Dear Patrons, readers, and supporters of all kinds:
We are writing to share that the time has come for us to stop publishing at Dismantle Magazine. As editors and co-founders, this was a tough decision, as this project means so much to us, and there’s almost nothing we love more than working on it together. However, after many long talks, and asking each other, “What if we did xxx?”, we realized that it’s simply time to let go.
We arrived at this decision for a variety of reasons. But mostly: Internet publishing has changed…and so have we.
Especially since 2020, we have adapted to massive upheavals that we could not have anticipated when we started this project in 2017: COVID, the rise of AI, shifts in social media algorithms that have made it very difficult to share our work with all of you, and much more. Over the last several months, fresh energy from guest editors allowed us to expand our work beyond essays and creative nonfiction, to publish innovative short fiction and poetry by authors with important stories to tell. However, while our readers loved these new kinds of stories, we’ve found that it takes more work than ever to share with others.
The reality of digital media now is that it requires an enormous amount of effort battling shifting platforms and algorithms as well as battling for our tiny space in the attention economy. This means we’ve had less and less energy for the work we care about—finding new voices, and editing and publishing beautiful writing.
But this isn’t a sad goodbye, because—as we said— we’ve changed too! And we have Dismantle to thank for the exciting next stop on a journey we began seven years ago.
We created Dismantle a couple of years after completing our PhDs. We were realizing the traditional academic path wasn’t what we wanted, and were trying to figure out what kind of cultural studies scholars we wanted to be. We knew we wanted to be collaborative, experimental, educational, and engaged with audiences that included, but wasn’t limited to our students and academic peers. The magazine, and all of the brilliant people who have supported it as writers, readers, and contributors, provided us with a place to create and explore. It connected us to an inspiring community of thinkers we never could have dreamed up on our own. It was also a place where we tested out things that, to be honest, sort of felt like tangents or deadends in the moment. But in fact, every shaky podcast, online class, short-lived series—each twist and pivot—led us to the place we are now.
Where is that? Dismantle Magazine will now just be Dismantle. We’re still doing the work, but in new formats and for different audiences. We can’t reveal the details yet, but we CAN say that the project we did last year for the Library of Congress was just the beginning. If you want to stay connected on our mailing list and social media, we’ll provide updates and possible opportunities for collaboration along the way.
We are incredibly grateful for the support we’ve had over the last several years, and for how much your readership and financial contributions have allowed our community of writers and change-makers to flourish.
Starting today, we are closing our Patreon account, which means we will stop taking all payments coming from our beloved Patrons. Without you, this project wouldn’t have happened, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Every single monthly subscription allowed us to pay writers and editors, cover operating expenses, and spread the word every time we published a new piece. We hope you continue sharing your generosity with another organization, artist, or entity doing work you believe in.
We leave you with an amazing archive that we will continue to maintain and keep available for public use. We will always be thankful for YOU, our supporters, for helping us get to this point, bringing you hundreds of stories by dozens of writers who joined us in our mission to write a better world together.
Sara and Elise
