On this episode of The London Magazine Podcast, we talk to designer and magazine aficionado Jeremy Leslie. Jeremy’s platform, magCulture, sells a huge range of magazines from its London shop and online, posts regular reviews and essays via its journal, runs annual conferences in London and New York, as well as recording a regular podcast of its own. A passionate advocate for editorial design, Jeremy has established himself as a commentator on the subject through the magCulture online Journal and a series of books.

In the episode, we discuss the origins and growth of magCulture, as well as Jeremy’s personal favourite magazines. Jeremy also addresses the myth of ‘the end of print’ and shows how the industry has indeed changed, but for the better.

Timestamps:

• 1.03 – magCulture, murder and The London Magazine
• 2.44 – The origins of magCulture
• 5.52 – Early magazine influences
• 10.48 – Devalueing print: the end of NME
• 12.40 – Curating magCulture: what makes a good magazine?
• 16.50 – The myth of 'the end of print' and how magazines have changed
• 22.16 – What's doing well and what's lacking in magazine culture
• 24.49 – Current favourite magazines

Follow The London Magazine podcast here to never miss an episode. To discover more content exclusive to our print and digital editions, subscribe here to receive a copy of The London Magazine to your door every two months, while also enjoying full access to our extensive digital archive of essays, literary journalism, fiction and poetry.

On this episode of The London Magazine Podcast, we talk to poet and editor Paul Stephenson about his debut collection, Hard Drive, that has been shortlisted for the Polari Book Prize this year. Paul has previously published three poetry pamphlets (Those People, The Days that Followed Paris and Selfies with Waterlillies), and he occasionally teaches for the Poetry School.

We discussed absurdity and the limitations of language, poetry as a source of healing in times of grief and Paul’s broad use of form.

Timestamps:

0.05 – Intro

0.54 – Writing on trains and while travelling

2.07 – Paul reads ‘Anglepoise’, ‘The Thesis’, ‘Signature’, ‘Collecting you from Golders Green’ and ‘The Hymn of Him’

7.38 – Poetry as healing in times of grief

10.31 – Use of form: Oulipo restraints

12.03 – Logistics of putting together a poetry collection

15.08 – Absurdity, Auden and Alice Notley: the limitations of language

19.06 – Humour and emotion in poetry

22.32 – How to edit a poetry collection

26.00 – Labelling the collection as a ‘queer’ book

28.09 – The numerous meanings of the title: ‘Hard Drive’

29.29 – Things that had to be left unsaid in the collection

30.45 – The next book? Contemporary dating and situationships…

33.37 – Poets and art Paul’s been enjoying recently

35.22 – Paul reads ‘Writing to your Mother’

On this episode of The London Magazine Podcast, we talk to Joshua Jones, writer and artist from Llanelli in south Wales. Joshua was a Literature Wales Emerging Writer and a Hay Festival Writer at Work. He has published various poetry pamphlets, including Three Months in the Zebra Room and The City on Film, both out this year.

On this episode, we talk to Joshua about his book, Local Fires. A collection of interconnected short stories and his first work of fiction, Local Fires was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Polari First Book Prize.

We chatted about the benefits of multiple POVs and interconnected stories, how not to get sued when writing autofiction and Joshua’s love of Chicago indie rock band, Joan of Arc.

On this episode of The London Magazine Podcast, we talk to Claire Carroll, a regular London Magazine contributor who writes experimental fiction about the intersection of nature, technology, and desire. She is also a PhD researcher at Bath Spa and Exeter Universities, where she explores how experimental writing – particularly short stories and prose-poetry – can reimagine how humans relate to the natural and non-human world. On this episode, she joins us to talk all about her new short story collection, The Unreliable Nature Writer. To discover more content exclusive to our print and digital editions, subscribe here to receive a copy of The London Magazine to your door every two months, while also enjoying full access to our extensive digital archive of essays, literary journalism, fiction and poetry.

On this episode of The London Magazine Podcast, we talk to Orlando Whitfield, writer and self-proclaimed failed art dealer. Orlando started dealing art while still a student at Goldsmiths, and worked in and around the art world for fifteen years. His writing has appeared in the The Paris Review and The White Review, among other places. Orlando joins us to talk about his new book: All That Glitters: A Story Of Friendship, Fraud And Fine Art. To discover more content exclusive to our print and digital editions, subscribe here to receive a copy of The London Magazine to your door every two months, while also enjoying full access to our extensive digital archive of essays, literary journalism, fiction and poetry.

On this episode of The London Magazine Podcast, we talk to Dan Sperrin. Dan is a Junior Research Fellow in English at Trinity College, University of Cambridge, and The London Magazine's political cartoonist. He predominantly works on satire and satirists, with a special interest in the period 1660-1760. Dan talks to us about the state of satire in modern Britain, David Cameron's rogue return to cabinet, and where to draw the line - if there even is one - in cartooning. To discover more content exclusive to our print and digital editions, subscribe here to receive a copy of The London Magazine to your door every two months, while also enjoying full access to our extensive digital archive of essays, literary journalism, fiction and poetry.

Please be aware that this episode contains discussions of abortion and strong language.

On this episode of The London Magazine Podcast, we talk to writer Vida Adamczewski. Vida's writing has appeared in Ambit Magazine, Document Journal, Vittles and The Mays. In July 2021, a staged reading of Vida’s debut lyric play AMPHIBIAN was performed at the Playmill New Writers Festival at the King’s Head Theatre in Islington. For AMPHIBIAN, she was awarded the UEA New Forms Award 2022 by the National Centre for Writing. Amphibian and Other Bodies is her first collection. Vida talks to us about reproductive rights in the UK, corporeality, and literary 'form-fucking'. To discover more content exclusive to our print and digital editions, subscribe here to receive a copy of The London Magazine to your door every two months, while also enjoying full access to our extensive digital archive of essays, literary journalism, fiction and poetry.