Contemporary Publishers in Conversation.
In 2018 Hoodie Mag hosted an industry forum about contemporary small publishing at Melbourne’s Testing Grounds. Attendees included creatives from Kill Your Darlings, Dumbo Feather, Media Express, Voiceworks and Sticky Institute. The forum focused on the rapidly changing world of magazine design, print and distribution. Those in attendance agreed that the cost of printing magazine’s was challenging each publications sustainability and that all were considering the benefits of digital production into the future.
Kill your Darlings, which began in 2010, is a proudly independent publication. Despite their success, they announced during the forum that they were reluctantly pivoting to a less costly digital-only version. They acknowledged that this decision would likely affect the publication’s readership but hoped the introduction of innovative digital design tools and techniques would sustain, even build readership. They plan to continue to support the publication's production via a subscriber model. Readers can support Kill your Darlings for as little as $1 a week.
Dumbo Feather began in 2004 and has succeeded in securing long-term support following its purchase by Small Giants, a media and education initiative dedicated to supporting equitable and sustainable economic, social and environmental businesses and practices. This liberates the publication from the financial insecurity often associated with alternative and radical magazines.
Voiceworks began in 2008 and is funded by Media Express, a not-for-profit organisation that provides support and development opportunities for young people in the literary arts. Media Express is funded by a range of national and state government departments, academic institutions and arts organisations. Again, this financial support actively sustains Voiceworks’ ongoing viability.
Sticky Institute, which opened in 2001, is a nonprofit project that survives on a mix of retail revenue (taking a 20% cut of zines sold in the shop) and funding from grant applications. Applying for funding is a repetitive and time-consuming process. It also results in less secure, often short-term, funding.
Hoodie Mag is a free publication and relies solely on short-term funding grants, which it mainly secures from community-based and local government sources. Although successful, this repetitive and time-consuming process puts the magazine in a precarious financial position. There are plans to build a social enterprise and/or subscriber model around the future production of the magazine.
While these publications understand the precarious and complex nature of alternative and small publishing, dealing with them in different ways, the coming together and communal discussion around such has been supportive and encouraging. Future forums are planned to create a space to share publishing experiences and strategies and communally support this important small publishing ecosystem.