The Paper #1
271 x 412 mm, 126 pages
Wales
First published 2023
Editors/designers: Erin Mathias, Oliver Gabe and Owen Davies
According to the editorial team, this large-format newsprinty magazine is ‘128 pages of pictures and words by short, fat, genetically worse-off people.’
What they’ve overlooked is that it’s also the weirdest, funniest and best debut we’ve seen for some time. It celebrates life in Wales, ‘We know loads of really inspiring and talented people here in Wales, and without sounding too doom and gloom, there isn’t really an outlet catering for these kinds of narratives.’
‘We reject the idea that this magazine is ‘weird’ in any way—the stories in there are some of the most normal you can find: chip shops, train journeys, doctors’ appointments etc. The weirdos are in other magazines talking about how difficult it was to import their new handmade Sardinian rug. Our magazine is extremely normal and that’s what's so weird about it.’
On the Journal
At work with Erin, Oliver and Owen: ‘Our mission has always been to save Wales, so ideally we’ll achieve that soon, thus sparing us the effort of putting together a second issue.’
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