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| Parent company | McSweeney’s Literary Arts Fund |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 1998; 27 years ago (1998) |
| Founder | Dave Eggers |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | San Francisco |
| Distribution | Baker & Taylor Publisher Services[1] |
| Publication types | Books,magazines |
| Official website | www |
McSweeney's Publishing is an Americannonprofitpublishing house founded byDave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered inSan Francisco. The executive director is Amanda Uhle.
McSweeney's first publication was the literary journalTimothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern in 1998. Since then, the company has published novels, books of poetry, and other periodicals.
McSweeney's distributor wasPublishers Group West (PGW) from 2002 until the end of 2006, when its parent company, Advanced Marketing Services, filed for bankruptcy. At the time of the filing, PGW owed McSweeney's about $600,000.[2] To recover the funds, McSweeney's accepted a deal from the publishing group and distributor,Perseus Books Group, that offered payment of 70 cents on the dollar owed by PGW.[3] In June 2007, McSweeney's held a successful sale andeBay auction to help make up the difference.[4]
Since 2013, McSweeney's archives have been held in theHarry Ransom Center at theUniversity of Texas.[5] They include material from the company's founding and early history.
From 2013 to 2022,Brian Christian served as Director of Technology at McSweeney’s, overseeing the development of the company’s digital infrastructure and the successful launch of a new version ofMcSweeney's Internet Tendency in 2016[6] and its first audio issue, in collaboration withRadiotopia, in 2021.[7]
In October 2014,Dave Eggers announced that McSweeney's would become a nonprofit publishing house and asked readers for donations for several projects. Eggers cited declining sales and more fundraising opportunities as the reasons for McSweeney's long-discussed change.[8]
In 2015, McSweeney's expanded into brand copywriting, working in partnership with marketers atConverse,Warby Parker, andAirbnb.[9]
In 2019, McSweeney's began publishingIllustoria magazine, founded by Joanne Meiyi Chan.[10]
In 2004, Eggers said that when he was a child his family received letters from someone named Timothy McSweeney, who claimed to be a relative of his mother. The letters arrived as a result of the coincidence that his grandfather, who delivered Timothy at birth, and the family who adopted Timothy had the same last name: McSweeney.[11][12]
In addition to a book list of approximately ten titles a year, McSweeney's publishes the quarterly literary journalTimothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, the daily-updated humor siteMcSweeney's Internet Tendency, andIllustoria, an art and storytelling magazine for children aged 6 to 11. McSweeney's also published the bimonthly magazineThe Believer, the quarterly food journalLucky Peach, and the sports journalGrantland Quarterly, in association with sports and pop culture websiteGrantland.
McSweeney's occasionally runs additional imprints, including the children's book department McSweeney's McMullens, McSweeney's Poetry Series, and theCollins Library, which reprints unusual titles.
The Organist, a podcast produced by the editors ofThe Believer andKCRW, launched in 2012.[13]
A quarterly DVD magazine,Wholphin, ran from 2005 to 2012.
Emerging writers involved with McSweeney's includeRebecca Curtis,Paul Legault,Philipp Meyer, andWells Tower. Other contributors includeChimamanda Ngozi Adichie,Michael Chabon,Stephen King,David Foster Wallace,George Saunders,Michael Ian Black,Nick Hornby,Joyce Carol Oates,Hilton Als, andRachel Z. Arndt.
McSweeney's has also published the work of musicians, critics and artists includingDavid Byrne andBeck. The bandOne Ring Zero performed at early McSweeney's events in New York and solicited lyric-writing assistance from McSweeney's contributors for their 2004 album,As Smart As We Are.
McSweeney's was the subject of theThey Might Be Giants song "The Ballad of Timothy McSweeney."
These titles are compilations of McSweeney's works either from print or online sources. The publisher of the works is listed at the end.
Fast Company ranked McSweeney's #7 on their list of the most innovative media companies in the US in 2012.[14][15] McSweeney's literary journal is a three-time winner of the National Magazine Award for Fiction, and an 8-time finalist.[16] In 2001, theNew York Times was less flattering when it noted "The McSweeneyites may be the current emperors of cool, but they're starting to need some new clothes."[17]
In 2019, Vida hailedTimothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern as the magazine that publishes the highest percentage of women and trans writers (71%) compared to peer publications.[18]
In 2021, Axios reported that readership tripled across McSweeney's web and print publications.[19]
These titles are releases of/by non-profit organization826 Valencia, published by McSweeney's/826.
McSweeney's website has published short humor daily or multiple times daily since 1998. Published compilations of its short humor includeThe Best of McSweeney's Internet Tendency (2014) andKeep Scrolling Till You Feel Something: 21 Years of Humor from McSweeney's Internet Tendency (2019). The site is edited by Chris Monks[20] and assistant edited by Lucy Huber.[21]
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