The Yale Review
The Yale Review is America's oldest literary quarterly, founded in 1819 and published under Yale University. It publishes four print issues per year alongside free digital content featuring fiction, poetry, essays, criticism, and interviews, serving general literary readers, academic institutions, and contributing writers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1819
- HeadquartersNew Haven, United States
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What The Yale Review does
The Yale Review is a nonprofit literary quarterly published under Yale University, headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1819 as The Christian Spectator (later The New Englander in 1843 and The Yale Review in 1892), it is America's oldest print quarterly and is currently edited by Meghan O'Rourke under its modern print-and-digital relaunch from May 2021. The publication releases four print issues per year alongside continuously updated digital content spanning fiction, nonfiction, essays, poetry, criticism, interviews, themed folios, and an archive dating to its founding.
The core product is the print and digital quarterly, distributed via subscription through shop.yalereview.org and a secondary storefront (yalereviewstore.org) for merchandise. Supporting product lines include Poem of the Week (a weekly Wednesday newsletter), the Back Matter Substack, TYR Talks multimedia, themed Folios (e.g., 'What Was AI?', 'The Analytic Lyric'), author interviews, and a Shakespeare and Company interview series. The technology stack is a standard web publishing platform with content management, e-commerce, newsletter distribution, and a digitized archive; no proprietary AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. The publication runs a multi-tier student fellowship program (Undergraduate Readers, Undergraduate Fellows, Summer Internships, Graduate Professional Development Fellowships) that functions as a talent pipeline and editorial labor source.
The revenue model is diversified across four streams: (1) annual print subscriptions, (2) donations processed through Yale University's GiveCampus and Office of Development, (3) a $3 poetry submission fee via Submittable (waivable for financial hardship), and (4) entry fees for the Yale Nonfiction Book Prize. The publication also benefits from Yale's endowment and institutional support. Customer segments include general literary readers (primary), academic institutions and libraries, contributing writers and authors, and Yale students participating in fellowship programs. No revenue figures are publicly disclosed.
The Yale Review firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Yale Review
- Legal name
- The Yale Review
- Website
- https://yalereview.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1819
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- The Yale Review is America's oldest literary quarterly, founded in 1819 and published under Yale University. It publishes four print issues per year alongside free digital content featuring fiction, poetry, essays, criticism, and interviews, serving general literary readers, academic institutions, and contributing writers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Yale Review industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Literary Magazine Publishing
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (51312), Periodical Publishers (513120)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN)
Keywords
Where The Yale Review is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New Haven
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Yale Review business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Print and Digital Subscriptions: The Yale Review generates revenue through print and digital subscriptions. They publish four print issues per year and offer subscriptions through their online store (shop.yalereview.org). The publication maintains free digital access to content while generating subscription revenue from the print edition.
- Donations and Support: The Yale Review accepts donations through Yale University's GiveCampus platform. Donations support keeping digital content freely accessible and funding the fellowship program for training emerging writers and editors.
- Submission Processing Fees: The Yale Review charges a $3 submission fee for poetry submissions via Submittable to defray labor and software costs. Fee waivers are available for those with financial hardship.
- Book Prize: The Yale Review operates a nonfiction book prize, generating entry fee revenue and establishing editorial relationships with authors.
- Endowment and Institutional Support: The Yale Review maintains an endowment supported by donors and is associated with Yale University, providing institutional stability and potential grant funding for literary programming.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Poetry submission fee: $3 per submission via Submittable |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Contributor payment: $250-$1,000 for prose, $150 for poems |
| Subscription | Annual | Print subscription |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
The Yale Review product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Yale Review publishes a quarterly print literary magazine and a free digital publication featuring fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays, criticism, and interviews by established and emerging writers. The publication is complemented by themed Folios, weekly email newsletters, a Poem of the Week feature, the Back Matter Substack, and the Yale Nonfiction Book Prize, with revenue drawn from subscriptions, donations, and modest submission/entry fees.
