''Canteen'' is an English-language literary and arts magazine published twice a year. Founded in 2007 by publisher Stephen Pierson, editor-in-chief Sean Finney, executive editor Mia Lipman, and former art director Sai Sriskandarajah, the magazine asks its contributors to reveal their creative process to the reader. As described by Finney, "''Canteen'' is the literary magazine that comes with instructions." "''Canteen'' was born at the restaurant of the same name in San Francisco, where chef Dennis Leary hosted literary salons." The magazine has offices in Brooklyn, NY, and San Francisco, CA.

Content

''Canteen'' consists of photos, essays, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and paintings by both well-known and amateur writers and artists. In addition to input from published authors and celebrated artists, the magazine accepts submissions of written and visual work from readers through thei
website
Issue five of ''Canteen'' was named "Book of the Week" by the arts blo
Large Hearted Boy
an
WORD Bookstore
in Brooklyn for skillfully combining word and image.

''Anatomy of a Photo Contest''

In 2010, ''Canteen'' held a photo contest that was designed to reveal the decision-making processes behind such competitions, which are sometimes criticized for their opaque nature. The magazine published the comments and critiques of the contest's judges in full, as well as the response of one of the critiqued artists. The competition was judged by Brooklyn Museum director Arnold Lehman and photographer Matthew Porter. Winning entries, along with other images selected from the contest's submissions, were presented in a show at the powerHouse Arena in

DUMBO, Brooklyn Dumbo (or DUMBO, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It encompasses two sections: one situated between the Manhattan Bridge, Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, which ...

in August 2010.

canTeens (tutoring program)

In September 2008, ''Canteen'' launched a literacy tutoring program for middle school students in Harlem, NY. The workshops are designed to increase the students' confidence in their work, as well as encouraging them to continue writing and to share it with others. Workshops have been taught by contributing ''Canteen'' authors such as

Porochista Khakpour Porochista Khakpour ( Persian: پوروچیستا خاکپور, born January 17, 1978) is an Iranian American novelist, essayist, and journalist. A refugee from Iran whose family fled the Iran-Iraq War and the Islamic Revolution, Khakpour grew ...

Gina Gionfriddo Gina Gionfriddo is an American playwright and television writer. Her plays ''Becky Shaw'' and ''Rapture, Blister, Burn'' were finalists for the 2009 and 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, respectively. She has written for the television series ''Law & ...

and Garth Risk Hallberg, and other authors such as Lorraine Adams and Amy Braunschweiger. At the end of each semester, the students' work is compiled into a professionally designed and printed magazine that is nationally distributed.

Outwrite

Outwrite is a flash-fiction writing contest created by ''Canteen'' that pits an established writer against literary novices who have never been published, deciding the winner based on audience response. In the inaugural contest in Los Angeles on April 12, 2010, Dana Goodyear (poet and ''New Yorker'' staff writer) competed against unknowns Bradley Spinelli and A. Wolfe. Wolfe's piece garnered the best audience reaction and took home the grand prize. ''Canteen'' is planning more Outwrite events to be held in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Madison, Washington D.C., and San Francisco.

Notable Contributors

Matthew Porter (photographer)

Tao Lin Tao Lin (; born July 2, 1983) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, short-story writer, and artist. He has published four novels, a novella, two books of poetry, a collection of short stories, and a memoir, as well as an extensive assortment o ...

(author)
Dana Goodyear (poet)

Benjamin Kunkel Benjamin Kunkel (born December 14, 1972) is an American novelist and political economist. He co-founded and is a co-editor of the journal ''n+1.'' His novel ''Indecision'' was published in 2005; and ''Utopia or Bust: A Guide to the Present Cr ...

(author)

Joyce Maynard Joyce Maynard (born November 5, 1953) is an American novelist and journalist. She began her career in journalism in the 1970s, writing for several publications, most notably '' Seventeen'' magazine and ''The New York Times''. Maynard contributed ...

(author)
Nathaniel Rich (author)

Stephen Elliott Stephen Elliott may refer to: Entertainment *Stephen Elliott (actor), (1918–2005), American actor * Stephen Elliott (author) (born 1971), American author and activist Sport * Steve Elliott (footballer, born 1958), English footballer * Steve Ell ...

(author)
Ben Fountain (author)

(author)

Po Bronson Po Bronson (born March 14, 1964) is an American journalist and author who lives in San Francisco. Early life and education Bronson was born in Seattle, Washington. After attending Lakeside School in Seattle, he graduated from Stanford Univers ...

(author)

Stephen Shore Stephen Shore (born October 8, 1947) is an American photographer known for his images of scenes and objects of the banal, and for his pioneering use of color in art photography. His books include ''Uncommon Places'' (1982) and ''American Surfaces ...

(photographer)

Distribution

''Canteen'' achieved national distribution through Disticor with its first issue in 2007. It is sold at most

Barnes and Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...

locations in the U.S. and Canada, as well as at

independent bookstore An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, ...

s around the country.

References

{{reflist

External links

''Canteen'' magazine official site''Canteen'' magazine in the San Francisco Chronicle''Canteen Confidential'' in BlackBook magazine
* ttp://www.newpages.com/magazinestand/litmags/reviews_archive_2009/2009_08/litmagreviews_2009_08.htm#Canteen Review of ''Canteen'' magazine, issue 4, from Newpages.combr>''Black Friday Shopping That's Good for the Soul'' on BrooklynBased.net
Canteen magazine Biannual magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 2007 Magazines published in San Francisco Magazines published in New York City Visual arts magazines published in the United States 2007 establishments in California