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Become a Member · Established 2017

A writer's full body of work, and the small printed thing that arrives at your door.

Membership is patronage of an independent practice — not an unlock. For the price of a paperback and a coffee each month, you keep a single essayist in business and let her keep refusing the obvious.

184,000 readers · 6,200 members · 41 countries
A still life of a writing desk: coffee, reading glasses, and a small stack of literary quarterlies in cream covers.
What membership includes

Three things, and only three things — done slowly, on purpose.

No app, no community forum, no gamified streak counter. The product is the work and the things that carry it: an archive, a voice, and a printed object in the post.

  1. I

    The complete archive

    Every essay published since January 2017 — 612 essays, every Friday morning, none missing. Searchable, downloadable, yours to keep. Average read time of 11 minutes 40 seconds; 3.2× the Medium benchmark for independent publications.

    612 essays · 8 years · no filler
  2. II

    In-studio audio

    Every essay since issue No. 41 is narrated in-studio by a team of three professional voice actors based in Brooklyn and Lisbon. 94% of members listen rather than read. Average open rate of 58% against a 22% industry benchmark.

    3 narrators · 571 audio editions
  3. III

    The Davinci Quarterly

    A 64-page print zine mailed to your door four times a year — long-form essays, margin notes, and occasional commissioned work. Designed by a former McSweeney's art director. Quoted in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Aeon, and The Guardian's Long Read.

    64 pages · 4 issues per year · 41 countries
Membership tiers

Three prices, three relationships with the work.

Reader covers the cost of writing and hosting. Sustainer keeps the lights on and the audio studio paid. Patron funds the student tier — 14,800 free annual memberships and counting.

01

Reader

$7/month

The base rate. Full access to the archive, every Friday essay, and every audio edition.

  • The complete 612-essay archive
  • Weekly Friday essay in your inbox
  • Audio narrations, 571 editions and growing
  • Searchable, downloadable essays
Begin reading
02 Most chosen · 62% of members

Sustainer

$14/month

Everything in Reader, plus the print zine mailed to your door four times a year.

  • Everything in Reader
  • The Davinci Quarterly, four issues per year
  • Worldwide shipping to 41 countries
  • Member-only print editions and reprints
Sustain the work
03

Patron

$40/month

Everything in Sustainer, plus your membership underwrites a student's free annual access.

  • Everything in Sustainer
  • Funds one student membership per year
  • Listed (optionally) in the Quarterly colophon
  • Direct line to the editor for reprints
Become a patron

Annual billing saves the equivalent of two months. Student rate is pay-what-you-want — see below.

If you're a student

The archive is free for verified university readers — name your price, including zero.

Every Patron membership funds one student membership per year. Since 2019 this has paid for 14,800 free annual memberships for verified university readers across 41 countries. If you are currently enrolled and cannot afford the $7 rate, write to us with a screenshot of your student ID and we will set you up at any price you choose, including nothing at all.

[email protected] →
Mailed worldwide

Mailed to 41 countries — and counting.

The Davinci Quarterly is printed in upstate New York on uncoated cream stock and shipped via tracked post to members in 41 countries, from Reykjavík to Singapore. Shipping is included in every Sustainer and Patron tier. If your country is not yet on the route, write — the network grows a few postcodes each quarter.

Read the production notes →
Frequently asked

Practical questions, plainly answered.

Is the free Friday essay the same as membership?
No. The free weekly email is one essay, sent each Friday morning to 184,000 subscribers. Members receive that essay plus the full 612-essay archive, every audio narration, and the printed Quarterly. The free newsletter is the front door; membership is the library.
How does billing and cancellation work?
All tiers are billed monthly or annually through Stripe. You can cancel from your account page at any time — there is no retention call, no downgrade pitch, and no email survey. Access continues through the end of the period you have paid for. The median membership tenure is 2.3 years.
Can I gift a membership?
Yes. Annual Reader and Sustainer tiers can be sent as a gift by writing to [email protected] with the recipient's name, email, and your preferred start date. We will send a printed card on request.
When does the Quarterly ship, and what if my address changes?
Four issues per year, mailed in March, June, September, and December from our printer in upstate New York. Address changes can be made in your account at any time up to two weeks before the print date. Tracked shipping is included for all 41 countries currently served.
What is the refund policy?
Monthly memberships are non-refundable but cancellable at any time. Annual memberships can be refunded pro-rata within the first 30 days. If a Quarterly is damaged in the post, a replacement is sent on request at no charge.
Is the writing AI-assisted in any way?
No. Every essay is written, edited, and published by Emily Davinci personally. Audio narrations are recorded by three contracted voice actors in Brooklyn and Lisbon. The editorial team is four full-time staff and the three narrators — total seven.

Eight years. Six hundred and twelve essays. One quiet inbox every Friday morning.

Become a Member — from $7 a month.

184,000 readers receive the free essay each Friday. 6,200 of them chose to keep the work going. Annual growth, 34% year-on-year for the past four years. Named one of The Verge's Top 10 Independent Thinkers in 2024.

Join — From $7/mo

Cancel any time. Student rate is pay-what-you-want. The Davinci Quarterly ships to 41 countries.