Cover of The Believer, April 2005

The Believer is an intellectual yet playful magazine mainly about literature. Published by McSweeney's out of San Francisco, the magazine also explores artforms other than literature, and features rigorous yet amiable articles about authors, artists, and literary issues of the past and present, often relating to politics and popular culture and always currying favor with a love of literature in any capacity. Image File history File links Cover image of the April 2005 issue of The Believer magazine. ... A collection of magazines A magazine is a periodical publication containing a variety of articles. ... McSweeneys is a publishing house founded and edited by Dave Eggers, author of You Shall Know Our Velocity and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

Illustrations and cartoons are featured throughout The Believer. The cover illustrations are done by Charles Burns, while most of the other portraits and line drawings are by Tony Millionaire (following Gilbert Hernandez from the fifth issue on). Michael Kupperman's Four-Color Comics has appeared in many issues, and in most issues a series of images from a given artist or other source run throughout the articles a la The New Yorker. Charles Burns (born 1955) is an award-winning cartoonist and illustrator. ... Tony Millionaires (Born in 1956) Maakies is one of the most popular alternative newspaper comics strips in the world. ... Gilbert Hernandez and his brothers Jaime and Mario are the creators of a black & white independent comic Love and Rockets, published by Fantagraphics Books. ... Michael Kupperman is the cartoonist who created Snake n Bacons Cartoon Cabaret. ... The New Yorkers first cover, which is reprinted each year on the magazines anniversary. ...

Published issues

First Issue, March 2003 (Vol. 1, No. 1)

Second Issue, May 2003 (Vol. 1, No. 2)

Third Issue: All Is Well, June 2003 (Vol. 1, No. 3)

Fourth Issue: Steady!, July 2003 (Vol. 1, No. 4)

Fifth Issue: On Time, All the Time, August 2003 (Vol. 1, No. 5)

Sixth Issue: Make It So, September 2003 (Vol. 1, No. 6)

Seventh Issue: Rotunda, October 2003 (Vol. 1, No. 7)

Eighth Issue: Neckfire!, November 2003 (Vol. 1, No. 8)

Ninth Issue: Cúspide, December 2003 / January 2004 (Vol. 1, No. 9)

Tenth Issue: Lodestar, February 2004 (Vol. 2, No. 1)

Eleventh Issue: Flyerette, March 2004 (Vol. 2, No. 2)

Twelfth Issue: Porchcrawlin', April 2004 (Vol. 2, No. 3)

Thirteenth Issue: Wodge, May 2004 (Vol. 2, No. 5) (Note: there is no Vol. 2, No. 4.)

Fourteenth Issue: Cassingle, June 2004 (Vol. 2, No. 6) (First "Music Issue", with CD.)

Fifteenth Issue: Blowsy, July 2004 (Vol. 2, No. 7)

Sixteenth Issue: Carafe, August 2004 (Vol. 2, No. 8)

Seventeenth Issue: Bunshoft!, September 2004 (Vol. 2, No. 9)

Eighteenth Issue: Carry, October 2004 (Vol. 2, No. 10)

Nineteenth Issue: Hartshorn, November 2004 (Vol. 2, No. 11)

Twentieth Issue: Rhathymia, December 2004 / January 2005 (Vol. 2, No. 12) ("Art Issue", with DVD.)

Twenty-first Issue: Arable, February 2005 (Vol. 3, No. 1)

Twenty-second Issue: Couchfire!, March 2005 (Vol. 3, No. 2)

Twenty-third Issue: Future Salad, April 2005 (Vol. 3, No. 3)

Twenty-fourth Issue: Hoax Fed, May 2005 (Vol. 3, No. 4)

Twenty-fifth Issue: Gnash, June / July 2005 (Vol. 3, No. 5) ("2005 Music Issue", with CD.)

Twenty-sixth Issue: Pressure Face, August 2005 (Vol. 3, No. 6)

Twenty-seventh Issue: Boomtown, September 2005 (Vol. 3, No. 7)

Cover illustrations by issue

List of cover illustrations by issue number:

