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Events overview

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magCulture Live

The magCulture Live conferences are our day-long series of talks celebrating the culture of magazines. They take place annually in New York (May) and London (November), and present a mix of international speakers from the best mainstream magazines and smaller indies sharing their work and inspiring our audience.

 

First launched in 2013 (and initially known as The Modern Magazine or ModMag) we have now held eight London editions and four New York editions (above). They attract an audience of working professionals, students, and others looking for an injection of creative inspiration.

This focus on creativity and magazine-making gives magCulture Live a unique position on the annual conference schedule.

The 2020 editions were both held as Zoom webinars; the two-day November edition is available to stream via Vimeo on Demand (paywall):

Watch magCulture Live 2020, Day One

Watch magCulture Live 2020, Day Two

In November 2021, the London edition of magCulture Live returned to in-person again, and in May 2022, the New york edition returned IRL.

 


The Flatplan

This popular masterclass brings together wannabe magazine publishers to learn from a series of talks by and Q&As with editors, designers, printers and distributors, along with group discussion sessions.

The Flatplan attracts an international group of attendees from within and outside publishing, many of whom have gone on to launch their magazine idea. Students can apply for free tickets via a magazine idea pitch, and we also offer the same to aspiring PoC publishers.

There have been four annual editions to date—the most recent took place online over the weekend 18/19 February 2023.

 


magCulture Shop events

Our Shop is an ideal location for smaller, more informal events. We’ve now held over 50 after-work talks featuring magazine makers.

The evenings give our audience the chance to learn about the new issue of a magazine and share a beer and some chat with fellow magazine lovers.

 


Previous magCulture Live speaker line-ups:

 

2023, magCulture Live, London. 16 November

Debra Bishop, New York Times Kids
Neville Brody
Maya Moumne, Journal Safar & Al Hayya
Charles Baker, The Fence
Oyinkansola Dada, Dada magazine
Owen and Ollie, The Paper
Jermaine Gallacher, Ton
Linda Nubling, Gurlz with Curlz
Sebastian Clark, isolarii

 

2023, magCulture Live, New York. 9 July

Matt Willey & Dan Crowe, Inque
Chloe Scheffe, Backstage Talks
John Sunyer & Anna Jay, Courier    
Whitney Mallett, The Whitney Review of New Writing
Echo Wu, 1413
Emmanuel  Olunkwa, Pin-Up
Tanya Bush, Cake Zine
Debra Bishop, New York Times Kids

 

2022, magCulture Live, New York. 22 May

Presented with Ace Hotel Brooklyn
Gail Bichler & Jake Silverstein, New York Times Magazine
Richard Turley & Mel Ottenberg, Interview
Emily Stokes, The Paris Review
Audrey & Vicente, Balcony
Verena von Pfetten, Gossamer
Kathleen & Vicki, Banana
Vanessa Saba, Mother Tongue
Christian Nolle, Direction of Travel
Happy David, Casa Magazines

 

2021, magCulture Live, London. 4 November

Christoph Amend, ZEITmagazin
Dan Crowe, Port & Inque
Sachini Imbuldeniya, Studio PI
Harriet Fitch Little, Kinfolk & Kindling
David McKendrick, Paperboy
Rhona Ezuma, Thiiird
Anna Bates, Dirty Furniture
Osman Bari, Chutney
Georgeous Michael, Louche
Olu Michael Odukoya, Modern Matter
Kirsten Algera, MacGuffin
Terry Jones, i-D (filmed interview and live Q&A)
Alex Breuer, The Guardian Saturday

 

2021, We love New York, Zoom, 9 June:

Françoise Mouly, Art editor, The New Yorker
Kim Hastreiter, Editor, The New Now
Stella Bugbee, Editor-at-large, New York
Lavaille Lavette, President and Publisher, Ebony
Debra Bishop, Deign Director, The NY Times for Kids
Lucas Mascatello, Editor, Civilization
Caitlin Thompson, Publisher, Racquet

 

2020, Zoom, November
Day one, Activism:

