About Atticus Review

Atticus Review is a online literary journal. It was founded by writer and publisher Dan Cafaro as an offshoot of his independent press, Atticus Books, in 2011. Both Atticus projects were born in the eclectic college town of Madison, New Jersey. Since then, Atticus Review has traveled to Philadelphia and Arizona, and has come to rest in Denver, Colorado, under the stewardship of author and publisher, David Olimpio (This is Not A Confession, Awst Press, 2016).

For 14 years, Atticus Review has enjoyed a steady flow of creative collaboration between readers, writers, and the editorial team. Our website/magazine/newsletter has evolved in format and flavor, but our commitment to indie publishing, emerging authors, and great literature has remained steadfast. Our revolving staff of editors has curated, shaped, and posted the work of over 1700 contributors.

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In July of 2024 we took a break and a deep breath. We set out to re-assess best practices for Atticus Review on every level. We asked ourselves:

• Is this digital magazine financially self-sustaining?
• Does the current business model match our values and vision for success?
• Is our creative content unique, valuable, and outstanding?

As curators, boosters, and publishers of literary writing, we work both within and against the confines of the publishing industry. When we’re honest, we have to admit that we crave a giant, cleansing change. Since Atticus Review is not supported by an institution or investor, we have been floating the project with personal funds, submission fees, and contest entry costs. We decided that a digital magazine is only as fresh and evolved as the platform or technology that carries it forward. We have set an intention for a self-sustaining, even (dare we say it) profitable literary enterprise for both magazine and writer – one that offers originality, inclusivity, and the highest artistic standards. This dream has pushed us into a very exciting, very risky, unexplored digital publishing arena: blockchain technology and smart contracts, better known as NFTs.

We are taking Atticus Review into the realm of web3, or the blockchain. We know we will have to educate ourselves and our collaborators (authors, readers, collectors) as we explore this new digital frontier. The goal is to empower writers by giving them a permanent stake in their digital publications. We will do this by minting the work we publish as NFTs, or smart contracts. We want to infuse written words on the web and social media platforms with actual monetary value and durability. At the very least, we can create a time-stamped record that says, this writing is original, this particular human wrote it, this is when it was written, and this is exactly what it said.

David Olimpio has recently partnered with longtime Atticus Review contributor, Boo Trundle. (The Daughter Ship, Pantheon, 2023.) Olimpio and Trundle share a belief that for-profit literary enterprises in the current publishing scene (both indie and big-five) are weighed down by hubris, tradition, and denial. We think the writing game is due for an overhaul and an upgrade. We want to help lead that charge.

So, what does all this mean if you’re a writer wanting to contribute to Atticus Review? Don’t worry, you will only have to submit a text document to us just like before. We will make the NFT.  You will, however, need to get a crypto wallet. We will be posting a tutorial on how to do this soon.

What kind of writing do we seek?

We are looking for transformational works that feel necessary and follow a narrative shaped by soul and internal intelligence rather than convention, conformity, tradition, or commercial viability.

Are you human? Prove it.

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