Works in Progress is now a print magazine. Subscribe today for $100 a year to have six full-color editions sent bimonthly, plus subscriber-only invitations to events, starting with launch parties later this year in New York City, San Francisco, and London.
Ever since we launched Works in Progress, people have asked us for a print edition. We publish long, in-depth articles that people like to take their time to read and which are perfect for print reading. But we have never wanted to produce something that was not truly excellent. We now have a print magazine that we are proud of and that is worthy of our readers.
We’ve aimed to do two things with this. First, to create a magazine that is incredibly pleasant to read. We’ve chosen a typeface that delights me every time I read it, and paper that strikes the right balance between being floppy and readable on the one hand and opaque and durable on the other. We trialled nearly a dozen typefaces and reviewed seventy different magazines to figure out what we wanted our paper to look and feel like.
Second, we wanted to make a magazine that is beautiful and a joy to spend time looking at. It is packed with gorgeous artwork and has been designed with marginalia and other decorative elements to give people opportunities to pause and enjoy the scenery as they read.
The core editorial principle of Works in Progress is to be uncompromising. We work hard to make sure our articles are accurate, important, and compelling, and we reject a lot of pieces that are pretty good. Even if you finish one of our articles without agreeing with its thesis, we still want you to be glad that you read it. We are trying to publish pieces that endure much longer than most other publications’ articles do.
All this extends to the print edition. We want everyone who picks it up to feel like they are looking at something that was made to the highest possible standards and that will be just as valuable in a few years as it is today. It is something you will be proud to show off in your living room, but its main purpose is to be read.
The print edition includes all the articles we publish on the main website, plus additional content that we don’t plan to publish online. The first issue includes articles on inflatable space stations; the Great Downzoning; why English prose hasn't become less complicated over time; the ‘holy grail’ of measuring market competition; how genetics will change drug discovery; whether the Romans really did paint their statues as badly as is often claimed; and more. Virginia Postrel is writing a regular column for us; Ilan Gur has written his reflections on building the UK’s DARPA; there is a cocktail column; future issues may include games and short stories. Even the ads are cool.
If you subscribe today, you’ll receive the magazine when it comes out in November – tomorrow’s issue will be our last digital-only edition. Subscribers will also be invited to attend our launch parties in NYC, SF and London, and future events that will be open only to subscribers. In time we plan to send our subscribers other little gifts and bonuses, too.
Thanks for reading us on your computer and phone screens for the last five years. We’ll never stop publishing online, and if that’s how you want to keep reading our work, nothing will change. But if you want to see the print edition for yourself and come along as we try to grow into one of the world’s most interesting, beautiful, and important magazines, we're excited to have you join us.
Our first print issue is out in November. You can subscribe from the United States and the United Kingdom today, and we’ll be adding more countries between now and the release date, including all of the European Union, Canada and Australia. An annual subscription will cost $100 in the United States and £75 in the United Kingdom. You won’t be charged until the first issue ships in November.
If you live outside the US or UK and want to be notified as soon as subscriptions are live in your country, leave your details here.
Yes but what about Singapore, eh?
Love it. Do let us know when it can be shipped to EU!