Creative Nonfiction

What Creative Nonfiction does

Creative Nonfiction is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary foundation incorporated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1994 by Lee Gutkind. It operates as the defining independent publisher for the creative nonfiction genre, producing a flagship magazine that ran for 78 issues from 1994 through 2022, the True Story mini-magazine (35 issues of single longform essays), curated email newsletters (Sunday Short Reads and In Case You Missed It), and a deep archive of over 1,000 essays filterable by issue, type, and topic. Its technology is a WordPress-based web publishing platform with digital subscription paywall (3 free reads per month), e-commerce for individual issues and books, and newsletter delivery systems.

The organization serves two intertwined audiences: writers seeking legitimate publication venues and craft resources, and readers of narrative nonfiction. It monetizes through digital subscriptions at $4/month or $39/year (with auto-renew), individual issue and book sales, recurring monthly donations, and grants from public and private foundations including the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, Vira I. Heinz Endowment, and Jewish Healthcare Foundation. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the website, supplemented by Arcadia Publishing for book retail. A high-profile editorial advisory board (including Annie Dillard, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Franzen, and Susan Orlean) and educational legacy (first MFA in creative nonfiction at the University of Pittsburgh, program at Goucher College) reinforce institutional credibility.

After publishing Issue 78 as a 'Final Issue' anthology in 2022, the foundation paused classes, submissions, and subscription processing in January 2023 for strategic restructuring. In February 2024 it formed a partnership with the storytelling platform Narratively — including joint content series and cross-promotion — to extend its three-decade publishing legacy into a new digital distribution channel.

Name

Creative Nonfiction

Legal name

Creative Nonfiction Foundation

Website

https://creativenonfiction.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Creative Nonfiction is a 501(c)(3) literary foundation founded in 1994 in Pittsburgh that publishes a creative nonfiction magazine (78 archived issues), the True Story mini-magazine, and email newsletters, serving writers and readers of narrative nonfiction through digital subscriptions, donations, and foundation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literary Magazine Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Biography, Memoir & Narrative Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAAAI)

Keywords

• Literary magazine publishing
• Creative nonfiction essays
• Nonprofit literary foundation
• Digital magazine subscription
• Narrative nonfiction content

Headquarters

HQ city

Pittsburgh

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: Monthly and annual digital subscriptions providing unlimited access to the complete archive of 78 issues of Creative Nonfiction and 35 issues of True Story. Subscriptions auto-renew and can be purchased as gifts.
2. Individual Magazine Issues: Sale of individual print and digital issues of Creative Nonfiction magazine (Issue 78, Issue 77, etc.) and True Story issues, each featuring curated essay collections.
3. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Creative Nonfiction accepts tax-deductible donations from individuals. Monthly giving options ($5, $10, $20, $50 or custom amounts) provide ongoing donor support alongside one-time contributions.
4. Book Sales: Sale of books authored by Lee Gutkind and other CNF contributors, including guides on creative nonfiction writing, memoirs, and genre-related literature available through the Arcadia Publishing distribution.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Creative Nonfiction is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary publisher that produces the flagship Creative Nonfiction Magazine (78 issues from 1994 to 2022), the True Story mini-magazine (35 issues), two email newsletters (Sunday Short Reads and In Case You Missed It), and books/anthologies. The organization sells digital subscriptions ($4/month or $39/year) and individual issues, and accepts tax-deductible donations to support its mission of publishing and advocating for the creative nonfiction genre.

Product overview

Creative Nonfiction operates as a literary publishing organization offering a multi-product portfolio centered on narrative nonfiction. The core offering is the Creative Nonfiction Magazine, a print and digital publication with 78 issues published from 1994 to 2022, featuring essays, memoir, interviews, and craft discussions. Complementing the main magazine is True Story, a monthly mini-magazine focused on single longform narratives with 35 published issues. Digital engagement is facilitated through two newsletter products: Sunday Short Reads (weekly single flash essays) and In Case You Missed It (mid-month curated archive selections). Access to the full archive spanning 30 years is provided through a digital subscription service priced at $4/month or $39/year. The organization functions as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary foundation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• True Story: A monthly mini-magazine featuring one exceptional longform nonfiction essay per issue, published by the editors of Creative Nonfiction magazine.
• Sunday Short Reads
• In Case You Missed It