Alice Grandoit, co-founder, Deem Journal (Los Angeles)
Steven Heller, critic and author (New York)
Karl Henkell, founder, Record Culture (Madrid)
Sachini Imbuldeniya, founder, StudioPi (London)
Maya Moumne, co-founder, Journal Safar (Beirut)
Rick Poynor, critic and author, ‘David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian’ (London)
Terri White, editor-in-chief, Empire (London)

 

Day two, Analogue:

Theseus Chan, creative director, Werk (Singapore)
Sarah de Mavaleix, Sofia Nebiolo and Haydée Touitou, The Skirt Chronicles (Paris)
Rose Nordin, co-founder, OOMK & Rabbits Road Press (London)
Chloe Scheffe, art director, Here (New York)
Jack Self, editor-in-chief, Real Review (London)
Kurt Woerpel, art director, Interview (New York)
Oliver Munday, creative director, The Atlantic (New York) 

 

2020, Zoom, May
How magazines have responded to Covid-19

Jaap Biemans, founder, Coverjunkie.com (Netherlands)
Max Siedentopf, creative director, Ordinary (Netherlands)
Martha Dillon, editor, It’s Freezing in LA!
Pann Lim, creative director, Rubbish Famzine (Singapore)
Gail Bichler, design director, The New York Times Magazine, (US)

 

2019, London

Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, Head of editorial, gal-dem
Martha Dillon, Editor, It’s Freezing in LA!
James Hewes, President and CEO, FIPP
Gert Jonkers, Editor-in-chief, Fantastic Man
Alex Morrison, Co-editor, Contra
Felicia Pennant, Editor-in-chief, Season Zine
Serge Ricco , Creative director, L’Obs (France)
Ariane Spanier , Art director and designer, FUKT magazine (Germany)
Jody Quon, Photography director, New York (US)
Matt Willey, Art director, The New York Times Magazine, co-founder of Port (US)

 

2019, New York

Douglas McGray, California Sunday & Pop-Up Magazine
Veronica Ditting, The Gentlewoman
Nathalie Kirsheh, Glamour
Uncovered: Ian Birch, Perrin Drumm & Jeremy Leslie talk covers
Indie mag session: Lindsay, Put A Egg On It & Good Trouble
Jody Quon, New York magazine
Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, gal-dem
Nicholas Blechman, The New Yorker

 

2018, London

Carol Montpart, The Plant
Jeff Taylor, Courier
Perrin Drumm, Eye on Design, US
Ian Birch, Olivia Ahmad, Uncovered
Dan Sandison, Mundial
Jana Al Obeidyine, A dance mag, Lebanon
Elisabeth Krohn, Sabat
Reagan Clare, Homesick
Rod Stanley, Good Trouble, US
Maxine Leonard, Beauty Papers
Thomas Meredith, Elle
Deidre Dyer, No Man’s Land, US
Max Siedentopf, Ordinary
Emmet Smith, National Geographic, US

 

2018, New York

Omar Sosa, Apartamento, Spain
Michele Outland, Gather/ Bon Appetit
Perrin Drumm, Eye on Design
Alexander Tochilovsky, The Lubalin Center
Kirsten Algera, MacGuffin, Netherlands
US Indies: Anxy, Mold, Racquet, Victory Journal
Emily Oberman, No Man’s Land
Isabel Seiffert & Justinien Tribillon, Migrant Journal, UK
Richard Turley, Civilization
Gail Bichler, New York Times Magazine

 

2017, London

Isabel Seiffert & Justinien Tribillon, Migrant Journal
Lydia Garnett, Accent
Tony Brook, Unit Editions
Anja Aronowsky Cronberg, Vestoj, France
Owen Pritchard, It’s Nice That
Takahiro Kinoshita, Popeye, Japan
Liv Siddall, Rough Trade magazine
Mirko Borsche, Bureau Mirko Borsche, Germany
Panel discussion: Eye, Paul Gorman, Mushpit, Riposte & Shortlist
Francesco Franchi, La Repubblica, Italy
James Hyman, The Hyman Archive
Nicholas Blechman, The New Yorker

 

