"The goal of Down East has always been to hold a mirror up to Maine — its storied past and lively present — and to celebrate its flinty, independent character and unhurried way of life. As Maine has changed with the times, however, so has Down East. Today the state has come to embrace its future as well as its past. Accordingly, the magazine now focuses more on contemporary Maine life and what the future might bring and less on historical background and quaint rusticity. Booming circulation and advertising gains demonstrate the wisdom of this editorial shift."
Portland Public Library's collection of Down East is complete, and begins with the first issue, August 1954. The hard copies are available in the Portland Room.
Submissions from 2020
The 34 Beer Taps at Novare Res Bier Café, W. G.
The A-Frames of Route 27, B. K.
The Big Three, W. G.
The Blaze-Orange Beanie, Brian Kevin
The Cutting Edge, Andrew C. Miller
The Gawler Family, B. K.
The Great Maine Scavenger Hunt (2020), Alexandra Hall
The Joy of Flax, Virginia M. Wright
The Parable of the Sower, Laura Poppick
There and Back Again, W. G.
"There's Just Something Here That Gives Us This Sense of Identity", Brian Kevin, interviewer and Kathryn Olmstead
The Return of the King?, Ted Williams
The Sam Hayward Ripple Effect, Michaela Cavallaro
The Scent of the Coast, Jennifer Lynn Craig
The Whole Maine Catalog, Brielle Hardy, Emily Silvia, and Brian Kevin
Timelines: A Governor Tries to Steal an Election, Brian Kevin
Timelines: June 1934, Elizabeth Arden Invents the Destination Spa, Susan Geib
Timelines: Lafayette National Park Becomes Acadia, Brian Kevin
Timelines: "Living the Good Life" Gets a New Life, Melissa Coleman
Timelines: Maine Gets Its Northern Crown, Will Grunewald
Timelines: Maine Launches the Last Five-Masted Schooner, David Shribman
Timelines: Mainers Form a State (Not a Commonwealth), Brian Kevin
Timelines: Percival Baxter Has a Mountaintop Epiphany, Andrew Vietze
Timelines: September 1980: Maine's Moose Hunt Charges Back, Rob Sneddon
Timelines: The Lady from Maine's Awkward Confrontation, Rachel Slade
Timelines: The Waterville Panthers Became New England Champs, Ronald Joseph
Tower Outage, W. G.
Trace Evidence, Kathryn Miles
Undeleted, Virginia M. Wright
Virtually the Same Thing, W. G.
"We're in the Business of Buying Scenery", Brian Kevin
While Self-Isolating, Get Sauced, W. G.
Woven Together, Will Grunewald
Submissions from 2019
5th Annual Down East Reader Photo Contest
A Kitchenware-lover's Banquet, Amy Sutherland
An Island Supper, Sam Sifton
Antiques Roadshow, Virginia M. Wright
Art: In the Moment, Will Grunewald
A Thomaston Turnaround?, Malcolm Bedell
Backstrap Bar & Grill, Will Grunewald
Beach Guide, Brian Kevin, Bridget M. Burns, and Jen Hazard
Beaking Out! A Dilettante's Guide to the Fine Feathered World of Maine Birding, Nicholas Lund, Brian Kevin, Maggie Nevens, and Willy Blackmore
Best of Maine 2019, The Editors
Blight Snack, Kathryn Miles
Breaking New Ground, Sara Ann Donnelly
Burnt Out, Jesse Ellison
Cage Fight, Joel Crabtree
Captain Harpswell, Brian Kevin
Charting a New Course, Philip Kiefer