Alberta Venture: 10 years covering the boom and being part of it

Alberta Venture, Alberta’s only province-wide business magazine, marks its 10th anniversary in April with a special issue that looks back at the first 10 years and forward to the province's next 10.As part of the special issue, publisher Ruth Kelly reflects on the challenges of starting a magazine that has grown to an audited circulation of 32,000 -- 25% paid and 75% largely qualified controlled

PMB -- the long view

There is some predictable confusion and mild handwringing about the 2007 Print Measurement Bureau results. The Globe and Mail, for instance, writes a story that says the figures reflect the impact of the internet, which may be true, but is nowhere backed up in the story. Mastheadonline (sub req'd) makes some interesting comparisons of traditional rivalries.For some reason, a lot of concentration

The Lookout Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews writer-director Scott Frank about The Lookout

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PMB 2007 results released

The new Print Measurement Bureau (PMB) results for 2007 have been released, with data on total readership and reader-per-copy. The results are based on rolling two-year data for the period between October 2004 and September 2006. You can get the topline results here. We will burrow into them and comment later.

There are 3.2 million more magazine readers since 1992; that's the good news

A study by the Hill Strategies Group of Hamilton indicates that about 43% of Canadians read a magazine once a week in 2005. Canadian magazine readership -- in fact readership of all kinds -- is going up, apparently because there are more people. An article in the Globe and Mail reported that magazines and newspapers both saw a bump up in total readership over where they were 15 years ago.A

Handheld users can't be bothered to use internet access

For those of you who wonder why anyone would want to read a magazine article or watch "Pirates of the Caribbean" on a teeny cell phone screen comes word that you've got plenty of company.According to a story published by the Centre for Media Research (Media Post), a new study has found that barely 5% of people access the internet from a mobile device -- even if their handheld is equipped for it.

Applied Arts design awards deadline May 4

The deadline looms for the Applied Arts magazine's Advertising and Design awards annual. Entry information can be obtained at the website. Deadline is May 4.Of particular interest to us are the categories related to editorial design. Entries are $65 each; a three-item series costs $95. The actual awards issue is published in November 2007 and this year, for the first time, there will be a gallery

Rogers rehires fired Hello editor to edit Marketing

According to a story in mastheadonline (sub req'd) Rogers Publishing has rehired Christopher Loudon after firing him as editor of Hello! just two months ago. He is to be the new editor of Marketing, which has been without an editor since Stan Sutter was fired in January. Marketing has undergone a major revamp, with reduced frequency (every two weeks) and a redesign. Now, it has a new editor.

Wanna drink and watch? Magawards moves to premium tables and tiered pricing

The National Magazine Awards, which has evolved over the past 30 years from a $50 a ticket, bun-tossing brawl where the presenter was paid with a case of Scotch into the slick and swish multi-media event it is now, is evolving still further.A few years back it moved form being a sit-down dinner to being a "grazing" experience from food stations in the Carlu, followed by an auditorium presentation

Flare relaunches web site

Flare, the Rogers fashion flagship, has announced the relaunch of Flare.com, its website. According to the magazine's press release, among the new features is a monthly celebrity 'Style Setter' spotlight, an interactive astrology section that allows users to find their perfect 'Love Match', a new Flash tool that allows readers to 'Get the Look' from actual Flare covers, two new blogs (The Lazy

Another upscale men's magazine to debut

A new quarterly men's magazine called Prelude is to debut in April. According to a story in Media in Canada, it's going to start off small, with 5,000 copies in Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Winnipeg, Calgary and Banff.The numbers will jump to about 20,000 for the June issue. Lucid Media co-owner and Prelude publisher Dean Jessop tells MiC distribution will eventually include Vancouver. "We will be

Driven magazine expands

Driven magazine seems quite focussed on occupying the gap in the men's market left by Toro magazine. Within a month of the latter's demise, the magazine' editor, Michael LaFave, says it has expanded its circulation by 50%, including going controlled to more Globe and Mail customers (Toro, too, was carried by the Globe) and through Air Canada Maple Leaf lounges. In both instances, it moves into

Alfonso Cuaron Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews co-writer, director Alfonso Cuaron about Children of Men.