2016, London

Kirsten Algera, MacGuffin, Netherlands
Christoph Amend, ZEITmagazin, Germany
Terri White, Empire
The Ladybeard team
Rebecca Nicholson, Vice
Jack Self, Real Review
Paul Gorman, ‘The Story of The Face’
Kai von Rabenau, mono.kultur, Germany
Tony Rushton, Private Eye
Penny Martin, The Gentlewoman
Seb Emina, The Happy Reader
Gail Bichler, New York Times Magazine, US

 

2015, London

David Lane, The Gourmand
Andrew Tuck, Monocle
Grashina Gabelmann, Flaneur, Germany
Sophie Lovell, Uncube, Germany
Louis-Jacques Darveau, The Alpine Review, Canada
James Fairbank, Mondial
Bertie Brandes and Charlotte Roberts, Mushpit
Matt Phare, Shortlist
Charlotte Heal, Kinfolk
Ibrahim Nehme, The Outpost, Lebanon
Kati Krause
Scott Dadich, Wired, US

 

2014, London

Kai Brach, Offscreen, Germany
Veronica Ditting, The Gentlewoman
Peter Houston, Magazine Diaries
Jeremy Langmead, Christies
Simon Lyle, Hot Rum Cow
Danny Miller, Little White Lies
David Moretti, Wired Italia, Italy
Adam Moss, New York magazine, US
Rob Orchard, Delayed Gratification
Danielle Pender, Riposte
Elana Schlenker, Gratuitous Type, US
Pekka Toivonen, FAT, Finland

 

2013, London

Tyler Brûlé, Monocle
Omar Sosa, Apartamento, Spain
Richard Turley, Bloomberg Businessweek
Patrick Waterhouse, Colors, Italy
Rosa Park, Cereal
Justine Picardie, Harper’s Bazaar
Simon Esterson, Eye
Davey Spens, Boat
Cathy Olmedillas, Anorak
Kati Krause
Scott King
Steve Watson, Stack
David Jacobs, 29th Street
Paul Barnes, Commercial Type
Panel: women’s magazines

 



Other previous events

This is a list of events that Jeremy Leslie has taken part in; those in bold were organised by magCulture.

 

2024

We love queer magazines (magCulture Shop, 8 February)
• Magazine Workshop (Politecnico di Milano, Italy, 12–16 February) 
The Flatplan magazine masterclass (online, 2/3 March)
magCulture Meets Revue Fare & Photo Poster Magazine (magCulture Shop, 21 March)

 

2023

magCulture Meets Chutney (magCulture Shop, 9 March, video here)
magCulture Meets Boys! Boys! Boys! (magCulture Shop, 23 March, video here)
magCulture Meets Architectural Review (magCulture Shop, 16 April, video here)
magCulture Meets Courier (magCulture Shop, 4 May, video here)
• ‘Opposite ends of the publishing world’ D&AD Festival, 10 May
magCulture Meets Neville Brody (magCulture Shop, 1 June, video here)
magCulture Live New York 2023 (Wix Playground, New York)
magCulture Meets Fare (magCulture Shop, 17 August)
• magCulture Meets MUBI Notebook (magCulture Shop, 5 October)
magCulture Live London 2023 (Vitsoe, Marylebone)

 

2022

• magCulture Live New York 2022 (Ace Hotel, Brooklyn)
•  magCulture Meets Mother Tongue
(magCulture Shop, 30 June, video here)
•  WePresent, ‘How to finance your magazine’ (21 July, video here)
• 
Distripress Congress, 2022, Estoril (19 September)
• 
‘Welcome to magCulture’ Polytecnico di Milano (7 October)
•  ‘We love music!’
(magCulture Shop, 27 October, video here)

 

2021

•  Eye magazine’s Type Tuesday, ‘What Now? What Next?’ (Zoom, 9 March)
•  magCulture Meets The Modernist (16 September)
•  Monocle Media Summit (London, 14 October)
•  Distripress conference (Zurich, 17 October)

 

2020

•  Transnational Periodical Cultures, Mainz University (29 January)
•  D&AD Design Nights, Design for Publications (22 January)
•  We love sport: Mundial & Slowe (20 February)
•  Magazine Inspiration Day (Amsterdam, 6 March)
•  magCulture Live Online (29 May, Zoom)
•  What Next for Magazines? (30 July, online)
•  The Flatplan masterclass (5/6 September, Zoom)
•  magCulture Live Online (18/19 November, Zoom)
•  MagNet conference, Toronto (25/26 November, online)


