Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern
Product brand
UnclaimedAn American literary journal known for inventive formats, contemporary fiction, reportage, poetry, and illustration.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, commonly known as McSweeney's, is an American literary journal founded in 1998 by writer and editor Dave Eggers. Published by the San Francisco-based McSweeney's organization, the journal developed a distinctive identity by treating each issue as both a collection of contemporary writing and a designed physical object. Rather than maintaining a standard magazine format, it has repeatedly changed its structure, materials, and presentation. Issues have appeared as conventional hardcovers and softcovers, but also as newspapers, boxed collections, mail packages, and other unusual configurations. This formal experimentation is central to the publication's identity rather than a peripheral design feature. Eggers established the journal after leaving an editing position at Esquire while working on his memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. McSweeney's followed his earlier magazine project Might, but shifted away from Might's editorial and news orientation toward literary fiction and related forms. The first issue was conceived as a home for writing rejected by other publications. As the journal became more established, however, authors increasingly wrote specifically for McSweeney's, and the publication moved from an outsider project toward a respected literary institution. The journal typically features short stories, reportage, and illustrations. Depending on the issue, it may also include poetry, comic strips, novellas, letters, or writing organized around a particular geography or editorial concept. Some editions have concentrated heavily on a region or national literary scene; Issue 15, for example, was divided between American and Icelandic writing. The publication's changing format allows editors and designers to shape the reading experience around the contents of each issue. McSweeney's has published established writers including Denis Johnson, William T. Vollmann, Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Lethem, Michael Chabon, Susan Straight, Roddy Doyle, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Steven Millhauser, Robert Coover, Stephen King, David Foster Wallace, Brian Evenson, Tommy Orange, Brandon Hobson, and Ann Beattie. It has also provided an early platform for emerging writers such as Philipp Meyer, Wells Tower, and Rebecca Curtis. The journal's contributors, editorial ambitions, and visual presentation have made it influential in contemporary American literary culture. Commentators have described McSweeney's and its associated publishing activity as a major literary movement and as the flagship periodical of a broader San Francisco literary enterprise. The journal has received significant recognition for its fiction. In 2007, it won the National Magazine Award for Fiction for three stories published in 2006, appearing in Issues 19, 20, and 21. In 2010, stories from Issue 32 by Anthony Doerr, Wells Tower, and Kevin Moffett received National Magazine Awards. McSweeney's has also issued anthologies collecting material from the journal, including The Best of McSweeney's and The Better of McSweeney's. Although an early issue jokingly suggested that publication would end after a fixed number of editions, the journal continued beyond that supposed limit. In 2024, Rita Bullwinkel became editor, succeeding Claire Boyle. The publication remains active and continues to combine literary publishing with experimental book and magazine design.
History
Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern began in 1998 as a literary periodical founded by Dave Eggers in San Francisco. Eggers had recently left an editorial role at Esquire and was working on A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. The new journal followed Might, an earlier magazine project associated with Eggers, but adopted a substantially different editorial purpose. Whereas Might emphasized news, commentary, and editorial content, McSweeney's was oriented toward literature, particularly short fiction and experimental forms. The first issue had a deliberately marginal premise: it gathered writing that had been rejected by other publications. This concept helped establish the journal's independent character, but it did not define the publication permanently. As McSweeney's gained readers and contributors, writers began producing work with the journal in mind. It became a venue for both emerging and established authors, publishing fiction, reportage, illustrations, poetry, comic strips, novellas, and other hybrid forms. A major part of McSweeney's development was its refusal to standardize the physical form of the periodical. Individual issues have been presented as books, newspapers, mailings, boxed sets, and other unusual objects. The editorial and design teams treated packaging, typography, sequencing, and format as part of the publication's literary experience. This approach distinguished McSweeney's from conventional quarterly magazines and contributed to its reputation among readers, writers, designers, and collectors. The journal's scope has included international and geographically focused projects. Some issues have assembled writing from particular regions or literary communities; Issue 15 notably combined American and Icelandic contributions. Other issues have used multipart structures, alternate covers, inserts, or elaborate containers. The publication also played with its own mythology. A claim that only a fixed number of issues would be produced was later revealed as a joke, and the journal continued beyond the purported endpoint. McSweeney's grew from a small-circulation independent project into a respected literary institution and the flagship periodical of the broader McSweeney's publishing operation. Critics have characterized the journal and its associated activities as an important literary movement. Its contributor list has included Denis Johnson, William T. Vollmann, Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Lethem, Michael Chabon, Susan Straight, Roddy Doyle, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Steven Millhauser, Robert Coover, Stephen King, David Foster Wallace, Brian Evenson, Tommy Orange, Brandon Hobson, and Ann Beattie. It has also helped introduce writers including Philipp Meyer, Wells Tower, and Rebecca Curtis to wider audiences. The publication's literary standing was reinforced by awards. In 2007, McSweeney's received the National Magazine Award for Fiction for three stories published in 2006. In 2010, three stories from Issue 32 received National Magazine Awards, honoring work by Anthony Doerr, Wells Tower, and Kevin Moffett. The journal's material has also been collected in anthologies, including The Best of McSweeney's, The Better of McSweeney's, and a collection devoted to its humor category. Editorial leadership changed in 2024 when Rita Bullwinkel became editor after Claire Boyle. McSweeney's remains an active literary journal whose identity rests on the combination of contemporary writing, editorial experimentation, and deliberately unconventional print design.