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Pale shadow of LIFE snuffed out

Time Inc. has announced that the venerable title LIFE will cease publication -- again -- effective April 20. There are many who have felt that the magazine, which had a glorious history as the pre-eminent picture magazine, had been suffering sort of a living death as a stripped-down newspaper supplement.Now, the name and image will only appear online as a photography portal and in certain branded

Western Standard sticks it to Justin

To compare Justin Trudeau to Paris Hilton is unfair--to Paris Hilton.-- Ezra Levant in The Western StandardI've got to admit, that's a pretty funny line. Levant's disdain for Trudeau, pere et fils, is made quite evident, in the the column and in the cover story by writer Terry O'Neill in the current issue of the Standard, which is starting its fourth year of publication. Levant says the younger

Publishers of The Magazine protest loss of CMF funding

The publishers of the youth-oriented magazine The Magazine,have issued a press release that slams the Department of Canadian Heritage for denying it funding under the Canadian content rules of the Canada Magazine Fund. The release was signed by Eric Conroy, the magazine's publisher.[UPDATE: The press release has been given wider release through Canada News Wire. A story has been published by Mark

Newsstand awards deadline approaches

Nomination time looms for the Canadian Newsstand Awards which are held each year as part of Magazines University. Deadline is April 12. Nominees will later be named in six categories plus best new magazine for titles launched in 2005 and 2006. Winners will be announced June 5 at the Old Mill Inn and Spa.

Did you hear? Did you know? They did what? Do you have a name?

Ed2010 is an organization we've mentioned before. It's based in New York, but has chapters in many cities across North America, including Toronto. Its intended for young editors who want to make it into top editing positions in the industry. It tends to attract more young women in the business than young men, although that's not the intention.They get together from time to time for "happy hour"

First Snow Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews co-writer, director Mark Fergus and co-writer Hawk Ostby about First Snow.

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Guardian editor expects readers to provide more and more content

Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger told the Changing Media Summit in Britain that it is "impossible to predict on what technology platform journalism will be delivered in five years' time or even a year."This, according to a story in the U.K Press Gazette.Rusbridger has been an outspoken advocate of taking advantage of technology and opportunity, hence his company's launching of a series of very

Worth noting: University Affairs

The April issue of University Affairs magazine, which goes to some 20,000 faculty and administrators at 90 Canadian universities (and is available on newsstands), has several items well worth noting:There's a feature story by freelancer and Ryerson journalism instructor Alex Gillis about cheating on campuses and his own experiences dealing with it.There's another interesting feature by Anita

What do magazines want? Some tell, some don't

When it comes to providing guidance to aspiring freelance writers, some magazines aren't really very helpful. There doesn't seem to be a pattern; although the bigger they are, the less likely they are to provide such guidance, it's not an ironclad rule.Titles like Canadian Business or Maclean's or Canadian Art or the U of T magazine or Outpost, don't have any discernible writers' guidelines, at

Time takes some compliments

We don't often get to see the U.S. edition of Time, unless it's in transit at a U.S. airport, but the magazine has undergone a much-publicized redesign, which was unveiled last Friday. The cover subject was a brief flash of controversy because it showed Ronald Reagan with a phony tear trickling down his cheek (we thought the idea was so crashingly, obviously an illustration that we wondered why

Tune up your resumes: CSME to hold high calibre mixer

The Canadian Society of Magazine Editors (CSME) holds occasional "mixers" in Toronto with special guests.Next time, on March 29 at Bar Italia on College Street starting at 6 p.m., it will have Kim Pittaway, former editor of Chatelaine and current Chair of the National Magazine Awards Foundation, and Laas Turnbull, former editor of Report on Business magazine and now executive vice-president of

La version française du site web de MagNet est lancée

One of the things that distinguishes the new MagNet magazine conference from Magazines University, is its bilingual nature. MagNet has now posted a full French language version of its website.

Mags prompt online searching for information about products

A study carried out in the U.S. suggests that magazine ads and content are big influencers when it comes to motivating consumers to make an online search. A story from the Centre for Media Research says BIGresearch's Simultaneous Media Survey found that 47.2% of consumers were motivated to conduct an online search after looking at magazine ads and 43.7% after reading articles.Mike Gatti,

Canada Wide to launch "sustainable" city quarterly in Vancouver

The Vancouver city magazine field may become a bit more competitive with the proposed May launch of a quarterly called Granville by Canada Wide Media. According to a story in the Vancouver Sun, the magazine will focus on "sustainability". The magazine takes its name from Granville Island and Granville Street, the market and shopping area in the heart of Vancouver. Canada Wide representative

What about the (cultural) workers?

