The Sun is a magazine based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The overall goal for the publication, as stated by editor and co-founder, Sy Safransky, is to create a feeling of connection between contributors and readers.[1]
 Issue 348, December 2004 photograph by Kevin Bubriski | |
| Editor | Sy Safransky |
|---|---|
| Categories | Literature, photography |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| First issue | 1974 |
| Company | Sun Publishing Company |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Language | English |
| Website | thesunmagazine |
| ISSN | 0744-9666 |
History edit
In 1974, Sy Safransky started the magazine with co-founder, Mike Mathers, who left after 18 months. The partners borrowed $50 and solicited writing by friends and family for the first issue. Safransky typed up the material, Mathers drew illustrations, and it was printed on a copy machine.[2] The first issue was titled the Chapel Hill Sun and was sold for $0.25 each.[3] The title was later changed to The Sun. Readership was about 1000 for roughly the first decade[2] and has now increased to more than 70,000.[1]
Safransky describes the magazine as one "that honors the mystery at the heart of existence."[2] In 1990,[4] when readership reached roughly 10,000, Safransky dropped ads from the magazine and transformed it into a reader-supported publication.[5] Safransky believes this has "allowed for an uncommon atmosphere of intimacy in our pages."[5]
Format edit
The Sun's format features a lengthy interview with a “deep thinker” at the front of each issue, followed by fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and photography. In the “Readers Write” section, readers are invited to contribute reflections on a different theme for each issue.[6]
Anthologies edit
- A Bell Ringing in the Empty Sky: The Best of the Sun, Volume I by Sy Safransky (1985)
- A Bell Ringing in the Empty Sky: The Best of the Sun, Volume II by Sy Safransky (1985)
- Four in the Morning: Essays by Sy Safransky (1993)
- Stubborn Light: The Best of the Sun, Volume III by Sy Safransky (2000)
- The Mysterious Life of the Heart: Writing from The Sun about Passion, Longing, and Love by Sy Safransky, Tim McKee, and Andrew Snee (2009)
- Paper Lanterns: More Quotations from the Back Pages of The Sun by Sy Safransky, Tim McKee and Andrew Snee (2011)
- Sunbeams: A Book of Quotations Revised Edition by Sy Safransky (2012)
References edit
- ^ a b Matthews, Sebastian. "Every Word Tell: Sy Safransky, The Sun, and the Stars Who Revolve Around It". Stated Magazine.
- ^ a b c "Still Burning Bright: Sy Safransky Takes 'The Sun' Magazine into Its Fourth Decade" (PDF). The Village Rambler. January–February 2005. pp. 4–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2013. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
- ^ MacIver, Roderick, Art as a Way of Life, North Atlantic Books, 2009. Cf. pp.38-39.
- ^ "Sy Safransky: Life in The Sun".
- ^ a b Blevins, B (19 August 2011). "Publisher Profile: Sy Safransky". Retrieved 11 October 2014.
- ^ "The Sun Keeps Rising". 22 April 2015.