Edinburgh International Magazine Festival, September 16-22 2019
PPA Scotland has a game changing idea in 2019.
We want to create a festival that helps put more magazines in the hands of more people. And we want to offer a platform / vehicle / canvas / gathering, that will allow those who LOVE all things magazine related to display that LOVE and to connect with like-minded fanatics.
Did you know that taking time to read a magazine has clear benefits for your mental health? Relaxing with your favourite magazine is also an affordable and healthy treat. And importantly, for many people, magazines offer a relatively easy access to the incredibly rich world of the written word.
With a magazine in hand, that world, literally, opens up in front of you. While flicking through the pages you can learn new ideas and even fundamentally challenge your current beliefs. You can relax and simply disappear into that world. You can stumble upon a community of fellow enthusiasts or be inspired to try something new. You just never know where the journey ends.
Our journey starts here. The inspiration drawn from magazines has inspired PPA Scotland to run a new international festival.
The Edinburgh International Magazine Festival will bring together everyone with a passion for magazines from September 16-22. From the industry game-changers (where Scotland leads the way), small local groups of magazine enthusiasts to magazine mad individuals.
But aren't magazines dying off?
You couldn't be further from the truth. This festival isn't breathing new life in to a tired medium, it is the opportunity to help that medium flourish!
As the ‘techlash’ against Silicon Valley gathers pace, magazines are a trusted voice with an in-built sense of community. According to Ofcom, magazines are the UK’s most trusted source for news. As the public turn away from clickbait and fake news, magazines provide reliable, quality content.
So, if you believe in the power of magazines to help shape a better world, from local community to the global village PLEASE support this project.
By committing to one of our ticket types before the end of our campaign you will help us launch this locally-minded international festival.
Not only that but you will help support the powerful, creative and cultural role of magazines.
You will of course also be able to take advantage of some exclusive events and of course the best value access to other amazing events.
PLUS some exclusive merchandise.
We need you to help us achieve our target of £7,000 before the end of May.
One of the core objectives of the festival is to encourage more people to read magazines. By offering an amazing list of events we will encourage thousands of people to pick up, dive in and enjoy their new favourite magazine.
Scotland has some of the most innovative, exciting and unique magazine titles in the world, as well as some of the most famous. The Edinburgh International Magazine Festival will place Scotland’s amazing titles into more people’s hands and then into their hearts.
Your early commitment will allow us to:
- Commit to support not for profit organisations that wish to promote magazines as an accessible form of literature. These organisations will include schools, colleges, universities, libraries and prisons
- Raise the awareness of magazine-related events across Edinburgh
- Raise the international and national awareness of Scotland’s vital magazine sector
- Raise awareness of the benefits of magazines - for mental health, community-building and informing readers about the world around us
OUR EVENTS PROGRAMME
With your support, we are planning to bring you around 20 events at this year's festival. If we surpass our initial target of £7000 we will be able to add more! Here is a flavour of the kinds of things we have planned.
Magfest
September 20, Central Hall, Edinburgh
Scotland's top event for the creative community around magazines has been running for eight years. This year, it will be at the heart of the new Edinburgh International Magazine Festival.
Magfest brings together hundreds of magazine lovers and attracts top global speakers. Past years have featured comics impresario Mark Millar, best-selling author Ian Rankin, Twitter’s Director of Curation Joanna Geary, Radio Times Editor Mark Frith, Empire Editor Terri White, and many more. Magfest is the must-attend event for Scottish magazine publishers.
Talks and Interviews
The people behind your favourite magazines are some of most creative, innovative, culturally and politically engaged, and entrepreneurial people around. The Edinburgh International Magazine Festival will be a unique opportunity to hear from these game changers.
Workshops and hands-on experiences
Learn about creative writing, roll your sleeves up for a creative collaboration with the inspirational women behind She Is Fierce, work on your resilience with Brave Your Day magazine or meet the artists and writers behind your favourite magazines.
We are also bringing together magazine professionals with digital experts for a MagJamm, a hackathon style event, to look at how to continue the magazine journey towards being multi-media brands.
Tours
Dive into the history of magazines, with exclusive archive tours that will look at our past through the prism of some of our best magazines.
Kids' events
Whether your kids want to create their own comic character or get covered in slime, we will have some brilliant ways for younger readers to get involved. And for the more reluctant readers, we'll offer an exciting gateway towards improved literacy through fun activities.
...And More
We will be unveiling plans for a magazine-related movie night, talks on your favourite sports, exhibitions and networking events soon.
The Edinburgh International Magazine Festival is run by the not for profit PPA Scotland and is supported by Gallus Events. All profit generated is put back into the magazine industry in Scotland.
Please note: Places on some events will be limited, and on a first come, first served basis once launched. Crowdfunders will be notified of new events as they launch to enable them to book their places early, in order to avoid disappointment.