The Professional Writers Association of Canada has expressed disappointment today about the absence of measures to assist cultural workers in the federal budget. PWAC said that, after sharing with the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Ministry of Labour "the disquieting results" of research showing a steady erosion of writers' incomes in the past 5 years, they had hoped for more,

Taddle Creek publishes fiction fact-checking guide

A tidy little chapbook entitled The Taddle Creek Guidebook to Fact-Checking Fiction has come into my hands, from the publishers of the estimable literary magazine. It addresses the issue of spelling names right and describing locations accurately in short stories and the like, the better to involve the readers (who are quite likely to notice such errors).The guidebook, edited by Conan Tobias,

Maclean's take note: U.S. university president's pay tied to magazine ranking

Memo: to Ken Whyte, Maclean'sSubject: LeverageInside Higher Ed reports an interesting twist emerging from university rankings, which have long been important to Maclean's and long been a bone of contention for Canadian universities.The Arizona State University board of regents has approved a contract for president Michael Crow, that ties $60,000 in bonus pay to an improved rating from U.S. News &

Not just in Canada, you say?

With the collapse of the Weekly Scoop by Torstar and the summary dismissal of the Canadian staff of Hello! magazine by Rogers, observers could be forgiven for thinking that Canadians just can't get this celebrity publishing thing right.Well, according to a recent poll among media planners and buyers in the U.S., several celeb titles are likely candidates for the short drop soon and it's because

More signed up 70,000 pre-launch

Transcontinental Media says that 70,000 subscribers have already signed up for the Canadian edition of More. This, according to a story in Media in Canada. The magazine, aimed at mature women, is being launched on Wednesday with a big party in Toronto's distillery district and will debut March 26 with a guaranteed first-issue circulation of 120,000. More's Canadian edition is a joint venture

Shelley Middlebrook lands at Inside Entertainment

Shelley Middlebrook, who was let go in January as Publisher of Rogers's Hello! (Canada), along with most of the Canadian staff, has now been appointed Vice-president and Publisher of Kontent Publishing's Inside Entertainment. Previous to Hello! she had been in sales for the CBC and before that was Publisher of Brunico's entertainment industry magazine Playback.

What a way to go; green dying in Harrowsmith Country Life

Green living is all the rage; now, perhaps, so is green dying. An item in the Almanac department of the current (April) issue of Harrowsmith Country Life, from Malcolm Publishing, explores the issues and benefits of "natural" burial, without all of the extraneous (and expensive) trappings pushed by the traditional funeral industry. It talks about how you can be put six feet under in an

Maisonneuve abandons launch of Montreal city magazine

Apparently finding starting a city magazine in Montreal alongside its existing quarterly to be biting off more than it could chew, Maisonneuve has announced that it is abandoning the idea. Planning for the city magazine had been in the works for almost a year. A message from Publisher and Editor Derek Webster was sent to potential contributors today:You're receiving this email because you've

Quote, unquote

If you are one of those who puzzle over just what "creating community" means in terms of the web and publishing magazines, here is a provocative and interesting take from Bambi Franciso of Dow Jones Market Watch:The Web has become an archipelago of tiny villages tied together not by proximity but by interests. In the old-style town square, passionate, informed people came together to debate and

I Think I Love My Wife Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews co-writer, director and star Chris Rock and co-writer Louis C.K. about I Think I Love My Wife

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TL Conrad site goes live

Toronto Life's purpose-built website to cover the Conrad Black trial like the dew has now, today, gone live. You may reach it here.

U.S. National Magazine Awards finalists announced

The National Magazine Awards from the American Society of Magazine Editors have been announced. (For those who want all the details, here is the link for all the categories.)In the circ-determined category of General Excellence, the nominees are as follows:Under 100,000Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsI.D.MetropolisPrintThe Virginia Quarterly Review100,000 to 250,000Foreign PolicyMother

Knowing how your magazine ads work

"Accountability" and "ROI" have been words or phrases buzzing around the magazine advertising business for some time, though nobody was quite sure how measuring the effectiveness of magazine advertising would be accomplished.Magazines Canada, in cooperation with Starch Research, is trying to remedy that. They have luanched a new program called magWorks that will allow advertisers to better

