The Isis Magazine

What The Isis Magazine does

The Isis Magazine is a student-run publication based at the University of Oxford, founded in 1892 and operated under Oxford Student Publications Limited (OSPL). It claims status as the longest-running independent student magazine in the UK, publishing a print issue once per term alongside continuously updated digital content via a WordPress-based website at isismagazine.org.uk. Coverage spans fiction (poetry, prose, short fiction), features, culture, and political analysis, with editorial leadership rotating termly — current co-Editors-in-Chief for Michaelmas 2025 are Gruffydd Price and Finn Currie, supported by Deputy Editors across Non-Fiction, Fiction, Creative, Features, Social Media, and Business & Events. An open pitching model accepts contributions from any university, and the magazine maintains an active social presence on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, plus an events programme. Distribution is concentrated at Oxford in print, with global digital reach through the website.

The magazine monetizes through print and online advertising (inquiries via [email protected]), print issue sales, and merchandise through the OSPL shop at ospl.org. The underlying technology stack is minimal — a WordPress site with social media integration, no mobile app, no public API, and no proprietary platform features. The publication is IPSO-regulated, indicating formal adherence to UK press standards. There are no funding rounds, no disclosed investors, no revenue figures, and no enterprise customer relationships documented in the input data; the operation appears sustained primarily through OSPL's institutional support rather than commercial revenue scale. The historical contributor roster — including Evelyn Waugh, Sylvia Plath, Terry Jones, Graham Greene, Michael Foot, Richard Ingrams, and Hilaire Belloc — functions as a brand asset but does not generate active commercial differentiation.

Name

The Isis Magazine

Legal name

Oxford Student Publications Limited

Website

https://isismagazine.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1892

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Isis Magazine is a student-run magazine at the University of Oxford, established in 1892 and published by Oxford Student Publications Limited. It produces a print issue once per term plus continuously updated digital content covering fiction, features, culture, and politics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Literary Magazine

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN)

Keywords

• Student literary magazine
• Fiction and poetry publication
• Cultural commentary magazine
• Oxford student journalism
• Independent print magazine

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising: The magazine accepts advertising in both print and online formats. Interested parties can contact [email protected] for advertising inquiries.
2. Print Magazine Sales: Print issues are distributed once a term in Oxford accompanied by a digital version. A shop is available through ospl.org.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Isis is a student-run literary and cultural magazine at the University of Oxford that publishes fiction (poetry, prose, short stories), non-fiction features, culture commentary, and political analysis. It produces a print issue once per term distributed in Oxford, alongside a digital version available on its website. Content is contributed by Oxford students under the editorial oversight of a termly rotating senior editorial team.

Product overview

The Isis Magazine is Oxford University's longest-running independent student magazine (established 1892), offering a print publication released once per term alongside a comprehensive digital platform at isismagazine.org.uk. The magazine publishes fiction (poetry, prose, short fiction), non-fiction features, culture commentary, and political analysis. The digital version includes website content with regularly updated articles and archived PDF issues, while the print edition is distributed across Oxford with a digital flipbook version.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Isis Magazine (Print & Digital) Oxford University's longest-running independent student magazine, published in print once per term with a digital version posted on the website, featuring fiction (poetry, prose, short fiction), non-fiction features, culture, and political content produced by Oxford students.
• The Isis Magazine Website The magazine's WordPress-based website featuring regularly updated online content including articles, fiction, poetry, prose, and a PDF archive of print issues, with integrated social media feeds.
• The Isis HT25 Digital Issue Hilary Term 2025 digital issue of The Isis magazine, available as an interactive PDF flipbook with fullscreen viewing, page navigation, and download options.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Saint: Independent student newspaper of the University of St Andrews, run by a rotating student editorial team with a similar termly print cadence and broad news/culture coverage.
• Varsity: Cambridge University's independent student newspaper, structurally the closest UK comparator to The Isis given its similar termly print cycle, student-led editorial team, and broad coverage of news, culture, and features.
• The Oxford Student: Oxford's other recognised student newspaper, directly competing for the same Oxford student readers, advertisers, and contributor pool as The Isis with news, features, and culture coverage.
• Cherwell: Oxford University's other major independent student newspaper, covering news, culture, and opinion for the same Oxford student readership with overlapping editorial verticals and a similar community-led contributor model.
• The Yale Daily News: Oldest collegiate daily newspaper in the US, operating a student-run editorial model with print and digital distribution analogous to The Isis's campus-anchored publishing structure.
• The Harvard Crimson: Ivy League student daily at Harvard with a century-plus heritage, providing an international analogue for a prestigious, student-run publication serving a single elite university audience.
• The Edinburgh Student: Long-running independent student newspaper at the University of Edinburgh, with a comparable student-run model, print-plus-digital distribution, and editorial mix spanning news, features, and culture.

Emerging players

• Granta: UK-based literary magazine publishing fiction, poetry, and literary journalism. Comparable in literary/cultural editorial positioning and in combining long-form creative writing with non-fiction commentary.
• The London Magazine: UK literary magazine with a long history of publishing fiction, poetry, and essays, overlapping with The Isis's literary editorial mix and British audience base.

Regional players

• London Student: Student newspaper covering multiple London universities with a similar student-run, news-and-culture editorial approach, though serving a different geographic student market than The Isis's Oxford base.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/the_isis
• Facebookfacebook.com/theisis
• Instagraminstagram.com/theisismagazine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-isis-magazine

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 The Isis Magazine