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Opium Magazine's 2009 Year in Review |
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by Todd Zuniga
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2:10 |
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It feels not-quite-believable to type this, but, after maybe too much thought, I realized: 2009 was Opium's finest year. It wasn't perfect (things never are when you have standards), but it wasn't difficult to type out what amounted to, for us, massive highlights on an almost monthly basis. Below, a collection of those linked highlights. But before that, a few thoughts on Opium's future:
Looking at what we've managed to accomplish in one year, we're feeling very much inspired to do even better. In 2010 we can't put into words how hard we're going to fight and scratch and claw (and, sure, maybe exhaust ourselves) to make Opium's 9th full year at least narrowly trump our 8th.
We have massive plans already in the works, from our forthcoming and insane Opium100: A Century of Literary Humor (aka: Opium10), to lining up Literary Death Matches at home and abroad, to devising even wilder schemes to make Opium Live a literary sensation, to plotting our 9th anniversary party (February 4th!), to laying down the groundwork for a new Web site to showcase all of Opium's many properties. And if all goes well, we'll finally launch Opium's Salon of Ideas (we're actually writing it here as a challenge to ourselves to make it happen).
If you believe in what we've done, and what we're doing, we'd love your support. Your eyeballs, submitted stories and your willingness to spread the word about what Opium have supported us for years. But we ask for your donations, as we've realized how much every dime counts, and how far we can stretch it. Donating will get you different rewards, but we very much think of our supporters and subscribers as insiders, and you'll hear many of our secrets, and see sneak peeks at what we're doing, before anyone else.
In closing: Have a brilliant 2010, and we'll do our best to surprise you at every turn we can think of. Read below, and you'll see 12 ways we surprised ourselves...
January: We start our long trudge towards non-profit status, morphing from "Opium Den" to "Opium for the Arts."
February: Literary Death Match expands outside of SF and NYC, debuting in the city of Opium's birth: Chicago.
March: The LDM goes international, debuting in Beijing.
April: Literary Death Match is 30 Rock'd by actor/performance judge Scott Adsit.
May: Opium8's Infinity Issue launches, and is covered by over 75 media outlets in 16 countries on six continents.
June: Comedian and actor Todd Barry hilarifies as judge at Literary Death Match, Ep. 15.
July: Literary Death Match invades the UK, debuting in London
August: In preparation for the November launch of Opium's iPhone app, we shot this commercial at The Dead Sea.
September: Literary Death Match goes bilingual, launching in Paris, in French, at Le Reservoir.
October: Opium Live's iTunes channel quietly launches, featuring LDM and Opium Live video highlights.
November: Opium9's Mania Issue launches, featuring Opium's first-ever stab at a Fan Fiction section (curated by Shya Scanlon).
December: The launch of Opium's QuickFix with Jiggle Technology iPhone app featuring Jack Handey.
Todd Zuniga is Opium's founding editor, and the president of Opium for the Arts. His fiction has appeared in print and online. He lives in Brooklyn.
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