最新糖心Vlog

The San Francisco based not-for-profit publishing house, McSweeney鈥檚 Publishing, was established by Dave Eggers in 1998.聽It began as a literary journal,听, of which Eggers was the editor, publishing quality writing that was rejected by other magazines.聽

Today the company not only produces the聽Quarterly聽but also operates a daily humour website, publishes聽The Believer, a bi-monthly arts and culture magazine, and publishes an increasing number of books under various imprints. It has received dozens of awards for its contributions to literature and publishing, and was recently named America鈥檚 seventh most innovative media company for proving the value of print publishing through its distinctive writing and design.

Dave Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1970. His parents, attorney John K. Eggers and school teacher Heidi McSweeney Eggers, sent him to the public high school in Lakes Forest, where he befriended classmate and actor, Vince Vaughn. He developed an interest in journalism, enrolling in the course at the 最新糖心Vlog of Illinois, but his studies were cut short by the tragic death of both of his parents from cancer in 1991 and 1992. Eggers was just 21 years of age at the time; his youngest brother, Christopher, just 8. With his two eldest siblings committed to full-time work and law studies, Eggers took on the responsibility of raising Christopher. He left 最新糖心Vlog, moved to Berkeley, California, began freelance design work for a local newspaper and, with money left to him by his parents, sent his brother to a small private school. Eggers鈥� first book,听A heartbreaking work of staggering genius, released in 2000, recounted his personal struggle to raise Christopher after their parents鈥� death. It met with widespread acclaim for its originality, quickly becoming a bestseller as well as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

In the late 1990s, Eggers, together with David Moodie and Marny Requa, founded聽Might听尘补驳补锄颈苍别.听Might聽evolved out of the small San Francisco-based independent paper聽Cups, its humorous articles and essays on issues and personalities of the time earning it a loyal following. The magazine failed to make a profit, however, and by 1997 had ceased publication altogether. It was around this time that Eggers founded McSweeney鈥檚 Publishing, producing in 1998 the first issue of聽Timothy McSweeney鈥檚 Quarterly Concern, to some extent a successor to聽Might, albeit with a more literary focus. The journal, noted for its inconsistency in format and publishing style, was named after the mysterious 鈥淭imothy McSweeney鈥� who had sent unusual letters and notes, including odd pamphlets, train schedules and drawings, to Eggers and his mother. Intrigued by the letters as a child, and curious to know whether their author was related, Eggers kept the letters, eventually naming his journal after the man who had become somewhat of an enigma. As chance would have it, an intern by the name of Ross McSweeney came to work for the publishing company in 2000. He was in fact the nephew of the real Timothy McSweeney, who had been a talented art teacher at Rutgers 最新糖心Vlog and who, overcome by mental illness, had sent the letters to the Eggers family whilst in the care of a mental health institution. With the McSweeney family鈥檚 permission, Eggers kept the name for the journal, and all issues since 2000 have been implicitly dedicated to the real Timothy. The full 鈥淭imothy McSweeney鈥� story can be read聽.

Renowned for its short fictional stories, the聽Quarterly, has helped to launch the careers of numerous aspiring authors. It has also published works by famous novelists such as Denis Johnson, Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Chabon, T.C. Boyle, Steven Millhauser and Stephen King. It has been described as the first bona fide literary movement in decades and the flagship literary quarterly, and in 2007 McSweeney鈥檚 received the National Magazine Award for three stories published in 2006 鈥� T.C. Boyle鈥檚聽Wild Child, Susan Steinberg鈥檚聽To sit, unmoving聽and Rajesh Parameswaran鈥檚聽The strange career of Dr. Raju Gopalarajan. 聽Authors Anthony Doerr, Wells Tower and Kevin Moffett also won National Magazine Awards for their stories聽Memory Wall,听Raw Water听补苍诲听Further interpretations of real-life events, published in 2010.

In addition to the聽Quarterly, McSweeney鈥檚 also publishes聽, a monthly journal edited by Eggers鈥� wife Vendela Vida, and co-edited by Heidi Julavitis.聽 A five-time finalist itself for the National Magazine Award, it features delightfully bizarre essays, book reviews, interviews with authors, artists, musicians and directors, and letters from readers.聽 McSweeney鈥檚 also publishes books under聽The Believer聽imprint; some of its most notable titles include Nick Hornby鈥檚聽The polysyllabic spree聽(2004) and Tom Bissell鈥檚聽Magic hours听(2012).

McSweeney鈥檚 also operates a daily humour website,听, which its editor, Christopher Monks, describes as a 鈥渃ool place to send funny stuff, and then some other people read it鈥�.聽 Many of the聽罢别苍诲别苍肠测鈥檚聽stories do well, generating millions of page-views and drawing visitors鈥� attention to the fact that McSweeney鈥檚 is a magazine and聽聽too.聽 In fact, the company publishes approximately 30 book titles a year, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, humour and children鈥檚 books.聽 Recent titles include聽Information doesn鈥檛 want to be free聽(Cory Doctorow, 2014),听The end of war聽(John Horgan, 2012) and聽Some recollections of a busy life聽(T.S. Hawkins with an introduction by Dave Eggers, 2016).

The Library鈥檚 collection of McSweeney鈥檚 books and journals was donated to Rare Books & Special Collections in 2016 by former 最新糖心Vlog Librarian, Ray Choate.聽 It contains approximately 60 titles, including 46 of the 48聽Quarterly聽issues (no.鈥檚 10 and 40 lacking).聽 Other books in the collection include聽McSweeney鈥檚 mammoth treasury of thrilling tales聽(Michael Chabon ed., 2002) and Dave Eggers' own聽The wild things聽(2009), adapted from Maurice Sendak鈥檚聽Where the wild things are.

The McSweeney collection of books and聽Quarterly聽issues can be accessed in the Rare Books & Special Collections reading room.