Stack Magazines

"Let's just stay up until four in the morning..." Marc Holzenbecher is the publisher and executive editor of Still, the brilliantly eclectic arts and literary magazine based between Berlin and New York. In this conversation he speaks about the practical difficulties of working on a passion project with a team that is scattered across time zones, and about the thrill of producing something that's as close to perfect as it can be. We delivered this issue of Still to Stack subscribers in June last year and I spoke to Marc in May, shortly before the magazines arrived at our warehouse, but it has taken me nine months to post this episode because it took so much work to clean up the background noise! If you haven't already seen this one for yourself and you want to pick up a copy, head to the Stack shop to place your order: https://www.stackmagazines.com/product/still-issue-6/

"It feels like you can find everything on the internet, but that's just not true." Reagan Clare is the founder of Homesick magazine, the title that delves into archives to present previously unseen images and the stories of their creation. Going behind the scenes of the fashion, music, film and entertainment industries, each issue takes a tour of vintage pop culture from the 60s to the 90s, for a pre-internet exposé featuring fascinating characters you'd probably never otherwise have come across. We're hosting a launch party for the new issue at The Ace Hotel in Shoreditch on Thursday 7 February. So if you're in London and you'd like to come along, RSVP to reserve your free tickets and join us for a beer and a chat with Reagan herself: https://www.acehotel.com/london/events-and-spaces/calendar/2019-02-07/stack-homesick-launch/

"Don't do everything yourself – that's mad..." Recorded live at The Book Club in London on Tuesday 22 January, this extra-long episode focuses on some of the most common challenges encountered when publishing an independent magazine. Divided loosely into four sections that focus on funding, commissioning, production and distribution, followed by an audience Q&A, we devote an hour and a half to understanding the first-hand experiences of independent magazine makers. Our expert panel features Caspian Whistler, creative director and editor-in-chief of A Profound Waste of Time; Elisabeth Krohn, editor of Sabat, editorial advisor to Suspira, and co-founder of Dreadful Press; and Helen Jennings, editorial director of Nataal. And as always with independent publishing, you can expect open and honest conversation from people happy to share their expertise. This podcast is supported by Park Communications – tap into their printing expertise at https://www.parkcom.co.uk/

"We wanted to break something..." Dominika Hadelova and Aldo Buscalferri are the editors and creative directors of Matto, a new magazine based in Paris that combines art, photography, fashion and erotica. The artists, designers and other people featured in the magazine are united by their utter dedication to what they're doing, and Dominika and Aldo reflect that with a similarly obsessive commitment ('Matto' means 'crazy' in Italian). All independent magazines are inevitably personal reflections of the people who make them, but for this one Dominika and Aldo have really immersed themselves in an editorial world, admitting that there's often no separation between the magazine and their personal lives. If this is the sort of crazy you want in your life, head to the Stack shop to buy your own copy of Matto: https://www.stackmagazines.com/product/matto-issue-1/

"It's like a little chameleon..." Suze Olbrich is the editor of Somesuch Stories, the literary magazine that covers a vast range of subjects including nature, sex, society and spirituality in its aim to reflect, "the full contemporary experience". It looks a lot like a paperback book, and in this conversation Suze speaks about the pleasure she gets from seeing it popping up in different places, alongside both books and magazines, quietly carrying its short stories and creative non-fiction to new audiences. This issue is built around the theme of redemption, and Suze also speaks about her personal experiences of making the magazine, with all the challenges that entails, and the strategies she has found for overcoming and coping with those difficulties.

"You don't need to be into video games. You just need to like pretty words and pictures..." Caspian Whistler is creative director and editor-in-chief of A Profound Waste of Time, the magazine that uses beautiful illustration and long first-person stories to reflect the experience of making and playing video games. The magazine sold out of its first print run, and has proven so popular that even after a second run it's difficult to get hold of copies. But it hasn't all been plain sailing. In this conversation Cas reveals the difficulties he has faced along the way, from early success with a Kickstarter campaign that raised almost twice its target amount, to the "nightmare" of the reprint, when his Croatian printer went bust, taking his money with them.

