Epic Magazine

What Epic Magazine does

Epic Magazine is a Los Angeles-based digital publishing company that produces long-form, non-fiction narrative journalism centered on extraordinary true stories. Co-founded by Joshua Davis and Joshuah Bearman (the year of founding is reported as 2005 in company history sources and 2013 in firmographic sources; the company timeline anchors 2005 as the founding year), Epic operates a content platform at epicmagazine.com and through its Epic Digital subsidiary, distributing free editorial pieces that are crafted with cinematic narrative structure suitable for adaptation. The publication partners with a broad network of media outlets—including New York Magazine, Vox Media, Popular Mechanics, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, Smithsonian, and Medium—for co-publishing and audience reach.

The company's commercial model does not rely on reader subscriptions; all stories are published free online. Revenue is generated through two primary streams: (1) content licensing to Hollywood, where Epic retains underlying rights and option fees or production royalties are paid when stories are adapted into films and television, and (3) co-publishing partnerships with major outlets, where Epic provides editorial content in exchange for distribution and promotional support. To date, more than 50 articles have been optioned, including Argo (Academy Award for Best Picture, 2013), Little America and The Big Cigar (Apple TV+), Radical (2023 Sundance winner), and Breaking (2022 Sundance Special Jury Award).

Epic has expanded beyond text into adjacent media formats, including podcasts (notably Varnamtown with PodcastOne) and streaming adaptations through Apple TV+. The company is privately held by its co-founders, has a headcount in the 11–50 range, and has raised modest disclosed outside capital (a $1 million round in 2015 led by A+E Global Media with BRaVe Media Ventures and Upslope Ventures). No institutional ownership, parent company, or external private equity control has been disclosed in available materials.

Name

Epic Magazine

Legal name

Epic Magazine

Website

https://epicmagazine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Epic Magazine is a Los Angeles-based digital publisher of long-form, non-fiction true stories. Its 50+ articles have been optioned by Hollywood, producing award-winning films and Apple TV+ series, with revenue derived from licensing and co-publishing partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Publishing

NAICS

All Other Publishers (513199)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Biography, Memoir & Narrative Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAAAI)

Keywords

• Narrative journalism
• Long-form storytelling
• True story publishing
• Digital magazine
• Content licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Content Licensing to Hollywood: Epic licenses its true story articles for film and television adaptation, generating revenue through option fees and production deals. Over 50 articles have been optioned, including Argo which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
2. Publishing Partnerships: Co-publishing arrangements with major outlets including New York Magazine, Vox, Popular Mechanics, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, Smithsonian, and Texas Monthly.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Epic Magazine publishes extraordinary true stories as long-form narrative journalism, distributing them free online, via newsletter, through co-publishing with major outlets, and as podcasts. The publication monetizes its content library primarily by licensing articles for film and television adaptation — with over 50 articles optioned, including the Academy Award-winning Argo and the 2023 Sundance winner Radical — and through co-publishing partnerships with New York Magazine, Vox, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and other outlets.

Product overview

Epic Magazine is a digital publication that publishes extraordinary true stories — non-fiction narratives featuring dramatic real-life tales including wartime romance, unlikely savants, deranged detectives, gentlemen thieves, and love-struck killers. The company operates through Epic Magazine (core publication) and Epic Digital (digital arm), offering content through its website, newsletter, and podcast series (Varnamtown with PodcastOne). Epic has expanded into television and film adaptations, with productions including Little America (Apple TV+ series), The Big Cigar (Apple TV+ limited series), Radical (2023 Sundance winner), Breaking (feature film), and Argo (Academy Award-winning film). The company has optioned over 50 articles to Hollywood.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Epic Magazine A digital publication specializing in extraordinary true stories — non-fiction narratives and long-form journalism featuring dramatic real-life tales including wartime romance, unlikely savants, deranged detectives, gentlemen thieves, and love-struck killers. Stories are available free online, organized into Titles and Classics sections, with a newsletter signup and social distribution.
• Epic Digital

