The Intentional
Fiction, poetry, literary journalism, creative nonfiction, memoir, interviews, reviews, art, photography & portfolios
theintentional.com
"It’s easy to feel as though the literary world is not for you. We did. It is by and large a socially, financially, and academically elite industry; flipping through literary magazines can often feel like an excruciating reminder of everything you don’t know. We wanted to create our own space, where quality literature could be more approachable for all kinds of people. So with very little experience and even less money, we set out to prove that we were capable of building something unique, creative, and substantial. We are the scrappy upstart, and we’re pretty proud of that.
We don’t believe you need an MFA to make art, and we definitely don’t think you should need an MFA to appreciate it. We are champions of the weekend poet, the freelance photographer, the journalist-cum-waitress, the side hustlers, the part-time painters, and the DJ/designer/yoga teachers. The people who may work the nine-to-five, but who nevertheless refuse to be defined by it. Our magazine is dedicated to them. It is also dedicated to the accountants and the bus drivers and the scientists who have no real stake in all this, but are nonetheless curious to read short fiction and hear local music and look at art.
We are intrigued by young people who are searching for their place in the world, and we seek primarily to showcase and celebrate these new voices. We don’t want to publish the same folks for whom everyone else has a hard-on this week; we publish a lot of stuff from the slush pile. We publish work that explores subject matter such as identity, purpose, social justice, and alternatives to the status quo. We figure if there’s something for everyone in each issue, then we’re doing our job right.
The magazine concept was born in 2012 and the first issue was released in 2013. The website and events developed as a result of the enthusiasm for the magazine, and they supplement our work by contributing to our mission to make literature accessible and support emerging writers."
Available issues (click to explore):