"The word 'finance' made me want to run a mile." Elana Schlenker and Mark Pernice are the art directors of Hacking Finance, a new magazine that takes a progressive and provocative look at business and our relation to money. This first issue is themed around 'movement', and features stories on a wide range of subjects, from the man trying to make a commercially viable hydrogen-powered car, through to the disruptive and creative impact that skateboarding can have on cities. For more information and to buy a copy, check Hacking Finance in the Stack shop: https://www.stackmagazines.com/product/hacking-finance-issue-1/

"We approach special issues with trepidation..." John L Walters and Simon Esterson are the editor and art director of Eye magazine, the international review of graphic design. Their latest issue is the second in a two-part special focusing on magazine design, and it's their biggest issue ever, packed with fascinating interviews and comment covering both the mainstream and independent worlds (and the places where those two realms intersect). It's a massive undertaking, so it's not surprising that this double issue has been bubbling away for a number of years before finally emerging onto the newsstand, and I loved hearing the stories behind the stories straight from John and Simon. As I write this we currently have copies of this latest issue available to buy from the Stack shop, so do head over there to pick one up for yourself... https://www.stackmagazines.com/shop/

"My degree suffered a little..." Arne Meyer was one of the editors and art directors on the current issue of Brasilia, the magazine made by students at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hanover. They won Student Magazine of the Year at the Stack Awards, so Arne dropped in at the Stack office the morning after the ceremony to speak about the making of the magazine, and the challenge of keeping quality high when the team has to change each year.

"Magazines tell the story of what's going on right now." Bobbie Johnson is the editor of Anxy, the California-based magazine that aims to break down the stigma around mental health. Anxy won Art Director of the Year and Best Use of Illustration at this year's Stack Awards, so the day after the ceremony Bobbie came over to the Stack office to talk about their evolving mission, and why a group of people based in Silicon Valley use a print magazine to communicate their ideas.

Recorded live at The Queen of Hoxton in London on Monday 19 November, this week's episode features all the winners and commended magazines from the Stack Awards 2018. Hear our judges sharing their thoughts on the stand out titles, hear the winners giving their heartfelt acceptance speeches, and hear our little microphone breaking down whenever we play our walk-on music. See lots of pictures from the awards on the Stack site: https://www.stackmagazines.com/current-affairs/stack-awards-2018-winners-event-party/

"It just became this thing we couldn't shake..." Perrin Drumm is the founder and director of Eye on Design, the initiative launched by AIGA in 2014 as a way to reach designers in the college to mid-career age bracket. Originally a blog that Perrin ran on her own as a side project, it quickly grew into a fully fledged website, and then in 2017 came the first full issue of the Eye on Design print magazine. In this conversation Perrin tells the story of her journey so far, explaining the advantages and challenges of publishing both online and in print ("Now we're running on two treadmills at the same time"), the importance of theming issues, and the experience of working on an all-women team.

"You can't deny there's something bigger than us out there..." Jay Armstrong is the editor and creative director of Elementum, a beautiful biannual journal that draws upon the landscape and folklore of the British Isles to create a totally original sense of place. Filling her pages with stories about nature, identity and spirituality means she could easily cross over into politics and religion, but as she explains in this conversation, she actively avoids those subjects and instead prefers to plough her own furrow towards, "a crucible where academics, folklorists and artists can bring their own responses". She's also a mum, and she speaks about the challenge of fitting the magazine around the rest of her life, and the things she has learned along the way about the practicalities of publishing on a biannual schedule. I love it when a magazine finds an original way of viewing familiar material, and her "genre fluid" publishing does exactly that, crossing over conventional boundaries to bring a fresh and distin

