Nobody 3
Delivered to Stack subscribers in Jul 2024

by Steve Watson in September 2024

A magazine telling, “stories about everything else”, Nobody exists for the stories that wouldn’t make it into other, more conventional publications. This third issue is themed ‘Burning’, with some gleefully original interpretations of what that could mean.

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Name
Sami Emory and Tessa Love

Job title
Co-founders and editors

What is Nobody?
Nobody is a project born from a conversation had in a bar on a dark Berlin night, a few winters ago.

At the time, we were full-time freelance journalists. We’d both gotten into journalism not to chase scoops or break news but because, as young writers, we’d fallen in love with the weird, special stories that came out of the golden era of magazines.

As fate would have it, we ourselves came up in the so-called “print is dead” era – cutting our teeth at the grindstone of online media – and had begun to feel frustrated with the industry’s proclivity for buzzy takes and click-batey headlines.

So we decided to make a place for other writers and creators to share stories that might not be welcomed in that kind of media environment: An annual print-only magazine that prioritizes experimentation and human connection and beauty and joy.

What makes it different to the rest?
Not to sound too corny, but our relationship is probably what makes Nobody different.

When we started Nobody, we were friendly but not quite friends. Creating this magazine is what solidified our friendship – and even maintained it, when one of us got stuck back in California for over a year during the pandemic.

Now it’s hard to imagine what life would be like without the other person in it. We trust each other’s taste and judgement implicitly, but also hold each other to a certain standard – and push each other – because of that trust.

Maybe most importantly, though, we just have a lot of fun together and make each other laugh, think, and cry – which is something we try to bring to the pages of Nobody, too.

Who makes Nobody?
Other than the two of us, we work with our designer and art director, Eva Gonçalves, who gets full credit for making the magazine look so beautiful. Over the past few issues, we’ve also worked with Mariana Romão for photo editing and Redfern Jon Barrett for copyediting. We’ve additionally leaned on a couple of brilliant friends for guest editing along the way as well, especially when we ourselves have contributed something and needed a second set of eyes.

Who reads it?
Very cute people around the world!

We’re stocked in stores across Europe and North America, but we’re always amazed at how far our little magazine travels. Based on the feedback we’ve gotten from readers, it seems like our readers are like us: people who want to slow down and spend time with something unexpected and beautiful.

Why do you work in magazines?
Because we love print – and we love love love good stories.

Aside from the print magazine, what else are you involved in?
We both work as professional writers, researchers, and editors.

Living in a city like Berlin also sometimes feels like a full-time job (in the best way possible).

What would you change about Nobody if you could?

Like all creators, we always walk away from the finished product feeling like there was so much more we would’ve, could’ve, or should’ve done to make it better. For each issue, we both have small things that will probably irk us forever, but overall, we love what we’ve produced and definitely see it as an ever-evolving project – which is what keeps it a living and breathing thing.

Where do you see Nobody in five years?
While it’s impossible to know where the magazine will be in five years (we’re fully independent and self-funded), we have little doubt Nobody will still be around, in one way or another. Because Nobody has, in a way, become shorthand for all the work we do together – which is always expanding and evolving.