It’s Freezing in LA! magazine is back in the fight
The last issue of It’s Freezing in LA! magazine was published in 2024. Long-time editor Martha Dillon handed the reins to editorial lead Jackson Howarth, and the team published their 11th issue, themed around ‘Knowledge’ and the climate crisis.
It’s not unusual for a mainstream publication’s staff to change from issue to issue, but it doesn’t happen as often in the independent magazine world. I think that’s because independent magazines tend to be driven by one person’s passion, energy, and personality, so it’s harder for a publication to pass from one individual or group to another.
But as Jackson says in this conversation, It’s Freezing in LA! has always been conceived as a group effort, so it seems that when Martha decided it was time to move on, the others were prepared for the shift. And it meant that, once they’d put out issue 11, they didn’t feel they had to rush out another one. Instead they took a step back, pausing their publishing schedule and building up to this summer’s release.
In the intervening time designer Nina Carter also left the project, and Jackson set about the task of assembling a new team. His day job took him to New York for extended periods, and he took the opportunity to bring on more contributors there, making connections and extending the magazine’s reach outside the UK.
Given the turnover on the team, and the time taken between issues, I thought there might have been more differences between issues 11 and 12, but this latest instalment is a clear continuation of what came before. I was interested to hear that the next issue is going to mark a greater departure, though, as It’s Freezing in LA! presents its first collection of fiction.
Listening to this conversation, I think you can tell that Jackson is clearly loving the opportunities afforded by the magazine, and I hope you enjoy the episode. If you’d like to hear more conversations with independent magazine makers please take a look through our archive, and if you follow us wherever you get your podcasts we’ll be able to deliver all our new episodes to you as soon as they’re ready.
