New Electronic Literary Magazine

The Rag is a new electronic literary magazine specializing in the publication of short fiction. Set to debut in fall, 2011 this publication focuses on the grittier genres that tend to fall by the wayside at more traditional literary magazines.
Since the recent and rapid decline of the print publishing market, the number of available outlets for readers and writers alike has severely diminished. What remains of the traditional print publication seems to be taking less risk, while catering to an increasingly niche market. Consequently, many of today’s emerging writers have been pushed out of these markets, leaving much of their work undiscovered.
The Rag hopes to fill these market gaps by taking advantage of the rise of electronic publishing, while bringing a print aesthetic to the digital world. This will allow for a broader and more diverse selection of literature than what the typical print publication can now affordably provide.
The ever-increasing production costs associated with print publishing also mean that author compensation has declined. While web publishing and the online literary magazine have become increasingly popular, most existing web publications are free, again meaning many contributing authors aren’t paid for their efforts. These free, unpaid mediums have lowered the bar for competition as well as the overall standard of quality in much of today’s online literature. The Rag aims to strike a balance between the two mediums and provide a quality, affordable and sustainable publication that can also afford to pay the people who make the magazine possible: the authors.
The Rag’s ultimate goal is to put the literary magazine back into the entertainment market while rekindling the social and cultural value short fiction once held in North American literature. The Rag editors specialize in finding original talent from all over the world, in an effort to produce a unique, entertaining and diverse reading experience, while also providing an income outlet that supports and promotes writers in a way that helps to create a sustainable demand for their work.
The Rag’s premier issue features 9 stories from both emerging and established authors, totaling roughly 40,000 words. Currently, The Rag is available as a PDF on a subscription basis through the website http://www.raglitmag.com/ and will be available on the Kindle and Nook stores within 30 days of this release. Apps for Android and Apple are currently in development and will be deployed in early 2012.

We see electronic publishing as an opportunity. It lets us distribute our magazine for a reasonable price, while still allowing us to pay our authors for their hard work—in other words, new technology has allowed us to turn back time to an era of affordable distribution and open competition. It’s easy for good writing to get lost in the muck of Internet publishing. Many of the existing online magazines aim for quantity over quality. They throw the muck at the wall and hope some sticks. Which is fine and has its place, but that’s not the way we operate. The Rag aims to bring a print aesthetic to the digital world. In other words, we have standards. We edit our stories. We design a good-looking magazine. We want publication in The Rag to mean something to our authors, and we want our readers to trust that they’ll get only the best writing out there. We like gritty stories, stories that are psychologically believable and stories that have some humor in them, dark or otherwise. We like subtle themes, original characters and sharp wit.

The Rag
11901 SW 34th Ave
Portland, OR 97219

dan@raglitmag.com
seth@raglitmag.com

Daniel Reilly
215-350-5338
dan@raglitmag.com

This release was published on openPR.