Since 2012, Avidly has focused on short form cultural criticism written “with intense eagerness.” Founded by Sarah Blackwood and Sarah Mesle, Avidly became a channel of the Los Angeles Review of books in 2014. Between 2016-2022, Avidly published eight books in a collaboration with NYU Press called Avidly Reads.
In 2026, Avidly is in the midst of relaunching as a publication in collaboration with USC’s Mellon-funded Consortium for Gender, Sexuality, Race, and Public Culture. Avidly continues to believe that the world needs venues that publish beautiful, strange, deeply-felt, high-intensity, writing— especially writing for, about, and by people who have made the excellent but rarely-rewarded decision to pursue expertise in the humanities.
Avidly is excited to experiment with the current infrastructures for digital publication. We’ll be publishing a few pieces over the summer and launching with a redesigned website at the start of the school year. Subscribe now to join us!