1. Terry Gilliam, Beth Orton, Salman Rushdie, and Susan Straight
2. Judith Butler, Ashida Kim, Rick Moody, and Jack White
3. Richard Rorty, Liz Phair, Frank Herbert, and Steve Erickson
4. John Haskell, Jamaica Kincaid, Jan Potocki, and Martin Short
5. Rudy Giuliani, Shirin Neshat, Adam Phillips, and Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson
6. Jenny Gage, a bust of Emperor Augustus, and two versions, one good and one evil, of Andy Richter
7. John Banville, Joan Didion, Jerry Lewis, and Stephen Malkmus
8. Tina Fey, David Foster Wallace, Cornell Woolrich, and a woman without a face
9. Ice Cube, Aleksandra Mir, Marianne Moore, and the Sweet Valley High twins
10. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Yukio Mishima, Elaine Pagels, and Milana Runjić
11. Dominic Arou, George Saunders, Amy Sedaris, and the titular horse from Black Beauty
12. Tracey Emin, Errol Morris, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and the state of Iowa
13. Ada Byron, Charles Dickens, Dawit Giorgis, and Kiki Smith
14. David Byrne, Ani DiFranco, James Joyce, Dory Previn, Q-Tip, Elliott Smith, and Eddie Vedder
15. Shirley Hazzard, Nick Hornby, Danica Phelps, and the titular character of Don Quixote
16. Susan Choi, Francisco Goldman, Robert Pollard, and P.G. Wodehouse
17. Ian Frazier, Klaus Kinski, George Meyer, and Mary Lynn Rajskub
18. John Kerry
19. Walter Abish, Buddy Bolden, David O. Russell, and August Wilson
20. Eleven artists from L.A.: Tessa Chasteen, Harry Dodge, Francesca Gabbiani, Charles Garabedian, Matt Greene, Stanya Kahn, Tom Knechtel, Nick Lowe, Jennifer Pastor, Mindy Shapero, and Thaddeus Strode
21. Paul Auster, Eve Sussman, Todd Solondz, and a blue whale
22. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Marjorie Grene, Mario Van Peebles, and a Wonder Woman action figure
23. Sarah Jones, China Miéville, Stevie Smith, and Carlos Castaneda's head "overrun by doom-vines"
24. Teresa Edwards, Steve Martin, Tintin, and Tobias Wolff
25. Beck, Donovan, Aimee Mann, Karen O, Daniel Smith, Mark E. Smith, and Smoosh
26. Björk, Dennis Cooper, Ian McEwan, and Zadie Smith
27. Sarah Silverman, Tom Stoppard, Cerebus, and Mark Mothersbaugh

