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Broadside

The history of broadside literary publishing predates bound books. A “broadside” is a sheet of paper printed on one side only. The term gained popularity among promoters that plaster posters around towns, announcing plays, musicals, movies, and events.

In the 16^th century, ballads were printed and sold on broadside documents that look very much like a typical page of notebook paper today. Small leaflets announcing events, like public hangings, have been printed broadside; but the most significant purpose that broadside printing has served is as a medium for street literature, including stories, poems, debates, and the news of the day.

As printing techniques became mainstream, giving rise to cheap and efficient bindings, street literature continued to persist in fringe, grassroots mediums. In fact, original copies of broadside literature from well-known writers who started by self-printing literature are very collectible, both as items of interest and investment.

Broadside journal seeks to keep broadside printing alive. The things we publish aren’t bound, and are provided in the simplest medium imaginable. We print broadside, and what we print is meant to be read, not admired for its binding or how it looks in the bookshelf. Broadside Journal seeks to be the least pretentious literary journal in the world.