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50 articles optioned by Hollywood
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Apple TV+coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorApple TV+ produces television series based on Epic Magazine true stories, including 'The Big Cigar', 'Little America', and 'Breaking'. This is a major distribution channel for Epic content.
• PodcastOnecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEpic produces podcasts with PodcastOne, including 'Varnamtown' hosted by Kyle MacLachlan and Joshua Davis.
• MediumminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEpic stories debut on Medium platform, a publishing platform built for ideas that should last.
• New York MagazinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor co-publishing partner for Epic stories including 'Collision Course', 'Last Resort', 'The Last Gamble of Tokyo Joe', 'Mueller and Me', and 'The Bicycle Thief'.
• Vox Media / The HighlightcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-publishing partner for multiple stories including 'The Gauntlet', 'The Ballad of the Chowchilla Bus Kidnapping', 'The Haunting of Girlstown', 'Homebound', 'They Didn't See Me As Innocent', and 'Go For Broke' podcast.
• Popular MechanicsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published 'Epic x Popular Mechanics' feature on the MacArthur Maze reconstruction.
• EsquireminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published 'Flex' story about competitive yoga rivalry.
• Vanity FairminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published 'Lilith Fair: An Oral History'.
• Sports IllustratedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublished 'Lady Leadfoot' story about Denise McCluggage.
• Smithsonian MagazineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublished 'The Priest of Abu Ghraib' story by Jen Percy.
• Texas MonthlyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublished 'The Love Story that Upended the Texas Prison System'.
• The VergeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published 'Searching for Susy Thunder' story about hacker Susan Headley.
• Atlas ObscuraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced 'Monster Mythology' ongoing series on spooky folk traditions and local legends.
• SBNationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published 'The Ticket' story about ticket scalping.
• The CutminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublished 'Precocious' story by Patrick Burleigh about early puberty.
• Vox Media Podcast NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPodcast partnership for 'Go For Broke' and 'Little America: The Official Podcast'.
• NowThisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published 'Swamp Boy' medical mystery story.
• The HighlineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublished 'I'm Still Here' story about mental health by Clancy Martin.
• Curbed (NY Magazine)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published 'Secrets of the Christmas Tree Trade' story.
• Chicago MagazineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published 'The Last Gamble of Tokyo Joe' and 'The Bicycle Thief' stories.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Atavist: The Atavist is the closest analogue to Epic: a digital publisher built around long-form narrative nonfiction and true stories, with a parallel tradition of licensing stories for film/TV adaptation (e.g., 'The Atavist Magazine' → 'Killers of the Flower Moon'). Same content niche, same freemium distribution, same Hollywood-adjacent revenue model.
• Longreads: Longreads curates and publishes long-form nonfiction from across the web, operating as a discovery layer for narrative journalism. Overlaps with Epic on long-form curation, audience (narrative-journalism enthusiasts), and free online distribution; smaller differentiation point is curation vs. Epic's reported commissions.
• Gimlet Media: Gimlet is a narrative podcast studio producing serialized nonfiction (e.g., 'Reply All', 'Heavyweight'). Strong overlap with Epic's storytelling craft, multi-format ambition (audio adaptations of long-form stories), and dependence on platform partners for distribution; now owned by Spotify, demonstrating the strategic-acquirer pathway for narrative studios.
• Narratively: Narratively publishes 'untold true stories' in long-form magazine format with strong literary craft, targeting a similar audience of narrative-journalism readers. Comparable mission (extraordinary true stories, character-driven narrative), similar free-online distribution, and similar dependence on editorial talent for differentiation.
• Serial Productions: Serial Productions creates long-form serialized true-crime and investigative narratives, originating from 'This American Life' (which co-founder Joshuah Bearman has contributed to). Highly comparable storytelling craft, target audience, and partnership with public-radio distribution channels.
• This American Life: This American Life is the seminal narrative-nonfiction radio program/podcast telling extraordinary true stories with literary craft. Direct overlap on content category, storytelling style, and target audience; Bearman is listed as a contributor, demonstrating an established peer relationship.

Broad incumbents

• Wired: Wired is a larger established digital magazine that publishes long-form tech and culture journalism; co-founder Joshua Davis was a Contributing Editor at Wired for a decade. Overlaps on long-form digital journalism and on shared talent pipeline, but covers a broader subject-area remit than Epic's true-story specialization.
• Substack: Substack is a larger creator-publishing platform that hosts long-form newsletter writing across categories including narrative journalism. Overlaps on long-form distribution and writer monetization, though it is a horizontal platform rather than a vertically-curated narrative-nonfiction publisher like Epic.
• Medium: Medium is a broad online publishing platform where Epic stories debut as a co-publishing partner. Comparable on long-form online distribution and writer-publishing infrastructure; not a direct competitor for premium narrative nonfiction but a meaningful distribution counterparty and adjacent category player.

Emerging players

• Byliner: Byliner pioneered the model of publishing long-form narrative nonfiction by individual authors with Hollywood optioning at the core. Very similar business model architecture (story-first, licensing-driven); though smaller in scale today, it remains a structural peer in terms of original long-form → adaptation economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/epic
• Facebookfacebook.com/epicmagazinenow
• Instagraminstagram.com/epic_magazine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3554952

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Epic Magazine