Little magazines we like: subTerrain

[Another in an occasional series of little Canadian magazines we like and that are worth trying out.] This time, subTerrain, based in Vancouver. It's a magazine-sized literary publication that comes out 3 times a year (a 4-monthly?) and each issue is themed (the next, spring 2007, is Bad Jobs; previous issues were Money and Obsessions). It has a hard edge to it and publishes short fiction up to

Forest Friendly seminar in Toronto

There's a seminar in Toronto on March 21 for people in magazines who care about the environment (which we take to be all of you). March 21 from 9 to 11:30 a.m., the session will explore the environmental options avaialable to magazines.Presenters include Neva Murtha of Markets Initiative and Mark Patenaude, Vice-president of Sales and Marketing from St. Joseph Printing. The seminar takes place at

Lifetime subscription? Only kidding

Dave Eggers, the author and publisher of McSweeney's, is trying to back out of a lifetime subscription deal he used to get the magazine off the ground. According to a typically bitchy item on the New York media blog Gawker, Eggers and Co. acknowledge they got people to pay $100 for a lifetime sub, but has written a note to those lifetimers saying:"We can't tell you how much we appreciated that.

Quote, unquote

Interesting review of Tyler Brule's much-talked-about Monocle magazine by Dylan Stableford, the managing editor of Media Bistro.That Monocle doesn't smack of desperation is admirable. But there's no way anyone who doesn't have patience for a high-end literary journal's gonna read it.

Toronto Life to put up special Conrad Black trial site

We are awaiting the launch of the special Toronto Life website about Conrad Black's trial in Chicago (jury selection has started; the expected three-month trial kicks off next week). The magazine has commissioned Douglas Bell to sort through all the coverage and provide the nuggets and apparently readers will be able to access a blow-by-blow (some of it with a tongue-in-cheek lightheartedness) of

Publishers of Tribute to produce new magazine for U.S. cinemas

Last month, Tribute Entertainment Media Group suffered an (expected) setback when its Tribute in-theatre magazine was bounced from a bunch of cinemas in favour of Famous magazine in the wake of the Cineplex takeover of Famous Players.This month, Tribute was able to announce a significant bounce-back by signing a deal to put a new title into 13,000 cinemas in the U.S. controlled by National

Writing for the web at 25 cents a word

From time to time, this site has brought up the issue of eroding and absurdly low pay for freelancers. Here, from one of Canada's biggest entertainment and media companies, is yet another example where freelance work is being undervalued by a company that a) could afford to pay more and b) probably should pay more but c) probably knows that there are enough hungry young hopefuls out there who

Quote, unquote

Apparently the star-power of expat Bonnie Fuller has dimmed somewhat, according to Media Industry Newsletter (MIN). In promoting its "best and worst covers" feature (sub req'd), it noted:Since 1989, when Toronto-born Bonnie Fuller [ex-Flare and Toronto Star] emigrated to the U.S. to edit YM, she has grasped the U.S. magazine marketplace brilliantly in producing newsstand gains there and

Redisigns aren't a panacea

Major magazine makeovers don't make as big a difference as their publishers may think, according to a story in MediaDaily News.Writer Eric Sass, whose hook is the forthcoming March 26 launch of the revamped Time magazine, looks at the past five years of visual or structural renovations at major titles and says that the results are "minimal, at best", at least in terms of success in the

B magazine debuts

A pair of makeup artists and the Star Media group have partnered on a new, free monthly beauty, wellness and anti-aging publication called simply B Magazine, according to a story in Media in Canada. It launched last Friday with a primary target of women aged 25-55. The magazine's co-editors, Jayne Hobbs and Maddy Dennett, were founders and directors of the Canadian Network of Make-up Artists.

Canadian Geographic getting out of the merchandising business?

Canadian Geographic has always been among the leaders in Canadian consumer publishing in terms of developing line extensions and exploiting their hard-earned brand.One of the areas in which they showed such leadership was in merchandising, selling everything from maple butter to telescopes and branded T-shirts. That is coming to an end, apparently, with a giant "inventory blowout" on the

Zodiac Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews screenwriter James Vanderbilt about Zodiac

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Desi Life launched to ride Toronto's south Asian boom

The Toronto Star, which has had a spotty record when it comes to success in magazine publishing, has just announced the launch of a new title aimed at the south Asian community in the Greater Toronto area. It's called Desi Life, (pron. They-see). Shown at right is a partial view of the first cover, out in April.According to the Star's release, the term 'desi' often refers to the South Asian

Are self-serve checkouts cutting into magazine sales?