"It's a totally fresh look at cycling..." Josh Page started The Domestique as a blog where he and his friends could post their stories about cycling. Deliberately turning away from the mainstream coverage of the sport, with its focus on elite male athletes, they instead placed an emphasis on the sense of community they found from riding their bikes together. Now a print magazine on its second issue, The Domestique has continued on its mission to tell alternative stories from across the cycling world, and has even branched out into other sports in search of people getting involved in things they love. In this episode Josh speaks about the changes he has made along the way, the inevitable struggles (and surprising success) with advertising, and why the blog turned out to be just too much work (but may well be making a comeback soon). www.thedomestiquemag.com

"People want their little treat, even when times are hard..." Scott Bentley loves coffee. A magazine designer for big brands like Men's Health, Arena and FHM, in 2013 he decided to turn his passion into print and launched Caffeine magazine. Distributed for free in cafes across London and the UK, plus at coffee festivals and other special events, the business has grown fast over the last five years and he's now printing 40,000 copies per issue. In this episode he speaks about his reasons for starting in the first place, the journey from hobby to sustainable enterprise, and the importance of being picky when building a distribution network.

"Music is a springboard for everything else..." Recorded live at The Book Club in London on Tuesday 25 September 2018, this episode is a panel discussion featuring the people behind four of the UK's most interesting music magazines: Hanna Hanra (Beat), Tom Armstrong (The Move), Paul Bradshaw (Straight No Chaser) and Woody Cecilia (Cool Brother). Of course they're all driven by a love for music, but they have chosen very different ways of expressing that passion, and have each found their own ways of overcoming the challenges thrown up by independent publishing. In this conversation they share the sometimes hard realities of making music magazines, plus lots of tips for getting a print project off the ground. This episode is sponsored by Park Communications

"The London Review of Books can be quite a daunting experience." Ed Needham loves books. And he also knows a thing or two about making magazines; he was the editor of FHM in its late 90s heyday, and he went on to edit FHM in the USA, then Rolling Stone and Maxim. But his latest editorial position is altogether more humble – Strong Words is a new magazine that takes a fresh and unpretentious look at books, and Ed is its editor, publisher, marketing manager and van driver. He dropped into the Stack office to speak about his new publishing project, the ways in which it has changed since it started earlier this year, and how he plans to develop it over the coming months. As is often the case with independent publishers who find they have to do everything themselves, Ed is open about the things he finds most difficult, and excited by the opportunity to tweak all aspects of the magazine as he goes. There will be lots of magazine makers who feel very familiar with his struggles over marketing, distribution and prod

"We have the dog as our muse." Marta Roca is the editor and creative director of Four & Sons, the magazine that mixes art, culture and lifestyle with dogs. There's a simple joy that shines off the pages of the magazine, and when she dropped into the Stack office earlier this summer, Marta explained that her approach is all about surprise: "You have to be ready for the unexpected... Because you're not going to be rational with a dog." I think you can hear in her voice the love and passion she has for her subject, and all of that flows out onto the pages of this lovely magazine.

"We're celebrating the art and culture of magazines." Jeremy Leslie has been at the heart of London's magazine world since he launched his magCulture blog in 2006. Over the years he has turned his love for magazines into a business, with a well stocked shop, an annual conference that runs in London and New York, and a series of partnerships and collaborations. In this episode he looks forward to a busy autumn ahead, and shares some of the magazines he's been most impressed by recently.

"Trump was like a bomb going off..." Good Trouble is the great big newsprint magazine we delivered to Stack subscribers this month, published out of New York and providing a meeting place for arts, culture, protest and activism. In this conversation editor Rod Stanley tells the story of how Donald Trump's election in November 2016 spurred him into action and set him on the path to creating this impassioned piece of print alongside designer Richard Turley. As well as his reasons for starting Good Trouble in the first place, he speaks about the design of the magazine ("It treads the line between technical detail and chaos") and the virtues of publishing as an independent ("I don't think you get that direct connection from mass media").