"The Agora" name comes from the Ancient Greek Agora, the marketplace where citizens gathered to share ideas.

PLATO's The Agora is a biannual literary, ideas, and arts journal, created by members and published for members through a juried selection process.

The Agora is shared with PLATO members through the Weekly Update emails and to the wider Dane County community through The Agora Features webpage and PLATO's Facebook page. The first volume of The Agora was published in 2011 and The Agora, Volume 9 was published in October 2025. 

Members who join or renew by September 1, 2025 and do not opt out will receive a complimentary printed copy which will be mailed to them in the fall of 2025. Each member household is eligible for one printed copy and there will be a limited number of additional copies available for purchase (see below). 

Thank you to all the PLATO writers and visual artists who offered their work for consideration!