It was established in 1976 by Russell Cox, Richard Peabody, and Paul Pasquarella.
It is considered an anthology that publishes both local and international authors, the magazine featured poetry, fiction, articles, art, photos, interviews, satire, reviews, long poems, and novel excerpts.
[5] The magazine has published work by authors as diverse as Angela Threatt,[6] Joyce Renwick,[7] Julia Slavin, Mary Kay Zuravleff, Ray Bradbury, Kathy Acker, Robert Peters, Radoslav Rochallyi[8] and Nick Cave.
Gargoyle has also published authors who have won the Pulitzer Prize, the MacArthur Fellowship, and the National Book Award among other honors.
[11] The magazine's archive is housed in the Special Collections Research Center of the Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library at George Washington University.