magCulture Live LDN26
The London edition of magCulture’s annual celebration of the culture of magazines takes place on 19 November.
Join us for an afternoon of talks from some of the best magazine-makers currently working. Expect creative inspiration and a reminder of the power of magazines, as we hear from people behind both long-established and brand new publications.
Escape the Algorithm
The thread running through theevent this year is ‘Escape the Algorithm.’ Everybody’s talking about reducing their screen time and defying the algorithm. What better way to do that than enjoy a magazine? We’re seeing ever more indie mags being launched, more customers buying them, and more specialist shops opening to sell them. There are many reasons why this is happening, but a central one is a desire to resist the press of data-driven story selection in favour of human curation and the joy of serendipity.
But can the magazines themselves exist outside the digital realm? Or do publishers have to play the algorithm game? Join us for an afternoon of talks as our speakers share their work and consider the relationship between print and digital. As well as plenty of inside experience of contemporary publishing practice, our speaker from outside the print industry, James Hewes, will present statistical evidence of the shift in the role of print magazines, and their place alongside other media.
The annual event is also an opportunity to mix with fellow magazine lovers, browse our partner stands and shop at our pop-up shop. All IRL ticket holders will receive a free goodie bag.
Book your place for £125 inclusive of VAT and fees.
(A students rate of £80 is available by booking using their university email)
Group rates are available for bookings of over five people, please email us: events@magCulture.com
The Vitsoe space is fully accessible.
If you can’t join us IRL, book a livestream ticket and follow the day online. All ticket holders will receive a link to a video of the day a week or two after the event.
magCulture Live LDN25
Thursday 13 November, 12—5pm
Drinks afterwards
Vitsoe, 21 Marylebone Lane
London W1U 2NG
Map
Meet the speakers:
Claire Belhassine
Claire is a cultural producer, editor and founder of Godmothers, a new project exploring the intersection of technology, feminist economics and philosophy. She has held editorial roles at a host of magazines, ranging from Dazed and Sleazenation to Vogue and GQ. Godmothers is her first self-published project. The new zine is the centrepiece of a platform championing women’s voices in AI and tech via a website and podcast. ‘Platforming independent journalism and women’s voices across everything we produce, the zine is the anchor and a DIY spirit creates trust,’ she told us recently, ‘You get iconised by being documented in print, in a form someone can physically tear out and pin above their desk.‘
Read our interview with Claire.
Chris Clarke
Chris is editorial creative director at The Guardian, where he leads major editorial projects and award-winning design teams across print and digital. He’ll be using the three-times-a-year Guardian Long Read magazine as a case study in escaping the algorithm. He’ll explore how the same journalism changes across social, web, audio, newspaper and magazine, and how print stands out as a deliberately sequenced experience built around serendipity.
Read our interview with Chris.
James Hewes
James has over two decades of experience across the international media, publishing, and communications sectors. Through his consultancy Soho Consulting, he continues to shape the future of media, advising high-profile international clients while sharing his expertise as a guest lecturer worldwide on the evolving media landscape. For magCulture Live, he’ll be describing the current position of the indie magazine in the context of other forms of media.
Hugo Lindgren
Hugo is the editorial director of the relaunched Life magazine, once the best-selling source of news and photo reportage in the USA and a magazine whose archive describes the country’s 20th century. This will be the first public reveal of the new version of Life, and Hugh will be reflecting on the values of the original magazine and how he and his team—including creative director Richard Turley—have adapted them for a very different time. He was previously editor of the New York Times Magazine, editorial director of New York and executive editor of Bloomberg Businessweek.
Lucy Roeber
Lucy is the founder, editor and publisher of Erotic Review, the magazine she has reinvented as a smartly designed art and literary platform exploring sexual desire in its many forms and complexities. She’ll be sharing her experience of algorithmic censorship, and reflecting on how print provides a more open platform than digital for the discussion of the erotic.
Charlotte Rubesa
Charlotte is the founder and editor of Quiet Media, a print-first zine founded on the belief that our attention is our most valuable resource, and that it should be treated with care. As such, she has clear thoughts on the benefits of a print context for the exchange of ideas. The first issue launched in April 2026 featuring 15 makers and contributors, with a foreword by Andrew McLuhan, grandson of Marshall. By day she’s a Communications Strategy Director at Wieden+Kennedy London, shaping how ideas travel for global brands.
Emily Tobin
Emily is editor of The World of Interiors, the Condé Nast magazine about design and decoration. She took the helm in 2024, having previously been deputy editor, during which time she led the launch of worldofinteriors.com (the magazine’s first ever website.) She’s also recently published a series of one-off WoI publications, including the gorgeous Top Shelf. As such, she is ideally placed to discuss the difference between publishing in print and in digital. In a recent interview for the magCulture Journal she claimed ‘World of Interiors is the original indie mag.’
Read our interview with Emily.
Plus more names to come
With thanks to our partners for their support of magCulture Live:
