Geist is a Canadian literary magazine of ideas and culture. They publish the best that can be found in narrative (fiction and non-fiction), essays, poetry, reviews, photography, drawings, commix, puzzles and little-known facts of interest—with a special interest in fresh interactions between text and image. Geist strives to be articulate, humorous and identifiably Canadian. Their mandate is to find and encourage a wide audience for new and established Canadian writers and artists of merit.
Currently, their readership extends from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island to Nunavut, with concentrations in the Lower Mainland of BC and greater Toronto. The Geist website, geist.com, receives 110,000 visits each year, and is supported by a strong social media presence: 3,000+ Facebook fans and friends; 11,400+ Twitter followers; 14,000+ subscribers to the weekly e-newsletter.
Geist began as a 40-page newsprint publication in the founders’ (Mary Schendlinger and Stephen Osborne) living room in 1990, with financing of $7,500. They paid artists and writers for their work from the beginning. In 1993 they hired their first full-time, permanent staff; in 2000, the editor-in-chief and senior editor began to receive a small stipend. The team edited with care, built gradually, promoted constantly, tracked results and brought the personal touch to re
lationships with readers and contributors, and Geist grew into the most widely read literary magazine in Canada. Geist has won critical acclaim and has received dozens of awards and nominations from the National Magazine Awards and the Western Magazine Awards. Most recently (this year), Geist won gold at the National Magazine Awards for a photo-essay by Terence Byrnes called “South of Buck Creek.”
Their inspiration is always found in the world around them and in the wealth of talented writers, artists, performers and creators, past and present, that they encounter in their work. They’re always on the alert for the great conversation or chance meeting that sparks a great Geist idea.
