Return to (relative) health
Posted on Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Oxford American magazine has always been an oddball.
It somehow survives as a Southern literary journal in an age of celebrity glossies and eye candy at the newsstand. It has about as many subscribers as there are fans at a Razorback basketball game. It never seems to have any money. And this little magazine simply refuses to die. I’ve written its obituary at least twice already, but here it is, 16 years after its debut in Oxford, Miss., still hanging on at the University of Central Arkansas at Conway. You want oddball ? Consider this: Despite the economy, the sad state of the publishing industry and an alleged embezzlement that almost sank it for good, the Oxford American is now doing better than it has in years. Maybe ever.
Did you see the story in Monday’s paper ? As reported by Debra Hale-Shelton, the magazine is steadily paying off its debts, newsstand sales are up (at a time when magazines as a whole have seen dramatic declines ) and subscriptions are holding. It still owes UCA $ 140, 000 from a loan six months back, but hey, for the Oxford American, that’s living lean. (That’s also money that should be paid back ASAP, for it comes from the notorious public-private fund that would have paid for Lu Hardin’s notorious bonus. )
What happened ? Warwick Sabin, UCA’s vice president of communications, took over as publisher and brought in the craziest concept: meeting a deadline.
A former journalist, Sabin understands the way deadlines can focus the mind, especially for writers, whose ability to procrastinate is exceeded only by our inability to grasp the basic elements of time.
“You can write the most beautiful piece in the world,” one editor would growl while I piddled obliviously on deadline, “and nobody will care if they can’t read it.” In other words, we need it now or it’s not getting in. (An aside: I missed deadline once. I heard about it the next day from John Robert Starr. If you knew Starr, you know I was properly motivated not to miss deadline again. )
Until this year, according to Sabin, the OA had never met a publishing deadline. That’s (a ) shocking and (b ) not good business. A magazine produces its highest revenues in the first two or three weeks after it’s out, then sales drop fast. But most important, as Sabin notes, you can’t collect advertising money until you put out an issue.
The last three issues of the magazine, now officially a quarterly, have come out within two months of each other. Quality doesn’t seem to have suffered.
Sabin has other ideas to raise money. He’s trying to find a sugar daddy. (“ We’re close to getting a couple major donors in Little Rock to pony up, ” he says. ) And he’s kicking around an idea for an Oxford American Festival of Southern Culture in the style of the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas.
Let’s pause here for a couple of disclosures: First of all, I’ve contributed to the Oxford American. I’ve also written for The Wall Street Journal, National Review, The Weekly Standard, even the old magazine version of the Arkansas Times. If you’re in this business long enough, your byline tends to get around. Second, much as I like the idea of the Oxford American, sometimes my issue sits on the coffee table staring back at me like an obligation. Come on. Here I am. Read me ! You talk a good game. Now dive into this story about the Gothic South. I’ve yet to crack open the latest issue on New Orleans. At this point, even I am Katrina’d and New Orleansed out.
That said, the Oxford American has published some fabulous stuff. Matthew Teague’s profile of Jude Acers, “The Chess King of Decatur Street,” may be the best magazine profile I’ve read. I can still recall lines from Diane Roberts’ story on Southern football Alabama-style a few years back. Of late, I couldn’t put down Gene Lyons’ essay, “Animal Passion,” in the Best of the South issue, although I found John Jeremiah Sullivan’s turn on Michael Lewis’ book, “The Blind Side,” to be derivative and disappointing.
But here’s the thing: Thanks to the OA, these stories find the light of publication. I’m not sure they would without it, which is reason enough to be thankful for the magazine’s return to health. It has earned its keep editorially, and now it appears to be doing so financially. Doggoneit. I had intended to write about UCA’s latest literary acquisition, too. It’s an online journal called Exquisite Corpse, and it has quite the reputation among the literati, which leaves me out. All I know is that it is the brainchild of the talented Andrei Codrescu, formerly of New Orleans and now living in North Arkansas. I also understand that the journal won’t cost UCA overly much, something like $ 8, 000 a year. By comparison, the university has close to a million bucks invested in the Oxford American. But I’ll have to dissect the Corpse another day. I’m out of space and on deadline. I’m sure Sabin understands.
—–––––•–––––—Staff columnist Kane Webb also writes feature stories for the Perspective section.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online