Issue No. 139, due out in February 2022, will be its last
Literary magazine The Believer is shutting down and will publish its final issue early next year. The bimonthly magazine—published by the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Nevada Las Vegas through its Black Mountain Institute—publishes interviews, essays, and criticism, including an annual music issue. The magazine’s February/March 2022 issue (No. 139) will be the last. Check out the full press release below.
The Believer was founded by Heidi Julavits, Vendela Vida, and Ed Park in 2003. From 2003-2014 it was published by McSweeney’s, Dave Eggers’ independent publishing house. From 2008-2014, the magazine published Greil Marcus’ “Real Life Rock” column. It has been published by BMI since 2017. In May 2021, BMI Executive Director Joshua Wolf Shenk resigned after it was reported that he exposed himself on a Zoom call with staff members.
In a press release, UNLV College of Liberal Arts Dean Jennifer Keane said there was “no path forward” to continuing to publish the magazine and that it “consumed a significant amount of BMI’s resources.”
The Believer was named a National Magazine Award finalist 12 times.