Call it the law of unintended consequences. Many major consumer magazines, including the likes of Canadian Living, Homemaker's, Flare and so on depend on impulse purchases at the supermarket checkout for a good part of their newsstand sales. A speaker at a Magazine Publishers of America conference, reported in Folio:, says that self-checkouts threaten to cut into these sales.Michael Porché, CEO

June Callwood honoured with Writers' Trust outstanding contribution award

Longtime magazine writer and activist, June Callwood, has been given the Writers' Trust Award for Outstanding Contribution. Callwood, 82, wrote for Maclean's, the Star Weekly and was one of the 11 founders of what was then the Periodical (now Professional) Writers Association of Canada in 1976.Callwood has become perhaps better known for her campaigns on behalf of the disenfranchised, but she

Black backers turn out to be Frank prank

Frank magazine cleverly hornswoggled Conrad Black and a good part of the media by keeping a hoax website supportlordblack up and running and making news for more than a month. It revealed its prank in the current issue (sub req'd to read online). According to Patricia Best's column in the Globe and Mail, the Globe was one outlet which was taken in; others were New York magazine, the National Post

Edmonton Life 4, Avenue Edmonton 10

In the suddenly crowded category of Edmonton city magazines, one title is cutting back, the other is ramping up, according to a story in Mastheadonline (sub req'd). Edmonton Life, started last year by Captive Media, is reducing its frequency from monthly to quarterly. Meanwhile the Edmonton edition of Avenue Magazine, published in partnership with Calgary's RedPoint Media, is moving

Scott Shortliffe confirmed as periodical publishing policy boss

Scott Shortliffe, who has been acting director of periodical publishing policy and programs at the Department of Canadian Heritage since last May, has been named permanently to the position. Who's in that job is important to the magazine industry since he has his hands on the levers of the Canada Magazine Fund and the Publications Assistance Program. Shortliffe has been with the department since

Matt Blackett has "city soul" and an award to prove it

Matt Blackett, the publisher and creative director of Spacing magazine, Toronto, has been named a winner of an Urban Leadership Award in the "City Soul" category. He shares that honour with CBC morning man Andy Barrie and the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto.The Urban Leadership Awards are given out annually by the Canadian Urban Institute and are to honour people and organizations

Flush left, strong image wins over readers to Toronto Life cover

The vote is in and the readers of Toronto Life have chosen the April cover that was the simplest, with a strong central image. (The winner is above, the runners up, below.) The online survey, in which readers were given three choices for the "Best New Restaurants" issue. The St. Joseph Media research department sent the three cover choices to the database of subscribers to the magazine's

Canadian Living goes seriously green

Canadian Living has gone "green" in a serious way. Its April issue, now on the news racks, is themed green, with stories about an 11-year-old crusader for polar bears, a profile of the small town of Craik, Saskatchewan that revitalized itself by going green and a story about the Spider Web Garden at Withrow Public School in Toronto. Editor Susan Antonacci says in her editor's letter:What makes me

Pitch us, please, says This Magazine

Can't recall a Canadian magazine a) launching a public campaign to attract writers and b) publishing a comprehensive "menu" of its fees for each type of article and department. But that is precisely what This Magazine's editor, Jessica Johnston is doing. On the magazine website's blog, she has posted what is in effect a promotional pitch to writers, illustrators and photographers who may not have

Quote, unquote

"Companies that create no content of their own, and make money solely on the backs of other people's content, are raking in billions through advertising revenue and IPOs. "Google takes the position that everything may be freely copied unless the copyright owner notifies Google and tells it to stop." -- Microsoft associate general counsel Thomas Rubin,takes a bead on Google, in the text of a

Submit to LIT!

