Welcome to Palimpsest: What We Publish and Why

Palimpsest is an independent magazine of essays and criticism on culture and technology. We are reader-funded: no advertising, no sponsored content. This post explains what we publish, how often it arrives, and what a subscription includes.

The name comes from medieval manuscripts that were scraped clean and written over, with the earlier text still visible underneath. It describes our editorial approach: we return to subjects other publications covered once and moved past, and read them again, more carefully.

Three things to know before you subscribe:

1. We publish two pieces a week: one long-form essay of 3,000 to 6,000 words, and one shorter review or commentary. Every piece is edited, fact-checked, and archived permanently on this site.
2. Our beats are culture and technology, with regular coverage of education, rhetoric, design, and short fiction. Each contributor has a defined beat and a byline you can follow.
3. Subscribing is free. Subscribers receive every new piece by email on the day it publishes, plus a monthly letter from the editors on what we are reading and commissioning.

Palimpsest is written by six regular contributors and edited from Torino, Italy. You can read about each writer on their author page, linked from every byline.

If you want a sense of our editorial standards before subscribing, read How We Edit: The Palimpsest Editorial Process, which describes what happens to every piece between draft and publication.

Thank you for reading. If you find the work valuable, subscribe below and every new essay will arrive in your inbox.