- 2024
Rita Bullwinkel becomes editor
[1]Rita Bullwinkel succeeded Claire Boyle as editor.
- 2013
Fifteenth anniversary recognition
[1]Coverage of the fifteenth anniversary described McSweeney's as a flagship literary quarterly within a wider San Francisco publishing enterprise.
- 2010
Issue 32 contributors receive National Magazine Awards
[1]Three stories from Issue 32 received National Magazine Awards.
- 2007
National Magazine Award for Fiction
[1]McSweeney's won the National Magazine Award for Fiction for three stories published in 2006.
- 2002
First three issues reissued as a set
[1]The first three issues were reprinted together, reinforcing the journal's collectible book-object character.
- 1998
Journal founded
[1]Dave Eggers founded Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern in San Francisco as an independent literary journal.
Products and positioning
An experimental, design-conscious literary journal that combines ambitious contemporary writing with highly distinctive issue formats and presentation.
Literary journal · 1998
Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern
The core McSweeney's publication is a recurring literary journal featuring short stories, reportage, illustrations, and, depending on the issue, poetry, comic strips, novellas, letters, and other forms. Each edition may use a different physical structure, ranging from conventional books to newspapers, boxed collections, mail packages, and other designed formats. The journal is known for pairing literary experimentation with a highly intentional visual and material presentation.
Literary anthology · 2013
The Best of McSweeney's
An anthology drawing together selected writing from the journal. It presents McSweeney's contributors and editorial range in a more conventional collected-book format while preserving the publication's emphasis on distinctive contemporary fiction and literary work.
Literary anthology · 2005
The Better of McSweeney's: Volume One — Issues 1–10, Stories and Letters
A collected volume covering material from the journal's first ten issues, including stories and letters. It documents the early period of McSweeney's and provides a consolidated record of contributors and editorial experiments from its formative years.
Humor anthology · 2004
Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans
An anthology focused on writing from McSweeney's humor category. The volume demonstrates the breadth of the McSweeney's publishing program beyond the Quarterly Concern's principal literary-fiction identity.
Brand decisions
2005
Collect early issues in an anthologyOtherBackground
The journal's early issues contained work and design experiments that were difficult to access as separate periodicals.
Action taken
McSweeney's published a volume collecting stories and letters from Issues 1 through 10.
Aftermath
The anthology created a durable reference to the publication's formative period.
1998
Launch a literary successor to MightStrategyBackground
Dave Eggers's earlier magazine project Might had emphasized editorial and news content, while the new publication was intended to focus on literature.
Action taken
McSweeney's was established as a literary journal centered on fiction and related creative forms.
Aftermath
The journal developed into a broader publishing enterprise and an influential independent literary institution.
1998
Make format experimentation part of the journal's identityStrategyBackground
Conventional literary magazines generally use a recurring, standardized physical format.
Action taken
The journal adopted a model in which issue format, packaging, and design could change substantially from one edition to the next.
Aftermath
Unusual physical presentations became one of McSweeney's defining characteristics and helped create a strong collector and design audience.
Sources2 sources
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