It was with bitter irony that on the same day that both Crumbs, a new magazine in Bristol was published, and Lionheart, a self-published magazine, brought out its second issue, it was also announced that the next issue of award-winning music magazine The Word would be its last.
The Word (right) has long been a favourite publication of mine, so its it is with a great sadness that it will be bid farewell. In a sign of the times, however, it will remain online for the foreseeable future.
Is online where the future of the printed word lies? No, according to the people of Bristol in this very unscientific survey on Twitter yesterday.
The main findings were that even though people no longer buy newspapers, they still buy magazines, and also regularly check their favourite online sites.
We may have lost Venue, but there is now a plethora of free printed monthly magazines in Bristol, and also the weekly Bristol Property Live founded by Venue founder Dougal Templeton.
I may be writing this on a blog, that will hopefully soon be turning into a website, but my heart remains in print, and Bristol has yet to find a website to compete with power of The Post.
Lionheart Magazine (left), founded and edited by Bristol writer Helen Martin, does not think of such trivialities. Among other delights, its second issue features The Ethicurean, Chloe Moretz and Cherry Healey alongside many others.
“It’s neat, it’s sweet, it’s a cherry pie with bite,” says Helen, who lives in Redland with her boyfriend Charlie and ginger cat Francoise, and has given issue two of Lionheart the theme of ‘warmth’.
“When I walk to work in the morning, I pass by many shop and cafe windows. Tempting those strolling or scurrying through with their delightfully whipped milk topped coffees, pastries, smartly dressed mannequins and homewares. However, there is only one shop that will have me slowing my pace and glancing in.
“The lights are down, the doors shut, but like Charlie and the chocolate factory, my heart skips a beat as I know my magazine, my Lionheart, is sitting on the shelves.
“I’m not getting carried away, but I hope if you see Lionheart, you’ll take a look and feel warmth and goodness, sweet like a peach and made right here, in Bristol. Delve in, read about a million things, ponder, sit and consider a world from an image. Born from imagination, a lion heart will always have an adventure, if nothing else.”
Lionheart now has a distributor and this week the Sainsbury’s buyer emailed Helen to say that the magazine has been added to the optional titles list for Sainsbury’s stores, a fabulous achievement for a self-published magazine.
All is very different over in Bath with the launch of Crumbs, edited by The Post food writer Mark Taylor and published by Media Clash, the same company who produce Clifton Life, one of Bristol’s better free glossy mags but still very much advertorial disguised as editorial.
Crumbs (right) will hopefully move away from this. As editor Mark Taylor says: “Crumbs is for everyone who loves to eat; for those who adore the ritual and surprise of going out for a great meal, and those who’re thrilled to stay in and cook for friends and family.
“With a bit of luck, we will become a magazine that speaks to the West’s food-and-drink industry as much as it does to the rest of us, the punters: a place where professionals and amateurs alike can get together to talk about what we enjoy, and what we don’t; what works, and what doesn’t; what’s great about the local foodie scene, and what still needs working on.”
