Overview
magCulture is a major resource about magazines and magazine-making.
The name first appeared in 2003 as the title of a book by Jeremy Leslie. The book noted the rise of a new generation of independently published magazines, focusing on how they offered an experimental space for text, image and design to work together. In 2006 the name appeared again as the title of a blog, launched to follow up the success of the book.
That blog has since developed into a multi-channel business celebrating and promoting the many skills and disciplines that go into making a magazine, including art direction, design, writing, editing and production.
We love magazines!
The magCulture Journal
The magCulture Journal is our central resource, available free online.
Regular posts review the best magazines, interview the people behind them, and share news from the industry. It concentrates on today, with a sprinkling of history and a firm eye on the future.
With the exception of some random deletions during an earlier hack, a full archive of 18 years of posts is available to search and read.
The magCulture shop
Since opening in 2015, the magCulture Shop in Clerkenwell, London, has become central to our purpose, establishing itself as a template for the future of magazine retail and becoming what Creative Review described as ‘The spiritual home of independent publishing.’
As magazine specialists ourselves, we understand the care and attention that goes into making the publications we stock, and believe they deserve to be displayed with similar care.
Our gallery-like space, created in collaboration with our friends at Vitsoe, showcases a selection of over 600 titles from across the world. Visitors are encouraged to linger and browse before buying, and our knowledgeable staff can help and advise.
The same selection is available for worldwide shipping from our online shop. We ship next day to many countries, and also locally within the hour.
We often get asked, ‘Why Clerkenwell?’ There’s no simple answer; we were looking for a specific type of space and we found it in EC1.
The area has long been associated with the print industry, and we like that our address is half a mile from where the presses that produced the first publication to adopt the word ‘magazine,’—The Gentleman’s Magazine, launched in 1731 (above)—were housed: St John’s Gate, a building that still stands today.
Pop-up shops
We regularly organise pop-up shops, using our bespoke ‘magazine spread’ shelf (above). We’ve worked with D&AD, The London Art Book Fair, PPA Scotland, Season Zine and Riposte.
Submit your magazine for sale
If you’d like us to stock your magazine in the Shop, please post a copy to us (270 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PE) in an envelope marked ‘Submission’ and email full details (including an image of the front cover) too.
submission@magCulture.com
Group visits
The Shop is also designed for live events; as well as regular after-work talks (see below), we welcome group visits of up to 30 people from universities and other organisations. These take place from 10–11am before the Shop opens; after a brief talk about the magazines we celebrate and a Q&A session, groups can browse and shop.
‘Thanks so much for today. The students were so inspired and really buzzing about their visit this morning.’—visiting tutor
magCulture Bespoke
Magazines are inspirational for customers and staff alike, and we’re already supplying curated selections of magazines on a regular basis to design studios, cafés, hotels, museums and individuals across the world.
Whatever your business, our Bespoke delivery service can help you make the most of the inspiration and insight magazines offer.
FIND OUT MORE
magCulture events
Our events programme is designed to inspire publishing professionals and encourage newcomers. It’s a vital part of what we do.
Our two magCulture Live conferences—held annually in London and New York—are the only regular creatively-orientated magazine events of any scale, with speakers from both the major mainstream and small independent sectors of publishing sharing their work and experience.
We also organise smaller talks at our London Shop, and our Flatplan masterclasses have helped many first time publishers develop and launch their magazines.
READ MORE
Design and editorial consultancy
We work with international clients across across print and digital, ranging from hands-on development to creative direction and strategic consultancy.
We are excited by the possibilities of combining print and digital – check the Consultancy section of this site for more details.
As well as design and editorial, we can advise on all elements of publishing: production, distribution, logistics.
READ MORE
The magCulture Podcast
Our podcast offers another angle on magazines, a chance to hear from the magazine makers themselves. Recorded quarterly (or thereabouts) at the magCulture Shop, Jeremy Leslie hosts reviews and interviews with people from across the industry.
LISTEN ON SOUNDCLOUD
‘We love magazines’ newsletter
Every Friday our email newsletter updates subscribers on everything magCulture, plus special offers and industry news. Curated weekly by Jeremy Leslie and shop manager Danielle Mustarde. Spotted something worth mentioning? Drop us an email at danielle@magculture.com
SUBSCRIBE HERE
The magCulture team
Founder Jeremy Leslie has over 30 years experience of magazine making. He has art directed quarterlies, monthlies and weeklies, and spent the noughties developing award-winning magazines for clients including BSkyB, Nike, Virgin Atlantic and Waitrose at John Brown Publishing.
He has written four books about editorial design, regularly contributes to the creative press and conferences, and continues to consult and design for international clients.
He is an awarded member and ex-trustee of D&AD and an elected member of AGI. In 2018 he was awarded the Mark Boxer Award by the British Society of Magazine Editors, given for services to the magazine industry, and was recently featured on the Full Bleed podcast.
His current favourite magazines are Interview, MacGuffin and The Paper.
Operations manager Danielle Mustarde joined magCulture during the OG Covid summer of 2020. Coming straight out of a senior role at long-standing queer magazine, DIVA, Danielle has first-hand experience of what goes on behind the scenes at an established monthly magazine (as well as an overpriced MA in Journalism). She’s been writing for indie publications since the ripe old age of 16.
Seeking out magCulture as the space in which to grow her knowledge of, and love for independent magazines—as well as the communities they create, outside of magCulture, Danielle frequently writes on queer culture, community, and running.
Some mags she’s taken home with her recently include 032c, Famous For My Dinner Parties and No One: Amsterdam.
Recent Canadian import Osman Bari joined the magCulture team in October 2021, first working in the shop and now as a designer in the studio.
Originally hailing from Lahore, Pakistan, Osman also runs Chutney, a risograph mag exploring ‘Everyday stories of culture and identity’.