Podcast: Cathy Olmedillas, Anorak magazine

It’s strange to think now, but 10 years ago people told Cathy Olmedillas that her idea for a unisex children’s magazine would never work. She’d first become frustrated with the very gendered, branded newsstand while searching for something for her own son to read, and realised there was an opportunity for her to launch her own title.

Anorak began as a passion project, but as she explains in this podcast, it had to evolve to become a sustainable business, and a decade later it’s now a successful title that has led Cathy to create several other magazines. There’s Dot, the magazine for younger children, plus client projects for Hull City of Culture, and the Scouts, with others in the works.

“I have a disease for creating magazines!” she admits, and as you’ll hear in this episode of the podcast, her energy and enthusiasm are infectious. If you enjoy this one you can hear lots more conversations with magazine makers on Soundcloud or iTunes, and if you follow us in either of those places, we’ll deliver next week’s episode to you as soon as it’s ready on Friday afternoon.