The Excitement of Putting a Magazine Together
It was very exciting putting together the inaugural issue of the Inner Circle Writers’ Magazine.
It’s not just that it was about the kinds of things that have interested me my whole life - how stories are written, news and insights from the world of literature, works of fiction accompanied by pictures and images, and so forth - it’s because constructing things like this had been a passion of mine for a long while.
When I was a child, I was an avid reader of comics and magazines. In England during the 1960s, American comics from companies such as Marvel and DC had just arrived and were gradually taking over the marketplace which had been previously dominated by the British-style ‘comic magazine’. Whereas the British comics tended to be weekly compendiums, featuring several stories told in either black and white picture form or as text, the American newcomers were monthly issues which starred a single protagonist or group of protagonists over many pages, all in colour images. Both forms fascinated me, and I quickly developed my own versions, designing both covers and interiors and inventing over 150 of my own characters to go in them.
Coloured pens were popular in our house, even after we emigrated to Australia in the late 60s. Packet after packet of such pens were used up as I designed and drew hundreds of covers, occasionally illustrating whole stories. Later, as a university student, I managed to get two whole science fiction comic strips included in the university newspaper.
Life stepped in, especially after I visited a professional comic book artist who had advertised for help, only to be told that ‘I had good ideas, but I couldn’t draw’. I became involved in my parallel passions of storytelling and the world of literature, and didn’t return to the world of magazine design and construction until I became involved with the field of education. School magazines, both as a part of lessons and as professional presentations to the public, gave me another opportunity to indulge in this mania of mine for the printed word accompanied by images.
The Inner Circle Writers’ Magazine is your magazine as much as it is mine. It has evolved over the last four years, growing to meet the tastes of those who contribute to it and read it.
I’ve included some thumbnail images of the very first issue from February 2019 to give you a flavour of how it used to be. The latest issue (# 58!) is packed full of stuff: articles from established writers, fiction from favourites, background information you'll be fascinated by, tips and insights and much more! There are fewer ads in the latest issue, due out in mid-November, and much more material of interest to writers, new and old. You can sign up for a year’s issues at a discounted price of £20.00, or just by one issue at a time if you wish, at the cost of £2.00 per issue.
Please feel free to ask me any questions or send me any suggestions or submissions!