As well as the principal Beat writers: Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder, the magazine has featured Lord Buckley, James Jones, Chet Baker, Richard Brautigan, Lew Welch, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Lenny Bruce, Michael McClure, Ken Kesey, Jack Hirschman, Raymond Carver, Robert Frank, Gregory Corso, Diane Di Prima, Philip Whalen, Jack Micheline, Carolyn Cassady (who was the first of the magazine's interview subjects) and many others.
Beat Scene's many regular contributors have included, Jim Burns, Colin Cooper, Eric Jacobs, Brian Dalton, Anne Waldman, David Meltzer, Jack Foley, Ann Charters, David Holzer, Jed Birmingham.
In December 2006, a special, unnumbered issue was devoted to a new edition of Iain Sinclair's Kodak Mantra Diaries, which included new material and recently discovered period photos.
Amongst those in the series there has been texts by or about Dan Fante, Snyder, Burroughs, Ginsberg, Bukowski, Clark, Tom Clark, Iain Sinclair, Alan Moore, Joyce Johnson, Gregory Corso, Kerouac, John Clellon Holmes, Lew Welch, Philip Whalen, Philip Lamantia, Peter Coyote, Michael McClure and Richard Brautigan.
Beat Scene has an occasional companion magazine Transit with contributions from Michael McClure, David Meltzer, Diane di Prima, Joanne Kyger, Janine Pommy Vega, Barry Gifford, Jack Hirschman, Ruth Weiss, Tom Clark.