Ricepaper Magazine

What Ricepaper Magazine does

Ricepaper Magazine is a Vancouver-based, non-profit literary magazine founded in 1994 by Jim Wong-Chu and operated under the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop Society (ACWW). It publishes Asian Canadian poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and visual art, and describes itself as North America's longest-running Asian Canadian arts and culture print magazine. The publication is supported by a small staff of six employees alongside a volunteer community.

The organization's core products are the Ricepaper print and digital magazine, the TalkRice Podcast distributed on Spotify and YouTube, a series of book-length anthologies (including Immersion, Belief, and Infusion) co-published with Dark Helix Press, and the annual LiterASIAN Festival. Technology footprint is conventional and lightweight: a WordPress website, MailChimp for newsletters, and standard podcast hosting — there are no proprietary platforms or AI/ML systems in evidence.

The business model is non-profit and donation-driven. Revenue derives from individual donations, book sales (distributed via Amazon's US, Canada, Australia, UK, and Japan marketplaces), back-issue sales, and merchandise. There is no disclosed subscription pricing or anchor institutional funder, and no venture or grant funding rounds are reported. The publication sits inside a partnership ecosystem that includes DOXA Documentary Film Festival, the Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF), and Project Bookmark Canada, which together extend the brand's reach into adjacent cultural verticals.

Name

Ricepaper Magazine

Legal name

Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop Society

Website

https://ricepapermagazine.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ricepaper Magazine is a Vancouver-based non-profit literary magazine, founded in 1994, publishing Asian Canadian poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and visual art through print, podcast, books, and the LiterASIAN Festival.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literary Publishing and Cultural Arts Magazine

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN)

Keywords

• Asian Canadian literature
• Literary magazine publishing
• Arts and culture content
• Anthology publishing
• Literary podcast

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The magazine actively solicits donations from readers and supporters to fund operations and publishing activities. A PayPal donation button is prominently featured on the donation page.
2. Book Sales: Ricepaper publishes anthologies and books through the ACWW and Dark Helix Press partnership, sold via Amazon and other retailers. Titles include 'Infusion' (April 2025), 'Belief' (April 2021), 'Immersion' (December 2019), and 'Currents: A Ricepaper Anthology'.
3. Back Issues and Merchandise: The Shop page sells back issues of the magazine and related literary products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ricepaper Magazine is a digital and print literary publication that publishes poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, interviews, and reviews by writers of Asian descent. It operates the TalkRice podcast, co-publishes anthologies with Dark Helix Press under the Ricepaper Magazine Books imprint, and anchors the annual LiterASIAN writers festival.

Product overview

Ricepaper Magazine is a digital media publication and the longest-running magazine dedicated to Asian Canadian literature, culture, and the arts. Founded in 1994, it publishes poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction through its core magazine platform. The publication also produces the TalkRice Podcast distributed via Spotify and YouTube, and anchors the annual LiterASIAN writers festival. Its Ricepaper Magazine Books product line encompasses published anthologies including Immersion (fantasy/sci-fi), Belief (literary anthology), Infusion (Asian diaspora narratives), Chinatown Ghosts, and Currents (best of Ricepaper Magazine). The magazine is published by the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop Society.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TalkRice Podcast: A podcast by Ricepaper Magazine featuring interviews and discussions on Asian Canadian arts, culture, and literature.
• LiterASIAN Festival
• Ricepaper Magazine Books

Products and services

• Ricepaper Magazine A digital and print literary magazine dedicated to Asian Canadian literature, culture, and the arts, publishing poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. North America's longest-running Asian Canadian arts and culture publication.
• TalkRice Podcast Podcast series featuring interviews, literary discussions, and cultural conversations, distributed via Spotify and YouTube, produced by Ricepaper Magazine.
• Ricepaper Magazine Books Imprint Imprint publishing anthologies of Asian literary works in partnership with Dark Helix Press and ACWW, distributed via Amazon.ca and Chapters/Indigo.
• Infusion (Ricepaper Magazine Books) Published anthology exploring Asian diaspora experiences through personal narratives about immigration, loneliness, and small-town life resilience.
• Belief (Ricepaper Magazine Books) Anthology of poetry, short fiction, and creative non-fiction by writers of Asian descent from around the world, themed around the concept of 'belief'.
• Immersion: An Asian Anthology of Love, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction (Ricepaper Magazine Books) Volume #2 anthology of fantasy and science fiction by writers of Asian descent, published by ACWW and Dark Helix Press.
• Currents: A Ricepaper Anthology (Ricepaper Magazine Books) 2016 anthology presenting the best works of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by Asian and Asian Canadian writers published in Ricepaper Magazine.
• Chinatown Ghosts (Jim Wong-Chu, published by Arsenal Pulp Press) Collection of poems and photographs by Jim Wong-Chu, founder of Ricepaper Magazine, published by Arsenal Pulp Press in September 2018.
• LiterASIAN Festival Annual Asian Canadian writers festival anchored by ACWW and Ricepaper Magazine, featuring author readings, workshops, and literary programming where Ricepaper often launches new books.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and secondary.

• Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop Society (ACWW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACWW is the parent organization that publishes Ricepaper Magazine. The society operates the magazine, hosts the LiterASIAN writers festival, manages the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers Award, and co-publishes books with Dark Helix Press. Jim Wong-Chu was the founder of ACWW and Ricepaper before his passing in 2017.
• Dark Helix PresscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-publishing partner with ACWW for Ricepaper Magazine Books anthology series. Published 'Infusion' (April 2025), 'Belief' (April 2021), and 'Immersion' (December 2019). Dark Helix Press handles book production and distribution alongside ACWW.
• Project Bookmark CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharitable organization that marks literary locations with ceramic plaques. Collaborated with ACWW, Gung Haggis Fat Choy, Historic Joy Kogawa House Society, and Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society for a tribute evening to Wayson Choy, including plaques commemorating locations from his novel 'The Jade Peony' in Vancouver Chinatown.
• DOXA Documentary Film FestivalsecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerRicepaper Magazine is a community partner for the DOXA Documentary Film Festival, participating in cross-promotional activities and community features highlighting documentary content relevant to Asian Canadian audiences.
• Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF)secondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerRicepaper is a community partner for VAFF, featuring film festival previews, reviews, and industry panel coverage on diversity and representation in Canadian film and television.
• LiterASIAN FestivalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPacific Rim Asian Canadian Writing festival anchored by ACWW/Ricepaper. Features annual programming including author readings, workshops, and literary events. Ricepaper publishes and launches books in conjunction with the festival.
• Write-Rice Asian Writers Support GroupsecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity writing support group listed under Ricepaper's Creative Writing section, providing peer support and networking for Asian writers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Kartika Review: Kartika Review is an Asian American literary journal publishing fiction, poetry, and nonfiction by emerging writers. It is directly comparable to Ricepaper in format (literary journal), audience (Asian diaspora writers/readers), and nonprofit community-led model.
• Brick Magazine: Brick is a long-running Canadian literary journal featuring essays, interviews, and memoir. It is directly comparable to Ricepaper as a fellow Canadian nonprofit literary publication with a multi-decade history and curated contributor base.
• Grain Magazine: Grain is a Saskatchewan-based Canadian literary journal publishing poetry and short fiction. It is directly comparable to Ricepaper as a small Canadian literary magazine with community programming and a print/digital presence.
• The Rumpus: The Rumpus is an online literary magazine featuring essays, interviews, fiction, and poetry, with a strong literary-community programming component. It is a peer in community-led literary publishing and author-development programming.
• Prism International: Prism International is a UBC-affiliated Canadian literary magazine publishing fiction, poetry, translation, and nonfiction. It shares Ricepaper's Vancouver/Canadian base, literary-journal format, and commitment to emerging and diverse writers.
• Asian American Writers' Workshop (The Margins): AAWW is a New York-based literary nonprofit that publishes The Margins magazine and runs workshops, awards, and a writers' community. Like Ricepaper/ACWW, it anchors a writer-development ecosystem around an Asian diaspora literary identity.
• Maisonneuve: Maisonneuve is a Canadian nonprofit literary magazine publishing essays, fiction, poetry, and reviews. It is a direct peer in country (Canada), format (independent literary journal), and nonprofit publishing model.
• Hyphen Magazine: Hyphen was a nonprofit print and digital magazine covering Asian American arts, culture, and politics. It is the closest direct analog to Ricepaper as a community-led, identity-focused literary publication serving an Asian diaspora audience in North America.

Regional players

• The Georgia Straight: The Georgia Straight is a long-running Vancouver-based print and digital publication covering arts, culture, and city life. It is a regional peer sharing Ricepaper's Vancouver base and arts/culture coverage, though with a broader (non-Asian-specific) editorial mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Catapult: Catapult is a broader independent literary publisher and magazine platform producing books, essays, and online courses. It overlaps with Ricepaper's anthology-publishing and literary-content ambitions but operates at a wider, more commercial scale across multiple genres.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ricepapermag
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ricepapermagazine
• Facebookfacebook.com/ricepaper
• Instagraminstagram.com/ricepapermag
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ricepaper-magazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Ricepaper Magazine