Terry Gilliam Terence Vance Gilliam (born November 22, 1940) is an American/British film director (He lives abroad in England but is still an American citizen) and a member of the Monty Python comedy group. ... Beth Orton Beth Orton performs live in Seattle, Washington, 2002. ... Salman Rushdie Salman Rushdie (born Ahmed Salman Rushdie, June 19, 1947, in Bombay, India) is an Indian-born British essayist and author of fiction, most of which is set on the Indian subcontinent. ... Susan Straight (born in Riverside, California) is a writer, currently director of the creative writing department at University of California, Riverside. ... Judith Butler Judith Butler (b. ... Ashida Kim Ashida Kim is the pseudonym of a controversial Florida-based American martial arts teacher and author best known for his books on ninjitsu training published during the 1970s and 1980s. ... Rick Moody (born Hiram Frederick Moody III October 18, 1961 in New York City), is an American novelist best known for The Ice Storm (1994), a chronicle of the dissolution of two suburban Connecticut families over Thanksgiving weekend in 1973. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Richard McKay Rorty (born October 4, 1931 in New York City) is an American philosopher. ... Liz Phair at Red Rock Canyon, NV Liz Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer/songwriter. ... Frank Patrick Herbert (October 8, 1920 – February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author. ... Steve Erickson (Steven Michael Erickson) born 20 April 1950 in Los Angeles, an American author. ... Jamaica Kincaid (b. ... Noble Family Potocki Coat of Arms PiÅ‚awa Parents StanisÅ‚aw Potocki Anna Teresa OssoliÅ„ska Consorts Julia Lubomirska Konstancja Potocka Children with Julia Lubomirska Alfred Wojciech Potocki Artur Potocki with Konstancja Potocka Bernard Potocki Irena Potocka Teresa Potocka Date of Birth March 3, 1761 Place of Birth Leżajsk... Martin Hayter Short CM (born March 26, 1950) is an actor, writer, and producer best known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live. ... Rudolph William Louis Rudy Giuliani III, KBE (born May 28, 1944) served as the Mayor of New York City from January 1, 1994 through December 31, 2001. ... Adam Phillips is a British child psychotherapist and essayist. ... ?uestlove (born Ahmir Khalib Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is the drummer, producer and arranger for the Roots. ... Bust of Augustus Caesar Caesar Augustus (Latin: IMP·CAESAR·DIVI·F·AVGVSTVS)¹ (23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), known earlier in his life as Gaius Octavius or Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, was the first Roman Emperor and is traditionally considered the greatest. ... Andy Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American comedian and actor, best known for his former role as Conan OBriens sidekick on Late Night with Conan OBrien. ... John Banville is an Irish novelist, born December 8, 1945 in Wexford. ... Photo of Joan Didion by Robert Birnbaum Joan Didion (born December 5, 1934) is an American writer, renowned as a journalist and prose stylist. ... This article is about the comedian and telethon host; Jerry Lewis is also the name of a U.S. politician. ... Stephen Malkmus performing in Battery Park, New York City. ... Tina Fey on Weekend Update Tina Fey (born May 18, 1970) is an American writer, comedienne, and actress. ... David Foster Wallace (born February 21, 1962 in Ithaca, New York) is an American writer. ... Cornell George Hopley-Woolrich (December 4, 1903 - September 25, 1968) was an American novelist and short story writer. ... Ice Cube, in a scene from Next Friday (1999). ... Marianne Moore photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1948 Marianne Moore (November 15, 1887 - February 5, 1972) was a Modernist American poet and writer. ... Sweet Valley High is a fictitious teen series created by Francine Pascal and written by several ghostwriters. ... Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (born July 23, 1967 in Fairport, New York) is a US actor. ... Yukio Mishima Yukio Mishima (三島由紀夫 Mishima Yukio), was the public name of Kimitake Hiraoka (平岡公威 Hiraoka Kimitake), (January 14, 1925 - November 25, 1970), a Japanese author and rightist political activist, notable for both his nihilistic post-war writing and the circumstances of his suicide. ... Elaine Pagels (née Hiesey, born February 13, 1943), is the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University. ... George Saunders (born December 2, 1958) is an American writer, acclaimed for his two books, Civilwarland in Bad Decline (1996) and Pastoralia (2000), both collections of short stories. ... Amy Sedaris (born March 29, 1961 in New York City, New York, USA) is an American actress and comedian. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The Horse (Equus caballus) is a sizeable ungulate mammal, one of the seven modern species of the genus Equus. ... Black Beauty is a novel written in 1877 by Anna Sewell about the life of a horse from his carefree days as a foal on an English farm enjoying the countryside with his mother, to his sale and his career as pulling cabs and wagons in London. ... Tracey Emin (born 3rd July 1963) is an English artist, one of the so-called Young British Artists (YBAs). ... Errol Morris (born February 5, 1948 in Hewlett, New York) is an American Academy Award winning documentary film director. ... Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn (Russian: ), born December 11, 1918, in Kislovodsk, Russia, is a novelist and winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize for Literature. ... State nickname: The Hawkeye State Other U.S. States Capital Des Moines Largest city Des Moines Governor Thomas Vilsack (D) Official languages English Area 145,743 km² (26th)  - Land 144,701 km²  - Water 1,042 km² (0. ... Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (December 10, 1815 - November 27, 1852) is mainly known for having written a description of Charles Babbages early mechanical general_purpose computer, the analytical engine. ... Charles Dickens used his rich imagination, sense of humour and detailed memories, particularly of his childhood, to enliven his fiction. ... David Byrne. ... Ani DiFranco Ani DiFranco (pronounced AHH-nee) (born Angela Marie Difranco September 23, 1970) is a progressive singer, guitarist, and songwriter. ... James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (February 2, 1882 – January 13, 1941) was an expatriate Irish writer and poet, and is widely considered one of the most significant writers of the 20th century. ... Dory Previn (born October 22nd, 1925) is an American singer-songwriter, and was a lyricist for motion picture theme songs during the 1960s and early 1970s. ... Q-Tip Q-Tip (born Jonathan Davis on November 20, 1970 in New York City), is an American rapper and record producer, and formerly of the group A Tribe Called Quest. ... Promotional photo of Elliott Smith from the XO album Elliott Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003) was an American songwriter and musician from Portland, Oregon who rose to prominence when his song Miss Misery from the Good Will Hunting soundtrack was nominated for an Oscar in the best original... Eddie Vedder Eddie Vedder (born Edward Louis Seversen III on 23 December 1964) is the lead singer, lyricist, and frontman for the band Pearl Jam. ... Shirley Hazzard (born 1931, in Sydney, Australia) is a writer and novelist who lives in the United States. ... Nick Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English novelist and essayist who lives in Highbury, north London. ... Statues of Don Quixote (left) and Sancho Panza (right) Don Quixote de la Mancha (IPA: ) is a novel by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. ... Susan Choi is a novelist. ... Robert Pollard (born October 31, 1957) is the former lead singer and songwriter for the now defunct Dayton, Ohio indie rock group Guided by Voices. ... Called English literatures performing flea, P. G. Wodehouse, pictured in 1904, became famous for his complex plots, ingenious wordplay, and prolific output. ... Ian Frazier is an American writer and humorist who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1951. ... Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (October 18, 1926–November 23, 1991): International film actor regarded as one of the best German actors of the second half of the 20th century. ... Mary Lynn Rajskub (born June 22, 1971) is an American comedic actress from Detroit who was one of the original cast members of Mr. ... John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. ... Walter Abish (born December 24, 1931) is a famous Jewish-American author. ... Buddy Bolden Buddy Bolden (September 6, 1877 _ November 4, 1930) was a trumpeter and the first New Orleans jazz musician ever to come to prominence. ... David O. Russell is an American film director. ... August Wilson (born April 27, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright, who has achieved widespread acclaim for his stage plays, which focus primarily on the African American experience in the 20th century. ... The City of Los Angeles (from Spanish Los Ángeles , meaning the angels), also known as L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the worlds most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. ... Paul Benjamin Auster (born February 3, 1947) is an American author. ... Todd Solondz (born October 15, 1959) is an American writer/director known for his controversial films. ... Binomial name Balaenoptera musculus (Linneus, 1758) Blue Whale range The Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. ... Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859 - July 7, 1930) is the British author most famously known for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine. ... An action figure is a posable plastic figurine of an action hero, superhero or a character from a movie or television program. ... China Tom Miéville (born September 6, 1972, Norwich) is a British writer of fantastic fiction. ... Stevie Smith was a British poet and radio personality (September 20, 1902 - March 7, 1971) Born Florence Margaret Smith in Kingston upon Hull, when three years old she moved with her mother and sister to Palmers Green, London. ... Carlos Castaneda (previously Castañeda) was born in Peru on December 25, 1925 and died in Los Angeles on April 27, 1998. ... Teresa Edwards (b. ... Steve Martin (right) with Scooter, on The Muppet Show Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, musician, and composer born in Waco, Texas and raised in Orange County, California. ... Tintin and Snowy (Tintin et Milou) are world travellers and inseparable friends in The Adventures of Tintin. ... Tobias Wolff (born June 19, 1945 in Alabama) is a writer of finction and nonfiction. ... Beck Hansen Beck Hansen (born Bek David Campbell, July 8, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. ... Donovan Leitch Donovan Philips Leitch (usually known simply as Donovan) (born May 10, 1946) is a British musician. ... Aimee Mann Aimee Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American rock guitarist, bass player, singer, and songwriter. ... The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a New York-based rock & roll band headed by lead singer Karen O. Other members are Brian Chase (drums) and Nick Zinner (guitars). ... The Danielson Famile is a band that plays a quirky blend of Indie pop and gospel music. ... Mark E. Smith in 1981 Mark E. Smith (born March 5, 1957) is the lead singer, lyricist and hub of The Fall, a renowned and idiosyncratic offshoot from the UK post-punk/new wave music scenes. ... Smoosh Smoosh are an American pop music duo, consisting of two sisters, singer/keyboardist Asya and drummer Chloe. ... Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir IPA: , (born November 21, 1965 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic singer/songwriter with a great expressive range and an interest in many kinds of music including popular, trip-hop, alternative rock, jazz, electronica, folk, and classical. ... Dennis Cooper (1953 - ) is a poet, writer and performance artist, most noted for transforming the visual/verbal aesthetic of punk into its written counterpart. ... Ian McEwan (born June 21, 1948) is a British novelist, sometimes nicknamed Ian Macabre because of the nature of his work. ... Zadie Smith (born October 27, 1975) is a British novelist. ... Sarah Silverman Sarah Silverman (born December, 1970 in Bedford, New Hampshire, USA) is an actress, a stand-up comedian, and a writer. ... Sir Tom Stoppard OM (born July 3, 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright, famous for plays such as The Real Thing and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and for the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love. ... Cerebus issues 112 and 113, from 1988. ... Mark Mothersbaugh (born May 18, 1950, in Akron, Ohio) is an American musician, composer, singer, and painter. ...

External links

• The Believer, official website
• McSweeney's, publishers of The Believer