The evolution of Mother Tongue magazine
We delivered issue 10 of Mother Tongue magazine to our subscribers in May, and then last month I was joined by founders and editors Natalia Rachlin and Melissa Goldstein for our Stack Magazine Club evening. This is the second time we’ve sent the magazine; we delivered issue two back in April 2022, and it was lovely to hear about the evolution of the magazine over the years.
One of the most noticeable changes has been the arrival of celebrities on the cover. Melissa noted that way back in issue two they had an interview with Kim Gordon in the magazine, but they decided against putting her on the cover because they didn’t want it to become, “the Kim Gordon issue”.
As the magazine developed their thinking gradually changed, though, and Miranda July became the first actual cover star in issue six, followed by author Suleika Jaouad in issue seven. Issue eight has a typographic cover, but then the celebrities came back strong, with Erykah Badu in issue nine, and Lucy Liu features on the cover of issue 10.
Clearly there are very real benefits to having a famous face on the front of the magazine, and Natalia and Melissa speak about building excitement with a cover reveal, and tapping into a fanbase that might not otherwise come across Mother Tongue. But they’re also quick to emphasise that a celebrity has to be the right fit, and not just in terms of embodying something of the magazine. As Natalia says, “We’re not Vogue… It’s just a small group of people: Talented photographer, good writer, some hair and make up. And it’s nimble and it ends up being quite fun!”
As well as celebrity power, we also spoke about Mother Tongue’s many interpretations of motherhood, and the big shift they’re making from the next issue, changing the magazine to an annual frequency, in order to make space for other Mother Tongue projects. You can watch our full conversation on the video below, and if you haven’t seen this magazine for yourself, you can pick up a copy in the Stack shop. Or if you subscribe to our magazine club we’ll deliver a different publication to you every month, and then you can join us on Zoom to hear from the people who made it.
