Publication to Be Named Later: A sports quarterly

Jan. 27, 3 p.m. ET update: Publication to Be Named Later, Issue 1 is LIVE. This space is no longer for pre-order, but a marketplace where you can get great independent sportswriting in your inbox right now. It's just a minimum of $1, though we'll happily accept larger denominations.

Please enjoy.

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Jan. 19, 3:33 p.m. ET update: We've got a launch date! If you've pre-ordered a copy of Publication to Be Named Later, Issue 1, watch your inboxes on Jan. 27. Thank you thank you THANK YOU for your support.

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Sept. 18, 4:55 p.m. ET update: WE'VE REACHED OUR LAUNCH GOAL. We can't thank you enough! Keep it coming so that we can make Publication to Be Named Later bigger and better.

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Publication to Be Named Later is a brand-new cooperative sports quarterly run by your favorite free-agent internet writers, editors and artists. The people working on the first issue are largely composed of former SBNation.com employees, but in time we'd like PTBNL to become a refuge for weird, inclusive and wonderful writing of any origin. We hope that you will be as excited about this project as we are.

The theme for our first issue is Resilience, because lord knows we've all had to muster more brave faces than we thought we'd ever need. In this first issue you can expect to read Britni de la Cretaz on girls playing baseball in the farthest reaches of the continent; Richard Johnson on how college football players are still living with their decisions to take a knee; Kim McCauley on what USWNT stars risk by having kids; Zito Madu on Maya Moore and the true definition of "resilience"; Spencer Hall on ... something; and much more!

We want to recreate what sites like SBNation.com were at their best; places where DEEP discussions of sports minutiae lived next to soul-shaking essays, exhaustive reporting and speculative fiction. For anyone who understands sports on the internet, the incongruity should make sense. We want to follow the extent of our brains' impulses because we believe you'll enjoy the ride.

To do this properly, we need your help. We'd like to raise $30,000 in the next 30 days (UPDATE: WE DID IT). We came up with that number by deciding what we wanted to write and how we wanted the publication to look, then calculating the money we would need to pay everyone fairly. You can contribute by pre-ordering a copy of the first issue for a minimum of $1. 

PTBNL is being formed with a number of guiding principles, honed from years of watching dudes in UNTUCKit shirts show us what not to do:

• Pay everyone fairly. That's why we're doing this all-or-nothing. If we don't hit our minimum goal, that means we can't pay everyone what they're worth, and we shouldn't do the project at all. For far too long, writers, illustrators, copy editors and more have been woefully underpaid. We at PTBNL firmly believe that's a bad thing.
• Give everyone a stake and a chance to lead. It's probably nice getting paid like a CEO, but we believe a healthy publication shares the wealth. That's why we've devised a pay model that gives everybody involved in the publication a percentage of revenue. Further, we'll be changing up the masthead for each issue, giving a new group of people a chance to experiment, lead and earn the bulk of profit that comes along with added responsibility.
• Don't make diversity an afterthought. Every issue will seek out contributors from a wide range of backgrounds and identities. For too long most sportswriting has been focused through a single lens. We should be using the full spectrum of perspective. We still have a long way to go, but expect to see this effort furthered in every issue.
• Be wholly and relentlessly ourselves. We don't have corporate overlords. We don't have league or television rights. We won't chase trends. And the idea of "clickbait" doesn't really apply to a zine. Our mission statement is really simple: Do cool shit we care about. We want to go deeper and/or weirder on the topics that catch our fancy, whether that's a society-transforming movement, a long-forgotten journeyman or a niche sport's subculture.

We also have stretch goals. We want to make PTBNL as big and beautiful and self-sustaining as possible. We want to give all our friends (and ourselves) jobs that not only help them weather a bad storm, but give them the creative freedom to do their best work. The more money we raise, the more leeway we have to not only add contributors and content to the current issue, but to plan for the future, when we hope to sell PTBNL as a subscription or even *gasp* create a website.

But first, with your help, we want to create one kickass sports zine. Come. Give us money.

--- REWARDS ---

Supporter Section: $1+

You’ll receive:

• Your very own copy of Publication to Be Named Later, Volume 1

Name your price from $1 to $49.99, and we’ll email you a PDF of the first edition of PTBNL on the day of its release. It’ll be yours to enjoy forever, or at least until the robot uprising.

Reserved Seating: $50+

You’ll receive:

• Your very own copy of Publication to Be Named Later, Volume 1
• A chance to vote on the theme for Publication to Be Named Later, Volume 2

Not only will you get a PDF of PTBNL, Vol 1, but you can also help decide what Volume 2 will look like. When it’s time for us to choose the theme for our next quarterly, we’ll send you a short questionnaire that will give you a vote too. An “I Voted” sticker will not be included, but feel free to print one yourself and wear it with pride.

Club Level: $100+

You’ll receive:

• Your very own copy of Publication to Be Named Later, Volume 1
• A chance to vote on the theme for Publication to Be Named Later, Volume 2
• An early preview of one story before Vol. 1 is released

One week before PTBNL, Vol. 1 arrives in your inbox, you will get an advanced copy of one article in the quarterly. Since no one is really going to the movies right now, think of this as our version of a sneak preview.

Field Level: $250+

You’ll receive:

• Your very own copy of Publication to Be Named Later, Volume 1
• A chance to vote on the theme for Publication to Be Named Later, Volume 2
• An early preview of one story before Vol. 1 is released
  

• A customized (but appropriate!) shoutout in PTBNL, Vol. 1

We will hide your name, your favorite sports team, or a PG phrase of your choosing somewhere in the first edition of our quarterly. Just keep it … clean (we refuse to say “classy”).

Luxury Suite $500 (one-time only)

You’ll receive:

• Your very own copy of Publication to Be Named Later, Volume 1
• A chance to vote on the theme for Publication to Be Named Later, Volume 2
• An early preview of one story before Vol. 1 is released
• A customized (but appropriate!) shoutout in PTBNL, Vol. 1
• An exclusive piece of artwork courtesy of Tyson Whiting included in your PTBNL PDF

This is a first-come, first-served offer for the one person who is lucky enough to receive a Tyson Whitling original.

Owner’s Box: $750 (one-time only)

You’ll receive:

• Your very own copy of Publication to Be Named Later, Volume 1
• A chance to vote on the theme for Publication to Be Named Later, Volume 2
• An early preview of one story before Vol. 1 is released
• A customized (but appropriate!) shoutout in PTBNL, Vol. 1
• A 500+word piece in PTBNL, Vol. 1 commissioned for you

This is the second first-come, first-served offer. One of our talented writers will compose a story based on three prompts (a sport, location, and inanimate object) you give us. The finished product will be included in every copy of PTBNL, Vol. 1, courtesy of your generosity, intelligence, and good looks.