Harper's Magazine

Lore & Background

Harper's Magazine began as Harper's New Monthly Magazine in New York City in June 1850, by publisher Harper & Brothers. The company also founded Harper's Weekly and Harper's Bazaar, and grew to become HarperCollins. The first press run included 7,500 copies and sold out almost immediately; six months later circulation had grown to 50,000. Early issues reprinted material pirated from English authors such as Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, and the Brontë sisters.

Portions of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick were first published in the October 1851 issue. The magazine changed its name to Harper's Monthly Magazine in 1901, and simplified it to Harper's Magazine in 1912. In 1965, the magazine was separately incorporated and became a division of the Minneapolis Star and Tribune Company.

In 1971, editor Willie Morris resigned under pressure, prompting resignations from many staffers. In 1980, the Harper's Magazine Foundation was established to publish the magazine. In 1984, the 'Harper's Index' was introduced. The magazine has published works by Herman Melville, Woodrow Wilson, Winston Churchill, John Updike, George Saunders, and others.

Reader's Guide

Harper's Magazine is a monthly publication covering literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. It features fiction, essays, reportage, reviews, and departments such as 'Harper's Index', 'Readings', and 'Annotation'. It also publishes a newsletter called the 'Weekly Review'. As of the November 2025 issue, Dan Piepenbring writes the print edition's 'New Books' column.