Hey gang,

If you were wondering (and I'm sure you are), we're currently accepting submissions of poetry, fiction and nonfiction for LIT 14. We will accept submissions until May and then won't be reading again until September. Here are our mailing address and current masthead, for your convenience:

LIT
The New School
Writing Program, Room 514
66 West 12th Street
New York, NY 10011

Peter Bogart Johnson & Nicole Steinberg, Editors
Graeme Bezanson, Poetry Editor
Scott Dahlie, Prose Editor
Emily Taylor, Associate Prose Editor
Mark Bibbins, Shanna Compton, Justin Marks & Kathleen Ossip, Editors at Large
David Lehman, Robert Polito & Jackson Taylor, Faculty Advisors
Brian McMullen, Design Consultant

PLEASE READ our new and improved submission guidelines:

- Poetry submissions should be no more than 5 poems or 10 pages.
- Prose submissions should be no longer than 25 pages, double-spaced, single-sided.
- All submissions must include a SASE for reply and a cover letter. Cover letters let us know that you're a real person who actually has some knowledge about LIT. We appreciate that sort of thing. Submissions without cover letters will not be considered.
- Contributors must receive a reply from LIT before submitting new work; additional submissions received before we have sent a reply to a previous submission will be returned unread!
- Our reading periods are from September to mid-December and January to May. Do not submit more than twice in either period.
- We do not consider submissions filed by professional coordinating services.

And on a final note, here are some answers to questions we're been receiving as of late:

- Yes, we will have a proper website soon. The New School is creating a new one for us and we hope to have it up and running by this June. But no promises.
- We're well aware that we're living in the dark ages with paper submissions. We hate them more than you do, believe us. Once our website is up, we will begin the switch to electronic submissions. Until then, keep licking those stamps.
- LIT 12 is running a bit late but will be out this May and will come with a spiffy launch party, so stay tuned for more details. LIT 13's release and launch will take place in the early fall.

Oh, and for any lingering questions or inquiries (but NOT e-mailed submissions, we don't accept those): litmagaz@gmail.com.

LIT 12 is coming!

LIT 12 will be available this April or May. It will feature poetry & prose by...

Stephanie Anderson * Ralph Angel * John Ashbery * Sarah Bartlett * Edward Bartók-Baratta * Ishmael Beah * Francis Benteaux * Dan Boehl * Jessica Breheny * Shira Dentz * Julie Doxsee * Elisa Gabbert * John Gallaher * Daniel George * Dobby Gibson * Noah Eli Gordon * Kurt Haenicke * James Haug * Matthew Henriksen * Donald Illich * Joy Katz * Erica Kaufman * Mark Lawlor * Alex Lemon * Federico García Lorca * Joseph Massey * Clay Matthews * Kristi Maxwell * Kristin McGonigle * Joyelle McSweeney * Sharon Mesmer * Stephen Paul Miller * Gina Myers * Amanda Nadelberg * Carol Novack * Ed Park * Andrew Michael Roberts * Minal K. Singh * Sampson Starkweather * Mathias Svalina * Jen Tynes * Susan Wheeler * Joshua Marie Wilkinson * Dustin Williamson * Allyssa Wolf * Rebecca Wolff

Art by...

Emily Farranto * Pamela Lawton

Plus a SPECIAL FEATURE on THE NEW SCHOOL'S ASHBERY FESTIVAL
Featuring an interview with JOHN ASHBERY by Marit MacArthur and critical writing by...

Kacper Bartczak * William Burgos * Roger Gilbert * Daniel Kane * David Kermani * John Koethe * Micaela Morrissette * Dara Wier


Phew. To secure your copy you can SUBSCRIBE to LIT, as well you should. To do so, please send a check or money order made out to LIT to the address below:

LIT
The New School
Writing Program, Room 514
66 West 12th Street
New York, NY 10011

Single Issue: $8

1-year subscription (2 issues): $14
Save 13% off the cover price!

2-year subscription (4 issues): $25
Save 22% off the cover price!

LIT at AWP 2007 in Atlanta!

Hi, everyone. In an attempt to make our blog a bit more jazzy, enjoy some photos from our editorial staff's recent trip to the AWP 2007 conference in Atlanta, Georgia, from February 28th to March 3rd.


The Downtown Atlanta Hilton, where the conference took place. Swanky.


We shared a table with our friends from Redivider, RealPoetik, Kitchen Press, and Rose Metal Press.


Peter represents for LIT. Word.


The (Da?) New School Boyz: Co-Editor Peter Bogart Johnson, Editor at Large Mark Bibbins, and Poetry Editor Graeme Bezanson.


Our windswept Associate Fiction Editor, Emily Taylor.


