Hippocampus Magazine is an exclusively online publication set out to entertain, educate and engage writers and readers of creative nonfiction. Each issue features memoir excerpts, personal essays, reviews, interviews and craft articles.
Our 3-Fold Mission
- Entertain – provide fresh, enjoyable creative nonfiction from emerging and established writers
- Educate – help writers improve their craft, and recommend further reading related to the genre
- Engage – encourage conversation between reader and writer on site and beyond
Extensions of our Mission: Bringing Things to Life
Our online magazine is the heart of what we do. But, now, we’re so much more than a digital journal! In 2015, Hippocampus Magazine held its first HippoCamp: A Conference for Creative Nonfiction Writers, a three-day event that brings our mission to life. In 2016, Hippocampus Magazine launched its Books Division, Books by Hippocampus. Our community has grown in scope and size and reaches more people than ever!
Milestones and Memories: Over the Years
Interested in learning more about how we got started? See our history and Hippocampus Magazine milestones here.
We’ve also been honored to have been featured in/on a variety of newspapers, magazines, and podcasts throughout the years. Read stories and interviews about Hippocampus Magazine and more on our In the Media Page.
Our Magazine: Memorable Creative Nonfiction
As of the 2021 publishing schedule, Hippocampus publishes 6 new issues per year: January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, November/December.
- New issues typically go live the Monday of the first full week of the month.
- Our bimonthly issues will typically feature about 10-12 pieces of CNF. All issues feature an articles department (reviews, craft, writing life, interviews)
- We’ll refresh the bimonthly issue the beginning of the second month with new articles and columns (reviews, craft, writing life, interviews).
Our Sections
- Creative Nonfiction – each issue includes 10-12 new CNF pieces: essays or memoir excerpts and flash CNF from established and emerging writers.
- The Writing Life – rotating contributing writers and guest columnists share their thoughts and personal experiences on the writing life—what it means to be a writer today.
- Craft – rotating contributing writers share practical suggestions and tips of the trade, whether it is an article about inspiration, the craft itself, and other issues related to the writing process.
- Reviews – each month we usually feature 2-5 reviews of recently (within the year) published works of creative nonfiction, including craft books, memoirs, narrative nonfiction and essay collections. These are from staff and guest reviewers.
- Interviews – a Q&A with a professional in the creative nonfiction realm. We’ve talked to authors, publishers, editors, agents and educators. Notable interviews include Cheryl Strayed, Austin Kleon, and Jon Elder Robinson. Interviews are by our interviews editor(s) or guest contributors.
Our Support of and Pride for Hippocampus Writers
We nominate our stories, annually, for prestigious awards and other literary honors such as the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best American Essays. We promote individual stories throughout the duration of each issue, as well as continue to keep up with and support our family of contributors through our contributors update columns and through social engagement.
The Story Behind Our Name, Hippocampus Magazine
The hippocampus is what makes enjoying great memoir possible because, without it, memories would not exist. The hippocampus is the part of the brain where long-term memories are formed. What a more fitting name for an online magazine committed to drawing on personal memories! When we introduced our annual conference for creative nonfiction writers, we chose a name that played off our title and gave a nod to summer camp: HippoCamp.
Our Approach
To ensure the integrity of the content, all unsolicited creative submissions to Hippocampus Magazine are read blindly by a few dozen members of our reading panel, a varied crew of literary folks: freelance writers, published authors, teachers, scholars, avid readers, editors, poets, playwrights, journalists, and others with a vested interest in creative nonfiction. While the bulk of our creative nonfiction magazine contains unsolicited work, editors may also occasionally solicit materials from previously published authors.
This publication is a labor of love. (We know. That’s kind of cliche in the literary magazine circuit.) The editorial staff and panel of readers consists of gracious volunteers. Most have full-time jobs. Many are also working tirelessly on their own creative efforts. It is very important to note that members of our volunteer reading panel are not excluded from submitting material. Those pieces go through the same reading process; however, they do not read their own submissions. (We wanted to be transparent about that!)
Because we do not charge for our publication, a $3-per-submission fee (implemented in June 2014) helps support the administrative costs of running online magazine (hosting, software, licensing, professional memberships, ads, writer incentives, etc.). In 2019, we launched the Friends of Hippocampus Magazine membership program, which allows our readers to help support the magazine; the majority of these contributions help fund contributor honorariums. Otherwise, Hippocampus Magazine largely remains a publisher-funded effort.
General Information
Hippocampus Magazine (ISSN 2160-2298) publishes six times per year and is part of Hippocampus Magazine and Books LLC. News and other blog posts may be updated between issues. All photos used in stories are by staff, provided as courtesy, or licensed for our use, unless credited otherwise. Contributor bios are current at time of publication.
Inquiries: Write to Hippocampus Magazine, c/o Donna Talarico (Warehouse 210), 210 W. Grant St., Suite 104, Lancaster, PA, 17603, or email info@hippocampusmagazine.com.
