History

December 2022

French Quarter Journal is the second digital publication founded by writer Ellis Anderson, who first moved to the Quarter in 1978. She began the Shoofly Magazine in nearby Bay St. Louis on the Mississippi coast in 2011. The Shoofly quickly became a community lifestyle mainstay, averaging more than 30k readers a month and thousands of subscribers.

In 2018, Anderson began working with a small team of seasoned and emerging young writers to create another digital publication based on the same sponsor and reader-supported model as the Shoofly. The new one would focus on the French Quarter as a community - not a commodity. Anderson, who came of age in the neighborhood and was a French Quarter gallery owner for many years, launched FQJ in the fall of 2019. The magazine immediately gained a loyal following, obtained several Annual Sponsors and established a solid social media presence.

The pandemic shutdowns that came soon after forced most sponsors to withdraw and FQJ to drastically curtail the number of new stories we could publish. Yet we count ourselves most fortunate – and grateful to our few remaining sponsors and donors – to have somehow held our heads above water: Far too many of our neighboring businesses were forced to shutter for good. However, FQJ’s social media following grew with each story that we were able to publish during the last two years. It became apparent that both local and national audiences love the French Quarter despite the unrelenting pressures in recent decades that have threatened to crush the neighborhood.

So we begin anew in 2023, with a fresh look, a new platform and a schedule full of fascinating stories by fine writers. Our creative team is enthusiastic and determined to produce a quality publication with literary leanings, all in a niche of its own.

However, while our will is strong, we need a stable annual budget to fulfill our goals. The lion’s share of our budget goes to pay writers, photographers and our support team. Although digital publications avoid many production expenses, we do have them.

• If you enjoy our publication and want it to survive and thrive, we urge you to help make that happen.

• Businesses and individuals can become Annual Sponsors. Email us for package details.

• Avid readers - please join our Readers’ Circle! You can donate any sum you wish or sign up for regular monthly donations of any amount, all through PayPal.

Thank you for joining us as we continue this adventurous journey through one of the most interesting and beloved neighborhoods in the world.

Header photo above: photo by noted French Quarter photographer Arnold Genthe, circa 1920, Library of Congress.