An 86-year old article made me subscribe
Plus, a self-help book for indie magazine makers
Hello magazine makers,
Last week’s news cycle sort of broke me so this newsletter is a Trump-free zone.
I’m actually just going to share some stuff that’s made me happy this week.
Slàinte Mhath
Peter
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The New Yorker is 100 and I just subscribed
It looks like 2025 is going to be a big one for the team at The New Yorker. The ‘100’ page on the magazine’s website has a wealth of information about the title’s history and past contributors as well as a list of events celebrating the centenary.
For me, the most powerful part of this birthday page is the incredible archive pieces showcased. Yes, I did just subscribe so that I could read James Thurber’s ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’, first published in the magazine on March 11th, 1939.
I’ve considered subscribing to The New Yorker for years, but I’ve made do with picking the magazine up when I come across it at an airport newsstand. I’ve come close when I bump up against the paywall on a recently published article… but what it actually took to get me over the line was an 86-year old classic.
I’ve written before about the joyous time I’ve spent digging about in the Esquire Classic archive. The NewYorker 100 page offers exactly the same joy. Of course I’m going to subscribe to read Joan Didion on Martha Stewart or the four part serialisation of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood.
No, not every magazine has the writer roster that The New Yorker has collected over its 100 years, but to the people that care about your area of expertise, your archives are a wonderland worth paying for.
The serendipity of Stack magazines
I spoke to Stack Magazine’s Steve Watson last week. If you’ve not come across Stack, think of it as an independent magazine club that will send you an ‘outstanding indie publication’ every month. The fun part is that you don’t know what you’ll get next - true magazine serendipity.
Steve and I spent a lot of our call speaking about the Stack Magazines podcast. I loved his 2024 review episodes that share highlights from interviews with the makers of the magazines sent out last year. Each of the two parts features five magazines with insights from the people behind the titles.
The latest episode of the Stack podcast features Josh Jones, who recently published ‘Just Make Your Magazine - a field guide to publishing an indie magazine’. I liked the chat so much I bought the book and it’s worth way more than the £10 I paid for it.
Steve describes Josh as a ‘serial magazine maker’, making everything from small zine projects to customer publications for big brands. After 20 years making magazines he decided to write down everything he knows and put it in a book so other people can just make something of their own.
In other Stack news, Steve is on a mission to put independent magazines in independent venues across the UK. So if you know a great independent cinema, theatre, cafe, or other space where people would want to read a top indie title, let Steve know and he’ll set them up with a subscription.
And if you’re thinking of subscribing (and you should) use MAGDIARIES to get 10% off your first subscription payment.
Is you Grub Street collection complete?
We’ve published four editions of The Grub Street Journal.
The Don Quixote issue: What kind of idiots still make magazines?
The Jerry Maguire issue: Show me the money in magazines
The Walking Dead issue: Why won’t print just lie down and die?
The Next Generation issue: Finding the future’s readers and leaders
Magazine NIBs
Girl Talk celebrates three decades of being a ‘supportive big sister’ in print form. Published every 5 weeks, the UK title sells about 250,000 copies a year at £5.99.
Internazionale has translated the best of the foreign press into Italian since 1993. The internet could have killed the weekly. Instead, it’s healthier than ever.
Magazine Songs
I have a Spotify playlist of songs that reference magazines… What? Music and magazines are two of my favourite things. If you have a favourite magazine song, just reply to this email and I’ll add it to The Grub Street Journal’s ‘Magazine Songs’ playlist.
This week, ‘Magazin’ from White Denim. Enjoy!
You’ll be wanting to add Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘America’
"Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat"
"We smoked the last one an hour ago"
So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field
Kevin
Pitch mag.