One of my very first Constant Readers was about the magazine known as Murdaland. Here’s a bit:

…But a friend introduced me to Murdaland, a magazine now on its second issue, and it’s that almost-impossible achievement: a brand-new literary magazine that’s actually good. Subtitled Crime Fiction for the 21st Century, Murdaland is a collection of novel excerpts, short fiction, and a bit of nonfiction about crime and criminal activity. Murdaland’s not exactly crammed tight with Big Names of Literature: Mary Gaitskill, Jayne Anne Phillips, and Rudolph Wurlitzer are the most famous authors of the lot, discounting a classic short story by David Goodis. But it’s just the kind of magazine that Cornell Woolrich would’ve stolen, killed, or kidnapped for, back in the day: one devoted to well-written stories from America’s seamy underbelly.

Today, The Rap Sheet brings news that Murdaland has died due to lack of funds, and its second issue will be its last. Here’s what they’re telling contributors:

Magazines pay very little and markets are few. You’re thus asked to make the sacrifices and meet the demands of love (for literature, for the short story form, for the genre) while confronting the imposing standards of an extremely difficult craft.

That so many of you continue to write and work on such stories is an inspiration.

We take solace in the knowledge that countless gifted writers are out there laboring to create just the kind of quality dark fiction we were fortunate enough to feature for a time.

This is a big bummer.