Please Fund The Metropolitan Review

Exciting times are ahead!

Caspar David Friedrich, Moonrise by the Sea, 1822, Oil on canvas

You might have noticed that The Metropolitan Review is now accepting subscriptions instead of pledges. This is a very exciting development; we had spent months finalizing our 501c3 paperwork and now, with that all behind us, we can charge forward into the future as a thriving, nonprofit literary magazine. Believe it or not, the one-year anniversary of TMR is almost upon us. We are racing to finish the debut print issue and have it in your hands in the new year. It’s a dynamic, beautiful issue, and we’re thrilled to have you read it and ultimately cherish it.

In less than one year, TMR has accumulated more than 23,000 subscribers, launched a successful Substack and standalone website, and published both award-winning authors and incredibly talented unknowns. We are the place where you can read a stunning short story from Sherman Alexie, an 11,500-word investigation into the life of a remarkable and enigmatic writer, reviews of underground fiction, and a singular interview with the legendary Gay Talese. We’ve got the best film criticism, too, and we’ve launched acclaimed fiction and poetry sections. We publish writers from across America and the world. We might be based in New York City, but our home is wherever great writing can be found.

Here’s the deal: we’re verging on 24,000 subscribers, but less than 300 are paying subscribers. We have not imposed a paywall and want our writing to be read for free. But the reality is we need more cash to pay our writers and fund future print issues. For just $80, you will be a subscriber to our print edition, and receive every issue we print in 2026. If you want to help us out but can’t afford $80, you can subscribe for $5 a month and, for the price of a cup of coffee, help pay for more of the writing you love.

You’re no doubt hitting subscription fatigue with Substack. There are a lot of authors banging down your door. But we are a publication, a collective, and your subscription funds as many as three nonfiction reviews per week, plus fiction and poetry. No one’s got that output. With The Metropolitan Review, you truly get bang for your buck.

And here’s one more bonus for $80 subscribers: you are guaranteed free admission to our one-year extravaganza, which will be, without a doubt, the party of the season, for as long as tickets last. Come meet our writers, our editors, and party deep into that cold New York night. We want to meet you in 2026.

Thank you for all you do. Become a subscriber to TMR today and make greatness possible.

—The Editors