magCulture Live, LDN25

This year, we’re back at the same venue as last year, with a similar format, but one key difference: we’ll be presenting an indie-only line-up of speakers for the first time, as we declare the mainstream dead. The day will demonstrate how the small, independent magazines that we’ve been championing over the past 20 years are now the beating heart of the international magazine publishing industry.

Speakers from some of the most successful and long-standing indies—Apartamento (launched 2008), 032c (2000), Fantastic Man (2005), and Butt (2001)—will join us to share their stories, alongside one of the most exciting young editorial designers working today, specialising in indies, and a selection of speakers from newer independents.

The event coincides with the 20th anniversary of magCulture online and the 10th anniversary of our London shop. Over this period we have seen a seismic shift in the magazine industry, as the mainstream press withers and the independents grow in scope and influence.

Join us for magCulture Live LDN25 and discover the independent, analogue, future!
If you can’t join us IRL, book a livestream ticket and follow the day online.
We will adding a student rate ticket, we’re just sorting some details on that.

Meet our speakers:

Nacho Alegre
Co-founder, (Spain)
Widely regarded as the most influential interiors magazine of its generation, Apartamento is international, thoughtfully designed, and accessibly written—its 35 issues (to date) form an essential resource for those passionate about how they live. The magazine has developed into a publishing company that now spans design, art, architecture, and food. Nacho is a photographer, who co-founded Apartamento with Omar Sosa and Marco Velardi in 2008, and continues to serve as publisher and company director.

Charles Emmerson
Founder and editor, Translator
Translator is a new magazine of translated reportage and long-form journalism from beyond the Anglosphere, launched earlier this year. Charles speaks French and German well, and Russian and Turkish badly, and is the author three books about history and geopolitics, with a particular focus on the early twentieth century. He’s also been published in a range of magazines and newspapers from the Los Angeles Review of Books to Foreign Policy and New Lines.

Gert Jonkers
Editor-in-chief, & (The Netherlands)

Joerg Koch
Editor-in-chief and creative director, (Germany)

Natalia Rachlin
Co-founder, (USA)
Mother Tongue is a micro media brand devoted to amplifying women’s stories—in print, on social and through live events. Its biannual magazine (launched in 2021) interrogates modern motherhood through a cultural lens with stories that span art, sex, food and pop culture, fueling conversations that challenge and evolve predominant narratives. Natalia also contributes to The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Ark Journal and Wallpaper*, among others.

Chloe Scheffe
Freelance designer, , , Here and others (USA)
Chloe is an independent designer and art director based in Seattle. She began her career in editorial design at the New York Times Magazine, then went on to work on publications of all kinds, including Here, Interview, GQ, Wired, Lux, and WePresent. In 2022, she partnered with Natalie Shields to launch Scheffe Shields, an award-winning design and illustration collaborative focused on printed matter. Together they produce work for a variety of clients, and are creative directors at psychedelic lit mag Elastic.

Dagny Tepper
Founder, magazine (UK)
Dagny is a multidisciplinary creative director, editor, and the founder of Pilot magazine. Pilot is known for championing risk-takers across art and culture, and for its own daring formats—from tri-fold issues to game-board layouts. To its audience, Pilot is a playground where boundaries across disciplines dissolve. The result is work that's restless and raw, and a culture of constant experimentation.

Plus more to be announced

For this twelfth edition of magCulture Live London, we return to the Vitsoe space in Marylebone (above). We’ve worked with Vitsoe since 2014 , and use their 606 shelving, 620 chairs and 621 tables in our London shop. We also collaborate annually as part of the magCulture Live New York.

Their central London shop features a brutalist double-height open space that converts into a live venue for magCulture Live. Doors open at 12noon, the event starts at 1pm and runs through to 5pm, when everyone’s welcome to stick around for a beer and chat. The magCulture pop-up shop will on site alongside partner displays.

We hope you’ll join us live in London, but are also offering livestream tickets for those who can’t. All ticket holders will have free access to a video of the talks after the event.

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parkcom.co.uk

vitsoe.com/

commercialtype.com

abcdinamo.com

klim.co.nz

raandollyltd.co.uk

fivepointsbrewing.co.uk

All speakers are confirmed but we reserve the right to change the line-up for reasons beyond our control. We’re unable to refund tickets once booked.

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What is magCulture Live? magCulture Live is the only live event focusing on the creative side of magazine publishing. Each edition showcases the best creative editorial projects, giving a sense of the state of our industry while inspiring our audience.

Previously known as known as ModMag, the conference has been held annually in London since 2013, starting life as a celebration/launch of Jeremy Leslie’s book ‘The Modern Magazine’. We have now organised 11 London editions and five New York editions—plus three Zoom editions during the Covid lockdown.

What is it about? The day presents the most innovative and interesting creative work in magazine publishing, with editors and art directors uniting to share their thoughts and ideas. We don't duck the big issues facing print publishing, but neither do we fall for the easy, negative narratives surrounding the industry. magCulture Live is a celebration and reminder of the power of magazine creativity —if you know the MagCulture Journal you’ll have a sense of the scope and focus of the event.

Is there a theme to the day? Every year we celebrate the creativity of the magazine industry, bringing together the publishing community for a session of creative inspiration. Alongside that, this year the theme is the death of the mainstream—under the banner, ‘Independent! Analogue! Future!’

Who is magCulture Live for? The day is aimed at publishing professionals, design and journalism students and graduates, and anyone else with a creative curiousity. The ability to develop an editorial voice is in everyone’s hands today via digital channels. Hear from leading editorial practitioners how they are handling this responsibility.

Who organises magCulture Live? magCulture Live is produced by magCulture, led by founder Jeremy Leslie, Bella Robathon and Stephanie Hartman. Read the magCulture Journal for a sense of what/who we are.

Event Venue

Vitsœ, 21 Marylebone Lane, London, United Kingdom