I was recently introduced to a terrific new magazine, based out of Toronto and Chicago: The Coming Envelope. It’s conservative in size (only five writers per issue) but wide in scope, giving a home to a myriad of work that might be declined elsewhere for being unclassifiable .

They describe themselves as such at their publisher, BookThug:  “The Coming Envelope is BookThug’s new publication of experimental prose fiction edited and designed by Malcolm Sutton. Every issue features work from five writers. It accommodates hard-to-classify work by those already treading various precipices: uncomfortable here, courting the perverse, typographically observant, exposed to the elements, politically not unaware, falling alongside language.”

The Winter 2010 issue tackles all of this adeptly.  The lineup is stellar: Matvei Yankelevich, Vanessa Place, Simon Brown, Jeremy M Davies and Joni Murphy.  The layout is artful and accommodates the wide-range of work present in only 5 pieces. Matvei Yankelevich’s “you & we” reads like a manifesto that asks more questions than makes statements.  Jeremy Davies’ story, “The Knack of Doing,” is perhaps the most traditional of the stories in the magazine, but that’s not saying much considering the company it keeps.  It’s strong and multi-faceted.

Cheers to The Coming Envelope! I look forward to seeing what else you have to offer.