2019

•  magCulture Meets Architectural Review (24 January)
•  magCulture Meets Creative Review (28 February)
•  How to launch your own magazine, BSME (4 March)
•  ‘We Love Magazines’, LCC London (5 March)
•  magCulture Meets Tortoise (21 March)
•  The Flatplan 2, magazine masterclass (7 April)
•  ‘We Love Magazines’, ACT 9 conference, Oxford, Mississippi (25 April)
•  magCulture Shop pop-up at D&AD Festival, London (21-23 May)
•  ModMag New York (aka magCulture Live, Wednesday 29 May)
•  magCulture Meets Migrant Journal (13 June)
•  magCulture Meets Racquet (4 July)
•  magCulture Quarter, London Art Book Fair, Whitechapel Gallery (5-8 September)
•  Pop-up shop at MagFest, Edinburgh (20 September)
•  magCulture Meets Nova: David Hillman and Caroline Baker (24 September)
•  Workshop, Politecnico di Milano, Milan (9 October)
•  ‘We Love Magazines’, Design Thinking, Toronto (24 October)
 magCulture Live, London (7 November)
•  magCulture Meets Good Trouble (28 November)
•  Christmas Cracker charity raffle (6 December, The Hoxton, Southwark)

 

2018

•  magCulture Meets Fare (25 January)
•  magCulture Meets MacGuffin (1 March – cancelled due to bad weather)
•  Alberta Magazines Conference, Canada (9 March)
 We Love Magazines, Wynkyn de Worde Society, London (20 March)
•  magCulture Meets Flaneur (29 March)
•  The Flatplan masterclass (14 April)
•  magCulture meets The Plant (19 April)
•  magCulture Shop pop-up at D&AD Festival, London (24-26 April)
•  ModMag New York (aka MagCulture Live, 30 May, New York)
•  University of Delaware, London visit (18 June)
•  magCulture Meets NXS (14 July)
•  magCulture Meets The Modernist (5 July)
•  magCulture Shop pop-up at Riposte Alldayer (29 July)
•  magCulture Quarter magazine market at London Art Book Fair (6—9 September)
•  10×6 Creative Industries, Luxembourg (12 September)
•  magCulture Meets The Gourmand (19 September)
•  What can we learn from the indies? MagFest, Edinburgh (21 September)
•  magCulture Meets  Eye (4 October)
•  ModMag London 2018 (1 November)
•  We Love Magazines, Leeds Beckett Univeristy, Leeds (5 December)
•  Christmas Cracker charity raffle night (13 December)

 

2017

— Middlesex University ‘I Am a Magazine’ (9 January)
— We Love Magazines, UAL Chelsea (17 January)
magCulture Meets One of My Kind (2 February)
— Impact: The Design of Design Magazines, St Bride (16 February)
magCulture Meets Beauty Papers (23 March)
— We Love Magazines, Norwich University (20 March)
magCulture Meets Real Review (06 April)
citizenM x magCulture: Travel Magazines (12 April)
magCulture Meets Rubbish Famzine (20 April)
— SPD x magCulture: The State of Independence, New York (15 May)*
citizenM x magCulture: Literary Magazines (17 May)
magCulture Meets Riposte (18 May)
— University of Delaware, London visit (22 June)*
magCulture Meets Racquet (5 July)
citizenM x magCulture: Food Magazines (26 July)
— We Love Magazines, New York University summer school, via Skype (1 August)
— Indiecon 2017, Hamburg: Jeremy Leslie interviews the Migrant Journal Team (26 August)
— citizenM x magCulture: Sport magazines (30 August)
magCulture Meets Elephant (5 October)
— Monocle Swiss launch, Zurich (12 October)
— Torino Graphic Days, Turin (15 October)
The Modern Magazine 2017, London (2 November)
The Story of The Face, London (16 November)
magCulture Meets ZEITmagazin (23 November)
— We Love Magazines, Design Dinner, London (28 November)
— We Love Magazines, Pentagram London (5 December)
magCulture Meets Shelf Journal (7 December)

