Lenny Letter, also known as Lenny, was a weekly online
feminist newsletter created by
Lena Dunham and
Jennifer Konner.[1]Lenny also had a book imprint called Lenny Books on
Random House.[2] It was shut down in October 2018.[3]
History
In September 2015, Dunham and Konner started Lenny Letter as a self-funded project that would give a platform to young female voices to discuss feminist issues.[4][5][6] The newsletter featured political essays, personal stories, interviews, artwork and even an advice column from Dunham and Konner themselves called "Letters to Lenny".[7] Benjamin Cooley was the CEO.[8] Laia Garcia was made deputy editor in July 2015.[9]
Notable articles include an essay written by actress
Jennifer Lawrence about the
gender wage gap in Hollywood;[10] one written by singer
Alicia Keys about her decision to start wearing little to no make-up;[11] and another by singer
Kesha on the release day of her single "
Praying", her first in close to four years, about her public struggles against producer Dr. Luke (detailed in Kesha v. Dr. Luke).[12]
In addition to the regular newsletter, Lenny Letter published a fiction issue and a poetry issue during fall 2015. Lenny Letter was developing a possible
HBO short film series.[15]
In November 2017, following Dunham and Konner's controversial letter denouncing
Aurora Perrineau's accusation of sexual assault by
Murray Miller,
Zinzi Clemmons announced that she would no longer contribute to the newsletter, saying Dunham's racism was "well-known" and called for all women of color to "divest" from Dunham.[19]
In October 2018, it was announced the website would be shutting down,[20][21] reportedly due to a decline in subscribers and failure to build momentum upon other platforms.[22] Contributors were told a week prior to the shut down, receiving fees for unpublished written works.[23]