Fonds P220 - Matrix magazine fonds

Matrix is a literary magazine founded in 1975 by members of the English Department at Champlain Regional College – Lennoxville, QC. The magazine publishes literary and artistic submissions, with a focus on showcasing new Canadian talent – especially English writers in the Eastern Townships and Montreal. At its founding, it consisted of an editorial board (staffed by the Champlain English Department) headed by Editor-in-chief Philip Lanthier. In 1988, the team at Champlain College (consisting at that time of Lanthier and his colleagues: Michael Benazon, Marjorie Retzleff, Vivenne Allen, and Rina Kampeas) could not maintain their commitment to the magazine, so the publication was moved to the English Department of John Abbott College in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC. It is presently published through the English Department at Concordia University in Montreal, QC.

While publishing out of Lennoxville, Matrix experienced a great deal of accomplishments: launching the literary careers of writers such as W.P. Kinsella and Joan Fern Shaw, and winning a National Magazine Award for featuring the work of Joyce Marshall, to name a few. During its early years, Matrix was funded entirely by CRC-Lennoxville; when most of the funding from the College was cut, the magazine turned to subscriptions and grant funding through the Canada Council for the Arts. Matrix experienced a financial crisis for the majority of 1982, facing near-extinction, but regained its stability in the following years. It is presently funded by the following bodies: Conseil des arts de la communauté urbaine de Montréal, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Canada Council for the Arts, the English Department and Faculty of Arts at Concordia, and the federal government through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF). It was previously published semiannually and is now published three times per year.