked extensivel ...

(2007) *'' Long Live a Hunger to Feed Each Other'' by Jerome Badanes (2007) *'' Why the Devil Chose New England for His Work'' by Jason Brown (2007) *'' Farewell Navigator'' by Leni Zumas (2008) *''

Living Room In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room (Australian English), lounge (British English), sitting room (British English), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a residential house or apartment. Su ...

'' by Rachel Sherman (2009)

References

Open City
Accessed September 22, 2006.

Accessed December 29, 2008.

Accessed December 29, 2008.

External links

Open City Magazine & Books website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Open City (magazine) Book publishing companies based in New York City Defunct literary magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1991 Magazines disestablished in 2011 Magazines published in New York City Triannual magazines published in the United States 1991 establishments in New York City 2011 disestablishments in New York (state)

History and profile

Published books

See also

References

External links