Product overview
The Yale Review is a literary journal and platform publishing fiction, nonfiction, essays, criticism, and poetry. The core product is the print and digital publication featuring four issues annually. Supporting products include the Poem of the Week feature, author Interviews, themed Folios collections, historical content from the Archives, weekly Newsletters, and the Back Matter Substack. Additional offerings include Print Subscriptions, Student Fellowships for Yale students, and the Yale Nonfiction Book Prize.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Back Matter: A Substack publication from The Yale Review featuring writing prompts, dispatches from editors, archival ephemera, and more.
Products and services
- The Yale Review (Print & Digital Magazine) America's oldest print quarterly and leading journal of literature and ideas, publishing four issues per year of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, criticism, and essays by established and emerging writers, available in print and free online at yalereview.org.
- Yale Review Print Subscription Annual print subscription delivering four print issues per year to subscribers, purchased through the dedicated shop.yalereview.org storefront, including essays, fiction, poetry, and criticism.
- Yale Review Newsletters Email newsletter offerings including a Weekly newsletter featuring new pieces, events, and archive selections, plus the Poem of the Week delivered every Wednesday, plus occasional merchandise and subscription announcements.
- Back Matter (Substack) A Substack publication from The Yale Review featuring writing prompts, dispatches from editors, archival ephemera, and behind-the-essay pieces such as Sheila Heti's commentary.
- Yale Nonfiction Book Prize Annual book prize recognizing excellence in nonfiction writing, generating entry fee revenue and establishing editorial relationships with nonfiction authors.
Companies that use The Yale Review
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Yale Review technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Yale Review partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Yale Review competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- The New Yorker: Larger, broader literary magazine publishing fiction, poetry, essays, and criticism with massive subscriber base and industry clout — competes for the same prestige contributors and overlap readers.
Direct peers
- The Kenyon Review: Long-running literary quarterly affiliated with Kenyon College, publishing poetry, fiction, essays, and criticism; shares the university-affiliated literary journal model and reader demographics.
- Granta: Quarterly literary magazine publishing fiction, nonfiction, and poetry with themed issues; competes directly for prestige literary contributors and a similar intellectually-curious audience.
- The Sewanee Review: Another storied American literary quarterly (founded 1892) affiliated with the University of the South, publishing fiction, poetry, and essays with a comparable academic-affiliation model.
- Harper's Magazine: America's oldest general-interest monthly, covering literature, essays, and criticism with a print+digital model nearly identical to The Yale Review's hybrid distribution approach.
- The Paris Review: America's other flagship literary quarterly, publishing fiction, poetry, and interviews with comparable prestige and a similar Yale/Harvard-affiliated pedigree. Direct competitor for both contributors and the literary reader audience.
- n+1: Literary-intellectual magazine publishing essays, fiction, and criticism with similar editorial ambitions and a comparable (though younger) literary audience demographic.
- The Drift: Contemporary literary and culture magazine publishing essays, criticism, and fiction with a digital-first model; mentioned directly in The Yale Review's management team backgrounds as a comparable.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Yale Review social profiles
Digital presenceThe Yale Review financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Yale Review leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
The Yale Review funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Yale Review 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 The Yale Review
What does The Yale Review do?
The Yale Review publishes a quarterly print literary magazine and a free digital publication featuring fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays, criticism, and interviews by established and emerging writers. The publication is complemented by themed Folios, weekly email newsletters, a Poem of the Week feature, the Back Matter Substack, and the Yale Nonfiction Book Prize, with revenue drawn from subscriptions, donations, and modest submission/entry fees.
Is The Yale Review a public or private company?
The Yale Review is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Yale Review founded?
The Yale Review was founded in 1819.
Where is The Yale Review based?
The Yale Review is headquartered in New Haven, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Yale Review make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Print and Digital Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are donations and Support, submission Processing Fees, book Prize and endowment and Institutional Support.
Who are The Yale Review's main competitors?
The New Yorker is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are The Kenyon Review, Granta, The Sewanee Review, Harper's Magazine, The Paris Review, n+1 and The Drift.
Does The Yale Review have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Yale Review.
What industry is The Yale Review in?
The Yale Review's product category is Literary Magazine Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAN, Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines. Its NAICS code is 51312 and its SIC code is 2721.