How to Start a Literary Magazine: What We Learned in Seven Years.

Seven Years In, and We're Happy to Talk

After Dinner Conversation has been publishing for seven years. That feels like a good moment to stop and say something simple: if you are working on a literary magazine, thinking about starting one, or just curious about how this kind of thing actually runs, we are happy to talk.

We are not selling anything. We do not have a course, a coaching package, or a referral link at the bottom of this page. We are an open book, and after seven years we have learned a fair amount that we would gladly share with anyone who asks. We think hiding the ball and limiting people entering the market is sillyness.

What After Dinner Conversation Does

After Dinner Conversation is a nonprofit literary magazine. Every month we publish short fiction built around questions of ethics and philosophy. Each story comes with discussion questions designed to get people talking, whether that is a classroom, a book club, or two people at a kitchen table after the plates are cleared.

We publish in print and digital editions, and we run a weekly Substack where we post stories and author interviews. The goal across all of it is the same: use good storytelling to open up the hard questions that don't have clean answers, and give readers a reason to sit with them.

Who We Are

We started as a small project, just posting stories on our website, with a specific belief: that fiction is one of the best tools we have for thinking through moral problems. The website turned into Amazon short stories, turned into a monthly digital magazine, and later a monthly print magazine.

It’s seven years later and our faith in our niche, and literary magazines as a tool for good, holds strong. Along the way we have figured out how to acquire work from writers around the world, build an editorial process, manage contributors and volunteers, handle the business side of a nonprofit, and keep a publishing schedule that actually ships month after month. Masthead

None of that came with a manual. We learned most of it by doing it, getting some things wrong, and fixing them along the way.

The Offer

The point being, if any of what we have learned is useful to you, reach out. We are glad to chat about how we run the magazine, what worked, what didn't, and what we would do differently if we started today. If you want something more ongoing, we are open to mentoring as well.

The only thing we ask is a genuine interest in the work. Whether you are a writer trying to understand the publishing side, someone building their own magazine, or a person who just wants to know how a small nonprofit literary publication stays alive for seven years, we would be happy to hear from you. We also are happy to do zoom calls and presentations (formal or informal) to your organization.

Send us a message to editor@afterdinnerconversation.com. We promise we will answer.

After Dinner Conversation Literary Magazine Paid Subscriber Count