Month / July 2014

by Magdiaries

Being a dickhead’s cool

Here is my favourite line from the song, Being a Dickhead’s Cool:

“I’m currently running my own magazine and it’s all about my balls”.

We started The Alarmist in the delusion of making new writing more accessible to the public by drawing people in with brilliant design and more immediate, amusing and candid pieces. We’d then offer those same people the pieces with more depth of content, and they would be pleasantly surprised that this was something of infinitely more value to them than they otherwise would have thought.

In hindsight, we should’ve made a magazine all about our balls.

Mansour Chow | Co-editor, the Alarmist



Grub Street Journal
by Magdiaries

The rapid death of the Old Boys’ club

The magazine business model remained largely unchanged from the launch of The Gentleman’s Magazine in 1731, until the launch of the iPhone.  Maybe there have been a few subtle changes along the way, but not many.

But we have seen a literal revolution recently. Everything got turned upside down and shaken around, not by the publishers but by the readers.

Some of us have been re-invigorated by this and kept up.

I still love the feel of a printed magazine, but nostalgia can’t stop progress. Those days are gone and it’s a great time for fresh young minds to take over.

Rob Grainger | CEO, Stonewash



Grub Street Journal
by Magdiaries

Scratching an itch

The desire to make a magazine is like having an itch you can’t scratch; the only relief is to actually make one.

With no funds or experience, it was only bloody-mindedness and Kickstarter that made this a possibility. The crowd funding process was a mixture of fear and elation, putting something I felt passionately about up for scrutiny kept me awake at night.

However, technology can socially connect us to like-minded people, the people who ‘get it’ and seeing the sweat and tears transform to ink on the printed page will be a wonderful moment.

Until the next itch comes along.

Danielle Gilbert | Publisher and ‘Kickstarter’, Stand & Deliver Magazine



Grub Street Journal
by Magdiaries

Real products

One contributor to my magazine, whose name ended up on the cover, bought extra copies for his family and friends. When he handed one to his mum, she started crying.

This guy’s a successful web entrepreneur. He’s got a large online following, gives talks around the globe, employs many people. The big house and the beautiful car must give away his success, even to his less internet-savvy mum.

But only when she saw her son’s name on a magazine cover, his success became real.

It’s this emotional power that emanates from real products that keeps me excited about making magazines.

Kai Brach | Publisher, Offscreen Magazine



Grub Street Journal
by Magdiaries

Attention is the new battleground

It’s easier than ever to publish print magazines, and the mass democratisation of the medium has led to an incredible explosion of independently published titles.

A new title lands on my desk almost every day – some are amateurish, some predictable, but some are completely thrilling, the result of passionate people pouring their talent onto the printed page.

Since it has become easier to create magazines (and media of every variety) in recent years, it follows that it’s now harder to win people’s attention.

That’s the new battleground for independent publishers, and it’s shaping up to be a great fight.

Steven Watson | Proprietor, Stack Magazines



Grub Street Journal