Otium is an online prose magazine produced by students at the University of Chicago. It publishes fiction, non-fiction, stage, and interviews called "conversations" on a quarterly basis. Latin for leisure or ease, the name Otium, signifies the magazine's mission to connect play with work, and pleasure with critical thinking.

The magazine launched its first issue in March 2005 with founding members Sarah Adair Frank acting as coordinator, Christopher Casebeer as webmaster, and Jenna Telesca as art manager. Springer Lecturer in the college Achy Obejas advised. In the spring of 2005, Sarah Adair Frank and fourth year Deanna Day became co-coordinators.

One of the motivations of the magazine was to provide writers at the University of Chicago with an outlet for prose often dismissed as too long. The relative flexibility of the Internet frees the magazine from imposing word or space limits on submissions.