Harper’s Magazine Foundation
Harper's Magazine Foundation is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit publisher of Harper's Magazine, one of America's oldest continuously published literary monthlies (founded 1850), serving intellectually curious readers with essays, fiction, poetry, and reporting across print, a 175-year digital archive, podcasts, newsletters, and live events.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1850
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Harper’s Magazine Foundation does
Harper's Magazine Foundation is a privately held 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that publishes Harper's Magazine, one of the oldest continuously published literary magazines in the United States, founded in 1850 and based in New York City. The magazine operates as a general-interest monthly featuring essays, reporting, fiction, poetry, and signature editorial features such as Harper's Index and Findings, serving intellectually curious readers seeking long-form journalism and literary content in opposition to rapid 24-hour news cycles.
The product surface spans a print monthly issue, a digital edition with instant access, a fully digitized 175-year archive, a podcast distributed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, two recurring email newsletters (Weekly Review and General Interest), an e-commerce shop for back issues and merchandise, and live events culminating in the 175th Anniversary Gala. The publishing platform runs on a WordPress/Timber-based CMS with a subscription management and authentication system, an email newsletter delivery layer, and a separate institutional access channel for libraries and universities.
Revenue is generated primarily through $25.99/year print-plus-digital subscriptions that bundle the 175-year archive, supplemented by print and digital advertising (including a 2026 Media Kit and classifieds), single-issue and merchandise sales through the online store, ticketed events, and tax-deductible donations to the Foundation. The go-to-market is sales-led through direct-to-consumer subscriptions on harpers.org, institutional sales to academic libraries, wholesale newsstand distribution, and content marketing via the website, newsletters, podcast, and social channels. Leadership includes John R. MacArthur as President and Publisher and Christopher Carroll as Editor, with a documented masthead of approximately 30 editorial, digital, advertising, and operations staff.
Harper’s Magazine Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Harper’s Magazine Foundation
- Legal name
- Harper's Magazine Foundation
- Website
- https://harpers.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1850
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Harper's Magazine Foundation is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit publisher of Harper's Magazine, one of America's oldest continuously published literary monthlies (founded 1850), serving intellectually curious readers with essays, fiction, poetry, and reporting across print, a 175-year digital archive, podcasts, newsletters, and live events.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Harper’s Magazine Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Harper’s Magazine Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Print and Digital Subscriptions: Annual subscription revenue providing access to monthly print magazine, instant digital access, and the complete 175-year archive
- Advertising: Print and digital advertising space sold to businesses, including a 2026 Media Kit available for advertisers
- Classifieds: Classified advertising section including book listings and general classifieds
- Events: Events including the Harper's Magazine 175th Anniversary Gala and other live programming
- Donations: Support through donations to the Harper's Magazine Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
- Single Issue Sales: Individual print issue purchases through the online store and newsstand distribution
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Full Access Annual Subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | Gift Subscription |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Harper’s Magazine Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Harper’s Magazine Foundation publishes a monthly general-interest literary magazine under the masthead Harper’s Magazine, distributed in print and digital formats on an annual subscription basis at $25.99 per year. The foundation also provides subscribers with access to a fully digitized 175-year archive of past issues, two email newsletters, a podcast, an online store for back issues and merchandise, and live reader events such as the 175th Anniversary Gala. Operations are structured as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by subscription fees, advertising, classifieds, events, and tax-deductible donations.
Product overview
Harper's Magazine Foundation offers Harper's Magazine as a unified print and digital subscription product with integrated access to the fully digitized 175-year archive. The product portfolio includes the core monthly literary magazine (available in print and digital formats), the digital archive, and multiple digital content channels including podcasts and email newsletters (Weekly Review and General Interest). Additional offerings include editorial features like Harper's Index and Findings, the Harper's Art Desk visual arts section, an e-commerce shop for merchandise and back issues, and live events. The publication operates on a subscription-first model, offering print + digital bundles at $25.99 per year with tiered access to content.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Harper’s Magazine Print Subscription Monthly print edition of Harper’s Magazine delivered by mail, featuring essays, fiction, poetry, reporting, and signature features such as Harper’s Index; available as part of the $25.99-per-year full-access subscription.
- Harper’s Digital Subscription Annual digital subscription providing instant access to Harper’s Magazine content online, read-anywhere digital edition, and access to the fully digitized 175-year archive, priced at $25.99 per year.