Products and services

• Creative Nonfiction Magazine The flagship literary magazine featuring narrative nonfiction essays, memoir, interviews, and craft-focused content; published multiple times per year with 78 issues spanning from 1994 to 2022. Targeted at writers of true stories and readers interested in narrative nonfiction.
• True Story A monthly pocket-size publication featuring one exceptional longform nonfiction narrative per issue, showcasing diverse voices and styles. 35 issues published. Targeted at readers seeking single-subject immersive nonfiction narratives.
• Sunday Short Reads A curated email newsletter delivering a single flash essay to subscribers' inboxes every Sunday morning. Targeted at readers seeking brief, curated creative nonfiction pieces.
• In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) A mid-month newsletter curating four essays and two craft pieces from the CNF archives, sent to subscribers. Targeted at existing and prospective subscribers seeking curated archive highlights.
• Digital Subscription A digital subscription providing access to the entire Creative Nonfiction archive (78 issues), all web exclusives, True Story (35 issues), across all devices, available at $4/month or $39/year with auto-renewal. Targeted at individual readers and writers seeking unlimited access to the full archive.
• Best of Thirty Years of Creative Nonfiction (Final Issue Book) A printed anthology compiling 32 essays from the best of the magazine's 78 issues, published as the Final Issue compilation with introduction by Lee Gutkind. Distributed through Arcadia Publishing. Targeted at readers, libraries, and book collectors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 30 years of continuous publication
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• NarrativelycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 February 2024Creative Nonfiction has formed a strategic partnership with Narratively, a storytelling platform, to build on its three decades of work and community. The partnership includes collaborative content creation, joint solicitation of pitches for 'The Art of Narrative Storytelling' series, and mutual cross-promotion. Narratively is offering Creative Nonfiction community members a 50% discount on annual subscriptions as a gesture of support.
• Arcadia PublishingmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution partner for Creative Nonfiction books and anthologies, including the 'Final Issue' compilation 'The Best of Thirty Years of Creative Nonfiction' and Lee Gutkind's guides to the genre.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Atavist: The Atavist is a digital magazine and book publisher specializing in longform narrative nonfiction on a single story per issue basis. It is directly comparable to Creative Nonfiction's True Story sub-brand and shares the longform narrative nonfiction positioning, subscription revenue model, and essay-driven editorial approach.
• Granta: Granta is a renowned literary magazine publishing essays, memoir, reportage, and fiction by leading writers. It is directly comparable to Creative Nonfiction as both feature narrative nonfiction and memoir by acclaimed authors, sell subscriptions and single issues, and operate as defining venues for the literary essay form.
• The Believer: The Believer is a literary magazine publishing essays, interviews, and reviews on literature and culture. It is directly comparable to Creative Nonfiction as both are independent literary magazines with subscription models, essay-focused content, and strong cultural authority in the literary nonfiction space.
• The Paris Review: The Paris Review is one of the most established literary magazines, publishing essays, interviews, and fiction with a strong literary nonfiction component. It is directly comparable to Creative Nonfiction as a long-running, literary nonprofit-adjacent magazine with subscription revenue, a prestigious editorial board, and a curated essay format.
• Narratively: Narratively is a digital storytelling platform focused on longform narrative nonfiction across diverse topics. It is directly comparable to Creative Nonfiction as both publish curated true stories in longform essay format, and in 2024 the two organizations formed an explicit strategic partnership to cross-promote content and share audiences.
• Tin House: Tin House is a literary magazine and book publisher featuring essays, fiction, and poetry with a strong nonfiction essay tradition. It is directly comparable to Creative Nonfiction as both publish literary nonfiction in magazine format, host workshops and writing programs, and operate in the independent literary nonprofit space.
• Longreads: Longreads is a digital platform curating the best longform nonfiction storytelling from across the web, with a membership subscription model. It is directly comparable to Creative Nonfiction as both curate and publish narrative nonfiction essays and serve readers seeking high-quality longform true stories.
• Electric Literature: Electric Literature is a nonprofit digital literary magazine publishing essays, criticism, and fiction. It is directly comparable to Creative Nonfiction as a nonprofit literary publisher offering digital subscriptions, hosting community-driven content, and operating in the contemporary literary essay space.

Peers

• Orion Magazine:

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cnfonline
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/creative-nonfiction-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/creativenonfiction
• Facebookfacebook.com/creativenonfiction

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries4 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 Creative Nonfiction