The Believer magazine, the acclaimed literary and cultural criticism bi-monthly published by the Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute in UNLV’s College of Liberal Arts, will end publication after its spring 2022 issue.
Founded in 2003, the five-time National Magazine Award finalist was published by Dave Eggers’ independent press imprint McSweeney’s for the first part of its existence, before it was acquired by BMI in 2017. Over the years the magazine published an impressive array of acclaimed and up-and-coming writers and illustrators, including Amy Sedaris, Hilton Als, Sarah Marshall, Nick Hornby and Michael Kupperman.
It also inspired the creation of the annual Believer Fest, which drew writers, cultural commentators and musicians like Aimee Mann, Jonathan Lethem and Anita Sarkeesian to speak and perform around Las Vegas.
The Believer flourished for a time under BMI, but the one-two punch of the coronavirus slowdown and the tough sledding all magazines face in a largely digital world has left “no path forward to continue publishing the magazine,” Jennifer Keene, dean of UNLV’s College of Liberal Arts, said in a statement.
Though the statement doesn’t say as much, it’s also easy to infer that the April resignation of The Believer’s former editor-in-chief Joshua Wolf Shenk—who stepped down in ignominy after exposing himself during a Zoom call—didn’t help the magazine’s long-term prospects.
Keene adds that the dissolution of The Believer frees up resources that can be redirected “to the initiatives most central to BMI’s mission”—including literary fellowships and the “City of Asylum” safe haven program for writers who face persecution in their home countries.
And the 2022 Believer Festival is still scheduled to go on April 28-30, after The Believer’s final issue is published.
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