Bennett Slavsky spent his 20s freelancing for the great outdoor magazines of yore.
Well, not all have lost their luster, and he doesn’t want to name names. But he’s critical of the listicles or top-10-feat headlines that have come to dominate – and fund – the publications he grew up being inspired by.
“Stuff that like does well online; clickbait-y stuff that appeases the algorithm,” he said.
Three years ago, the Jackson-based carpenter and musician partnered with friend and photographer Mathias Gruber to launch a remedy: “The Nunutak: A voice of the wild.”
Between colorful pages of outdoor photography, watercolor, poetry, and first-hand accounts of adventures big and small, one thing is missing: advertisement.
“Our goal was never to make money. Our goal was to create something that is worthwhile,” Slavsky said. “I want people to feel like this is not disposable.”
Three years ago, Bennett Slavsky (left) partnered with photographer Mathias Gruber to launch “The Nunutak: A voice of the wild.” (Courtesy)
Observers say it may be because no one is trying to make a living on it that the publication still exists.
Social media, digital marketing, rising print cost and a fragmenting audience have sharpened already thin margins.
“Trying to package up these stories that we love so much, it just becomes more and more challenging,” said Jacksonite Christian Beckwith, who co-founded Alpinist Magazine in the early 2000s.
Back then, Beckwith had the backing of multimillionaire Marc Ewing. Still, the title folded in the 2008 recession and later purchased out of receivership later by the Vermont-based Height of Land Publications.
If the upside of a passion project is freedom from financial logic, its pitfall may be the same, said Jackson Hole Writers Executive Director Matt Daly.
“It really needs a particular person behind it,” Daly said. “That initial leader, if they change, how does the thing continue after that person changes?”
The closest thing Jackson Hole had to “The Nunutak” in recent years was the literary journal “Granite,” published by Tumbleweed Creative Arts and, before that, the now hard-to-find Jackson Hole Review.
“Granite’s” first edition was helmed by Andrew Munz, who stepped away from leading the organization he founded due to his mother’s sudden death.
Tumbleweed board member Ryan Hittner said in an email that the organization had “not yet committed” to a “Granite” publication this year but was “still reviewing options” for another volume.
Still, “The Nunutak” contributors from Jackson Hole and across the country are a sign that the writing world still has artists and an audience, said Daly, who also curates the free Poetry Box, hosted by Jackson Hole Public Art.
“People who love good writing haven’t stopped, or relied on AI, or whatever people are wringing their hands about,” he said.
“The Nunatak” just closed submissions for its fourth annual issue, slated to come out next year. Previous editions are available online. Annual subscriptions cost $30 and are the main funding for contributors. Editors like Slavsky donate their time.
Beckwith tipped his hat to those still putting print into the world.
“If you are passionate about it, and you are smart, and you work hard and you’re good with people, then you will figure out a way to make it happen,” he said.