2016

magCulture Meets MacGuffin
— Frieze Academy: How to Publish an Independent Magazine
Printout: New Women’s Magazines
— The Art of Publishing, Rapha, London
magCulture Meets The Idler
— MGZN, Milan, 19 February
U-Symposium, Singapore, 12-13 March
magCulture meets Mushpit
Printout: 90s to Now
— Frieze Academy: How to Publish an Independent Magazine (12 April)
magCulture meets Eye (14 April)
magCulture meets Benji Knewman (28 April)
magCulture meets: Francesco Franchi & Christian Rocca, IL Magazine (12 May)
— University of Delaware, London visit (9 June)*
— PPA Festival, London (21 May)
Printout: Editors’ Special (24 May)
magCulture Meets Fiera (25 May)
— Frieze Academy: How to Publish an Independent Magazine (31 May)
— Frieze Academy: How to Publish an Independent Magazine (4 July)
Printout: Cover stories (26 July)
magCulture Meets Mondial (30 July)
magCulture Meets The White Review (11 August)
magCulture Meets Angharad Lewis, ‘So You Want to Publish a Magazine? (14 September)
Printout: Finding the Future (27 September)
magCulture Meets The Gourmand (7 October)
— City University journalism school (18 October)
The Modern Magazine 2016 (27 October)
magCulture Meets Put A Egg On It (10 November)
— Oxford Brookes University journalism school (21 November)
— BBC Radio4, Four Thought, ‘Magazine Renaissance’ (30 November, listen here)
magCulture Meets Intern (1 December)
magCulture Workshop: Mushpit Christmas cards (10 December)
magCulture Meets Unit Editions (14 December)

2015

Printout: Best indies of 2014, London
— Westminster University, London
Printout: Relaunch, London
— Co-curator and speaker, QVED2015, Munich
— Co-curator and speaker, U Symposium, Singapore
Printout: Print special, London
— Victoria & Albert Museum Late, London
magCulture live at Pick Me Up, London
— Raw Print, Nottingham
Printout: Illustration
Printout: Books about Magazines
— Typographic Circle 80s night, London
— Indiecon2015, Hamburg
The Modern Magazine 20i5, London
— YCN Two’s Company, London
— Central St Martins, London
— AIGA What Makes a Great Magazine Today?, New York*

2014

Printout: Change the World, London
— Senefelder conference, Arnhem
Co-curator and speaker, QVED2014, Munich
— University of Delaware, London visit
— Guardian Masterclass, London
— University of West England, Bristol
Printout: Fashion, London
Vitsoe Reading Room, London Design Festival
The Modern Magazine 2014, London
— SNDe, Madrid
— Protein Publishing Panel, London
— Printout: Longevity, London*

2013

— London College of Communication
— University of Delaware, London visit
— Get Creative, Bristol
— What Design Can Do, Amsterdam
— Guardian Master Class, London
— Magazines Ireland, Dublin
Co-curator and speaker, QVED2015, Munich
— River Publishing, London
— Printout: Sound and Vision, London
— Blue Rubicon, London
The Modern Magazine 2013, London
— Modern Magazine presentation, Berlin
— Modern Magazine presentation, Amsterdam
Co-curator and speaker, AGI Open, London

2012

— Facing Pages, Arnhem
— PPA Magfest, Edinburgh
Printout – History, London
— Cover Day, Utrecht
Printout Audience Awards, London
— EDO interview with Port, London
— Bobs Books, London
Making Magazines, London

2011

— Act Two, Mississippi
— Walker Arts Centre, Minneapolis
— Bath Spa University, Bath
— EDO interview with Fantastic Man, London

2010

— APA Summit, London
— BPMO, Barcelona

2009

Curator, Colophon, Luxembourg
— Het Salon, Ghent
— ComodaMente, Vittorio Veneto
— Atheneuam, Amsterdam
— New Media, Cape Town

2008

— 8 Festival, Vienna
— Creative Connexions, Hong Kong
— State of the Art, London

2007

Curator, Colophon2007, Luxembourg
— Customer Media Congress, Amsterdam

2005

— CMYK, Barcelona