AMERICA'S SECOND GREATEST TABLOID HITS LONDON

London will be receiving a final fin d'été taste of Americana this month with the launch of On The Rag, a filthy-smart new quarterly mixing high literature with low gossip, launching August 31st at Beasy Bar.

On The Rag arrives out of Los Angeles’ cult reading series Casual Encountersz — the same scene where book launches rub shoulders with louche confessions — and now incarnates as both a print tabloid and a digital platform. The online site resurrects Craigslist’s banned Casual Encounters hookup page as a space for romantic, artistic and literary intrigue. Crucially: nothing in print appears online.

The inaugural issue carries work from Rachel Kushner, Chris Kraus, Vanessa Beecroft and more, spliced with reportage from Gaza, Grindr hookup reviews, seduction diaries, book criticism and anonymous provocations by Diva Corp. Expect dieting advice from gallerist Tif Sigfrids and a conversation between Anahid Nersessian and Sanya Kantarovsky.

The launch night will feature readings by Alexis Okeowo, Stephanie Wambugu, Holly Connolly, Zoe Guttenplan, Maxine Beiny, Yelena Zhelezov and others.

“It’s equal parts literary journal, gossip rag and conceptual art project,” says founding editor Sammy Loren. “It’s electric to publish subversive fiction, poetry and art beside louche, low-brow trash.”

Loren — who founded Casual Encountersz, covered by the LA Times, Document Journal and LARB — has previously staged readings with names from Michael Stipe to Marlowe Granados. London has spent the past year importing the energy of LA’s backroom reading nights — On The Rag is just the most explicit proof of how the American scene keeps remaking British literature.

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On The Rag Issue One launches on Sunday August 31, 2025 at Beasy Bar Soho 58 Greek St, W1D 3DY.

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