About The Common

MISSION

The Common is a literary organization whose mission is to deepen our individual and collective sense of place.

Based at Amherst College, we aim to serve as a vibrant common space for the global exchange of ideas and experiences through three main areas of activity: publishing, public programming, and mentorship and education.

We publish works that embody particular times and places—literature and art powerful enough to reach from there to here—and feature new and underrepresented voices from around the world. Publications include:

• Two print issues per year; and
• An open-access online platform updated weekly.

We host and participate in programs that serve the public and foster literary community, including:

• Readings and conversations featuring writers, editors, and translators; and
• Collaborations with schools, museums, libraries, and other publications and nonprofit organizations.
  

We provide mentorship and education to the next generation of writers, editors, and publishers through:

• Hands-on literary publishing internship program for college students;
• Classroom programs serving high school, college, and graduate students; and
• Strong editorial support and guidance to launch the careers of emerging authors.

WHAT IS THE COMMON?

The Common is an award-winning print and digital literary journal published biannually, in the fall and spring. Issues of The Common include short stories, essays, poems, and images that embody a strong sense of place. The Common Online publishes original content four times per week, including book reviews, interviews, personal essays, short dispatches, poetry, contributor podcasts and recordings, and multimedia features.

Based in Amherst, Massachusetts, the magazine is supported in part by Amherst College and The Common Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The Common also runs the Literary Publishing Internship Program at Amherst College, mentoring students in all aspects of literary publishing, and hosts public programming regularly.

See a list of Awards, or check up on News & Events.

Hear more about The Common‘s founding and background in these Interviews with the Editor in Chief.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Finding the extraordinary in the common has long been the mission of literature. Inspired by this mission and the role of the town common, a public gathering place for the display and exchange of ideas, The Common seeks to recapture an old idea. The Common publishes pieces of literature that embody particular times and places both real and imagined; from deserts to teeming ports; from Winnipeg to Beijing; from Earth to the Moon: literature and art powerful enough to reach from there to here. In short, we seek a modern sense of place.

In our hectic and sometimes alienating world, themes of place provoke us to reflect on our situations and both comfort and fascinate us. Sense of place is not provincial nor old fashioned. It is a characteristic of great literature from all ages around the world. It is, simply, the feeling of being transported, of “being there.”

The Common
Frost Library
Amherst College
Amherst, Mass. 01002

413.542.5453

For general inquiries, or if you encounter any difficulty with the accessibility of our website or content, please email info@thecommononline.org. 

See Open Positions.

BOOKSTORES

The Common is carried at independent bookstores across the country and overseas. Bookstores interested in carrying The Common on consignment should contact info@thecommononline.org. To purchase print and digital copies of The Common online, please visit our Webstore.

See a list of bookstores that carry The Common.

Support