New York Review of Architecture is “building pipes”
Nicolas Kemper is publisher of New York Review of Architecture, the big, two-colour, newsprint magazine that has become renowned for its long, critical, entertaining essays about architecture and the city. He gave the first talk of the weekend at this year’s Indiecon and I loved his enthusiasm for all parts of publishing – not just the fun stuff like writing, editing, and throwing parties, but also what he calls, “building pipes”; making sure that things like their subscription management and contributor invoicing systems run as efficiently as possible.
There’s a sort of nerdy joy to it all, and I’m sure his education as an architect has a bearing on his approach. You can see how his training might teach him that you can’t just build a beautiful edifice; you need to make sure the plumbing works too. But even more than that, the main thing I took from his talk, and from reading the magazine, is the strength of the community they’re building. Reading NYRA you get a clear sense that there’s a bunch of people who are having a great time working together to make something they can all be proud of.
I love the little details about playing in New York’s publishing softball league, and setting up office at the School of Visual Arts. It’s all backed up by the fact that they’re reaching readers who love what they’re doing, and they’re managing to make a proper, sustainable publishing business out of it. I had a great time meeting him and hearing his story, so I hope you’ll enjoy this talk by Nicolas from New York Review of Architecture.
We have lots more conversations with independent publishers waiting to be discovered – just take a scroll through our podcast archives for lots of stories about the trials and tribulations of making magazines. And of course if you follow us wherever you get your podcasts we’ll be able to keep on delivering our new episodes to you as soon as they’re ready.
