Making magazines happen
Yesterday morning I posted my video review of Holo, a new magazine I first encountered on the Guardian Magazine Publishing Masterclass I ran back in February.
Later the same day I was contacted by Danielle Gilbert, a graphic designer who also attended that course and has just launched the Kickstarter campaign for Stand & Deliver, her new alternative comedy magazine.
I love the concept for Stand & Deliver – Danielle believes comedy is an art form that deserves to be treated with the same seriousness as theatre or cinema, and her magazine aims to do exactly that. You’ll notice there are no gags in her pitch for Stand & Deliver – that’s because she doesn’t want hers to be another comedy magazine that spends its time trying to be funny. She wants to create a genuinely new voice, a sort of Little White Lies for the British comedy scene, and I really want to see her succeed.
Discovering and helping new magazines like Holo and Stand & Deliver is the best thing about running the Guardian Masterclasses. There’s no two ways about it – the weekends are expensive, but the Guardian’s international reach means we can bring together classes full of people who might never have otherwise heard of Stack and the many independent magazines out there.
And because there’s a decent budget for teaching I’m able to put together a crack squad of seasoned independent publishers, all with tons of experience.
The next Magazine Publishing Masterclass will run from 24-25 May at the Guardian’s offices, and includes input from the following speakers:
// Guy Andrews from Rouleur will talk about the importance of finding a niche
// Rosa Park from Cereal will share her experience of making an impact with a magazine
// Jeremy Leslie from magCulture will deliver his overview of the magazine market
// Content strategist Esra Gokgoz will tackle the tricky question of digital magazines
I’ll speak about distributing magazines, and will be on hand for the whole weekend to help students progress with their publishing projects. If you’re thinking of starting a new magazine, or you want to sharpen up what you’re already doing, this is the course for you.
