The magazine industry is my dream. The bustling office; bouncing creative ideas; laydown arguments; to comma or not to comma?

This has fallen silent. Zoom, nor constant messaging, are its equal. Early in my career and the most junior, it’s easy to be missed, and day-to-day changes pass by without any control. 

Where do we go from here? There are no certainties. Voices start to quieten, living this nightmare.

But a silver lining gleams. Online shows the joy, passion and creativity for magazines; bringing us together to thrive. We shout and scream and are heard. Let’s live the dream again.

Three months in and we’re all wondering which old behaviours we’ve done for the last time and which of the things that we’re trying out now will become our new normal.

Was that the last time I’ll find myself prodding at a suspiciously unidentifiable starter alongside colleagues in a Park Lane basement? Will our new-found confidence in remote working remain or will we dash back to the desk-bound world? Will we pin up a flatplan or pore over a paper proof?

Ultimately I think we’ll choose the new over the old and grab the opportunity to build back better.

Lockdown has made us appreciate the here and now.

We’re grateful for the outpouring of support; our readers have told us that Anorak and DOT have been a welcome distraction from the intense homeschooling they’ve had to endure! Creativity and bad jokes make things a little more bearable. We have launched digital editions for our overseas fans and apps are in the making.

Working at home has meant caring way too much about chores and to get dolled up just to go to my lounge!

As far as the future is concerned: Who knows? We are busy being happy in the now!

Now that lockdown has forced us online – email, Google Meets, CMS – the analogue world is cooler than ever. 

Downtime is vinyl off eBay, books. I love it when a magazine drops on the mat. 

Mags fill the gap between books and online. Something shorter to read, but not tweet-short or hot-take throwaway, but something conceived, sketched-out and commissioned. Planned, proof-read and pre-loved, with design that smashes photography and words together in a new way.

Yeah, you can touch them. But when they’re done right, magazines can touch you back. 

No, not like that, you pervert.

Community. Lockdown has forced the re-evaluation of the very concept. How can we be together when we must be apart?

Normally, I’d be getting ready to bring the magazine community together at the Edinburgh International Magazine Festival. The coronavirus chasm claimed 2020’s edition. 

Furloughed, I’ve retained purpose by donating time to create The Big Miss You Podcast. Celebrating The Big Issue’s ability to bring socially excluded people into the heart of their communities, it’s a gift of hope.  

At heart, all magazines are community-builders. Whether accessed through paper, pixels or podcast, they’re clubs you can visit without opening your door.