Part of me can’t help but wonder why a magazine like MC1R hasn’t already appeared before – especially in Scotland. Then again, given this particular publication’s style and format, perhaps it isn’t that surprising. To explain: MC1R is a magazine aimed at, and about, people affected by a melanocortin-stimulating hormone receptor (usually abbreviated to MC1R) – a gene mutation which causes red hair. It’s […]
Tag Archives | myself
Crafty negotiations
Craft—by which I mean the likes of embroidery, knitting and card making—doesn’t particularly “float my boat”. However, I do have a mild curiosity about the related magazines those hobbies and professions inspire, not least because I imagine it’s a rather more competitive field than you might expect from all those soft pastel-coloured covers. Certainly, its […]
Something for Nothing
In August 2012, weekly London listings magazine Time Out—the foundation of what is now a global empire of magazines, city-guide websites, apps, guidebooks, etc—did something pretty radical. They started giving their magazine away for free. Previously selling for just under £3 an issue, the move was a major element in the re-imagining of Time Out […]
Too niche for its own good?
Niche, it appears, is king when it comes to successful magazines. According to the people at Magazine Publisher, “poor magazine focus” and “lack of focused editorial concept” are as fatal to a title’s chances as overestimated circulations and a lack of financial backing. But it would appear that, sometimes, you can be too niche. Space […]
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2013
I attended this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival in the capacity of a freelance journalist; not that it was planned, but my main focus turned out to be on several films within the festival’s documentary strand, although I’ve fitted in a few features too! • Interview: Emma Davie & Morag McKinnon, directors of I Am […]
Old Dictionaries
I’m a word geek; on occasions I can be an annoyingly pedantic one, especially when it comes to definitions, although I accept I’m prone to inconsistencies when it comes to changing usage. Thankfully, I’ve been lucky enough to fall into a profession where it’s useful to be interested in words. That said, I can still […]
Genres, hurrah!
The writer Matt Haig hates literary fiction, according to a recent blog entry; or, to be rather more precise, he hates “the idea (my italics) of literary fiction”, most particularly of it being thought of, or promoted as, a “category”, a “genre”. Well, I’ve news for Mr Haig. He’s far too late. It is a […]
