Rookie Magazine — the publication for teen girls, founded by Tavi Gevinson — is shuttering. Gevinson herself announced the news in a letter from the editor.
“It is with a very full heart that I write that this is the last post on Rookie,” she began. “In one way, this is not my decision, because digital media has become an increasingly difficult business, and Rookie in its current form is no longer financially sustainable. And in another way, it is my decision—to not do the things that might make it financially sustainable, like selling it to new owners, taking money from investors, or asking readers for donations or subscriptions.”
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In her 5000+ word farewell essay Gevinson went on to detail not only her conflicts with keeping the magazine running as a business, but also her deep personal connection to the publication, which she founded when she was 15. It’s at once a disheartening, and detailed, inside look at what many magazine owners and editors are facing today. It is also a moving self-portrait of an editor letting go of a publication so close to her heart.
Rookie is not a lone victim of the current magazine climate. Last month Lenny Letter (which was associated with Hearst, then Condé Nast) announced it was ceased its run. Meanwhile just last Glamour magazine has shuttered its print publication, and has gone exclusively digital.
The site will remain online for a few more months, but no new content will be created.
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