- Harper’s Archive Complete digitized archive of every issue of Harper’s Magazine from 1850 to present, searchable and accessible to subscribers as part of the full-access subscription.
- Harper’s Podcast Audio podcast featuring author interviews, readings, and discussions tied to Harper’s Magazine content, distributed through Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
- Weekly Review Newsletter Weekly email newsletter curating Harper’s content with the stated aim of countering “the relentless absurdity of the 24-hour news cycle.”
- General Interest Newsletter Biweekly email roundup of articles, features, and interviews from Harper’s Magazine.
- Harper’s Store E-commerce storefront selling current and back issues of Harper’s Magazine as well as branded merchandise and special products.
- Harper’s Events Live in-person and virtual events featuring Harper’s Magazine authors, editors, and literary figures, including signature gatherings such as the 175th Anniversary Gala.
Quantifiable outcome
- Darcy Frey's essay 'The Last Shot' won the National Magazine Award
Companies that use Harper’s Magazine Foundation
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Harper’s Magazine Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Harper’s Magazine Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Harper’s Magazine Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The New Yorker: The New Yorker is the most direct peer: a prestigious general-interest monthly magazine featuring long-form journalism, fiction, poetry, essays, and cultural commentary, with a print + digital subscription model and a deep historical archive. Both target the same educated, literary reader.
- The Atlantic: The Atlantic publishes long-form journalism, essays, and cultural commentary on politics, society, and ideas. It targets the same intellectually curious educated reader and uses a subscription + advertising hybrid model with a strong digital presence.
- The Nation: The Nation is one of America's oldest progressive magazines, publishing political commentary, investigative reporting, and literary content. It is a direct peer in editorial positioning (long-form political and cultural journalism) and target audience.
- The New York Review of Books: NYRB is a biweekly publication of long-form essays, literary reviews, and intellectual commentary, also based in New York. It targets the same educated literary audience and operates a print + digital subscription model with deep archival content.
- The Paris Review: The Paris Review is a quarterly literary magazine featuring fiction, poetry, and interviews with writers. It targets the same literary reader, uses a print + digital subscription model, and is a nonprofit literary publisher like Harper's Magazine Foundation.
- The New Republic: The New Republic is a magazine of politics, culture, and ideas publishing long-form journalism and commentary. It directly competes for the same educated, politically engaged reader and uses a digital + print subscription model.
Broad incumbents
- Vanity Fair: Vanity Fair is a larger Condé Nast publication covering culture, politics, and long-form journalism, with a print + digital model. It is a broad incumbent operating in the same general-interest literary magazine space but with a wider scope and larger scale.
- Esquire: Esquire is a long-running Hearst men's interest magazine publishing long-form journalism, fiction, and cultural commentary. It is a broad incumbent in the literary magazine category with substantially larger scale and reach.
Emerging players
- n+1: n+1 is an independent literary magazine publishing essays, fiction, and intellectual commentary. It targets a similar educated reader but operates at significantly smaller scale, with a print + digital + book publishing model.
- Granta: Granta is a quarterly literary magazine publishing long-form fiction, journalism, memoir, and cultural commentary. It targets the same literary reader and competes for the same prestige author contributions and archive-aware subscription audience.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Harper’s Magazine Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceHarper’s Magazine Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Harper’s Magazine Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Harper’s Magazine Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Harper’s Magazine Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Harper’s Magazine Foundation
What does Harper’s Magazine Foundation do?
Harper’s Magazine Foundation publishes a monthly general-interest literary magazine under the masthead Harper’s Magazine, distributed in print and digital formats on an annual subscription basis at $25.99 per year. The foundation also provides subscribers with access to a fully digitized 175-year archive of past issues, two email newsletters, a podcast, an online store for back issues and merchandise, and live reader events such as the 175th Anniversary Gala. Operations are structured as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by subscription fees, advertising, classifieds, events, and tax-deductible donations.
Is Harper’s Magazine Foundation a public or private company?
Harper’s Magazine Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Harper’s Magazine Foundation founded?
Harper’s Magazine Foundation was founded in 1850. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Harper’s Magazine Foundation based?
Harper’s Magazine Foundation is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Harper’s Magazine Foundation make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Print and Digital Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are advertising, classifieds, events, donations and single Issue Sales.
Who are Harper’s Magazine Foundation's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Nation, The New York Review of Books, The Paris Review and The New Republic. Broad incumbents are Vanity Fair and Esquire. Emerging players are n+1 and Granta.
Does Harper’s Magazine Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Harper’s Magazine Foundation.