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for Oxford American
Little Rock publisher is buying Southern lit title
By Jeff Bercovici
It appears that the Oxford American, the magazine of Southern literature and culture that nearly went out of business this spring, has found a new Dixie sugar daddy.
A small publisher based in Little Rock, Ark., has agreed to buy the 10-year-old quarterly and keep it running, according to someone with knowledge of the deal.
Editor Marc Smirnoff says he can’t comment on the deal just yet, but he is expected to relocate the magazine to Little Rock, where he will assemble a new staff.
The seven staffers who have been putting the title out have either left or been dismissed.
Though it will no longer be based in Oxford, Miss. -- home of William Faulkner, spiritual godfather to all Southern scribes -- the Oxford American will keep both its name and its editorial mission.
But that is all that is known of the deal so far, and that is precious little.
Though widely respected as a literary journal, the magazine has never presented much of an argument as a vehicle for advertising. And while the identity of the new owner has not been revealed, it's assumed that the new management has come up with a plan to sustain the title on ad revenues.
Grisham has been bankrolling the Oxford American since 1994. A year ago, Grisham and Smirnoff agreed that it was time for the magazine to start paying its own way.
"John has allowed us to exist over and over again, but he's a single individual, not a magazine corporation," Smirnoff told Media Life in May.
After a round of cost-cutting and a successful subscription drive, the title's finances had improved considerably, but they took a turn for the worse as the advertising recession deepened last fall.
Finally, in May, Smirnoff announced that the magazine would fold if it wasn't able to find a new backer within two weeks.
Before the grace period expired, Smirnoff said that he had gotten an extension and was fielding serious inquiries from potential buyers.
July 16, 2002© 2002 Media Life
-Jeff Bercovici is a staff writer for Media Life.
