When does the New Yorker go on sale?

When in doubt, ask!

I am a newly minted New Yorker subscriber. Since Tweels closed this summer, I’ve had a hard time re-establishing a New Yorker buying system, so I finally decided to move from “regular newsstand purchased” to subscriber.

My first issue arrived yesterday, and because it was the Sept. 22, 2003 issue (and yesterday was Sept. 17), I got curious about when the New Yorker is actually published relative to its cover date.

So I emailed the publisher. And 45 minutes later, he emailed back (this is one in a series of events that proves that the magazine has a great publisher).

Here’s what he told me:

The magazine arrives on newsstands one week prior to cover date (9/22 issue, arrives on stands 9/15), and subscribers get it the Mon, Tue, or Wed of that week. The cover date is really the date that the magazine comes off sale, not goes on sale.

So the issue I received yesterday was published two days ago, which is pretty amazing, and makes me almost feel like I’m actually living in New York (but not quite).

For reference, the magazine is generally available on the cover date here in Prince Edward Island on the newsstand. Which means that the magazine that I received yesterday, Tuesday, in the mail won’t be available otherwise until next Monday, which is the date it goes off sale in New York.