Harper’s Magazine Foundation

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.

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

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Subscriptions: Annual subscription revenue providing access to monthly print magazine, instant digital access, and the complete 175-year archive
2. Advertising: Print and digital advertising space sold to businesses, including a 2026 Media Kit available for advertisers
3. Classifieds: Classified advertising section including book listings and general classifieds
4. Events: Events including the Harper's Magazine 175th Anniversary Gala and other live programming
5. Donations: Support through donations to the Harper's Magazine Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
6. Single Issue Sales: Individual print issue purchases through the online store and newsstand distribution

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core 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

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct 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

• Xx.com/Harpers
• YouTubeopen.spotify.com/show/4h9SICTDppd1iJv9n5jXfc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harpers-magazine
• Instagraminstagram.com/harpersmagazine
• Facebookfacebook.com/HarpersMagazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Harper’s Magazine Foundation