The Coast, a Halifax-based free newspaper is launching The Deep, an online collaboration with young editors that will focus on long-form storytelling.


The east-coast startup has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $15,000 in order to make The Deep a reality, with the goal of having the publication pay for itself, online. 

“With American startups like Longform.org, The Atavist and others, the past few years have seen a resurgence of original, beautifully written, exciting long-form journalism online,” says co-founder and editor Matthew Halliday. “And people are paying for it. But the form barely exists in eastern Canada, despite a long literary and storytelling tradition. We want to revitalize long-form journalism in the Atlantic provinces, just as it's being revitalized elsewhere."

The Deep will initially publish one major story a month while looking at revenue streams to become self-sustaining, which may include subscriptions, events and individual relationships with sponsors.