About Us

The New York Hangover was founded in July 1995 with $60, by James Whitman Eckle and Bob Falk, who christened the paper with its distinctive name. The first issue was written in a New York honkey-tonk over whiskey, cigarettes, and Pabst Blue Ribbon. As Johnny Cash blared out of the jukebox the paper was born, and already hungover. Although small (the very first issue was xeroxed and ran 8 pages,with a circulation of 500), its mission was to publish local writers and artists from in and around New York City.

The unofficial office of the Hangover remained the whiskey-soaked bar, and subsequent meetings attracted like-minded people, especially (but not exclusively) from the East Village and Lower East Side, who wanted to work for a free-thinking, radical monthly that was not motivated by advertising, profits or political affiliations. The paper felt loyal only to its readers, who quickly embraced it as it began to emerge in bars and coffee shops in downtown Manhattan.

Then, in December 1996, founder James Whitman Eckle died under mysterious circumstances. He had often spoken of creating an outlet for new talent, and was at the point of beginning to see his dream realized. He was responsible for publishing the work of many up-and-coming writers who felt that they couldn't get a break in the world of big publishing, or who didn't want to submit to pretentious literary magazines. Following James' death, the Hangover editors decided to carry on in his name, and continued creating issues in his vision.

At the height of our print publishing, the Hangover was a twenty-four page, tabloid size paper, with 10,000 copies in circulation per month. It was distributed in over 200 bars, clubs, restaurants and coffee shops in the East Village, Lower East Side, Brooklyn, Chelsea, SoHo and Greenwich Village. In September of 2000, The Hangover went solely electronic--no more would readers be able to hold the rag in their sweaty little hands, but instead they'd have to venture online to read the paper each month. What you'll read here, unfortunately, is only a sampling of what was published in print, but we'll continue to bring you quality fiction and features with each online issue...straight up with a twist.

We hope you enjoy it.

The New York Hangover Staff