How to Stay Connected with Image Journal Online
You can stay connected with Image Journal through its free weekly newsletter, ImageUpdate, and by exploring current and past issues on imagejournal.org. Image Journal is a literary and arts quarterly founded in 1989 that publishes writing and artwork grappling with religious faith and spiritual questions, and it describes itself as a community gathering readers, writers, artists, and art-appreciators both in person and online.
Start with the free newsletter
The most direct no-cost connection is ImageUpdate, described on the site as a free weekly newsletter "featuring the best from Image and the world of arts & faith." It is the entry point if you want a recurring signal from the journal without committing to a subscription.
- What it is: a weekly email, free to receive
- What it covers: highlights from Image plus arts-and-faith news and writing
- How to join: use the newsletter sign-up on imagejournal.org
Read the journal's content on the website
The homepage surfaces a mix of current-issue material, including fiction, poetry, visual art, culture writing, and essays. From the site you can see what a given issue contains before deciding whether to subscribe.
For example, Issue 129 includes:
| Category | Example |
|---|---|
| Fiction | "Glass Blowers" by Thea Swanson |
| Poetry | Work by Lawrence Joseph, Li-Young Lee, and Allison Seay |
| Visual art | Eileen Ryan, "In the Studio" |
| Culture | Amy Bornman on Karen Russell's The Antidote |
| Essay | "An Object Arrived" by Lia Purpura |
The issue also features Molly McCully Brown on sustained attention, a conversation with George Saunders on afterlives, KC McGinnis on photojournalists' unintended glances, Robert M Geraci on Michael Takeo Magruder and controlled prairie burns, and fiction in translation from Miral al-Tahawy.
Subscribe to receive the journal itself
If you want the quarterly delivered rather than just online highlights, Image offers a subscription path at imagejournal.org/subscribe. The site presents subscription as the way to "get Image delivered," so treat it as the paid route to the full journal, distinct from the free newsletter.
- Free: ImageUpdate weekly newsletter
- Paid: subscription to the quarterly journal
Pricing and any login requirements are not specified in the available site information, so check the subscribe page for current terms.
Ways to engage beyond reading
Image describes itself as a community that convenes people "in person and online," so connection isn't limited to consuming issues. In practice this means:
- Follow the newsletter for a steady stream of curated work and arts-and-faith coverage.
- Browse the site to sample current and past issue contents.
- Subscribe if the quarterly itself is what you want to read in full.
- Watch for gatherings — the mission language about convening readers, writers, and artists suggests events and community programming alongside the journal.
Quick decision guide
- Want free, recurring content? Sign up for ImageUpdate.
- Want to sample before committing? Read the issue contents and excerpts on imagejournal.org.
- Want the full quarterly? Go to imagejournal.org/subscribe.
- Want community, not just reading? Look for Image's in-person and online gatherings.