LIT 13 Co-Editors Peter Bogart Johnson and Nicole Steinberg.


LIT 12 Editor Justin Marks "officially" passes the torch to the new editors at the So and So South Reading on March 2nd, hosted by Chris Tonelli at Atlanta's Apache Cafe.


LIT 11 contributor Amy King.


LIT 12 contributor Jen Tynes.


Good reading material for sale at the event.


The excited (but very hungry) crowd enjoys the evening.

Free is not the right price for a magazine, says Walrus editor

Ken Alexander, the editor of The Walrus, has written an essay for the Globe and Mail website that argues that controlled circulation is the wrong way to go for magazines. Referring to the late Toro and Saturday Night magazines, he dismissed the trend to distributing such titles free through daily newspapers:There is pseudo-science behind this free “controlled circulation” that attempts to

Osprey on the block

Osprey MediaIncome Trust, the holding company for many small newspapers and magazines, has been struggling to retain investor interest in the face of declining distributions. This was not made easier by the government's decision to begin taxing income trusts in a few years.According to a story in the Globe and Mail and a release by the company, the board of the trust has decided "to proceed with

Ryerson Review fundraiser tomorrow

If you're in the neighbourhood, a fundraiser is being held tomorrow (March 6) for the Ryerson Review of Journalism at 7 p.m. at Raq-N-Waq. The hip-n-trendy bar, bistro and billiard hall (11 tables) is at 739 Queen Street West, 2nd floor 1 block west of Bathurst in Toronto. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door.For more information or to buy tickets, you can email j2fong@ryerson.ca or

Blogging on a shoestring

Claire Pfeiffer shepherds small magazines over at Magazines Canada. She writes a regular newsletter called The Shoestring as part of her duties and recently started a companion blog about small magazines which quite a lot of fun and may give this blog a run for its money. It's latest iteration has an item about the latest direct mail package from The Walrus that makes much of its plethora of

Reader's Digest no longer a public company

With the announcement Friday that it has completed its US$1.6 billion dollar acquisition of Reader's Digest Association (RDA), Ripplewood Holdings marks the end of 17 years as a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. The purchase of RDA by the private investment group is indicative of a recent trend toward private ownership at large media companies.Effective immediately, RDA

Accounting magazine provides fascinating facts

Factoids you wouldn't find unless you read a magazine that's not usually on your radar. In this case, CA magazine, the official publication of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants:According to an Expedia.ca and Ipsos Reid, 24% of employed Canadians often don’t take all their vacation days, resulting in a communal $5.1 billion handback to employers. Financial professionals ranked 7th

Where are the women magazine writers? asks Mallick

That buzz saw that the editor of Harper's walked into was Heather Mallick. The columnist, late of the Globe and Mail and for some time now writing for CBC.ca, essentially shreds him* for misogyny, condescension and being boring."...he is a Tennessee-educated insular boor who has made this well-intentioned American magazine even more boring than it used to be, which is a trick and a half. Read it

Doris Anderson dead at 85

A giant among Canadian magazine editors, Doris Anderson, has died at the age of 85. A long obituary in the Globe and Mail, well worth reading, details the life of this whiskey-voiced woman who took Chatelaine magazine by the scruff of the neck and and for more than 20 years turned it into a platform for feminism, women's rights and progressive causes. She also made Maclean Hunter a lot of money

MagNet site live; so's Mags U

Registrations are now available online for MagNet: Canada's Magazine Conference, being put on by Magazines Canada, the Circulation Marketing Association of Canada, the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) and the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors (CSME) June 13 to 15 at 89 Chestnut Street in downtown TorontoOnline registration is also available for the rival conference, Magazines

Calgary gay title Outlooks celebrates 10th anniversary

Outlooks magazine, a national monthly gay and lesbian magazine published out of Calgary, is celebrating its 10th anniversary issue; the March anniversary issue is being distributed today."The magazine publishing industry is considered a risky business under the best of circumstances and many new publications do not survive in the long term," said Outlooks founder and publisher Roy Heale about the

Health and fitness mags not necessarily giving best nutrition information

Some U.S. magazines that you'd expect would be excellent sources of health and nutrition information aren't, according to a story in MediaDaily News. And some unlikely popular lifestyle publications are more reliable on the subject.The American Council on Science and Health produced a ranking of magazines based on the accuracy and relevance of their nutritional information, measured by provision