When we were planning Colophon2009, we had the idea of using the assembled talent to make a magazine during the event, and then we would present the finished product (on screen at least) at the closing of the weekend.
It all sounded so simple. In the end, it actually happened – though not without some amazing feats of commissioning and editing from Kati, and remarkable, high-stress art direction from Guido and his team at INgrid, and lots of spontaneous contributions from everybody there. 108 pages, filled with top mag-related content.
And you know what? Despite everything, it’s actually a rather good read, featuring such delights as an interview with Simon Esterson by the Creative Director and Ed in Chief of Good magazine, summaries of the various talks and inspirations at the event, a drunken haze-filled account of the parties by Postr, a selection of the dogs of Luxembourg by Karen, golden rules of distribution/advertising/digital magazines/client publishing, and an imaginary interview with Jeremy Leslie written by me (and then corrected by Jeremy). 81 people contributed in the end – a small proportion of the few thousand there, but a hell of a team to co-ordinate.
We could have sent it to print there and then, but we decided to wait, in order to take much-needed holidays, to make sure that nothing too libellous had slipped through the caffeine-fuelled net, to tidy up a few scrappy edges, and to get some advertising sponsorship to pay for the whole thing.
And so, at last, the Colophon2009 magazine will be unveiled this afternoon at MUDAM in Luxembourg, and then again to help celebrate everyone’s favourite Amsterdam magazine store, the Athenaeum’s 40th birthday on Saturday.
Flash Pass holders from Colophon2009 will hear news soon about how they’ll get their copies; in the meantime, a digital edition will be made available later on today or tomorrow, and it’ll also be on sale via the shiny new Colophon website. Pictures below. In the meantime, if you’re interested in a copy, email me at colophonmag@losowsky.com and we’ll drop you a line when it’s ready.
What fun. Same again in 2011, anyone?
UPDATE: here is the online version, in all its glory
About Magtastic
This website focuses on developments
in the magazine industry around
the world.
It is written by
Andrew Losowsky, a writer and editor based in the USA. He has so far edited two books about magazines, and has ideas for plenty more.
He writes about magazines for The Wall Street Journal and others, and
is co-curator of
the Colophon international magazine biennale. He also runs
Stack America.
The rest of the time, he creates experiences.
Contact me
My books
Stack America
The Colophon biennale
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