''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

magazine headquartered in

Downtown Austin Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas. Downtown is located on the north bank of the Colorado River. The approximate borders of Downtown include Lamar Boulevard to the west, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by

Michael R. Levy Michael R. "Mike" Levy (born May 17, 1946) is the founder of ''Texas Monthly'' magazine, and was publisher until retirement in August 2008. A native of Dallas, Levy's father was a plumber. Levy once drove a taxi, and also worked as a jailer at the ...

and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is now owned by Enterprise Products Co. ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary

, writing on

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

, the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

, industry, and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

. The magazine also covers leisure topics such as

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

, art, dining, and travel. It is a member of the

City and Regional Magazine Association A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...

(CRMA). In 2019, ''Texas Monthly'' was purchased by billionaire Randa Williams. In 2021, ''Texas Monthly'' acquired '' Texas Country Reporter''.

Circulation

''Texas Monthly'' has a paid circulation of 300,000 and it has a monthly readership of 2.5 million people—one out of seven Texan adults. Its audience comprises a roughly equal number of men and women, most of whom are between the ages of 30 and 55.

Subject matter

''Texas Monthly'' takes as its premise that Texas began as a distinctive place and remains so. It is the self-appointed arbiter of all things culturally Texan, with past articles on Texas BBQ, the Texas Rangers (including Joaquin Jackson's famous 1994 cover appearance), and Texas musicians. ''Texas Monthly''s annual "Bum Steer Awards" poke fun at Texas politicians and policies, odd Texas-related news items and personalities from the previous year. Anna Nicole Smith (prior to her death) was a perennial "winner". Other Bum Steer "Hall of Famers" include Ross Perot, Tom DeLay, and Jessica Simpson. It releases biennial lists with explanations of the "Ten Best" and "Ten Worst" Texas state legislators. Since the establishment of the magazine, barbecue enthusiasts have been among the ''Texas Monthly'' staff. The magazine's first article about barbecue in Texas was published in 1973. The magazine often ranks what it considers to be the best barbecue restaurants in Texas. Calvin Trillin of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' said in 2008 that East Texas barbecue often did not interest the Austin-based staff of the ''Texas Monthly'', who were more focused on Central Texas barbecue. In December 2021, the magazine signed a three-year first-look deal with HBO and

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Ne ...

Headquarters

It has its headquarters at 816 Congress Ave. in

. It occupies a area on the 17th floor of the building. it has about 80 employees. - Updated May 13, 2011. Around 2009 the ''Texas Monthly'' headquarters moved to University Park, on the site of the former Concordia University. The headquarters was scheduled to move to its current location in Downtown Austin in the summer of 2011. Previously the headquarters was in Suite 1600 of 701 Brazos in Downtown Austin.

Awards

The magazine has received ten National Magazine Awards: * General Excellence—2009, 2003, 1992, 1990 * Public Interest—1996, for "Not What the Doctor Ordered" by Mimi Swartz * Photography—1990 * Reporting—1985, for "The Man in the Black Hat" (part 1 and 2) by Paul Burka * Public Service—1980, for "Why Teachers Can't Teach" by Gene Lyons * Reporting—1979, for a three-part series by Richard West * Outstanding Editorial Achievement in Special Journalism—1974

Texas Monthly Press

In the 1980s, Texas Monthly Press published such books as '' Goodbye to a River'' and ''

Hank the Cowdog ''Hank the Cowdog'' is a long-running, ongoing Book series, series of children's literature, children's books written by John R. Erickson and illustrated originally by Gerald L. Holmes, and later by Nikki Earley. The books follow Hank, a dog th ...

'' and authors such as Bud Shrake, Stephen Harrigan and Gary Cartwright. Gulf Publishing Company purchased Texas Monthly Press in 1989.

References

* . Retrieved Apr. 13, 2005.
''Texas Monthly'' Awards
Retrieved Apr. 13, 2005.

External links

*
''Texas Monthly'' Mobile

at The Wittliff Collections of Southwestern Writers, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX. {{Authority control 1973 establishments in Texas Lifestyle magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1973 Magazines published in Austin, Texas Modern liberal magazines published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Political magazines published in the United States Texas culture Texas literature